Ch 1.1 - The Healer Who Leads the Charge

In a dark cavern, sparks flew as metal clashed against claws. A handful of adventurers stood locked in a desperate standoff against a horde of Rockcliff ants.

The rockcliff ants were as large as dogs, easily cut down with a blade, but their sheer numbers were daunting. The adventurers were outnumbered by four to five thousand ants that swarmed across the walls and ceiling, surrounding them from all directions, almost like a living blanket closing in.

“Come at me!” a loud, hoarse voice echoed.

At the front of the formation stood the party’s tank: a burly bear clad in armor from head to toe, wielding a giant shield and axe. He was one of the bearfolk from the beastmen tribes, currently absorbing most of the attacks and trying to draw the ants' attention for as long as possible.

Just behind the bear stood a stunning elf, her arms extended as she unleashed a barrage of fire spells. Fiery orbs scattered around, striking multiple clusters of ants and wiping them out. She was the team's primary offensive force, but she had already run out of potions to sustain her attacks.

“There is no end to them,” she said as she gulped down another potion from a vial.

At that moment, a few of the ants broke through the bear’s defense and raced toward the elf.

“Damn it! Watch out!” the bear shouted.

Just then, the third member of the group, a beastman from the leopard tribe, quickly jumped into action. Armed with a spear, he danced around the perimeter with feline agility, taking out the remaining ants. His speed and precision were the only things keeping the others from being overwhelmed.

The fourth and final member of the party, a young man holding a staff, stood quietly at the back. He remained motionless, not chanting or displaying any signs of alarm. To an observer, he might have seemed like a helpless, stranded civilian watching adventurers fight around him.

However, this young man was actually the healer of the group, and healers are usually positioned at the rear of the formation.

"Not this again…" he muttered under his breath.

Seeing his party struggle, he knew he couldn’t just stand back any longer. Taking a deep breath, the healer stepped forward. "Excuse me, I can try to~"

But that’s when the leopard beastman interrupted him, "I already told you we can handle this. We don’t need your healing."

The healer stopped in his tracks, gripping his staff tightly before stepping back. The other three members continued to hold their defense, managing to cull the number of ants attacking them.

Meanwhile, the healer's eye twitched in frustration. Anger rose in his chest.

Why?
Why do they all keep treating me this way?
Like I am nothing?

If this were an ordinary healer, they wouldn’t mind and might even feel relieved about not having to participate in such a fierce battle. Most healers are said to have a gentle and caring nature, which is influenced by their elemental attributes, altering their personalities.

But he wasn’t one of them.

Like hell you can handle it!
You should get all the help you need!
Could I even clear this license by just twiddling my thumbs?

He despised the role of healer and hated all healers alike. The word support made him gag, as his motto was that a real man fights his own battles.

This young healer was an enigma, the one who was bound to bring revolution to the world.

He was Benjamin Almond, who had an SSS-tier healing element.

I think I’ve sat in the backseat for too long. I should step in.

The cavern was the heart of the rockcliff ants’ nest, a massive, pulsating den infested with thousands of these ants. The party’s mission was clear: eradicate the nest before it could decimate the surrounding region. But there was one major problem.

Even if they wiped out the ant swarm, the Queen would just hatch more ants to replace them. The only way to end this was to slay the Queen. Cut off the head, and the hive dies.

They had fought their way halfway through the complicated tunnels and had finally reached the Queen’s chamber, a vast open cavern. At its center stood a towering, jagged pillar of stone. On top of it rested the bloated Queen ant with her twitching antennae surveying the chaos below. Between the party and the Queen were thousands of worker ants, guarding their matriarch like a living shield.

Ben narrowed his eyes. No time to hesitate.

He sprinted forward, reaching into one of the many pockets lining his jacket. His fingers curled around a few small, spherical beads. In one smooth motion, he flicked them forward with expert precision, each bead launching like a bullet through the air, piercing ants and landing in the gaps between the swarm.

The beads didn’t cause any explosions or sparks, not yet.

“MOVE!” Ben barked.

“What are you doing-?!” the elf shouted.

“Get back here!” the leopard beastmen exclaimed.

Ben ignored them, twisting his hand and snapping his fingers.

In an instant, the beads burst open. Out of the soil erupted thick, thorny vines and skewering wooden branches, impaling nearby ants. The plants grew at a terrifying pace, each one a twisted spear of bark and leaf that tore through the ant ranks.

The insects screamed, if such a sound could even be described, as the sudden trees of death scattered their formation.

Using the chaos, Ben charged toward the pillar.
Several ants lunged at him, but he didn’t stop.

He didn’t even raise a weapon.

Instead, he raised his fists, and with sheer brute force, he punched, crushed, and tore through the insects. He didn't even slow down and charged through the ants as if they were just weeds growing in a lawn.

The monster's guts, blood, and exoskeletal parts were flung around as he moved deeper.

Ben's now covered in ant slime and gore, and didn’t falter for even a moment.

Reaching the base of the pillar, Ben pulled another seed from his pocket and balanced it on his index finger. With a flick of his thumb, he shot it into the rock wall like a bullet. It stuck fast. Then another. And another.

Behind him, the swarm began to refocus on him, thousands of red eyes targeting the human who dared to break through their ranks.

Ben flicked one final seed onto the ground below him.

The moment it struck dirt, he poured mana into it.

BOOM!

A massive thorny tree burst from the earth, sending soil and ants flying in every direction. Meanwhile, Ben used the explosion to propel himself forward like a slingshot, launching himself upwards.

In mid-air, he snapped his fingers once more. The seeds embedded in the wall blossomed into a vertical chain of plants, forming a makeshift staircase. Ben leaped onto the plants, using them as footholds to climb higher. Each leap carried him several meters away, and in just a few seconds, he reached the top of the pillar where the Queen was located.

Far below, the rest of the party stood frozen in place, speechless.