The Dungeon’s Sixth Floor, often called “The Sea of Trees”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Uo, I can see my death in front of me. Death at the hands of insects.”
“Mister, miss, you need to help, where are you going?”
“Mou, running as soon as trouble occurs and a few people are having trouble…”
They scream, her three friends running swiftly forward on this huge mushroom, with others escaping in various directions.
These three were probably useless in battle.
Swiftly following them was a huge amorphous mass, a Black Cloud.
It was a horde of Killer Bees.
Hundreds of them nearby is another deal altogether.
“Is it safe?”
The girl who saw her three friends getting chased by the swarm of bees was hiding in the gaps of a small bush, slowly crawling away.
She had hid herself, and was not chased by the swarm. Only she was taking refuge.
Killer Bees usually never swarmed.
But, the ever so often “Breeding Season” completely changes that story.
Of course, the bee’s “Harvest” is proportional to the number of offspring they have. Over ten years, the population has grown exponentially. This year, the population in this forest alone that the colony included nearly a hundred bees. Eventually, colonies could reach the tens of thousands.
The situation that would occur if this “Breeding Season” continued to grow larger in range was not hard to imagine.
Therefore, the Seeker’s Guild had doubled back on its efforts, raising forces to quell the hordes of bees, which she had joined.
One dead queen, fifty thousand Gerun. This was an unprecedented award.
“…”
She was opposite to the direction the three friends had run away.
It was comparable in thickness and base height to a huge tree, so saying it “towers ahead” is not inaccurate.
Above, the board umbrella draped a shadow large enough to hide the sun.
Something huge and vaguely spherical hung below, somewhat brown in color.
This must be the Bee Colony. The only animal in sight were three Killer Bees, in the entire surrounding area. They were vigilantly flying around, as well as darker than the usual Bee, this was clearly a trio of fierce Sergeant Bees.
Of course, inside the nest were a combination of many brown hexahedrons, consisting of the residence of the Queen Bee, a spawning ground, and a storage location for honey. The bees themselves worked night and day, only returning when they brought nectar or prey.
There were no bees entering or leaving the hives. The rest of the residents of the hive were all chasing the three friends from before, clearly.
Getting in now would be quite easy.
It was the three friends from before, suddenly returning here. They were loudly shouting while running, seeming as if they were playing about, but clearly they were still getting attention from the bees. Apparently, they thought Mint would now play a role fighting the large black clouds behind them.
Mint jumped down from their perch, wishing they did not have to run again. They landed on the soft ground, the halo of the mushroom.
This is a popular method for entry into hives, using companions as decoys so that the guards would move from the hive. Though, in this case, some guards refused to leave.
She spun an incantation, while moving it like a parade baton.
Witchcraft is a means for communication with the world. Gestures, hand symbols, and spells were all methods of doing so. Like here, through fully understanding these gestures, you can get magical phenomenon to occur.
A small fire is created at the end of the cane, immediately expanding immensely before Mint condensed them, forcing it to be fist sized.
“Everyone, this is it!”
They were glaring as an added bonus.
The hordes of killer bees like a black wall came rushing in with waves of momentum.
Mint had to reassure herself not to panic.
Mint wasn’t amazing at ‘action scenes’. Since the aggressive spells one could use were many in number, she was easily a battle mage, but the lack of firepower from her spells were obvious. She was devoting herself to her party’s support non-stop.
That being said, dealing with the colony alone would be rather difficult, even with a few sergeants alone and a Queen Bee.
“Okay, Yeah!”
“It’s an easy win!”
“Yes!”
Mint nodded, his back to the companions running through.
“I’ll devote myself to support again today.”
She wielded her cane resolutely.
From the ground a fire was raised, a mass of flame blocking and spreading along the road.
Still, it had some effect.
If they were ordinary insects, Mint would dive in right away. Instead, she put up a fence to first slow down the group of enemies, which was especially dangerous due to Killer Bees being somewhat intelligent.
While one animal would make only a buzz, a number this high truly pounded the head.
Presenting herself as new prey, Mint ensured she was captured by the many compound eyes.
If one carefully observed them, you could see a Sergeant Bee among them. Of course, a single sting was still not fatal. However, even one sting could cause fainting and paralytic effects for several minutes, with an additional effect that left the target awake.
While conscious, the sufferer would be unable to resist and be brought back to the hive, awake while being indulged in by the hungry mandibles of these many bees.
In other words, if Mint failed her task, she would have an experience more scary than death.
“But, I don’t need to hesitate”
“I only need to support, not achieve victory.”
“This, I do declare. You shall not pass!”
Mint was wearing her amber shawl, loaded with every piece of magic clasp she could find, such as the brooch located in the center of it.
This shawl alone was her trump card. It was also a cornerstone of her subduing of these bees