Hmm, she was quite impressive after all.
The little elf didn’t even know to be grateful. She was even teasing her, truly getting ahead of herself. If there was ever time, Marlow would have to teach her a lesson so she knew who the real boss was.
However, the elf didn’t seem to realize that she had obtained the title because of her.
Lumina probably thought it was a reward for all the time she spent running away lately.
Ignorance was bliss, so Marlow would forgive her.
After all, she couldn’t exactly say, ‘I deserve the most credit for you getting that title, so come worship the mushroom,’ or something like that.
If the elf started asking questions, her cheat would be exposed.
When one possessed a cheat, one had to make sure others didn’t realize it. So, even while she was secretly delighted by the results she had orchestrated, she had to act as if she were just as clueless.
“Is that so? Another title? You’re really amazing, Lumina. You’re the best Priest I’ve ever seen.”
The little elf dithered for a moment before cautiously saying, “Miss Marlow, please act normal. You’re scaring me.”
“I’m praising you. What’s abnormal about that?”
“Was that a praise?” She breathed a small sigh of relief and whispered to herself, “I thought you were jealous and were secretly being passive-aggressive toward me.”
Slander, absolute slander.
‘Was I that kind of mushroom?’
Setting aside the fact that it was just a title, even if she truly were jealous, she wouldn’t show it openly.
‘I’d do it secretly.’
After the elf obtained the Escape Master title, the bees became trivial.
Her speed was already decent, but with the explosive Agility attribute provided by the title, the clumsy Knight Bees could only watch from a distance as long as the elf wanted to flee.
But the current situation was still very grim.
They seemed to have stumbled into a deeper mire.
[Status Window]
[Race: Swamp Giant Frog]
[Level: 17]
[Skills: Flying Tongue lv4, Jump lv3, and Diving lv4]
[Status Window]
[Race: Sand Crocodile]
[Level: 30]
[Skills: Bite lv6, Scale Armor lv5, Diving lv7, Corrosive Acid lv3, and Earth Magic lv4…]
A monster that could use magic and was Level 30—that was even more powerful than a Knight Bee!
To the elf, the swampland still appeared silent and still, but through the Mycelium’s special perspective, Marlow could see many health bars of varying lengths converging on their location.
“Run, Lumina! Use the title’s ability immediately. Bypass all the bees and head into the Woodland. Remember to stay near the Screaming Wood to avoid the bees’ aerial reconnaissance.”
The mushroom had already anticipated what might happen next. All she could do now was ensure the elf, who had accidentally wandered into a battlefield of giants, escaped as quickly as possible.
Lumina gave a soft affirmation in her mind, picked up her staff with practiced ease, and bolted.
When it came to running away, the elf never questioned her.
She didn’t even hesitate.
The effects of the title were incredibly exaggerated. Her burst of speed was nearly two times her original pace, and she could control it effortlessly, staying balanced despite the sudden change in velocity.
As for how two short legs could move so fast, only magic could likely explain it.
The bees were still unwilling to let their prey escape so easily.
The buzzing sound stuck to them like glue, but this time, the bees had their own problems to worry about.
A long, pink, slimy tongue shot out from the swamp mud. After accurately hitting a normal bee, it entangled the insect tightly, dragging it down with irresistible force to be swallowed in a single gulp.
Seeing this through the vision provided by the Fungal Network, the mushroom couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity.
Her skill experience points were gone.
Previously, the bees with low health that the elf had shot down with her light beams were eventually finished off by the Knight Bees’ charges. Marlow naturally hadn’t let those discarded pieces go to waste, using her lv5 Decomposition skill to scavenge the battlefield before the bees could react.
This time, her gains seemed concentrated in the Paralysis Toxin skill. Not long after it had broken through, the level rose again.
This high efficiency was truly addictive, to the point where she wished the two sides would fight even harder.
The more chaotic it became, the better the mushroom’s chances of fishing in troubled waters.
But looking at the results, her thoughts were still too naive.
The reason monsters fought to the death wasn’t because of grudges or hatred.
Their reason for killing was simple: food.
