Hiveling Behemoth. Level 17.

  The ant was ten times the size of its brethren and towered over the small group of humans as it approached, surrounded by its smaller counterparts. Mateo rushed to face it, but even his impressive speed was no match for Penny's spells.

  Hold the spark, maintain the flow!

  Let the thunder ever-glow!

  Fry this ant from head to toe!

  Lightning crackled in her cupped hands, then leapt up and surged toward her target. Rather than strike once, she held on to the spell after it touched the behemoth. It looked like a long, white, jagged line connecting the two. At first, it didn't seem to be doing a whole lot of damage, but as Luke watched, the sustained nature of the spell accumulated force, and the huge ant soon glowed white from within. Smoke rose from its carapace while it shrieked and hissed in agony.

  "Yeesh," Hannah said as the monster collapsed to the ground, taking several smaller ants with it.

  Penny landed and nodded to herself. "It's dead."

  Hannah looked from the dead monster to Penny as Mateo engaged the remaining ants. "I almost feel sorry for it. Didn't look pleasant."

  "It's a monster," Penny said with a shrug. "Pretty sure it wouldn't think twice about killing us."

  "Still," Hannah said as the dead insect stopped its death throes.

  Each step farther along the down-sloping tunnel seemed to bring with it another group of ants. It wasn't long before the monsters began burrowing out of the walls, floor, and even ceiling. While their levels didn't increase much, their numbers did. The hive knew about their presence at this point. On that point, there could be no doubt.

  Mateo served as the vanguard, keeping their immediate path free while Hannah dealt with most of those attempting ambushes or flanks, and Penny zapped any stragglers and softened up the groups before they reached Mateo. Their Lancer stood a little taller with each monster killed, and he soon laughed as he danced among chittering insects, dodging mandibles and the acid spray some ant variations launched from their asses.

  "Feels like we've walked for hours," Luke said, more annoyed than tired after what seemed to be their thirtieth clump of dead ants. At that point, his inventory was full of corpses and cores, and he'd snuck a few more to Smudge just to make room. "If the portal back closes after 60 minutes, there's no way we'll make it back."

  Hannah looked away from Mateo, who was standing over his most recent kill, waving his spear in the air. "Huh?"

  "The portal," Luke said. "We won't make it back in time."

  "I will." The teasing look she gave him was playful, despite the dry tone of her voice.

  "My flying can get pretty fast," Penny said, a glint in her eyes.

  "Such a relief," he said, shaking his head.

  All three stopped and frowned. Luke turned to look back the way they'd come. "Did you hear something?"

  "Not sure, but I think so."

  "My friends! Continue along the path of destruction!" Mateo's voice boomed, echoing off the bare rock and dirt walls. Their friend came jogging up to them. "Seems we will have the opportunity to make new friends!"

  "You heard that, too?" Penny asked.

  "Voices," Mateo confirmed.

  After Mateo's outburst, the newcomers hadn't shouted back in greeting. The tunnel's emptiness seemed all of a sudden a little ominous.

  "A trick of the ears?" Mateo asked, with a look of slight confusion across his face.

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  The group all leaned forward, holding their breaths, trying to make out the slightest sound. It took Luke a moment to stop using his ears and switch over to his far more reliable sense, Weaver's Perception. Even after all he'd been through, using the skill still didn't come naturally to him. That was something he needed to work on, because it put him and his friends at a serious disadvantage. For instance, if he'd used it right away in that tunnel, they would've had more warning.

  "Ants," he hissed. "Lots of ants."

  Chittering insect legs on stone sounded from farther back, the way they'd come. A lot of legs.

  "That's a lot of them," Hannah said, pulling the hood of her cloak back up.

  Penny took to the air, the beginnings of a chant forming on her lips.

  "Hold, my friends," Mateo said. "Allow me to test a new skill."

