CHAPTER 192: CHAPTER 192: REVELATIONS (PART 3)

"By the way, what are King Ants? We’re aware of Archdemons and Dragons, but I’ve never heard of a King Ant," Spoke up Leed curiously.

"Am I correct in assuming that they’re an evolved form of Giant Ants?" Chimed in Zian.

I’ve never encountered them before, but from what I know, Giant Ants are Low Level Monsters.

And they have three known stages in their evolution...first, to Mid Level Giant Flying Ants, then to High Level Soldier Ants, and finally, Critical Level Queen Ants.

"Yes, that is correct. They are fairly rare, but extremely powerful. While Queen Ants evolve from Giant Flying Ants, King Ants evolve from Soldier Ants.

They are at the same level as the Archdemons and Dragons, the only difference is that they are much lower in intelligence, but they are still highly dangerous," Luxuria replied with a grimace.

"Are there any other Monsters on that level?" Inquired Isla hesitantly.

"No, after the Archdemons, Dragons and King Ants, the next most powerful species would be us Greater Demons and Wyverns, along with a handful of other species."

"You mean Monsters that we refer to as Critical Level Threats, I’m assuming," Remarked Charlotte with a nod.

"If all this is really true, then...we can expect Dungeons that deviate from the standard patterns to keep popping up with increasing frequency.

And there’s also the possibility that more Calamity Level Monsters will be appearing before long," Said Jorin, a tense grimace on his face.

"We should alert the other Sanctuaries immediately, we have to figure out a way to deal with this, and the more perspectives we get, the better," Pointed out Zian objectively.

"About the Dungeons, how are the Monsters in it chosen?" Aria asked her.

"The Demon Lord issues commands on which species, and how many individuals, are required for the Dungeons he deploys.

His Generals, which consist of the most powerful and skilled among the Archdemons and Dragons, round up the required numbers from the specified species. I’m not sure what happens after that.

In my case, I was taken to a large field, along with all of the others who were selected for the same Dungeon.

The Demon Lord raised his hand towards us, everything went black, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the Dungeon. I have no memory of how I got there," Recalled Luxuria, looking a bit disconcerted.

"Does he decide on the species and numbers himself, or are those pre-determined by his Demonic Art?" Inquired Isla.

"I do not know. But I doubt the species matters, it is likely more about how powerful they are. And as you humans should be aware of, only species that are in the same evolutionary cycle can be in the same Dungeon, at least, generally speaking. Occasionally, he can bend that rule and mix two, or even three, different types of Monsters in a Dungeon."

Right, like how that Caimanoid Dungeon had a Wyvern as the Dungeon Boss, even though those two species aren’t in the same evolutionary cycle.

"Those Dungeons aren’t too big a problem, the ones that are most troublesome are, of course, the ones with Dungeon Bosses one Threat Level higher than expected. Those are starting to happen way too often," Frowned Zian, a look of concern on his face.

"Yeah, while I was a Freelancer, I encountered a Wyvern in a Mid Level Dungeon, that was a pretty tough battle," I recalled with a nod.

Also the Hypersonic Bat in my first raid. Not to mention that first Greater Demon. Aaand the Archdemon, of course.

"How many Calamity Level Monsters are there, in total?" Charlotte asked her.

"I do not know, but there are certainly far fewer of them than there are other species. Perhaps a few hundred or so of each?" She replied uncertainly.

"That’s still pretty alarming, but it’s better than there being thousands of them, I suppose," I sighed wistfully.

"Evolving to that level is exceedingly rare, Master. There have been times where there were centuries between the instances of Greater Demons evolving into Archdemons, and Wyverns evolving into Dragons are just are rare, while King Ants are the rarest of them all.

At the same time, there have been instances where two such evolutions occurred within the same year, so the frequency varies."

"Do you know of any way to stop this? Is there anything we can do to stop the Dungeons from appearing and prevent the invasion entirely?" Responded Aria.

"Either make sure no humans die to Monsters, or kill the Demon Lord. But the former is not practical, and the latter is impossible.

The Demon Lord himself cannot put himself into a Dungeon, so he cannot enter this world. And as far as I know, there is no way to enter that world from this one.

Those of us who are sent here through the Dungeons cannot return. Simply put, the only real option you have is to keep fighting, that is your only route to survival," Stated Luxuria.

"In other words, just keep doing what we’ve been doing. Great...I’ll admit, we’ve learned a lot, but it doesn’t really feel like anything has changed.

Knowing how all of this works isn’t going to make much of a difference," Sighed Jorin, as he slumped back in his seat with a grimace.

Well...I suppose he’s not wrong.

Knowing all this isn’t going to help us tell which Dungeons deviate from the standard patterns or anything, after all.

"Perhaps, but at least we now know exactly what it is we’re fighting again, and what we need to prevent.

And we also know what’s coming...more Calamity Level Monsters, more unpredictable Dungeons, and if we fail to fight them all off, an army of Monsters will invade our world and kill us all.

If nothing else, I’d say that should motivate us to fight harder and with more purpose. I’ll share all this information with the HUC, as well as Concord, we need to make sure all Hunters are aware of the threat to come," Remarked Charlotte with a grimace.

Concord? What’s that?

It’s the governing body that rules over the world, made up of the leaders of each of the eight Sanctuaries

You should know this already

So, kinda like the UN in my old era?

Not really, but close enough, I suppose

Well, anyway...

"Anyone got any further questions?" I inquired, looking around before adding as no one said anything, "In that case, let’s wrap this up. If you think of anything later, feel free to next me, I’ll ask Luxuria about it and respond accordingly."

"Thank you, Kai, I believe this was quite productive. We now have answers to several of the mysteries surrounding the Dungeons that we’ve pondered cluelessly for so long," Smiled Charlotte gratefully.

"Yeah, thanks, kid. If nothing else, this’ll help us prepare more effectively for what’s to come," Added Zian with a nod.