Why were the ants rolling down the mountain?
Naturally, it was because after Ethan discovered that something was wrong inside the secret realm, he immediately sent his entire army of summoned beasts down the mountain to rescue people.
He himself was still riding his skeletal steed, the Anti-Bone Boy, struggling up the steep slope. It took him quite a while to climb even halfway. If he sent his beasts to walk down normally, they would arrive far too late to save anyone.
Then he remembered that the queen ant's offspring had incredible endurance and a base physical resistance of 400, which made them nearly indestructible. So, instead of running, he ordered them to roll down the mountain.
It turned out to be the perfect idea. Their enormous armored bodies gathered momentum, tumbling like living boulders and reaching the foot of the mountain far faster than they could have on foot.
---
Meanwhile, on Leo's side, the moment he heard that his mentor had sent help, his eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the area surrounded by the giant ants, which had formed a strange defensive circle.
As soon as he arrived, he bumped right into Lily Winters. To his surprise, she was here too. He greeted her with a cheerful grin.
"Hey, sister-in-law! You were also carried here by those giant ants?"
Swish!
Before he could react, Lily's simple long knife slashed through the air, brushing the top of his head and slicing off a lock of his hair.
"?!"
Leo froze, staring wide-eyed. He touched the top of his head and felt the cut strands. "What did I say wrong this time?!"
Lily didn't even glance at him. "I wasn't caught by them," she said coolly.
---
It turned out that after Lily had led those stone creatures chasing Leo far away, she happened to spot a giant ant carrying a struggling student in its jaws, scuttling toward this direction.
She hadn't planned on saving anyone—Lily was not exactly the altruistic type—but she grew curious. The ant was powerful, yet it hadn't killed the student. That alone was worth investigating. So, keeping her distance, she followed.
Soon she reached a strange sight—a defensive formation of hundreds of giant ants fighting off wild monsters.
Lily frowned. "Why would ants fight monsters?" she wondered aloud. It was bizarre, but not her concern. If anything, it made her situation safer. She decided to stay nearby until she found a way out of the secret realm.
Then, while glancing around, she suddenly noticed something sparkling among the fallen stone men's corpses.
Treasure chests!
They had appeared right where the monsters had died, though the thick red mist and the massive bodies of the creatures made them hard to spot. But what caught her attention even more was how—just seconds later—the treasure chest she had been staring at vanished into thin air.
"What?" Lily blinked in disbelief. "Where did it go?"
Intrigued, she crouched down, keeping watch to see if another would appear. Sure enough, every time a stone man fell, a chest would appear and then quickly disappear again.
Curiosity got the better of her. Maybe she could grab one before it vanished. After all, there were many chests here—some of levels she had never even seen before.
So, rather than wandering outside among the dangerous monsters, Lily decided to stay close and observe.
---
At the same time, Leo noticed something glimmering too. His eyes widened. "Wait, is that a treasure chest? I'm not imagining things, right?"
He rubbed his eyes. "Eh? Where'd it go?! I swear there was a treasure chest on the ground just now!"
Excited, he rushed over to check. When Lily saw that he had spotted it too, she stopped hiding and boldly walked closer.
Together, they crept toward the area where the chests had been appearing. One chest suddenly dropped in front of them—it looked heavy and ancient—but before they could reach it, it suddenly floated into the air.
"?!"
The two gasped. As they looked closer, they saw the reason: a tiny black shadow, no bigger than a thumb, was carrying the chest away on its back!
It flew so fast that even Lily's trained eyes couldn't keep up. Within seconds, it was gone into the mist.
"What the hell was that?" Leo blurted out. "That thing was faster than lightning!"
Lily clenched her fists, staring in disbelief. The treasure chest had been right there—so close she could almost touch it—and now it was gone. It felt worse than losing money to a scam.
---
Then, a thought struck Lily.
"If these treasure chests are appearing here," she murmured, "and these ants are fighting in formation… could it be that they're being controlled by a summoner?"
Leo's eyes widened. "A summoner?! Wait—"
They looked at each other and spoke at the same time:
"Ethan!"
Among all the students in this year's exam, only Ethan was a professional Beast Master.
Could it be that all these ants were his summons?
There were hundreds of them here—each one huge and deadly. Could a single person truly control them all?
Leo scratched his head. "I'm doomed… How can I ever compete with someone like Ethan?"
Then he laughed. "Ah, who cares! If my brother's that strong, I'll just lie down and enjoy the ride!"
Lily, however, was still skeptical. "It might not be him," she said cautiously. "It could be an outside professional who came to save us. For now, let's just assume these ants are friendly."
She found it hard to believe that one student could summon so many powerful beasts. Even a single ant among them was terrifying. If Ethan had indeed done this… his strength would be far beyond imagination.
Leo, though, couldn't understand her doubt. "Why doesn't she trust Ethan's power?" he muttered. "Who else could it be?"
---
While he was mumbling, Lily suddenly darted forward and began moving in quick bursts—running a few steps, stopping, observing, then running again.
Leo watched, puzzled. "…Uh, sister-in-law, what are you doing?"
She ignored him completely. Her focus was on the sky.
She had realized something—the tiny black creatures carrying the chests must be delivering them somewhere. If she followed the direction they flew, she might discover their master.
And if she found that master, she would know whether it was Ethan or someone else.
The chests moved fast—far faster than she could—but she could still track the general direction by spotting new ones as they appeared and vanished one after another. Each chest was like a glowing breadcrumb leading the way.
Leo trailed behind, confused but curious. "Sister-in-law, seriously, what are we looking for? Let me help!"
Lily didn't respond. Her eyes followed the faint golden glimmers disappearing deeper into the mist. After tracing the path of three consecutively vanishing chests, she suddenly stopped.
"They're all flying toward the same place," she whispered. "That way."
Then she broke into a run toward the center of the ant formation.
Leo's legs almost gave out trying to keep up. "Wait—Lily! Hold on!"
But before he could finish shouting, voices echoed ahead—shouts, gasps, even laughter.
Lily slowed her steps and peered through the fog.
---
A group of students was gathered there, surrounding something enormous. Their excited chatter filled the air.
"What is that?" Leo asked, panting as he caught up.
When Lily finally got close enough to see clearly, her eyes widened.
"Wait… is that…?"
A hill—no, a mountain—made entirely of treasure chests.
Piled high, gleaming with metallic colors, the mound rose like a small fortress, every chest unique in design—bronze, silver, gold, even rare black-crystal ones that shimmered with faint magical light.
Each time one of the tiny black shadows flew in, it dropped another chest on top of the pile before darting away again.
The students around the hill were losing their minds.
"Is this real?!" one shouted.
"Someone must've hit the jackpot!" another cried.
"This is more treasure than the entire academy vault!"
Leo's jaw dropped. "That's… insane."
Lily stared silently, eyes narrowing. If this truly was Ethan's work, then his power had grown far beyond what she had imagined.
The defensive circle of giant ants, the mysterious chests, the flying shadows—they all led here, to this massive treasure mound.
And somewhere nearby, hidden among the soldiers of chitin and fang, was their master—the person commanding everything like a general of monsters.
---
The wind howled through the red mist as the ants continued to patrol. Students dared not approach too close, fearing they might provoke the creatures and lose their lives before touching even a single chest.
But deep inside Lily's heart, a faint smile appeared.
"If this really is Ethan's doing," she murmured, "then the whole academy will be shaken."
Leo, meanwhile, was still too stunned to think straight. "A hill made of treasure chests…? If that's not heaven, I don't know what is."
They stood there, staring at the glimmering mountain of loot, realizing that whatever happened next—this was only the beginning of something far greater.
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