Lifespan Burning System: Master Everything by Burning Lifespan!
Chapter 36: The amber hive

Chapter 36: The amber hive

[The choice is logical,] the System commented. [It has the highest synergy with your current skill set.]

Rhys felt a sense of satisfaction. The System agreed with him. He had thought about it a lot during their hunt.

He was not just picking a random powerful element; he was choosing the one that would make all his other skills stronger.

His mind went over his abilities. His Shadowed Dive Skill Core was all about moving through the darkness. His Ash Veil Profession Core was about hiding his presence.

His Silent Step lifeskill was about moving without a sound. All of these skills were about stealth.

Then there was his weapon, the Shadow-Sting Dagger, and his fighting style, Viper’s Kiss. Both were designed for swift, silent, and deadly surprise attacks.

Choosing the Shadow property was the final piece of the puzzle. Shadow is a form of darkness present in every environment, except in absolute darkness itself.

Bonding with the Dark element would neutralise that limitation. It would literally allow him to utilise his element without any drawbacks.

He could become a true ghost, a perfect assassin. Rhys explained his thoughts to the System, knowing it had already guessed them.

’This first build is not about raw power. It is about perfection. I am creating a specialised dantian just for being a thief and an assassin.

All my stealth skills will be linked to it. When I bond it with the Dark element and choose its Shadow property, it will become a perfect engine for that one purpose.’

[A sound strategy,] the System played along.

This was what he liked most about it. The System always gave value to his inputs and tailored its outputs accurately as per his thoughts.

[Focusing on synergy is more efficient than gathering random powerful skills.]

Well, it was not as if he was not getting powerful skills at all. Really.

[You can learn lifeskills through simple exposure to environments, though. Lifeskills can be as powerful as ordinary skills...]

’Yeah, I know.’ Rhys smiled.

The main problem he had was not about having no skills, as he could get as many lifeskills as he wanted when exposed to the right environment.

Rather, it was about turning them into profession cores so the power of a lifeskill could reach that of ordinary skills. Monsters dropping core fragments were rare, after all.

He had been using Silent Step for half a day, yet not a single monster he had killed had dropped a core fragment suitable for it.

’Whatever, everything in its own time,’ Rhys assured himself, turning to look at Yuki.

Did she think he did not know she was sneakily absorbing his lifespan?

He sighed. Apparently, after swallowing several lifespan crystals, the girl now thought they tasted horrible.

She preferred his own lifespan. Rhys could not help but shake his head.

He wondered why she wanted lifespan just to stay in a human form. Both he and the System speculated that she might be a creation of this labyrinth.

If that was the case, she could not go outside of here unless the labyrinth broke. Rhys was calmed a lot after learning this.

He did not have to worry about her becoming an enemy after clearing this place.

After their rest, they started moving again. They followed the dark, winding tunnel for what felt like hours.

Now, Rhys could fight against a group of bats without injuring himself.

[Lifeskill [Silent Step] has evolved into [Low-distance Jump].]

[[Low-distance Jump]: Anchor to an object within a twenty-metre distance and pull yourself towards it.]

’This is also possible!’ Rhys was surprised. He turned to look at a stone in the distance, activating Low-distance Jump.

However, to his horror, the small stone he had anchored to was pulled towards him, hitting him straight in the forehead.

"Ouch!" Rhys fell to the ground on his backside and cursed silently in pain. Yuki stared down at him in doubt, then looked at the stone on the ground.

"Human, why did you throw a stone at yourself?" she asked, perplexed.

"Nothing, just checking something. Haha," Rhys pulled himself off the ground and laughed awkwardly as he walked ahead.

Yuki stared at his almost-running back and muttered in a voice he clearly heard, "Strange... this human is strange."

As they walked, the blue light of the glowing crystals began to fade behind them. A new, warmer light appeared in the distance.

The sound of dripping water and the strange whispers disappeared. A new sound replaced them.

It was a low, humming noise, like thousands of insects buzzing at once. They walked out of the tunnel and into a new area.

Rhys stopped, his eyes wide with awe.

They were in a vast, open space. It was like the inside of a giant beehive. The walls, the floor, and the high ceiling were all made of a beautiful, golden, amber-like crystal.

The entire cavern was built from perfect, hexagonal patterns. The warm, golden light was coming from the crystal walls themselves.

The air was warm and smelled sweet, like honey or tree resin. It was a complete change from the cold, dark, and grey worlds they had been in before.

It was beautiful, but Rhys felt a sense of danger.

They began to explore the new area cautiously. Soon, they saw the inhabitants of this strange, golden world.

They were ants. But they were not normal ants. Their bodies were made of the same amber crystal as the walls.

They had six sharp, crystalline legs that made a soft clicking sound as they walked. Embedded in the back of each ant was a glowing gem.

The gems were different colours; some were red, some were blue, and some were green. The gem seemed to be their core, their power source.

[Crystal Worker Ant] [Bloodline: Ordinary-Grade]

[Cultivation: Stage 1 (Low)]

[Description: A hive-based creature composed of magically conductive crystal. Its behaviour is dictated by the hive’s collective consciousness. Highly social and aggressive towards intruders.]

The ants moved in long, organised lines. They crawled up the hexagonal walls and disappeared into dark, hexagonal tunnels.

They were like a perfectly disciplined army. Rhys and Yuki watched them from a distance. They were careful not to get too close.

But the hive was a busy place. As they tried to sneak past one of the main pathways, a line of worker ants suddenly stopped.

Their glowing gems all turned towards Rhys and Yuki. Then, a high-pitched chittering sound filled the air.

The attack was sudden and overwhelming. Hundreds of crystal ants poured out from the hexagonal tunnels in the walls.

They swarmed towards Rhys and Yuki from all directions. The air was filled with the loud clicking sound of their crystal legs.

"Here they come," Rhys smiled, activating Shadowed Dive. His body seemed to dissolve into a blur of motion as he moved through the swarm of ants like a phantom.

His dagger was a flash of black light. With every strike, a crystal ant shattered into pieces.

Yuki acted at the same time. She did not use a big, powerful attack. She knew she had to conserve her energy.

Instead, she waved her hands. Thick walls of black ice shot up from the ground, blocking the tunnels from which the ants were coming.

She trapped small groups of ants between the walls and then sent a wave of cold air to freeze them solid.

The fight was chaotic. The ants were not strong individually, but there were so many of them. They were a sea of sharp, crystal legs and snapping mandibles.

Rhys had to keep moving. If he stood still for even a second, he would be overwhelmed. He fought for what felt like an eternity. His arms ached.

He was breathing heavily. But the swarm of ants seemed endless.

Then, in the middle of the chaotic fight, a new ant emerged from the largest tunnel.

[Feral-Grade Crystal Lancer detected.]