TEOCH 20

The swarm of wasps approaching like a cloud from the distance was intimidating enough to send chills down the spine. Unlike other flying insects, which were at most the size of a child, these wasps, comparable to adult men, were advancing from the southeast, flying low as if skimming the ground.

Their numbers seemed to be around a thousand. Compared to the queen spider colony we encountered a few days ago, their numbers were significantly fewer, but these wasps felt far more threatening than the spiders.

The primary reason was the sound. While spiders, at their noisiest, merely rustled as they moved their legs, the buzzing of the wasps’ wings created a deafening roar that made your ears ring.

But the sound wasn’t the only reason the wasps seemed threatening. The critical difference between the spiders and the wasps lay in their order. Unlike the spider colony, which was chaotic despite centering around the queen, the wasps approaching us were marching in perfect rows and columns, like an army.

We instinctively knew. Facing these wasps head-on was impossible.

With the buzzing of their wings at our backs, we ran desperately. We didn’t have the luxury to look back, but we could easily tell. The wasps were flying faster than we could run, and at this rate, they would catch up to us in no time.

‘D**n it, escaping in this direction is a mistake…!’

I anxiously scanned the surroundings. Continuing in this direction would clearly trap us in a hopeless situation. The wasps were likely heading toward a bumblebee nest in the northwest, and if we kept fleeing this way, we might end up caught between the bumblebees and the wasps, attacked by both. It would be no exaggeration to call it the worst possible scenario.

But there was one significant problem. The wasps were too fast to change direction now. They had already noticed us and were spreading out to block our escape routes, leaving no time to pivot. Scanning the area frantically, I gritted my teeth. An unbearable mix of frustration and anger surged in my chest.

‘If we had moved just ten minutes earlier, we might not have encountered these wasps!’

Rikiel, his face ashen, was running behind me. From his expression, twisted with shock and anguish, he seemed to be regretting enough without me saying a word.

Instead of spitting useless venom, I tightly gripped Tristan’s hand. He was panting, his breath ragged up to his chin, but he kept pace with me without slowing down. Though I doubted he could keep it up for long.

‘I have to think of something. Somehow, some way, we need to escape them…!’

But no solution to this predicament came to mind. Given the speed at which the wasps were pursuing us, changing direction was out of the question, and even running straight ahead, it was clear they’d catch us soon.

I briefly considered the ladybug carapace Rikiel was carrying, but it was meant for a temporary shelter, not a bunker. It might work against weaker bumblebees, but it wasn’t a defense that could hold against wasps.

What do we do? Is there really no way out? As my mind spiraled in confusion, it was an unexpected figure who snapped me back to reality. Honestly, it was so unexpected that it almost made me furious.

“Rohan, I’ll provoke the wasps! Use that chance to take His Majesty and escape to the left!”

“What are you saying, Rikiel?!”

“If I provoke the wasps, their formation will break momentarily, Your Majesty! If you seize that moment, you can escape their encirclement!”

Instinctively, I looked back, and Rikiel met my gaze with a desperate, pleading expression. His words weren’t entirely wrong. There was a rational and accurate element to them.

The wasps chasing us numbered around a thousand, but strictly speaking, not all of them were hunting us. We had merely stumbled into their migration path, not their primary target.

So, even if we changed direction, not all thousand wasps would pursue us. At most, maybe a hundred would chase us, while the rest would continue toward their original target, the bumblebee nest in the northeast.

Of course, a hundred wasps were still far from easy to handle, but if Rikiel used his “Provoke” skill on those hundred, the situation would change.

When Rikiel used his provoke skill, unless we deliberately attacked the wasps, their attack priority would lock onto him. If he used the skill and moved northwest while Tristan and I escaped, only a few dozen wasps would pursue us. Defeating them might be impossible, but escaping that number was entirely feasible.

It was a reasonable idea. But being reasonable didn’t necessarily mean it would solve the problem.

‘If only that reasonable head of his could reach a proper conclusion…!’

I was furious at the conclusion Rikiel had reached. Tactically and logically, his conclusion wasn’t wrong. But the biggest issue he was overlooking was this.

“So, we’re supposed to navigate the demon realm with you dead?!”

There was no way to guarantee Rikiel’s survival with that strategy. I shouted at him, my face contorted with rage. Tristan’s complexion turned pale, and Rikiel hesitated briefly before responding firmly, his eyes showing not a trace of doubt in his actions.

“What choice do we have? It’s better than all of us dying!”

“Sir Rikiel!”

“If I hadn’t insisted on resting, this wouldn’t have happened! Since my recklessness caused this, it’s only right that I take responsibility!”

D**n b**t**d, I muttered to myself, grinding my teeth. This was why I disliked him. He could acknowledge his mistakes and feel remorse, but he never changed his fundamental behavior. He’d drown in guilt over a mistake, yet when another crisis hit, he’d forget past lessons and cling to his stubbornness. Just like now.

Sure, if he sacrificed himself now, Tristan and I could escape this crisis. But then what? Even with all party members cooperating, defeating the tutorial stage’s boss was uncertain. And now, with one member dead, we’re supposed to take down the queen spider? Is that even possible?

“That’s nonsense! If anything, I should die…!”

“If you die, who’ll infuse the others with purification energy? Who’ll guide us through the demon realm without you?! It’s better to abandon me and save His Majesty! That’s the right choice!”

Who’s preaching to whom now? I was livid. If this man hadn’t been so stubborn, if he didn’t have that arrogance of believing his choices were right, things wouldn’t have escalated this far.

