"There's around a month before we face those bastards once again," Grisha muttered, recalling the scenes from her previous loops where she had faced System Hosts.
At that time, she was flabbergasted, unable to understand how some people had become terrifyingly strong, even though there was no way they could possess such powers. That's what she had felt back then, every single time she suffered a loss in the hands of System Hosts.
She was ignorant back then, thinking that they were true geniuses, masters of the apocalypse that managed to attain mystical treasures to become strong. But, based on how they behaved, she, at that time, gritted her teeth, attributing their strength to luck.
Because no way in hell trashy, incompetent bastards were capable of earning such powers, not when everyone was struggling to survive. In such situations, they moved as if they knew everything about the apocalypse.
There were apocalypse fanatics that had spent their lives dreaming about such situations. They were different and were genuinely prepared for such a scenario. They were different from the System Hosts.
The difference was like a rich man that started from scratch and built up his company in contrast to a rich man that inherited the same from his father.
Such was the difference. But, the latter—the System Hosts—had become more powerful here.
'System Hosts!' She gritted her teeth, recalling the faces of those that she suffered against. And in many loops, it was the same people. So, she understood that these Systems were selecting the same individuals to become their Hosts.
'I'll kill the lot of you this time.' She controlled herself, emptying her thoughts. She was aware that her thoughts would only fuel her foes, that's why she was thinking while praying to Compass Carburettor. This way, all her thoughts would only reach him.
Not only would the Mental Energy benefit him, but it would also allow her to think freely without fear of alerting her enemies.
"I should reach Stage 2 at the very least before this month-end." She thought, beginning to make preparations.
She first wrapped tape around her clothes, creating a layer of defence. Secondly, she padded another layer using cotton clothes, strapping another layer of tape over them again.
She then headed towards the kitchen, picking up a couple of knives and a can opener. With her preparations done, she arrived at the ground floor, looking at the ant nest that was being created, smirking as she patted the ant queen's head along the way, exiting the house.
She directly walked over the lawn, smiling as she noticed the grass remaining perfectly still, as if it had no intentions of harming her.
"Of course, you don't like to eat anyone that is emanating tendencies of self-destruction like me." Muttering in response, she walked over the lawn, watching the grass shrink before her, only to grow back to its usual height after she passed by.
She then arrived at the edge of the lawn, cutting a strand of grass as she tickled the road using it, watching an army of ants stream out immediately after, provoked by her gesture.
The moment they intended to kill her, she stepped back, heading deeper into the lawn, watching the grass beginning to attack the ants immediately.
When an ant was trapped by the grass, she extended her hand, watching the grass leave the ant and diverge. Smiling, Grisha gripped the ant by its back, watching it struggling to attack her but failed to do so.
She then took out the can opener and broke its mandibles, also clipping its legs. Plucking a strand of grass, she wrapped it around the ant, stopping its bleeding.
Now, the fist-sized ant looked no different to a large dumpling, completely wrapped by grass, except for the front half of its head.
Seeing the ant constantly twitching as if it was getting seizures, Grisha continued to hunt the ants similarly. She didn't attack any and every ant she found, but only selected those that were fist-sized and had a small protrusion on their heads.
They had just begun to grow their horns but hadn't developed them fully yet.
Once she had captured a hundred of such ants, Grisha brought them back to the house. She had prepared a carrybag to transport them all beforehand.
She arrived at the kitchen, checking to see if there was enough gas in the gas cylinder. Taking out a large metal bowl, she poured water in it, waiting in patience until it began to boil.
She then gently placed the dumplings into the water, watching the side with the ant head tilt upwards. She filled the bowl until it was jampacked, preventing any dumpling from moving in the slightest.
She then stared at them, watching the boiling water beginning to bring out the sap from the grass. And in this process, the ants started to tremble even more as their figures began to slowly be dyed a shade of green, eventually resembling the grass.
But by now, the dumplings strangely began to merge into each other, taking the shape of the bowl. Slowly, but surely, as the water content in the bowl began to decrease, the grass began to form along its structure, layering over it.
After some time had passed, the grass had turned creamy white in colour, resembling the pearl people consumed to unleash their abilities. As for the ants, they had long since been melted by the grass, assimilated into them thanks to the boiling water.
Grisha stared at the bowl, watching it beginning to heat up after all the water had disappeared. But, she didn't switch off the gas, continuing to stare at it in anticipation.
She didn't do anything after that, leaving it as is as she exited the house and hunted another batch of ants, making the same dumplings as before. She then placed them in the bowl, just like before. But the only difference was the fact that there was already a thick layer of pearl within the bowl.
Moreover, she didn't pour much water this time, only a quarter as compared to the first time. Soon, the same thing happened. But this time, the grass absorbed the ants even faster and thickened the layer of the pearl.
She then repeated the process another three times, reducing the water quantity by three-fourths every time, observing the assimilation process turning faster and faster.
"Hahaha!" Before long, there were only the sounds of laughter within the kitchen.
Hearing it, the ant queen shuddered and retreated into her nest.
