The battle against the Giant Ant Queen, and the giant ants that it could produce through its special trait, was a long and arduous one.
The Giant Ant Queen could produce giant ants every few minutes and each of them would grow at an unbelievable rate, until their power is just as high as that of the Giant Ant Queen that produced them.
However while doing so, she was preoccupied and couldn't fight and after doing so she was very weak, as producing Giant Ants through her special trait seemed to be very draining.
Adam observed all of that and could see her weaknesses, but despite that, he still wasn't able to get to her and she was guarded by multiple giant ants that stayed with her and protected her with their lives.
Meanwhile, Adam also had other giant ants chasing and attacking him, while the Giant Ant Queen was producing more giant ants.
Looking at their stats, the giant ants were very nimble, seemed to have a lot of energy and also were quite strong, but their HP and resistance were very low.
However, despite that, their stats weren't an accurate representation of the capability of the beast and Adam had come to balance the stats themselves and his own judgement and observations to gain an understanding of his opponent's capability.
The HP and Resistance showed Adam how much damage that the giant ant beasts' bodies could take and recover from, which was true for the interior of the giant ant beast's bodies, but didn't take into account the impenetrable shell that they had.
It was a big limitation of looking at one's stats and Adam had to learn the hard way multiple times, never to underestimate any opponent, especially not in the dungeon.
Not only did the giant ant beasts have bodies, that were quickly becoming more powerful and had hard shells, they were also very intelligent beasts.
It was all because of the instructions that the Giant Ant Queen was giving them, and it was able to gauge exactly what was going on everywhere around it, by producing something similar to the spiritual sense using its antenna
This made the final stage of Floor 9 one that was very hard for Adam to overcome.
The battle went on for very long and Adam ended up needing to summon multiple summons and use his Unique Clone Skill in order to overwhelm the Giant Ant Queen and get past the giant ants she produced that were protecting her.
Adam needed to use the Bloodlust Characteristic to burn his HP, blood and vitality to provide himself more energy and he had become much more adept in the use of the characteristic.
With that additional energy, he was able to gain an edge over the Giant Ant Beast Queen and barely managed to break past its shell and kill it.
After doing so, he made sure to collect the rare beast type and was greeted with numerous and great rewards, just like each and every other time that he completed a floor of the dungeon.
The Giant Ant Queen became the base beast for his Formicidae Summon and Adam was overjoyed with the Ant Production Special Trait that would allow the beast to produce many giant ants that would quickly become just as powerful as it was.
One of the best things he received was the ant armour that was made out of the same substance that formed the shell of the ant beasts, making it very powerful and durable and also increased his Intelligence and Speed stat, which was very weird.
It was the first piece of equipment Adam had acquired that enhanced his Intelligence Stat and made him wonder how the Giant Ant Queen's special trait worked and once again became curious about how the dungeon worked, especially since his master had revealed that there were beasts in reality.
Returning to reality and going through his rewards, Adam continued his training and saved all of the extra stat points that he received, which he had been doing throughout his training, wanting to use them all at once after his training was completed.
That way, the increase in his stats above that of an average cultivator was due to his own training, however, Adam wasn't so reserved with his system points and gold, which he used whenever he felt it was needed without holding back much.
Continuing his training in the gravity training chamber and practising and studying everything that his master was passing onto him and teaching him, Adam didn't stop to take breaks and all he could think about was his aunt and everything he wanted to achieve.
His friends and those he cared about had worked just as hard as him over the past 2 months and also made a lot of progress, so Adam had no time to stop and continued training as hard as he could.
His master was shocked by how quickly he had progressed over the past two months and it seemed as though it wouldn't be long before he became an Advanced Cultivator.
{Adam, I am going to warn you from now. Floor 10 of the Mortal Dungeon is going to be very difficult and you should prepare yourself. Aim to complete the floor in one go and I would recommend that you stay in the dungeon the entire time as once you leave, all progress made will be lost} advised Ava.
Hearing that, Adam, who was about to end his training in reality to enter the dungeon and see what the final floor of the Mortal Dungeon was like, was shocked.
[What! I am meant to complete the floor in a single attempt. What kind of floor is it?] asked Adam.
{I cannot answer that, but no matter what, you should endure and try not to die or leave the dungeon, as there are some rules on the final floor that are new and make it very difficult} stated Ava, causing Adam to feel slightly anxious.
[So what are these new rules and what can I expect from the final stage. I need to know as much as I can before I get on the stage and nothing will stop me from not only becoming an Advanced Cultivator, but reaching all the high cultivation levels]
{Well, I can't tell you everything, since I am restricted by the system's program, but what I can tell you are the things that I was meant to tell you when you spawn on Floor 10} stated Ava.
{Stage 10 of every floor is a unique floor and you can think of it as a floor like floor 0. It is a floor that must be completed in a single attempt and tests the host to see if the host has what it takes to break through to the next cultivation level. It needs to be completed in a single attempt, just like I have mentioned, and if the host fails to complete it in a single attempt by dying, the host will lose 10 LVLs and all the stat points that the host gained in the past 10 LVLs. The host will also lose all the gold and system points gained and will need to complete floor 9 again} revealed Ava.
Hearing that, Adam was shocked and angry, thinking about all the blood, sweat and tears that he put in to complete the difficult floor 9 and reach where he was.
{There are also other sanctions that will be revealed to the host when and if he fails to complete floor 10, but Adam you shouldn't worry too much about that as you are aiming to complete floor 10} stated Ava.
Adam was becoming nervous and after seeing how hard floor 9 was, he didn't know what to expect from floor 10, but no matter what, he was going to complete it.
{Also Adam, with big risks come big rewards. Every Floor 10 that you will come across will be much harder and more dangerous than all the previous floors you have faced combined, but will also have more fruitful rewards than all the previous floors combined. Floor 0 was a test of bravery and also wanted to see if the host was willing to take risks for rewards. This time, Floor 10 will have a different test and the host must complete that test and complete the floor to receive the best rewards possible} advised Ava.
Adam took a deep breath and made sure to recover this body to the peak and rest it against the wall of the gravity training room, knowing that he would probably be in the dungeon for a long time, and called out to his master.
"Master, I might be asleep for much longer than usual. I feel like my body is on the verge of a breakthrough, but it is also risky and if you ever see me in pain or screaming, just leave me be"
"Alright, Adam, but don't push yourself too hard. Your foundations are solid and your progress is already quick, you don't need to take unnecessary risks" replied his master.
[That's what you think, but I have too much to accomplish and need to find and help my aunt get her body back. I won't allow some measly beasts in the dungeon to get in the way of me becoming an Advanced Cultivator] thought Adam to himself as he communicated to Ava to send him into the dungeon.