Chapter 126: The Lay of the Land
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Chapter 126: The Lay of the Land
The dragonfly shot at Jack like an arrow the size of an adult human. He turned around as fast as he could, but not fast enough. A set of sharp mandibles snapped at his arm, ripping off a good chunk of skin on the way.
Holy shit! Jack shouted, both in pain and surprise. He tried to grab its tail, but it was long gone. It flew behind a tree and disappeared. His ears were still buzzing, and he didnt know if it was due to actual buzzing or because its wings had passed right next to his head.
Brock pointed at Jacks arm, making worried noises. Jack took a glance. Im fine, he said. Tis just a scratch.
It really was. A long red line crossed his forearm, but it was shallow. His regeneration would handle it. It wouldnt cure Jacks anger.
The fucker! he shouted through gritted teeth, inspecting the surroundings. It was such a happy moment, Brock. You said a second word! Thats worthy of celebr
The buzzing intensified. The dragonfly shot at them from above, this time aiming at Brock. Perhaps it realized Jack was tough prey. But Jack was ready. He pivoted and smashed his knuckles into its face, hitting it so hard that the insect burst into a shower of gore around his arm. Only half its body remained, a broken, bleeding husk that fell to the ground.
Thats what you get, he told it, glaring. Nobody touches my little bro.
Thankfully, the dragonfly had been pretty light, so his hand remained whole. It just bruised a bit. Compared to the maiming from fist-crashing into the space monsters a few hours ago, this was nothing.
Yes! Brock cried out, raising his arms in celebration. He pointed at Jacks biceps and made faces of admiration.
Of course I am, Jack replied smugly.
Hints of movement interrupted them. The grass blades were swaying without wind. Jack and Brock backpedaled.
Brown-black shapes slowly came into view. It was the conqueror ants from beforefive of them. They had probably noticed something and came to check.
The moment they found the dragonflys corpse, the leading ants antennas waved frantically. A light, stinging smell, like the remains of lemon juice, assaulted the noses of Jack and Brock, who watched from the distance. It was slightly unpleasant.
The other ants apparently thought otherwise because they crowded the first like there was no tomorrow. One of them grabbed what remained of the dragonfly between its mandibles, easily carrying it despite the size difference, and started walking backprobably heading to its nest.
The rest of the ants fanned out and started searching the area. One of them stared at Brock. He and Jack didnt wait to see what would happen. They bolted away.
The ants searched around for a bit more. Then, not finding anything else, they returned to their lines. Jack watched them from behind a leaf the size of his torso. Even the waterdrops were larger here. He saw one the size of his closed fist.
Are there only insects around here? he asked. No, it cannot be. We heard a deep roar before. That wasnt an insect.
Brock nodded in acceptance, then pointed upward. Jack followed Brocks finger with his eyes.
The treetops, he said. Good idea. We can survey our surroundings from there. Lets go.
Defeating the dragonfly easily had curbed his fear a bit. Gan Salin had also mentioned that this ring shouldnt be too difficult for him, as long as he was careful. The ants were only F-Grade, too; he could take them by the dozens if needed. Hed avoided them just for the sake of caution.
No other insects or animals appeared as Jack and Brock made their way to the nearest tree. It was a monumental column of wood and bark reaching higher than trees had any right to. Jack had to tilt his head all the way back, and he still couldnt see its top.
The prospect of climbing this tree reminded him of the endless stairs just before.
Am I in the insect kingdom? he wondered. I bet I could outline ten publications in a day if I wanted to.
He wouldnt do that, of course. Becoming a superhuman immortal sounded more important than getting a slightly higher h-index.
However, one thing kept bugging himpun intended. Earth, by itself, had endless diversity when it came to insects. Ants alone had ten thousand recorded species, including many exotic variants. So why did all four insect kinds hed observed so farants, dragonflies, bees, and termitesresemble their Earth versions so closely?
