Bug Swarm Onslaught
Roughly two or three hundred bugs charged toward the two of them.
The ones leading the pack were the scorpions. Blackie, who was sprinting ahead at a speed far surpassing Whitey's, collided head-on with a scorpion.
Kieee—!Whiiik—
A scorpion tail whipped toward Blackie. But it stabbed uselessly into the ground, missing its target completely. Like a game of whack-a-mole, dozens of them jabbed their tails at the black dust cloud, but every single one missed.
Bbi—!
Blackie nimbly dodged the tails and leaped high into the air. Blackie was flying. In midair, it aimed its halberd down at the scorpion. The scorpions weren't idiots—they launched their tails at Blackie, who was floating helplessly with nowhere to dodge.
Whiiik—!Ssalk~
Blackie scoffed as if to say pathetic, twisting its body with the halberd's momentum to deflect the attack. And it didn't stop there. Regaining its posture in an instant, it slammed down hard before the tail could even swing back.
Bbeeeng—!Kiiik—!
The halberd strike, amplified by gravity, shattered the scorpion's head.
"Whoa, that's kinda badass?"
It wasn't some 3D maneuver gear or anything, but the little guy was flipping around in the air one second, then battling on the ground the next—total chaos.
...Shit, now I kinda wanna try it.
I tore my eyes away from Blackie, who was putting on a hell of a show, and shifted to Whitey. No matter how well Blackie fought, there were bound to be some it missed. Centipedes and flies were slipping through the gaps beside it.
Bbi…!
Whitey's sharp gaze locked onto them. Tension crackled between the remaining bugs and the white jelly. The sparks were practically visible.
Gulp. I swallowed hard just watching.
Bbi…!
"Oh. Strategic maneuvering!"
First strike wins. Whitey broke the standoff and charged. Its zweihander—like greatsword hurtled toward the flies. The blade looked sharp yet heavy—seemed impractical for slicing nimble flies.
Wiiiing?!
What looked like a horizontal slash suddenly thrust forward like a stab. The fly showed panic in its eyes. It registered the blade coming, but Whitey was just as fast.
Sslash—Wiiing—
The fly lost an eye and its balance. Whitey didn't miss a beat. It leaped onto the disoriented fly, which was buzzing instinctively, and grabbed its head tuft like it was riding a rodeo bull, steering it around.
Using a fly that had lost both compound eyes like that... And that face—it's smiling? Kinda creepy...?
Wiiiing—
Whitey controlled the fly's direction like a dragon knight, picking off the others. The method was a bit horrifying, but damn efficient.
"Now that's worth the weapon investment."
The halberd and zweihander they wielded. I'd gone through hell to get those for them. They had to earn their keep.
It made sense, too. Back when I'd collapsed at the guild and got that mana explanation, Sion had begged endlessly for royalties. I'd said I'd think about it, and then:
'I don't know what you're using it for, but consider this settling our royalty deal?'
That sealed it while scavenging those weapons. What, you need a blacksmith or arms dealer I know? Especially custom jobs for their tiny size—those are fucking expensive.
I had to cough up a full 5% royalties. For a whole year.
"But damn, they're using them well..."
Kiiiiiik—!!Puk—
Lost in thought, a centipede lunged at me. Rude bastard. I jammed my Daiso rose knife right into its rage-filled face.
"Still pisses me off thinking about it."
What the hell do knives and spears cost anyway? A plastic model kit's pricier than that shit.
"Ah, poison fangs."
But what could I do? I was the desperate one. I yanked off some fangs for side cash and slowly stood up.
Ahead, the two had taken out about half. Back-to-back, they looked perfectly in sync.
"Alright, time for the owner to step in..."
Let's wrap this up quick and head deeper. The boss was calling.
Queeeek—!!!
"...Is this a real ant nest?"
No sooner had I said it than hundreds poured out from inside. Not some Busan rush-hour crowd. Bugs on bugs on bugs... Fuck, great.
No side chatter— I gripped the rose knife tight.
"Tch. If this weren't a cave, I'd just sweep 'em all."
If it weren't for the confined, high-risk space, I'd have fireballed and flooded the shit out of them.
But no, a cave. A blocked-off one at that.
"If it collapses, it'd wipe them out... and me too."
And then:
'When I checked your mana, I felt holy power mixed in too. Try not to use it.'
'Why?'
'Just don't! You need to master one energy first before multi-casting. Otherwise, your body'll explode. No idea how you've survived this long.'
I'd seen her more today than usual. Anyway, holy power was off-limits.
"Ugh, such a pain. Total pain."
Taat—
No choice. Fight a bit, and if it's hopeless, twist my body to keep the cave stable and use a skill.
Wiiiing—
"Shut up, you punks."
Sslash—
I swatted the incoming flies effortlessly. Up front, Blackie and Whitey were surrounded, fighting hard.