  Luke and Hannah stepped back and allowed their friend to do his thing. Like so many times before, Mateo hurled his spear with impressive precision. It flew far and ended up piercing one of the many ants in the front. Just as Luke started wondering if that was it, the spear disappeared and reappeared in its arc, slamming down again into a second and. The weapon disappeared again, and this time, three spears appeared in that same arc, right next to each other. Two of those struck ants while one missed. All three disappeared, and nine materialized a second later, killing several monsters. After that, there was no keeping count. A veritable storm of spears appeared again and again, the number increasing with each iteration. Ants died in droves, then double that, and double it again. Corpses built up, stacking high enough to become obstacles for the small army of advancing Hivelings. Soon enough, the flood of monsters ceased. Only then did the spears stop coming.

  Mateo's weapon reappeared in his hand, and he used it for support, driving the butt into the ground as he swayed on his feet. The attack hadn't drained much, if any, mana from the Lancer's small pool, but the cost was still high, judging by the strained expression on his friend's face and the way his clothes clung against damp skin. Stamina, Luke decided. The skill had used stamina.

  "Not bad," Penny said, crossing her arms and nodding. "Could use some flash, but not bad."

  "Leveled up twice," Mateo said between breaths. "No horde shall stand between me and those in need of aid."

  "Aid?" Hannah asked.

  Luke pointed into the distance, past the sea of corpses, to where the ants had emerged. "People."

  "Integrated?" Penny asked, leaning forward a little and squinting. "This blue light is annoying as hell."

  A group of twenty or so people emerged from behind a turn in the tunnel. They wore skins and furs, like they'd just stepped away from some caveman reenactment, but aside from needing a shower and shave, and perhaps some haircuts, their appearances were that of any humans you might find back on Earth. Still, it was clear they were not from Luke's home.

  "They are Integrated," Luke began with some apprehension as he saw the humans fall to their knees and put their faces into their hands. Some of them even wept, and a heartbreaking wailing filled the wide tunnel. "They're not from Earth, though."

  Integrated Mimi. Worker. Level 3.

  Integrated Lema. Burrower. Level 4.

  Integrated Tyle. Hauler. Level 5.

  Integrated Oiue. Worker. Level 4.

  "You think they worked for the ants or something?" Penny asked.

  The group set off walking toward the humans, picking up corpses as they went, not finding much in the way of loot.

  "Enslaved, more like," Luke said. "Look at them."

  Mateo straightened his back, having recovered from the skill he'd used, and shouted. "Do not fear! We have liberated you from your captors!"

  The Integrated showed fear, alright, as their eyes widened when Luke and the others appeared, and they moved back from the dead ants they'd been crying over. They stood still, eyeing Luke and the others, as if unsure what to do next, speaking amongst each other. Soon, they must've reached a consensus, because they turned and made as if to flee back the way they'd come. The sound of voices stopped them, though.

  "More Integrated coming," Luke said, nodding to the tunnel behind the captives.

  "Anyone we know?" Hannah asked.

  "Oh yeah," Luke said, before raising his voice. "Milla! We've got some skittish humans over here. Don't spook them!"

  The DIA Integrated team rounded the corner and came to a stop. His sister waved. "There you are! We've been walking forever! Why didn't you answer my messages?"

  Luke double-checked his interface. "Haven't received any messages!"

  A less welcome face stepped out in front of an armor-wearing Integrated, who had to be their tank. Quite a few new faces. All of them except for Nymh and Milla, to be precise.

  Integrated Milla. Bloomcaller. Level 12.

  Integrated Nymh. Sentinel. Level 13.

  Integrated Torban. Giant. Level 13.

  Integrated Emir. Ward. Level 9.

  Integrated Luna. Celestial Seer. Level 11.

  "What is going on here? Report, Integrated!" Nymh half-shouted, her voice stern.

  The sudden bark of her voice startled the humans, who made a break for it. Not wanting to go back the way they'd come and have to pass Milla and the others, or go through Luke's party, the Integrated rushed toward the far wall of the tunnel and, to Luke's surprise, one of them more or less threw himself at the stone, diving with his hands out in front of him. He didn't beat himself senseless. Instead, a hole appeared in the stone as soon as the Integrated's fingers touched the surface, and the man disappeared. The other humans climbed in, throwing fearful glances over their shoulders as they escaped.

  Dumbfounded, Luke and the others just stood there watching the humans disappear.