It’s been a few hours, and I fought four times, but my steady resolve means I took them all down without issue.
And I’ve reached a round killer bee hive that’s about as big as a three story building.
I approached it carelessly because I didn’t know what it was at first, but the realization that it’s a killer bee hive has left me paralyzed.
But I don’t sense any life in it.
I fearfully get closer and use Trace. This tells me it’s mostly empty, except for something piled up in one spot.
I’m curious, so I hack up the hive with my greatsword of fortitude as I go on.
This is a round hollow, but a guy my size couldn’t go in, so I had to destroy it.
I approach the place where that thing is, and I start to sense a sweet smell.
When I get there, I see killer bee honey.
My expectations go up a bit. Is it like ant queen honey? Or something similar?
With that hope in my earth, I scoop up a bit with my finger and lick it.
Sweet! But far from ant queen honey.
Sadly, it’s just really sweet honey. It’s a lot, so I’ll fill as many empty containers as I can.
I can’t take it all, but I think I’m still leaving with fifty liters.
I put it all in the Storage Space, and set up my tent to spend the night in this nice wide space.
I close the hole with portacool, and feel like I can sleep soundly here.
◇ ◇ ◇
I haven’t found the staircase to the twenty-ninth floor yet, but if I don’t head back soon, food and water are going to start to become a problem.
This is the sixth day, but considering it takes me three to get back, this is the time.
I only have food for ten days.
I retrieve the tent, and try to activate portacool, but it won’t move.
Is it broken!? I panic a bit, but it just needs magic energy.
Once I’m done resupplying it, I leave the hive and see other seekers.
Ah, hum, good morning.
Hum, what is it?
Ah, that big thing?
It’s an automated porter that follows me like a trolley.
Will I sell it?
The Honto Corporation asked me to use it, so ask them.
Its capacity? Hum, I’m pretty sure it’s two tons.
Are you done?
Hn? Honey? There’s still a lot.
Yes, have a nice seek.
Seeing seekers all of a sudden caught me off guard, but I’m glad it didn’t turn into a fight.
I guess they’re here for honey. More than half of it is left, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
After seeing them go in, I walk away quickly.
I don’t want them coming after me for mine.
I’m being paranoid? Idiot, I should be careful. There are bandits out there.
◇ ◇ ◇
I hope nothing bad happens, and if it does, I’ll kick them around.
With that thought in mind, I keep walking, and those seekers come after me.
See, I knew it.
These seekers are bandits trying to rob me. I think it’s a shame, as I reach for my weapon. But the seekers wave their hands while telling me to run away.
I get suspicious, until I see the many killer bees chasing them.
That’s not good!
I leave them behind as I run faster than them.
◇ ◇ ◇
The twenty-third floor.
Two days ago, I ran faster than anyone from killer bees, and as I rested on the twenty-seventh floor, I met up with the adventurers that ran away.
I figured they would complain, but they smiled and told me I sure can run away fast.
Maybe it was sarcasm, but I didn’t feel like telling anything to their tired faces.
Once they calmed down, they told me why the killer bees chased them.
They collected all the honey, and found a pupa underneath. It yelled like an alien, and killer bees swarmed them.
Scary. I’m glad I didn’t take it all.
If I did, I would’ve had to face them alone.
After thinking that, I told them I was glad they were safe.
Being chased meant they brought back less than half they were planning. It’s not even a million yen worth, they said as they looked at the ten liters.
…That’s almost a million?
After hearing that, I asked them, and they told me that killer bee honey is an ingredient in magic potions, and something sought after by wealthy enthusiasts.
That was the moment I called this exploration a victory.
◇ ◇ ◇
I’m planning to rest by the river on the twenty-third floor.
The sun is already going down, so I should start setting up camp soon.
I look at the river, and don’t see the slimes that were there before. The river is clean again.
I’m about to take off my equipment to go for a dip, but my vision cuts off.
Before it got dark, but now, it’s like it’s midday.
I sigh, grab the greatsword of fortitude, and lower the face guard.
An overwhelming presence emerges from the river.
I look up, and see a giant green marimo.
There’s a wriggling tentacle growing out of it, and it attacks me with a sound like a whip cracking.
I jump high to avoid it, and the whip hits the portacool, sending it flying far.
Ou, I completely forgot about it.
If it breaks, they won’t ask me to pay for it, right?
They won’t know if I don’t tell them, right? Let’s not.
