The night was harsh; the snowfall had left a meter of snow, and we could barely get a moment of rest. The forest seemed to “move”. The Forest Warden’s roots spread under our feet like the appendages of a deep sea creature while endless flocks of Wraiths, Undead Harpies, and Blood Hawks passed over our heads. Their screeches tore the calm of the night sky, and even after they disappeared far south and east, we couldn’t sleep.
The monsters missed us, but the night couldn’t have been so good for Farcrest.
I threw my worries away and sat alone in the middle of a bus-sized root. Our priority was to level up, and the Mana Stingers were the perfect target. Suddenly, the bark trembled, and a small army of Mana Stingers seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Fifteen Juvenile Mana Stingers skittered over the root, moving their wings menacingly. A buzz filled my ears, and I noticed two giant bees flying in the rear of the formation. Their elongated bodies resembled the ones of wasps, with slim waists and a vicious stinger overflowing with a bright blue substance. Their bodies were covered in shiny black and orange exoskeletons, and their wings spanned three meters on each side of their bodies.
Mature Mana Stinger Lv.5. Magical Beast. [Identify] Mature Mana Stingers are strong yet peaceful monsters that protect lush areas of the deep Farlands. If an intruder is in their territory, the Swarm will send increasingly stronger patrols to deal with the threat. Their stinger contains a powerful poison that interrupts the mana channels of their victims, preventing them from using magic. Weakness: Wind, Shotgun.
The buzzing grew louder, and the vibration seemed to go through my bones as the swarm moved closer. The Juvenile ones moved in sync, their tiny legs tapping against the bark and occasionally jumping with their underdeveloped wings to cross the distance between roots. I grabbed my sword but didn’t draw. The experience was for the kids.
“At least they aren’t spiders,” I sighed, summoning a mana barrier around me.
Although small, the juveniles were still dangerous in numbers, and the stingers of the larger ones seemed deadly. I forced myself to focus and stick to the plan. The Juvenile Mana Stingers clashed against the barrier, but this time, I was prepared and pushed my mana into the barrier to counteract their added force. The Mature Stingers hovered above them, glaring at the scene with smart eyes. My mana barrier, although sturdy, had a huge weakness: piercing magic. During the attack on the orphanage, the Assassin had almost dried my mana pool by continuously breaking my mana shield.
I glanced over my shoulder. The kids were hidden behind the thicket, waiting for the bees to exhaust themselves. We had no plan against the Mature Mana Stingers, but I trusted Ilya to solve the problem on her own. Level five was considered low level, but one could never underestimate the strength and durability of insects. The “base stats” of the Mature Mana Stingers could be a lot higher than a level five human.
The Juvenile Stingers pressed harder, clicking their mandibles against my barrier but barely scratching it. The buzzing was deafening, so any attempt to communicate with the kids would be in vain. I shifted my stance, planting my feet firmly on the root. The Mature Stingers were an unknown element in our equation, and knowing Ilya’s personality, she was probably racking her brains to devise a new plan. I needed to give her information.
I opened a hole in the mana barrier and shot a mana shard. The Mature Mana Stinger suddenly turned and dodged with the speed of a dragonfly. I cursed under my breath. They were faster than I had anticipated. [Awareness] informed me that the reaction speeds had something to do with how an insect’s nervous system was wired. I wasn’t going to spend resources digging through my memories for that piece of information, so I shut [Awareness] down.
I shot another mana shard, just to make sure the first wasn’t a fluke, but the Mature Mana Stinger dodged with ease.
Meanwhile, the Juvenile Stingers continued bashing against the mana barrier while the Mature Stingers hovered a few meters above, waiting. I shot again, focusing on how the monster twisted and turned in the air. I shot a small barrage. Streaks of blue light sliced through the air, but none came close to hitting. I released another barrage, aiming slightly ahead. The Mature Stinger shifted in the air and dodged, keeping its distance.
Minutes passed until the attacks of the Juvenile Stingers became sluggish.
“Regrettably, Mister Bee, your pattern is predictable,” I said.
A boulder cut through the air. The Mature Stinger dodged to the right, but it didn’t notice the arrow hidden in the shadow of the stone until it was too late. The Piercing Arrow hit the Stinger’s head, making it explode in a rain of chitin and viscera. It had been a beautiful shot, even at just twenty meters of distance. The Mature Stinger’s body dropped with a sickening thud, and the remaining Juvenile Stingers hesitated, their movements erratic as they tried to find the new enemies.
Firana and Zaon jumped over the thicket and activated their Jumping Boots to avoid the accumulated snow. Firana unleashed the power of the Aias sword, and a sea of flames surrounded my mana barrier. A third of the Juvenile Stingers were turned to charred husks in the blink of an eye. Zaon landed by my side. He scanned the battlefield and engaged the nearest Stinger.
Wolf and Ilya tried to shoot down the remaining Mature Stinger, but the monster now knew their location and managed to dodge. Instead of counterattacking, the Mature Stinger turned around and dived between the root system to avoid being targeted.
“It’s getting away!” Firana said, absorbing the mana from the remaining Juvenile Stingers to recharge the Aias Sword.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Wolf, Ilya, with me!” I yelled, chasing the fleeing monster.
