The elite soldier ant was a disappointment. A single arcane piercing strike split it in half. He disposed of another sixteen soldier ants and at least two hundred workers in his annoyance.

Unfortunately, when he made his way back to the hilly peak that the rest of the group had been defending in his absence, there was bad news waiting. All of them had grim faces and he realised there were only seven people standing.

Doing a quick headcount and name check he realised who was missing. "Where's Daniel?"

No one answered. A few of them winced. In the end it was Florence who broke the silence. "Ants dragged him into the swarm. We tried to fight them off and drag him back but it was impossible. We risked dying ourselves."

Ronan sighed, rubbing his temple. He had expected losses and was prepared for them, but this might impact the rest of the group's morale. If they all started fearing the battles, that would just lead to them dying quicker than they otherwise might. "It sucks. We can mourn him after we get out of here alive, though. There's still four more waves and none of them are going to be easier than the one you just fought through. Chins up," he said.

After that he went around helping people to heal their wounds and handing out replacement weapons. He considered if rushing into the fray had actually been the best tactical decision or if it was simply his love for battle taking control. He could have fought off the soldiers from the top of the hill.

No, it definitely was. They struggled against the workers and a few soldiers. If all of the soldiers had swarmed them at once under the lead of the elite ant, more than one of them would have died, he convinced himself. He would do the same thing again in all of the coming waves. It was the only way they would win with more than just him surviving.

Despite the loss of one of their number, they had still managed to clear the wave in decent time. There was about nine minutes until the seventh wave began, meaning Ronan had enough time to use his final shard.

The boss shard was energy-aspected, but he was going to use it to try and push his soul cultivation beyond the first threshold. It might not be possible with the conversion rate, but there was no harm in trying.

Settling into a meditative position, hands resting on his knees and the shard in the middle of his crossed legs, he closed his eyes and focused on absorbing the energy into his soul. The strange filtered sensation of the energy passing through his skills before entering his body was still hard to get used to. He almost wanted to reject it on instinct, but there was nothing wrong with the energy, it was just a lower quantity than he'd get from a shard of the proper aspect.

What really shocked and impressed Ronan about his many gains over the iterations he'd lived through was how much faster his cultivation speed was now than when he took his first stumbling steps. In just eight minutes he had completely consumed a level 95 boss shard, absorbing every drop of energy contained within.

60% of the energy, anyway. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to get him over the threshold. He was close enough to taste it, his soul trembling in preparation for its metamorphosis.

He felt that visiting Serenaeth 7 again once he'd broken beyond the first threshold would be a good idea. He still had the guardian initiate bond in his status and he wanted to explore what that meant for him. Had it connected the Tellen to his looped time in some way, or had he exploited one of their species' sacred rituals for his own gain?

That was something he could figure out when he actually returned to the Tellen's grove. For now he had more ants to squash.

Wave 7 has started!

Wave 8 will spawn in 35 Minutes!

34:59…

This wave marked the first major step up in difficulty since the beginning of the wave trial. There were at least a hundred soldier ants and around one and a half thousand worker ants visible in the approaching swarm. All of them were level 24, but amongst the soldiers there were at least ten elites at level 26.

"Same strategy! Ten elites at minimum. I'll try to take them out before they reach the hill, but I can't promise anything. Stay alive, fuckers," he yelled out to his allies before rushing down the hill in the direction of the nearest group of soldier ants.

They were in clusters, the regular soldiers gathered around the elites to form small units of the most powerful insects. The workers were simply cannon fodder at this point, but that didn't mean they weren't a threat. For his allies, that is. Ronan had no need to worry about them, even with their increased level.

Right now he was wielding a hammer. It was a weapon he didn't have much experience with, but the basic premise was simple. Swing and smash.

That was something Ronan could do very well. He was almost made for it. He felt as exhilarated as he had when he used the mace all those iterations ago, crushing skeletons into dust.

The ants had hard exoskeletons, but a single blow from his hammer was enough to shatter them and squash their soft insides to a pulp. Empowered with magic strike and surging strikes, a dozen workers and the occasional soldier ant fell with every swing.

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He reached the first cluster soon after he began his charge. The soldiers descended on him with ravenous fury, mandibles clacking. The one weakness of this particular hammer was its shorter shaft, meaning the ants got dangerously close to nipping at his forearms and biceps as he swung it at them.

Still, when it smashed against their heads and bodies they were blown apart in a spray of ichor and shattered chitin. A low whine froze him briefly as the elite soldier tore through its allies to attack. Three other soldiers joined the assault, hitting him from all four cardinal directions.

A tricky position, but not one he couldn't deal with. All it took was a spinning swing, empowered with arcane piercing strike and a triple application of surging strikes, to pulverise them all. The first cluster dealt with, Ronan moved onto the next in sight.

A few of the soldiers had reached the hill. He wanted to help his allies, but at this point backing down from his current path of attack would only hinder them all in the long run. He had to trust in their capabilities.

