Bees in front of her, bees behind her—she didn’t even know how to dodge. It seemed the Elf was truly doomed this time.
‘I’m sorry, I’ll remember our short and pleasant time together. Once the mushrooms grow to surpass the bees, I’ll definitely avenge you…’
She wanted to say that, but words of parting were always hard to speak, especially when it was a final goodbye. To be honest, she was still reluctant. Without Lumina, she would go back to talking to herself in the Labyrinth without even a conversation partner. After adapting to her current state, returning to the past would surely drive her mad with loneliness.
So, let’s try one more time, with the determination to stake everything.
Right, she suddenly realized, she wouldn’t lose anything even if she failed. So why slide into defeat as early as a cowardly Elf Priest? She must have been infected by her.
“Listen to me, Lumina…”
The Elf took a deep breath, her violet eyes revealing grit and determination. She interrupted, “I understand, Marlow. You don’t need to say more.”
‘Wait, what do you understand? Don’t get lost in your own world, you jerk.’
“I—”
“I’m sorry you chose such a weak and cowardly host. I don’t know what you saw in me, but I’m afraid I’ve disappointed you, Miss Marlow.”
‘Actually, I had no choice,’ the mushroom grumbled internally.
Having been interrupted twice in a row, she was no longer in a hurry. She just waited to see what kind of grand speech the Elf had, since she wouldn’t even let her finish.
“We both know that unless a miracle happens, there’s no chance of survival… You might think I’m thinking of giving up again. But this time is different. I want to live. I can’t die yet. My career as an adventurer has just begun; I haven’t even formed a formal party, nor have I become a Legend like my mother. I still have so many things unfinished…”
Lumina’s staff brewed a white light. She charged forward desperately, facing the thorns along the way with a simple wish.
“To be honest, I always doubted if I could do it. After all, I’m such a weak, insecure, stupid, and untalented person. But Marlow, you made me see a different version of myself… being able to communicate smoothly, teaching someone a language, facing monsters alone, and so on. I thought, maybe someone like me could actually achieve those distant dreams. So how can I stop here? Right, Marlow? I hope this body you’ve modified is useful enough so that neither of us has to die.”
‘Silly girl still thinks we’re in the same boat.’
But it was fine. She had only been thinking about giving up before without putting it into practice; otherwise, she would be even worse than the little Elf. As for where the limits of a body in Symbiosis with Mycelium were, she wasn’t sure. After thinking about it, she simply said to Lumina’s long speech:
“Hey, don’t die. If you die, watch out. I might do some strange things with your body. Think about it—the first time was such revealing clothes, the next time might be nothing at all.”
She thought this would give the Elf a sense of crisis, but Lumina’s eyes lit up, as if she had found a savior.
“Does that mean you have a way, Marlow? Then take my body and use it; I won’t resist. Marlow? Miss Marlow? Say something!”
[Beep. Mycelium network fluctuation detected. Signal unstable. Your mushroom has gone offline.]
Hearing the Elf’s words, Marlow chose to play dead. She thought the Elf’s heartfelt words had completely ignited her fighting spirit, but it turned out to be a hollow show of strength. As soon as there was someone to lean on, she immediately slumped. Before, she was unwilling in every way, but now she actively offered her body. Hmph. She didn’t remember the mushroom when she was enjoying herself, but she thought of her in times of trouble.
As for now? No, no, no. This hurts the body. Let the Elf enjoy it alone.
Lumina’s hope that Marlow would help fight was dashed, but luckily, the mushroom wasn’t heartless enough to let it go. One by one, mushrooms with nozzles gathered their firepower, hoping to tear a hole through the blockage.
Beyond the swarm was the edge of the Woodland and Swamp Area. As long as they could cross this line of defense, they would be like birds in the sky or fish in the sea, no longer bound. For now, they didn’t have to worry about the knights behind them. Unless the enemy treated the bees blocking them as sacrificial pawns, they wouldn’t use a charge that didn’t distinguish between friend and foe.
This was good news. Finding an opportunity among the bees was better than facing the Bee Knight Order with zero chance of winning, though the probability of the former wasn’t very high either.
After the mushrooms reduced some of the numbers, the Elf actively crashed into a weak spot in the swarm. But immediately, the gap closed. They were packed tightly, like a morning subway rush. Moving was as difficult as expected.
Lumina used branches imbued with magic to set up a wooden cage for protection, while buying time for Marlow to create new mushrooms. The mushrooms outside poured out firepower indiscriminately, without needing to aim. No matter how large the deviation, there was almost no possibility of a missed shot. There were simply that many bees.
The wooden cage created by magic had many branches torn off by the bees. Although the main structure could still hold on, it wasn’t far from complete destruction.
“Are you not ready yet, Marlow?”
“No. I told you this method wouldn’t work. Entangle isn’t a proper defensive magic. Even if the mushrooms grow quickly, there isn’t enough time.”
According to Lumina’s plan, she would block the bees’ attacks with the wooden cage, supplement the mushroom’s firepower, select a direction to create a weak point, and then break through. Rinse and repeat. But in reality, her defense showed signs of collapsing after only a few seconds.
Sharp mouthparts and abdominal claws poked through the cracks, leaving bloodstains of varying depths on the Elf’s body. Unlike before, she wasn’t panicked at all this time. She still methodically used magic to repel the bees trying to break in.