The Mature Stinger darted through the maze of roots, its iridescent wings turning into a blur. I pushed myself harder, and my body reacted. Despite the rugged root under my feet, [Awareness] informed me I was running faster than I ever had. I focused on the enemy. The shimmering orange exoskeleton sharply contrasted against the colors of winter, so it was easy to follow. We couldn’t let it flee. If it got away, it would surely return with reinforcements, and we couldn’t afford a direct confrontation with a whole swarm.
Wolf and Ilya were close behind me. I heard their ragged breaths against the cold air. Despite his tanky build, Wolf was very nimble, and his powerful legs allowed him to give long and secure strides. Ilya, for her part, was abusing the Jumping Boots to keep up the pace.
“Duck!” Wolf yelled.
I slid on my knees over the snowy surface just as the pebble shot over my head. The Mature Stinger dipped at the last moment, the pebble mowing off one of its antennae. The creature screeched in pain but picked up speed and navigated through the small spaces between the roots like an arrow. Wherever the Stinger guided us, the root system became increasingly twisted and tangled.
“Rob! Decoy!” Ilya stopped, knocking an arrow and drawing the string.
The Mana Stinger moved further and further away.
“Decoy left!” I replied, channeling my mana into a single projectile and shooting it slightly offset the center of mass of the Mature Stinger.
The monster dodged right, just enough to let the mana shard miss and disintegrate into small blue mana particles. Ilya predicted the movement, however, and her arrow found its mark and pierced through the Stinger’s exoskeleton. The creature’s wings faltered. It wasn’t a fatal blow, but it was enough. Its flight became erratic, and after grazing a protruding root, it fell.
I sprinted forward, channeling my mana into my sword. The blade gleamed with an electric blue light. I leaped over a thick root and buried my sword between the creature’s wings. The chitin cracked, and the Mature stinger let out an ear-splitting screech, damped by the layers of snow. The Stinger twitched one last time before laying still on the ground.
Mature Mana Stinger slain.
Level Up!
“Good job,” I panted, pulling my sword from the body. “We got it.”
Wolf grinned, wiping the cold sweat from his brow and putting one of his huge hands on Ilya’s petite shoulders. “Thank me later. Without me, you wouldn't have been able to knock it down.”
Instead of replying, Ilya signaled us to shut up. She dragged her feet through the snow and climbed up the root system. Then, she signaled us to follow. My blood froze. Past the root formation, to the north, hundreds of yellow and red blooms covered the valley. The whole area was loaded with mana to the point it felt oppressing in the chest. Dozens of monstrous bees tended to the blooms, ignoring the undead monsters encroaching on the area. Both the dead and the living were working together to nurture whatever was inside the cocoons.
Mana Stinger Soldier Lv.20
Mana Stinger Overseer Lv.33
A shiver ran down my spine. The Soldiers and the Overseers were bipedal humanoids with opposable thumbs—the Soldiers even carried crude bone weapons. The only saving grace was that they kept their insect facial features. I clutched my shotgun but remained hidden.
“Why aren't the undead attacking the Stingers?” Ilya whispered.
“I’d like to know the same,” Wolf replied.
“Let’s regroup with the others. There are too many monsters for us,” I said, and we silently turned around.
We returned to the combat zone, plowing through the snow instead of walking on top of the roots. Attracting the swarm's attention wasn’t an option. To my surprise, we had chased the Mature Mana Stinger for almost a kilometer. As we retraced our steps through the snow, I kept an ear out for any signs of pursuit, but other than the rustle of clothing against the snow, the valley was silent.
I checked my Character Sheet to find nothing out of place. I was still a Lv.8 Runeweaver with my usual mana-boosting teacher titles. There were no physical-enhancing passives or titles, which could only mean that the growth ratings of the Runeweaver Class were superior to those of Scholars.
If Ilya was correct, Lv.10 presented the first barrier in a combatant’s development.
When I first fought Raudhan Kiln, he was a level 12 Fencer, and his physical capabilities were comparable to those of a professional athlete. I had won because my superior [Swordsmanship] and [Awareness] were working together, but in purely physical combat, he would’ve won easily. I couldn’t help but grin. Even as a Lv.8, my body felt light, and my arm was strong.
Maybe I had misunderstood my Class, and Runeweavers were some sort of mixed combatants.
We reached the thicket where Firana and Zaon were waiting. They were laughing under an old pine, which had served as an umbrella against the snow. I could tell they had leveled up. If I had kept the score correctly, they would have already been level four, while Ilya's score would have been level five. Juvenile Mana Stingers were truly golden honey for newbies.
“We have to take a detour. It seems we found the center of the root system, and the whole thing is filled with blooms,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “There are dozens of high-level Stingers and Undead. They were… tending the blooms together.”
Firana’s brow furrowed. “The undead doesn’t work with anything. They just kill and destroy.”
“Maybe they are being controlled? There’s a lot of literature about low-level undead being controlled by more powerful magical creatures,” Zaon pointed out.
“That’s what I thought,” I said. “I think the boss of the Monster Surge is controlling the undead and the Forest Warden. I have fought against him before. We almost didn't get out alive.”
Ilya sighed and turned around, watching into the thicket. “Do you hear something strange?”
I thought I heard the sound of a blowgun, but not even [Awareness] could give me confirmation.
Ilya flinched.
“Mister Clarke?” She muttered, holding tight to her stomach. “I think I’m bleeding.”