Had they managed to converge? Were insects, the hallmarks of evolution, just moving in circles? Were they adapting too much, but only the most resilient variations would survive the eons?
Or were they moved here from somewhere else?
The galaxys history went back a million years, and Trial Planet preceded it. A million was a lot by human standards, but it was nothing compared to the endless eons that Earth had weathered. Just the dinosaurs were eradicated sixty-five million years ago, and life had existed on the planet for billions of years. If Trial Planet had been established a few million years back, at what evolutionary stage had its original inhabitants been?
Or, a less scientific theory entered Jacks mind, is there magic at play?
This nested planet was absolutely not natural. It was artificial, and there had to be some sort of magic holding it steady, or it would just collapse in on itself. What if there was also magic that kept the rings relatively unchanged over the eons?
If Trial Planet was an ancient testing ground, as Jack assumed, this would make sense.
His ruminations were cut short when he entered a new, thicker layer of leaves. Climbing became more difficult. Brock let out an exclamation from somewhere above. Jack accelerated, eager to see what made Brock so excited
and broke through the leaves. He was in the sky. And he lost his breath.
The tree theyd chosen to climb had been one of the tallest ones. He could see the forest stretching around him, a canvas of fluttering green. Leaves swayed in the moist wind, while winged creatures he couldnt identifyeither birds or insectsswirled in the distance.
The ceiling stretched over his head, still impossibly high. It was the underside of the planets surface layer, stretching endlessly in all directions. He knew there was a curve, but he couldnt see it. From where he looked, it was perfectly straight, its ends lost in mist.
The shiny mushrooms hung from the cave ceiling like a host of miniature suns, and brown stone columns rose intermittently from earth to heaven, like toothpicks supporting a mountain. Jack could see dozens of them. Across the planet, there must have been tens of thousands, if not more.
Just Just who could create such a thing? he asked aloud. The wind grabbed his hair and pulled it back, exposing his full face to the view. Jack took a deep breath. His lungs filled to the point of almost bursting. He felt so energized.
He then paced himself, remembering that too much oxygen was not good.
Brock was by his side, and he pointed in one direction. Jack turned his gaze over.
A few miles away, a massive mound of upturned dirt rose between the trees. It was shorter than them, of course, but it still resembled a large hill in size. It was an anthill. Its surface was teeming with black workers, rushing everywhere in semi-orderly lines. There must have been hundreds of them, possibly thousands, and even more inside the nest.
It seemed extremely dangerous.
According to Gan Salin, large landmarkslike this ant hillindicated the position of tunnels heading down to the next ring. But Jack didnt want to infiltrate an oversized ant colony. Hed just have to find another landmark.
He looked around. He found none. He looked back at the ant hill.
Oh, fuck me.
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Chapter 126: The Lay of the Land
The dragonfly shot at Jack like an arrow the size of an adult human. He turned around as fast as he could, but not fast enough. A set of sharp mandibles snapped at his arm, ripping off a good chunk of skin on the way.
Holy shit! Jack shouted, both in pain and surprise. He tried to grab its tail, but it was long gone. It flew behind a tree and disappeared. His ears were still buzzing, and he didnt know if it was due to actual buzzing or because its wings had passed right next to his head.
Brock pointed at Jacks arm, making worried noises. Jack took a glance. Im fine, he said. Tis just a scratch.
It really was. A long red line crossed his forearm, but it was shallow. His regeneration would handle it. It wouldnt cure Jacks anger.
The fucker! he shouted through gritted teeth, inspecting the surroundings. It was such a happy moment, Brock. You said a second word! Thats worthy of celebr
The buzzing intensified. The dragonfly shot at them from above, this time aiming at Brock. Perhaps it realized Jack was tough prey. But Jack was ready. He pivoted and smashed his knuckles into its face, hitting it so hard that the insect burst into a shower of gore around his arm. Only half its body remained, a broken, bleeding husk that fell to the ground.
Thats what you get, he told it, glaring. Nobody touches my little bro.