When mana consumption was no longer an issue, the casting interval became the constraint. Before this, she had never thought she would one day feel that her staff wasn’t swinging fast enough or that a two-syllable chant was a waste of time.
Pain Mitigation was a good skill. Combined with a body that didn’t need to worry about minor injuries, she no longer felt the fear she used to have, even when facing monsters at close range. What other Priest would dare to stand face-to-face with monsters like this?
[Individual level increased: Level 26 > Level 27]
[Light Magic level increased: Level 3 > Level 4]
[Basic attributes increased]
She leveled up! More importantly, her skill level had increased!
This meant she could use Level 4 Light Magic other than Illuminate, Light Bullet, and Purify. The options were Light Shield and Light Beam. The former could provide a shimmering shield for teammates within range, while the latter was a Light Bullet Magic that fired in a continuous line—a relatively powerful offensive spell among Light Magic.
Lumina had originally intended to learn Light Shield. A person’s energy was limited, and great adventurers couldn’t have it all when choosing skills. They often chose what suited their class and could contribute to the team. A Priest who could provide shields versus a Priest who could use Light Beam attacks—any normal team would choose the former. No one would agree with Miss Marlow’s warped logic.
After this, her chances of finding a team would be even slimmer.
The Elf gripped her staff with both hands. The gem at the tip burst with dazzling white light. After a brief accumulation of mana, a beam of light as thick as an arm pierced through all the bees in front. The Light Beam magic, which was at the same level as Summon Treant, easily handled ordinary bees. Enemies fell in large numbers, and the line of defense blocking them was gouged with a gap that couldn’t be filled temporarily.
“We did it!”
Lumina held her staff and slipped out sideways from the gap in the wooden cage, trotting along as she couldn’t wait to share her joy with Miss Marlow.
‘Tsk tsk, breaking through in the heat of battle. Perhaps the Elf really has the potential to be a protagonist.’
She could see the Elf’s System Panel, so she naturally knew where that beam of light came from. What a stroke of luck. Unfortunately, the killing effect of the Light Beam did not meet her expectations.
The mushroom looked at the half-dead units scattered on the ground and felt it was a pity. Since the System Panels were still there, they weren’t considered dead.
Even if she wrapped the bees tightly with Mycelium, she had to wait for them to completely stop breathing before she could activate her title effect. So, this field of experience points was within sight but out of reach.
She thought that one must be clever when playing with magic. Since enemies wouldn’t line up to let you shield… attack, you had to find a way to increase the hit rate yourself.
“Next time you encounter a situation like this where you need to mow down enemies instead of attacking a fortified position, rotate your staff when you release the Light Beam, okay?” The mushroom taught slowly, like an untiring old teacher.
By making the beam rotate, the attack range would not only be larger but the damage would also be more sufficient. It was the difference between leaving a non-fatal piercing wound and cutting the entire body in half at the waist. She was sure that if the Elf did as she said, the number of remaining half-dead enemies would be reduced by more than half.
“That seems right.”
The Elf thought about it, her eyes lighting up as if she had unlocked a new way to play.
“But there’s no way to experiment now,” she immediately deflated. “Like Summon Treant, Light Beam not only consumes a lot of mana, but it can’t be cast continuously in a short period after each use… But I’ll definitely try it when I have the chance later.”
Things were looking up for them; they could even say things like “next time,” which were usually flags.
‘Hey, wait, why are the Knight Bees moving?’
This was really bad. Even if the Elf could still use Light Beam, the result would be like the Treant—it wouldn’t be able to do anything against an absolute sword like the Knight Bee Order. The essence of the beam should be a single-target armor-piercing skill, which meant one could kill a Knight Bee without having to struggle to hit a weak point.
But faced with the numbers of the Knight Bee Legion, killing one Knight Bee clearly wouldn’t change anything.
“Faster.”
She could only urge the Elf to run faster.
The ordinary bees all scattered, clearing the field for the knights’ charge. The bees that had lost their ability to move because of their low HP became pawns, doomed to die under the collateral damage of their own kin’s attack. Just as she recycled her mushrooms, to monsters, an individual unable to move due to injury was no different from a dead one. So, it was an acceptable loss that didn’t need to be considered at all.
By the time she heard Marlow’s warning, Lumina was already maintaining the maximum speed she could sustain—or rather, every time she needed to use her legs on this journey, she was at her limit.
But two legs still couldn’t outrun wings. In the next moment, the Elf felt a small mountain crash into her back. Her vision lurched, and after the world spun, she fell straight to the ground.
The area of her spine near the lower back was pierced. A Rapier pinned her to the ground like a nail, making it impossible for her to even struggle to get up. The strength she forced herself to muster dissipated instantly with the arrival of the next stab. This time it was her right thigh, pinned into the gap in the bone.
It hurt so much. Even with Pain Mitigation, bursts of stinging pain still stabbed into her head.
One stab followed another; several Rapiers almost turned the Elf into a pincushion. This was pure abuse and torture, even intentionally avoiding vital points. Monsters held grudges. Lumina knew very well that the will behind the bees was using her to vent the anger caused by its failure.
She might suffer a bit, but this was also an opportunity.
“Marlow, attack me!”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.