It was hard to believe he shared the same blood as Tristan. Tristan was kind and listened to others, so how was his brother so stubbornly unyielding…!

“Rohan, watch out!”

The next moment, too busy raging at Rikiel to watch where I was going, I snapped back to reality at Tristan’s shout. He pulled me back with all his strength, but the momentum of running forward carried me, and I tumbled.

Instead of rolling on the ground, my body fell into open air without support. In that instant, I instinctively realized we were in the worst possible situation.

“D**n it!”

As Tristan and I plummeted into a large hole, the deafening buzz of wings soared into the sky. I instinctively wrapped my arms around Tristan and shut my eyes tightly.

Even with my eyes closed, I knew. I knew what this hole was, what the sharp sensation brushing past our skin was.

“No, hyung!”

I’d bet everything that Rikiel jumped into the hole without a moment’s hesitation. He probably wasn’t even thinking about what was in the hole or how deep it was.

Instead of wasting time fuming over his recklessness and foolishness, I curled my body to prepare for the impact. It was a high fall, but I wasn’t worried about dying from it. The floor at the bottom of this hole was surprisingly soft, so injury wasn’t a concern.

My concern wasn’t the fall’s damage but the attack that would follow. Most bumblebees were likely heading to the surface to fend off the wasps, but that didn’t mean all of them had left the nest. At least a few dozen to a few hundred would remain to guard against unexpected attacks. So…!

“Urgh!”

The moment I felt the soft floor, I rolled and sprang up. Following my instincts, I drew my sword and swung, a massive impact hitting my arm. With a loud clang, something was knocked back by my blade.

I hurriedly pulled Tristan up. He staggered in the darkness but managed to stand, and I swung my sword again to block another attack.

“Sir Rikiel! Get up now!”

I quickly drew up purification energy, shaped it into a sphere, and threw it upward. The pitch-black hole brightened slightly.

Far off, Rikiel was struggling to his feet, letting out a gasp of shock, but his voice was drowned out by the buzzing of bumblebees filling the air. Blocking a third attack, I shouted desperately.

“Bumblebees! D**n it, this is a bumblebee nest! Draw your sword!”

*

The place we’d fallen into resembled a plaza connected by countless tunnels. Hundreds, no, thousands of bumblebees were pouring out of the tunnels, heading to the surface through the hole we’d fallen through.

Most ignored us, flying upward, but a few, startled by the sudden intruders, were swinging their stingers at us with ferocious momentum.

I let my instincts guide me, swinging my sword to fend off the bumblebees’ attacks. Unlike the adult-sized, menacing wasps, the bumblebees were only about the size of a five-year-old child, but their stingers struck with the force of an adult man’s sword.

The biggest issue was their numbers. Their attacks weren’t fast, and their trajectories were simple enough to block, but when dozens attacked from all directions, defense became nearly impossible.

“Urgh!”

Tristan and I infused our swords with purification energy and cut down the bees with all our strength, but their numbers were so great that we had to take a few hits.

Feeling my back and legs burn and swell where the bumblebees’ stingers grazed, I let out a fierce curse. It was fortunate they were bumblebees, causing only pain and swelling. If they’d been wasps, the wounds would’ve stiffened with paralysis, making movement impossible.

I tried to conserve mana, but with our lives at stake, I used my only attack skill, “Incision,” to fend off the bees. I couldn’t neglect infusing purification energy into my comrades to protect them from the demon realm’s toxic air. It was a chaotic battle that left no room for clear thought.

‘What do we do? Where do we escape to survive?’

While desperately scanning for an escape route, I glanced at a small tunnel on the opposite side of the plaza. Unlike the other tunnels, where bees poured out like waves, not a single bee emerged from that one.

It exuded a dangerous aura, but we had no choice. To escape the bumblebees’ attacks, we had to head there. I gripped my sword tightly and checked on my comrades.

Tristan was beside me, using his last strength to fend off the bees’ attacks. Far off, Rikiel was swinging his sword, knocking away the interfering bees like swatting flies, advancing toward us. If he had purification powers, he’d likely have killed dozens by now.

“Let’s escape to that tunnel! Sir Rikiel, clear the way!”

I shouted with all my might. The buzzing was so loud I wasn’t sure if Rikiel could hear me. Fortunately, he seemed to understand, immediately swinging his two-handed sword at the bees ahead.

Rather than cutting, his strike was closer to smashing, sending several bees flying back to crash onto the ground. Seizing the moment, Rikiel moved in front of us, pushing back the bees to secure an escape route.

“Your Majesty, hold on! Block the right side!”

Tristan, panting as if he might collapse, desperately fended off the bees coming from the right. Though exhausted, his sword strikes were precise and sharp. While blocking bees from the left, a sudden thought struck me.

‘That’s odd. Was Tristan always this good with a sword?’

When we fought the mantis before, he didn’t move this well. The thought crossed my mind briefly, but swinging my sword against the onslaught of bees, I quickly lost track of it. Tristan and I were fighting for our lives.

I had no sense of how long we fought. It was probably only ten minutes, but it felt like hours, my strength draining away. My throat tasted bitter, and my body was so exhausted my legs felt ready to give out. Even I, let alone Tristan, was on the verge of collapsing when, thankfully, hope appeared.

“Hurry inside! The path is clear!”

With Rikiel’s desperate shout, Tristan and I stumbled into the tunnel, nearly collapsing. A few bees followed us, but Rikiel roared fiercely, swinging his sword to knock them away.

We ran through the long, unknown tunnel, not stopping until the bees’ attacks ceased.