Thankfully, the dragonfly had been pretty light, so his hand remained whole. It just bruised a bit. Compared to the maiming from fist-crashing into the space monsters a few hours ago, this was nothing.
Yes! Brock cried out, raising his arms in celebration. He pointed at Jacks biceps and made faces of admiration.
Of course I am, Jack replied smugly.
Hints of movement interrupted them. The grass blades were swaying without wind. Jack and Brock backpedaled.
Brown-black shapes slowly came into view. It was the conqueror ants from beforefive of them. They had probably noticed something and came to check.
The moment they found the dragonflys corpse, the leading ants antennas waved frantically. A light, stinging smell, like the remains of lemon juice, assaulted the noses of Jack and Brock, who watched from the distance. It was slightly unpleasant.
The other ants apparently thought otherwise because they crowded the first like there was no tomorrow. One of them grabbed what remained of the dragonfly between its mandibles, easily carrying it despite the size difference, and started walking backprobably heading to its nest.
The rest of the ants fanned out and started searching the area. One of them stared at Brock. He and Jack didnt wait to see what would happen. They bolted away.
The ants searched around for a bit more. Then, not finding anything else, they returned to their lines. Jack watched them from behind a leaf the size of his torso. Even the waterdrops were larger here. He saw one the size of his closed fist.
Are there only insects around here? he asked. No, it cannot be. We heard a deep roar before. That wasnt an insect.
Brock nodded in acceptance, then pointed upward. Jack followed Brocks finger with his eyes.
The treetops, he said. Good idea. We can survey our surroundings from there. Lets go.
Defeating the dragonfly easily had curbed his fear a bit. Gan Salin had also mentioned that this ring shouldnt be too difficult for him, as long as he was careful. The ants were only F-Grade, too; he could take them by the dozens if needed. Hed avoided them just for the sake of caution.
No other insects or animals appeared as Jack and Brock made their way to the nearest tree. It was a monumental column of wood and bark reaching higher than trees had any right to. Jack had to tilt his head all the way back, and he still couldnt see its top.
The prospect of climbing this tree reminded him of the endless stairs just before.
Am I in the insect kingdom? he wondered. I bet I could outline ten publications in a day if I wanted to.
He wouldnt do that, of course. Becoming a superhuman immortal sounded more important than getting a slightly higher h-index.
However, one thing kept bugging himpun intended. Earth, by itself, had endless diversity when it came to insects. Ants alone had ten thousand recorded species, including many exotic variants. So why did all four insect kinds hed observed so farants, dragonflies, bees, and termitesresemble their Earth versions so closely?
Had they managed to converge? Were insects, the hallmarks of evolution, just moving in circles? Were they adapting too much, but only the most resilient variations would survive the eons?
Or were they moved here from somewhere else?
The galaxys history went back a million years, and Trial Planet preceded it. A million was a lot by human standards, but it was nothing compared to the endless eons that Earth had weathered. Just the dinosaurs were eradicated sixty-five million years ago, and life had existed on the planet for billions of years. If Trial Planet had been established a few million years back, at what evolutionary stage had its original inhabitants been?
Or, a less scientific theory entered Jacks mind, is there magic at play?
This nested planet was absolutely not natural. It was artificial, and there had to be some sort of magic holding it steady, or it would just collapse in on itself. What if there was also magic that kept the rings relatively unchanged over the eons?
If Trial Planet was an ancient testing ground, as Jack assumed, this would make sense.
His ruminations were cut short when he entered a new, thicker layer of leaves. Climbing became more difficult. Brock let out an exclamation from somewhere above. Jack accelerated, eager to see what made Brock so excited
and broke through the leaves. He was in the sky. And he lost his breath.
The tree theyd chosen to climb had been one of the tallest ones. He could see the forest stretching around him, a canvas of fluttering green. Leaves swayed in the moist wind, while winged creatures he couldnt identifyeither birds or insectsswirled in the distance.
