Killing players and ants reminded Martin of the time he had hunted Wooden Wolves and other monsters to replenish his HP and MP. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

It felt similar now, except the thrill was much sharper. EXP kept pouring in, pushing him closer and closer to the max level.

The battlefield was a mess, but Martin kept track of every moving piece inside it. He felt like a puppeteer tapping his fingers in midair, pulling everyone else into position.

[You have leveled up.]

[Emperoar Lv. 35]

This is hilarious. So much EXP! This will make every other guild try to expand their territory for sure! Once the level cap increases, there will be so many territorial battles! Love this!

Because of Martin’s role, he did not have many chances to earn EXP the way ranged classes did. He glanced to the side at the system windows above his vanguard and saw the levels of his friends and allies.

[Kill Clause Lv. 44]

[NukEncore Lv. 46]

[Crimson Halo Lv. 49]

Crimson Halo had the easiest time leveling because her support skills let her contribute constantly. Kinnami, as her Wolf Spirit, also allowed her to cast twice as many skills. Since Kinnami shared Crimson Halo’s level, all of the EXP flowed back to her.

That made Crimson Halo the fastest-leveling player in all of Monster Hunter Academy Online.

She had broken a new record that day.

Chaos looked at that level and sighed. "She’ll be unbearable around me for the next few days. Still, you don’t want to summon Angel, Martin? Kumoe is already past level twenty."

She was starting to feel like Angel was missing out on way too much fun and EXP.

Martin felt the same. Unfortunately, he knew Angel’s personality and limits too well.

"She doesn’t have much room to shine here. I wanted her around the eggs, but that area isn’t great for her either. She needs to fight underwater, or at least have a skill that lets her function better on land," Martin explained.

"Sounds fair." Chaos nodded, feeling bad for their Dragon Turtle friend.

Just then, Martin’s voice swept through the vanguard’s voice channel.

[Emperoar: She’s doing it again! The Venom Pulse!]

The Ant Queen released vast clouds of green venom from the vents in her shell, poisoning everyone in the cave. It could be cleansed, but not everyone could receive cleanse right away.

The priority went to the damage dealers first, so tanks like Martin had to endure their plummeting HP and stay on guard. Green poison icons bloomed above the formation one after another. Rangers staggered behind their bowstrings. Mages coughed mid-cast, their spells flickering as their HP bars dropped in sharp chunks.

The healers wanted to cleanse everyone at once, but the battlefield did not allow kindness in every direction. Damage dealers had thinner HP bars, and if they fell, the boss fight lost its teeth. The tanks had more HP to spend, so they had to suffer longer.

Crimson Halo remained calm beside the support line, her crimson drill curls swaying against the poisoned wind. Her Gospel Tome opened beside her, and moonlit pages turned as if the battlefield itself had slowed down for her.

"Keep attacking," she said, her voice steady enough to cut through the coughing and shouts. "I will keep your hands steady."

Silver light settled over the damage dealers like a thin veil, softening the next poison tick just enough for bows to remain drawn and spells to keep forming.

Martin had Kinnami watching over him.

When it came to this poison, she ignored everyone else and wrapped around him like a scarf. Her golden body glowed against Martin’s armor, and her warm green eyes stayed fixed on his HP bar as if nothing else in the cave mattered.

She cleansed the venom, healed him in the blink of an eye, and layered buffs over him through Crimson Halo’s Moonlit Pack Oracle set as naturally as breathing.

His CC Resistance rose, and the excess healing turned into a shield.

Martin held his ground more firmly than any other tank.

Summoning his warhammer, he shifted his Warden’s Buff into an Armor Penetration Buff.

[Emperoar: Now, mages, aim for the exposed shell vents and force them to stay open!]

Every mage answered his order.

NukEncore raised her hand over her head and stood with her feet together as if she were about to perform at a diva concert. A small spark rose above her palm and turned into a huge fireball, strangely shaped like a star. It flew above her head and climbed close to the cave’s ceiling.

Then thunder crawled through the flame like veins of white lightning.

The fireball bloomed instead of merely growing. Its edges sharpened into five burning points, and the cave ceiling flashed red as if a star had been born beneath the earth. Even the Ant Darlings froze for half a breath, their mandibles twitching toward the light.

Martin nearly choked on his saliva.

This girl! Is she going to use that skill right now?

He had bad memories of that skill, even if he did not want to admit it aloud. NukEncore had used it to completely erase him during their spar.

And now, it was boosted even further by her new blessing, The Flame Star Blessing.

[The Flame Star Blessing: All fire skills gain increased damage based on the altitude from which they are cast, up to a maximum of 500%.]

[NukEncore has used Fire Thunder Bolt (Epic).]

"I am cracking those vents open just like you want, Martin!" NukEncore shouted.

For one sharp instant, the air itself seemed to tighten.

CLAP!

BANG!

Then thunder silenced the entire cave.