Ronan roared as he swung the mace, obliterating the elite soldier ant as the metal crashed into its chitinous exoskeleton. It was the final monster in the ninth wave, which consisted of 500 soldier ants at level 30, 50 elite soldiers at level 35, and 3000 worker ants at level 30.

He was tired, but during that last wave he had gained another level, pushing him up to 99. The restoration was a breath of fresh air in a storm, but it was the knowledge that he was just one small step away from reaching level 100, that vaunted milestone, that really put some pep back into his step.

The morale boost was needed. He had known many of his temporary allies would fall during this gate trial, but the reality still hit hard. Of the nine people who had entered the gate, Ronan included, only three still lived.

It almost felt predetermined. Florence and Ryan. They had been the only two people not terrified of him when they first discovered his real level, and now they were the only two who had survived of their original faction. Checking the faction menu had revealed the grim truth—their deaths weren't just a feature of the gate, but permanent.

In exchange for outliving their comrades and fighting monsters far stronger than them and in greater numbers, the pair had shot up in levels. Florence was level 56, while Ryan was at 54. They had both obtained their first class evolution during the waves, which they had taken in the break between the eighth and ninth wave.

"Fuck," Florence exclaimed, holding up a shaking hand. "I almost died to one of those elite soldiers. Nasty little bastards."

"You lived to tell the tale though," Ronan replied with a smile. "Only one more wave to go and then we get out with even more rewards in our pockets. Nothing beats that sweet, sweet loot."

"You're crazy, man. No wonder you got this strong before everyone else. Most of them were too scared to even bother fighting the foxes outside, but you rush into these swarms of killer ants as though you're on your way to an all-you-can-eat buffet," Ryan said, giving Ronan a weary look.

Ronan shrugged. "The world has changed. Either we get stronger or we get killed. Humanity isn't alone on our planet anymore, and once the sector opens we'll be facing invaders from other worlds, too. I, for one, don't want to become a slave or experience for some fucking alien."

They seemed taken aback by his fervent response, but after a few moments of consideration Ryan and Florence both nodded. "That makes sense. I didn't consider that with everything that was going on," he muttered.

"It was hard to focus on the future with that asshole Rockmore making out as if he was building some kind of medieval kingdom…" Florence said with a snort.

"Well, he's gone now. No worries there." There were still a few minutes until the final wave began, so Ronan moved to the edge of the hill, intending to make the final push in soul cultivation and get it beyond the first threshold.

The timing wouldn't be an issue. He had reached 98% progress between the last two waves, thanks to the plethora of shards he was picking up from all the ants. He might even be able to squeeze in some sorcery practice afterwards.

Taking out a shard, he held it in his hands while focusing inwards. The soul was delicate, or so he assumed, and so he wanted to ensure he didn't get distracted while making an important advancement.

A little over a minute later, the shard broke into dust and a chime rang in his ears. Despite its low level, that had been enough to get him where he needed.

You are attempting to break through the first threshold in Prismatic Soul Cultivation!

A strange pulse of energy grasped his soul, clinging to it and trying to poke holes in the core of his being. It felt sticky. Invasive. A shudder ran down his spine, his body rejecting the awful sensation.

Congratulations! Your hard work and effort have allowed you to reach the sixth realm of Prismatic Soul Cultivation!

Prismatic Soul Cultivation has advanced from [Red ★★★★★] to [Orange ★]!

Soul weight is increased by 7.6%

Cultivation talent is increased by 46%

Efficacy of intelligence, tenacity, and luck +45%

Potency of intelligence, tenacity, and luck +5%

It seemed that not all cultivation thresholds had purely numerical requirements. That invasion of the most sacred part of his existence had been utterly horrible to experience. However, Ronan was willing to put up with discomfort to grow stronger.

Even after that, there were still 90 seconds or so to practice the rainbow bomb. He hadn't managed to cast one yet, but he felt he was right on the cusp of doing so. It would come in handy against the tenth wave, he was sure.

"So… The fifth wave introduced the soldiers. What do you think the tenth wave is going to throw at us?" Florence said.

Ronan had a good idea of what it might be. "Well, there's drones, but we didn't even have to fight them. Then workers, and the soldiers are a stronger form of the workers. All that's left is the queen, I suppose."

"Shit." Ryan's dismay was matched by Florence, but Ronan couldn't help feeling a little excited to see if there would be an actual challenge for him in this gate. It had been easy thus far, though it felt odd saying that when most of his allies had died.

Wave 10 has started!

Enemies will enter a frenzy in 1 hour!

59:59…

The ants appeared on the horizon. A sea of vibrant red, the carapaces of the soldier ants standing out against the green grass of the plains. There were at least a thousand soldiers, close to five thousand workers at a glance, and he had no doubt plenty of the soldiers would be elites. The carpet of insects rushed towards them.

The ground shook. He raised his gaze over the ants, into the direction of the tremors. His lips curled into a grin when he spotted the towering black ant in the distance. The queen's mandibles looked like a pair of swords extending from her jaw, and there were two turret-like protrusions on her abdomen.

"I call dibs on the queen," he said, already on the move.

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