The ceiling stretched over his head, still impossibly high. It was the underside of the planets surface layer, stretching endlessly in all directions. He knew there was a curve, but he couldnt see it. From where he looked, it was perfectly straight, its ends lost in mist.
The shiny mushrooms hung from the cave ceiling like a host of miniature suns, and brown stone columns rose intermittently from earth to heaven, like toothpicks supporting a mountain. Jack could see dozens of them. Across the planet, there must have been tens of thousands, if not more.
Just Just who could create such a thing? he asked aloud. The wind grabbed his hair and pulled it back, exposing his full face to the view. Jack took a deep breath. His lungs filled to the point of almost bursting. He felt so energized.
He then paced himself, remembering that too much oxygen was not good.
Brock was by his side, and he pointed in one direction. Jack turned his gaze over.
A few miles away, a massive mound of upturned dirt rose between the trees. It was shorter than them, of course, but it still resembled a large hill in size. It was an anthill. Its surface was teeming with black workers, rushing everywhere in semi-orderly lines. There must have been hundreds of them, possibly thousands, and even more inside the nest.
It seemed extremely dangerous.
According to Gan Salin, large landmarkslike this ant hillindicated the position of tunnels heading down to the next ring. But Jack didnt want to infiltrate an oversized ant colony. Hed just have to find another landmark.
He looked around. He found none. He looked back at the ant hill.
Oh, fuck me.
Chapter 126: The Lay of the LandThe dragonfly shot at Jack like an arrow the size of an adult human. He turned around as fast as he could, but not fast enough. A set of sharp mandibles snapped at his arm, ripping off a good chunk of skin on the way.Holy shit! Jack shouted, both in pain and surprise. He tried to grab its tail, but it was long gone. It flew behind a tree and disappeared. His ears were still buzzing, and he didnt know if it was due to actual buzzing or because its wings had passed right next to his head.Brock pointed at Jacks arm, making worried noises. Jack took a glance. Im fine, he said. Tis just a scratch.It really was. A long red line crossed his forearm, but it was shallow. His regeneration would handle it. It wouldnt cure Jacks anger.The fucker! he shouted through gritted teeth, inspecting the surroundings. It was such a happy moment, Brock. You said a second word! Thats worthy of celebrThe buzzing intensified. The dragonfly shot at them from above, this time aiming at Brock. Perhaps it realized Jack was tough prey. But Jack was ready. He pivoted and smashed his knuckles into its face, hitting it so hard that the insect burst into a shower of gore around his arm. Only half its body remained, a broken, bleeding husk that fell to the ground.Thats what you get, he told it, glaring. Nobody touches my little bro.Thankfully, the dragonfly had been pretty light, so his hand remained whole. It just bruised a bit. Compared to the maiming from fist-crashing into the space monsters a few hours ago, this was nothing.Yes! Brock cried out, raising his arms in celebration. He pointed at Jacks biceps and made faces of admiration.Of course I am, Jack replied smugly.Hints of movement interrupted them. The grass blades were swaying without wind. Jack and Brock backpedaled.Brown-black shapes slowly came into view. It was the conqueror ants from beforefive of them. They had probably noticed something and came to check. The moment they found the dragonflys corpse, the leading ants antennas waved frantically. A light, stinging smell, like the remains of lemon juice, assaulted the noses of Jack and Brock, who watched from the distance. It was slightly unpleasant.The other ants apparently thought otherwise because they crowded the first like there was no tomorrow. One of them grabbed what remained of the dragonfly between its mandibles, easily carrying it despite the size difference, and started walking backprobably heading to its nest.The rest of the ants fanned out and started searching the area. One of them stared at Brock. He and Jack didnt wait to see what would happen. They bolted away.The ants searched around for a bit more. Then, not finding anything else, they returned to their lines. Jack watched them from behind a leaf the size of his torso. Even the waterdrops were larger here. He saw one the size of his closed fist.Are there only insects around here? he asked. No, it cannot be. We heard a deep roar before. That wasnt