I keep avoiding the tentacle, and cut down more that come after me with my greatsword of fortitude. Then the tentacles I cut down turn into green slimes and rejoin the marimo.
I figured this marimo was a bunch of green slimes.
There’s a basketball-sized sphere in the center of the giant green slime, but unlike the slime I fought before, this doesn’t seem to move.
More tentacles than I can count grow out of it.
This is bringing back bad memories, I think as all of them are released.
I widen Spatial Grasp to its fullest, use Physical Strengthening, and use See Through to observe every move by the tentacles.
I copy Kumagai’s moves, focusing on footwork, as I dodge the many tentacles.
I dodge and dodge, and cut what I can’t dodge with the greatsword of fortitude. The tentacles gather to attack me from above, but I activate a strong magic circle to create a rock shell that’s like a shelter with Earth Magic.
A big impact creates a crack in it, and after being hit two more times, it’s destroyed.
But I’m not there anymore. I dug a hole with Earth Magic and moved. Like a mole, which I think is an important experience.
And I emerge close to the giant green slime.
The moment I appear, I thrust at its big body hard.
Dammit, it’s tough!
The surface of the green slime is unusually hard, and not even half of my blade goes in.
The parts stretched like tentacles aren’t like that, but it’s like it gets harder the closer it is to the core.
If that’s the case, that’s terrible.
Even if I try to scrape away its body by cutting tentacles, they turn back into green slimes and return to the giant one. And I don’t see cores in those loose ones.
I don’t know how that works, but this isn’t going to end until I destroy that core.
I hold back my urge to throw up, and hold my greatsword tighter.
◇ ◇ ◇
Why am I always on the verge of death?
I cast Healing Magic on my broken bones, and feel relieved as I see the broken core and the green body disappearing.
As I thought about how to take down the giant green slime, I discovered that if I cut the tentacles and left them separate for a certain amount of time, they disappeared on their own. And also, if I cut them into small pieces.
I figured I found a winning strategy, and while it would take time, I confidently cut its tentacles and then kept them away using earth walls.
I did that over and over, but didn’t feel like the giant green slime was shrinking.
I hyped myself thinking it would take a while longer, but then I saw it. A lot of green slimes standing by on a cliff in front of me.
They jumped into the giant green slime every time I cut a tentacle, and became part of it.
That wasn’t fair…
I was disheartened when I saw my hard work was for nothing. But then I got pissed.
I dodged an attack, took some distance, and activated two magic circles. Blast and Break like on the twenty-sixth floor, to create a big explosion.
I created rock spears, and sent that destructive magic right towards the green slime’s core.
After the noise of the air being cut, a few rock spears pierced the green slime and exploded.
I drank a magic potion, and ran towards the giant green slime.
It had high magic resistance. I was sure it wouldn’t be unharmed, but doubted it would’ve gone down.
Sure enough, the giant green slime was there, but it lost a lot of its body. It was practically just its core.
I activated a Speed Up magic circle, and fired myself, not magic.
“Limit Break.”
I used Physical Strengthening, and the magic circle Catapult to launch myself towards the green slime.
I’ll finish it, I told myself as I swung my greatsword of fortitude.
I swung at what was left of its body and hit the core.
I felt an intense creaking pain the moment I hit it, but I held on and pushed harder.
I clenched my teeth hard enough to draw blood as I swung with all I had.
It felt like it was working, and I launched myself through the green slime and onto that cliff.
I didn’t land well at all, and just rolled on the ground, leading to now.
◇ ◇ ◇
I’m glad that worked.
I trusted my Toughness skill to get me through that desperate attack, but I think I’d be in pieces if I didn’t have it.
There’s a skill orb on the green slime, and it disappears when I hold it.
What was that all about, I wonder as I watch it disappear.
Then the scenery changes. It was bright, and now it’s pitch black.
Ahh, I’m tired.
I look up at the starry sky, and fall asleep.
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Haruto Tanaka (24)
Level: 20
Skills: Earth Magic, Trace, Healing Magic, Spatial Grasp, Toughness, Magic Energy Control, Physical Strengthening, Poison Resistance, Storage Space, See Through, Parallel Thinking, Sewing, Limit Break, Dismantling, Magic Energy Circulation, Consumption Reduction (Stamina)
Equipment: Agility bracelet, divine bird boots, greatsword of fortitude, tyrant battleaxe, safeguard necklace, magic mirror armor
Status: Fat (All abilities boosted)
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