The smooth, pink tongues attacked the bees with the speed of an arrow, yet they possessed incredibly viscous saliva. Even if a bee managed to avoid being wrapped up by the Flying Tongue, a single touch would drag it from the air down into the marsh.
This one-sided beatdown made Marlow strongly suspect the reason the bees avoided the Swamp Area was that their enemies had top-tier anti-air capabilities.
However, the bees didn’t just let themselves be picked off.
A Knight Bee took the lead, diving down along the tongue. The silt exploded, and a giant frog coated in filth was pierced and dragged onto the ground.
The bee squad quickly rotated. Before they even touched the ground, the frog was carried off toward the Bee Hive.
Marlow seriously suspected they were doing this just to prevent her from stealing the corpses.
Because of the conflict ignited by the two of them, the battle continued. Some ordinary bees were deliberately left on the shore as bait to lure out the frogs.
Whenever a tongue shot out from the silt, a Knight Bee would lock onto the position and dive down.
Both sides suffered losses, but in terms of who won or lost, the bees likely gained more.
After all, the frogs were much larger. Using their own kind as fishing bait was clearly a worthwhile trade-off.
But the bees’ luck didn’t last long. Suddenly, the frogs in the swamp gave up their diving and hiding, instead jumping away from the area in a massive burst of movement.
The moment the frogs fled, the muddy water surged. A figure much smaller than a frog leapt up, bit a nearby Knight Bee, and dragged it down into the swamp.
Marlow saw clearly that the moment the crocodile bit the Knight Bee, acid corroded the outer Iron Armor that was as hard as steel. Beneath those sharp teeth, the health bar was instantly emptied.
Seeing the enemy that had been chasing them settled so cleanly, she felt only a sense of relief.
It was a good thing she had told the elf to slip away first.
‘It sounds cowardly, but you have to be ready to retreat behind everyone else at any time.’
The battle should have been over, with the crocodile as the overwhelming victor.
‘Wait, what was that?’
Using a similar projectile-launching magic, two earthen missiles—dripping with muddy water as they flew—not only accurately hit the Knight Bees but also shattered their Iron Armor and emptied their health bars in a single blow.
The bee swarm even flew higher and moved further away from the Swamp Area because of this.
To think the crocodile could still take a bite out of the bees even as the fight neared its end; it truly wasn’t to be underestimated.
However, the position where one of the Knight Bees fell seemed like a place where she could snag a bargain.
***
Lumina reached a safe location.
Because of the attack, the bees were too busy to worry about the two of them. Once they consciously avoided aerial detection and traveled for a while, it became difficult for the bees to track them.
She thought that they were finally safe.
The elf leaned against a tree trunk, her body relaxing as her posture shifted from standing to lying down.
A long-awaited moment of rest.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last long before Marlow’s voice interrupted the peaceful silence.
“Hey, Lumina, have you thought about getting revenge on those bees for targeting you like that?”
“Can we please stop looking for trouble, Marlow? I’m really tired,” the little elf pleaded.
It wasn’t just physical exhaustion, but mental… weariness. When the spirit was wound tight for so long, the body tended to collapse once it finally relaxed.
“This is a great opportunity. Think about it. Most of the bees were chasing us, and only a small portion is guarding the nest. Since we’ve created this opening, how can we not cause some destruction to vent our frustrations?”
“No, no way. We don’t know how strong the Queen Bee is. What if she’s even stronger than the Knight Bees?”
Lumina shook her head repeatedly in worry.
“Who said anything about provoking the Queen Bee? I’m talking about intercepting the bees bringing back trophies. It would be even better if we could damage the Bee Hive along the way.”
She explained in detail the struggle between the bees and the frogs after they left, as well as the absolute power the crocodile showed when it swept through both sides.
Hearing this, the little elf felt her blood start to boil. She vowed to make the bees pay for the holes they had poked in her.
Just then, a roar of primal fury echoed from the direction they had come, followed by the earth trembling. Marlow felt the entirety of the Fungal Network in that area being destroyed, as if even the ground itself had become part of the swamp.
She knew exactly what the crocodile was angry about, because…
**[Title evaluation successful. Skill obtained: Iron Armor lv1.]**