an insect.Brock nodded in acceptance, then pointed upward. Jack followed Brocks finger with his eyes.The treetops, he said. Good idea. We can survey our surroundings from there. Lets go.Defeating the dragonfly easily had curbed his fear a bit. Gan Salin had also mentioned that this ring shouldnt be too difficult for him, as long as he was careful. The ants were only F-Grade, too; he could take them by the dozens if needed. Hed avoided them just for the sake of caution.No other insects or animals appeared as Jack and Brock made their way to the nearest tree. It was a monumental column of wood and bark reaching higher than trees had any right to. Jack had to tilt his head all the way back, and he still couldnt see its top.The prospect of climbing this tree reminded him of the endless stairs just before.Am I in the insect kingdom? he wondered. I bet I could outline ten publications in a day if I wanted to.He wouldnt do that, of course. Becoming a superhuman immortal sounded more important than getting a slightly higher h-index.However, one thing kept bugging himpun intended. Earth, by itself, had endless diversity when it came to insects. Ants alone had ten thousand recorded species, including many exotic variants. So why did all four insect kinds hed observed so farants, dragonflies, bees, and termitesresemble their Earth versions so closely?Had they managed to converge? Were insects, the hallmarks of evolution, just moving in circles? Were they adapting too much, but only the most resilient variations would survive the eons?Or were they moved here from somewhere else?The galaxys history went back a million years, and Trial Planet preceded it. A million was a lot by human standards, but it was nothing compared to the endless eons that Earth had weathered. Just the dinosaurs were eradicated sixty-five million years ago, and life had existed on the planet for billions of years. If Trial Planet had been established a few million years back, at what evolutionary stage had its original inhabitants been?Or, a less scientific theory entered Jacks mind, is there magic at play?This nested planet was absolutely not natural. It was artificial, and there had to be some sort of magic holding it steady, or it would just collapse in on itself. What if there was also magic that kept the rings relatively unchanged over the eons?If Trial Planet was an ancient testing ground, as Jack assumed, this would make sense.His ruminations were cut short when he entered a new, thicker layer of leaves. Climbing became more difficult. Brock let out an exclamation from somewhere above. Jack accelerated, eager to see what made Brock so excitedand broke through the leaves. He was in the sky. And he lost his breath.The tree theyd chosen to climb had been one of the tallest ones. He could see the forest stretching around him, a canvas of fluttering green. Leaves swayed in the moist wind, while winged creatures he couldnt identifyeither birds or insectsswirled in the distance.The ceiling stretched over his head, still impossibly high. It was the underside of the planets surface layer, stretching endlessly in all directions. He knew there was a curve, but he couldnt see it. From where he looked, it was perfectly straight, its ends lost in mist.The shiny mushrooms hung from the cave ceiling like a host of miniature suns, and brown stone columns rose intermittently from earth to heaven, like toothpicks supporting a mountain. Jack could see dozens of them. Across the planet, there must have been tens of thousands, if not more.Just Just who could create such a thing? he asked aloud. The wind grabbed his hair and pulled it back, exposing his full face to the view. Jack took a deep breath. His lungs filled to the point of almost bursting. He felt so energized.He then paced himself, remembering that too much oxygen was not good.Brock was by his side, and he pointed in one direction. Jack turned his gaze over.A few miles away, a massive mound of upturned dirt rose between the trees. It was shorter than them, of course, but it still resembled a large hill in size. It was an anthill. Its surface was teeming with black workers, rushing everywhere in semi-orderly lines. There must have been hundreds of them, possibly thousands, and even more inside the nest.It seemed extremely dangerous.According to Gan Salin, large landmarkslike this ant hillindicated the position of tunnels heading down to the next ring. But Jack didnt want to infiltrate an oversized ant colony. Hed just have to find another landmark.He looked around. He found none. He looked back at the ant hill.Oh, fuck me.