"Can't function without your owner, huh."
I leaped toward them. Fresh dust and cave air. I sliced the buzzing flies mid-flight and landed on the ground.
Bbi?
Blackie popped up above me, startled. Yeah, yeah, it's big bro.
I stretched out my rose-knife arm long.
"Wh-what was that move called... Ah, fuck it—Circular Slash!"
Wanted to pull some comic-book technique, but couldn't remember, so I just spun and slashed around me.
Kieek—!
Bugs shredded in a 1-meter radius around me. The thrill tingling through my fingertips. Don't think I only trained mana—that'd be a mistake. I'd busted my ass physically too. Push-ups every day, like 100 reps... or whatever, not quite that far...
Kick—Thud—!
I stomped and crushed the next wave charging in.
"Mmm, bugs really pop nice. Hand-feel is no joke."
Sounds psychopathic, but slicing and bursting them was addictive. Like crushing a slug with raw force.
I clenched and unclenched my fist, savoring the afterglow.
Bbi—!
Blackie saluted like a soldier. Where'd it learn that? What drugs was it on?
"Yeah, yeah. You two handle any stragglers from behind."
Ssalk—!Bbii…!
The jellies barked back like obedient troops.
"Good, just listen up."
Not many would break through anyway, but knowing their backs were covered gave even a sliver of reassurance.
I left Blackie and Whitey to the rear and looked ahead.
"...What the fuck, how many are those?"
With them guarding behind, the front was way worse. We'd cleared tons, but now it looked double—from 400 to damn near 800.
"Did they breed in the meantime or some shit...?"
This was gonna suck. Hunt that many one by one by hand? Worse than manual labor unloading trucks. Straight-up grunt work.
"...Plan change. Both of you, fall back behind me."
I pulled Blackie and Whitey to my back.
"Impressive... Making me pull out my 'skill', you bug bastards."
Kiiik—!Kkieek—!Wiiiing—
Staring down the gray wave surging at me, I visualized in my mind. No need to extend my hand anymore. Just:
Snap—!
A water droplet rippled calmly before my eyes. But not the old navy blue. Using that heavy imagery now would collapse the cave.
"Whitey, Blackie! Sauce from the bag!"
Power would be low otherwise, so I borrowed the boost from the sauce I'd packed.
Kiiiiik—Sslash—!
The bugs sensed the threat and swarmed desperately. But I'd anticipated it. I pulled the droplet back, handed sauce to the two, and hacked away at the rush.
Slice after slice—maybe 50 sashimi'd.
Bbi—!
"Okay! Hang on tight!"
A bit late, but decent timing.
"Bug veggie stir-fry. Not bad, right?"
Slung Blackie and Whitey on my arms and stepped back twice. Droplet—no, Max Force Gel—forward.
"Bye-bye, bugs."
Clap—
A light clap. But the result wasn't light.
Booom—
The droplet burst with a hefty bang. It didn't spill to the floor. Just floated midair,
Kyek—?!Kkiiik!!
Like a whale soaring through the sky, it swallowed bugs at blinding speed.
"Whoa! Careful, careful."
It swept them up wildly, but the cave held. Even the bugs stayed rooted—no pushback or suction.
But.
Kuek—
Green blood gushed from their mouths, flooding the floor. Effect was killer.
But even with the satisfying result, I couldn't smile.
"Fuck, those fly shits are annoyingly quick."
Sslash—Wiiing…
Cave full of corpses. I cleaned up the remnants. Just flies left anyway.
"Summer's coming, and flies are flies whether in the tower or real life."
Salute their tenacity and evasion.
"Time to head deeper?"
Bbi—!
Bugs cleared. Time to meet the boss or mid-boss proper. What dungeon spawns over 1,000 trash mobs?
I perched the two on my shoulders and headed for the narrow entrance the bugs had poured from.
"Ugh, if you're gonna die, die clean—why block the damn path?"
I chopped through the corpse blockade with the rose knife and barely squeezed inside.
Games where bodies vanish and just drop loot? Heaven.
This was just annoying.
"...Whoa, this place is huge?"
Through the cramped tunnel, I reached an inner chamber. Spacious and clean. Dark, so I couldn't see it all, but the space felt way bigger than before.
"Lemme check. Nothing much left... This side..."
I poked around. Seemed like just a passage? But this size wouldn't be wasted on that.
Instinct said so.
And instinct was spot-on.
Saaak—
"...Holy shit, half-expected this fucker. There you are."
Familiar aura ahead. The bastard that beat me bloody on dog-day heat and laughed. Guard soldier vibe.
"You the mid-boss? Or the boss?"
Let's see your face. I flared a bigger flame on my fingertip.
And what faced me was...
"...Five of you?"
Five guard soldiers, positioned like they were guarding something.