A shooting star of flame plunged from the ceiling in a sharp arc and struck the Ant Queen’s side, right where several vents had split open. With Martin’s Warden Buff increasing Armor Penetration, thunder cracked three times at the point of impact, tearing through the mini boss’s armored layers.

A massive blast of wind swept through the cave as steam rose from where the boss stood.

For a second, every player in the west nest forgot to attack.

[DING!]

[CRITICAL STRIKE!]

[-24,510 HP!]

[The Dark Aquatic Ant Queen Lv. 50 HP: 145,328/240,000 MP: 34,519/55,000]

"MHM!" NukEncore bit her lip as the ecstasy threatened to escape her throat.

She looked absolutely adorable in that moment, but Martin had no time to witness that side of her. He carried on with his shotcalls now that one of the boss’s weaknesses had been completely exposed.

[Emperoar: Great job, everyone! Rangers, switch your target to her joints now. Let’s FINALLY immobilize her!]

All single-target ranged users drew their bows or readied their weapons and focused on the joints. Silent Pine whispered under her breath that she would not miss this time, while the others concentrated on charging their shots.

Each second added more damage and bonus effects to their drawn arrows.

Shortly after, the first volley flew straight for the front leg joints.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The armor plates cracked, and the damage began wearing down the Ant Queen’s footing. It was not the first time those archers had attacked her there.

Still, aiming for the rear joints was not easy. The arrows had to follow an irregular, difficult trajectory that could not be covered by skill alone. Raw aim mattered just as much.

Several archers tried to adjust. Their arrows scraped the armor, skipped across wet shell, or vanished into the spray behind the queen’s legs. The angle was ugly, and the timing was worse.

The joint appeared only for a blink whenever the queen shifted her weight. For most players, that blink was too short to matter.

This was where Kill Clause separated herself from the rest of the archers.

First Resonance sharpened the arrow’s speed and range.

[Your arrow’s speed and range have increased by 25%.]

Second Resonance added damage, critical strike chance, and impact force.

[Your arrow’s damage, critical strike chance, and impact force have increased by 30%.]

Third Resonance wrapped the arrow in dark green crystal mana, greatly increasing its penetration and inflicting Crystal Fracture.

[Effect: Crystal Fracture]

[Weakens the struck area for a short duration. A follow-up hit against the fractured area deals increased damage.]

She released the arrow.

It tore through the cave in a rapid streak of dark green light, curved upward, and shot straight for the rear joint. The hit sank deep, and the mini boss shrieked as crystal cracks spread across the weakened area.

Kill Clause quickly followed with a flurry of arrows, each one striking the fracture before it could fade.

The rear joint broke, and the Ant Queen crashed to the side, immobilized.

Martin cheered inwardly.

As efficient as always! You are awesome, boss girl!

[Emperoar: Encore, everyone! Aim for her antennae now that she’s immobilized! We’ll throw all monsters into confusion!]

NukEncore and the other mages did exactly as he said.

As the antennae were struck by magic, the Ant Darlings were thrown into chaos. They began attacking each other, the players, and anything else moving around them.

That included the wounded Ant Queen and her ruptured vents.

Ants crawled over her in a display of raw betrayal, digging into her blue flesh and drawing blood.

The queen clicked at them once, then twice, but the command came out broken.

A Darling hesitated, its pale head twitching toward her burned antennae. Then hunger won. It sank its mandibles into a torn vent and shook like a starving dog with meat in its jaws.

More followed.

The sight sent heat rushing through Martin’s veins.

I want to go there. I want to fight at close range and attack the boss myself. I’ve had enough of controlling everything from here. Yeah, I am not cut out to be a damn shotcaller. I want to be at the damn front line!

His fingers tightened around his weapon.

He could see the opening. He could smell blood, poison, steam, and victory all mixed together. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to stop pointing others forward and move.

One throw, one teleport, one reckless charge into the ugliest part of the battlefield. That was all it would take.

Just then, a whisper that tugged at his heart reached his ear.

"You want to go over there, kill all the players and ants, and deliver the blow to the Ant Queen yourself, right?"

He looked over his shoulder and found Chaos’ face so close to his that he could swear she was flirting with him and inviting him to something far more dangerous than a tango.

"I can tell because we’re similar. Take me over there with you, Martin. Let’s go wild."

Even her breath smelled sweet and addictive, like poison disguised as perfume.

He clenched his hands.

"Fuck it, we ball."

Dismissing the warhammer, Martin clutched his trident, shifted into a throwing stance, and hurled it toward the mini boss. As soon as it landed near her, he teleported to its side and picked it up.

Now, he stood face-to-face with the wounded boss.

For half a second, the entire vanguard channel went silent.

Then three voices exploded at once.

[Potato Block: Emperoar?!]

[NukEncore: MARTIN?!]

[Crimson Halo: ...You troublesome man.]

His tango partner quickly caught up to him.

"Haha! We’re both getting scolded later, aren’t we?" Chaos sneered.

"I guess so," Martin sneered back.