"If master would have fought with his sword, we wouldn't be able to defeat them as easily as now"
'She is right.'
The bee can shoot stingers every 30 seconds. That's a considerably short time considering that the fights against the monsters can last several minutes. If you lose track of time at any time, then the stinger will become a lethal weapon.
[Bee honey]
"Can it be eaten?"
"Hahaha. Of course not, master! It is a concentration of mana that tastes like honey, but when consumed by a human, it is no different from swallowing poison. Although it is not fatal, it will not bring any benefit to the body."
"Oh, I see."
Her current laugh is very different from the adorable one, this one is kind of mocking, but at the same time, it doesn't hurt me. On the contrary, seeing her involuntarily makes me want to laugh.
And indeed, I did.
After putting all the loot in the inventory, I checked the map to look for the next monster.
Emir: "!!!"
But a custom marker appeared on the little circular map, much to my surprise. I enlarged the map to full screen without thinking twice and got a better glimpse of the situation.
The marker is currently in a room with two other blue dots, and there are dozens of red dots all around it.
A trap room. And inside it, is the [Zia] marker surrounded by monsters.
"How did you feel about the spear, Alessia?"
"Very well. In fact, I never thought I could get along so well with this weapon. To the point that I am thinking of using it as a secondary weapon since, as you know, there are weapons with which it is easier to kill certain types of monsters. With the spear and the sword, my hunting rate will increase a lot"
"Mn, the same I think about my bow."
'Well, it's decided. Since the spear and bow are the Archer Bee's nemesis, we'll go help the three annoying beauties.'
Without saying a word, I walked briskly through the corridors, and then, more than 5 Archer bees blocked our way.
"A group of 5 monsters?!"
"Calm down, Alessia, someone must have activated a trap room. The monsters block us to prevent us from helping them"
"...That's correct, even when they see us, they don't attack us."
"Come on, let's kill as many as we can. If we don't feel capable of continuing, we have a safe path of retreat"
"Mn, yes. It will be a good training"
Trap rooms will always be subject to a floor's default monster. In this case, the Archer Bee. Hence my safety in coming straight to the lion's den.
I sighed.
When I reopened my eyes, my heart rate calmed down. Thanks to the blessings of the bow, getting to this state is getting easier.
I aimed at the monster on the right and fired. Without waiting for the result, I took another arrow from the inventory and shot again at the same place. If one arrow misses, then two will do the job!
I can vaguely see how the bee fell to the ground. I don't even know if it will die right away or if it only received minor injuries. My only goal right now is to immobilize as many as I can in the shortest possible time.
I shot at the bee next to it and again fired two arrows; without knowing the result, I continued with the next one. I was about to shoot an arrow when blond hair blocked my vision.
Emir: "!!!"
It's a good thing I'm in a state of total concentration; otherwise, I would have dropped that arrow and hurt Alessia.
"We defeated five monsters, but only one of them managed to shoot its stinger."
"The moment I killed a bee, one of them changed its target towards me, but then changed again and pointed in your direction"
"Their nature is to assassinate the one who causes them the most danger and, since we both defeated them in a similar time, they could not establish which of us was the most dangerous"
Only the floor boss and larger groups of monsters possess this quality. Small groups of monsters simply fight the enemy in front of them to the death and don't think about anything else.
Since the first battle resulted in our victory, with more confidence than ever we continue to advance.
"There's the door," Alessia said, pointing with her hand.
Meters away is a wall with a large hole in the center and many cracks on its sides, as if it had been destroyed by a massive force. Four bee-like monsters buzz around looking for enemies to protect it.
"I will attract them with my arrows."
Without waiting for an answer, I shot arrow after arrow. Three monsters fell to the ground in a matter of seconds, with only one evading my projectiles.
"it's going to shoot!" Alessia yelled.
We were both too close to each other, and at the time the bee pointed its stinger in our direction, we didn't know exactly who it was targeting. So, in the same second that the stinger turned red, we both jumped in opposite directions.
With great speed, its attack passed very close to my left foot and the stinger dug firmly into the ground inches from me.
'Ugh, that was close.'
"Die!"
Looking towards the spot, Alessia bravely jumped up and pierced the monster with her spear.
"We will not enter the room. I will draw the attention of all those I can from outside of it, and those I cannot knock down will be your opponents."
"Master, actually… I'm okay with you drawing their attention, but…" she looked at me determinedly before continuing.
"I want to rescue people inside while you attract their attention"
"Haa… Are you asking me to be cannon fodder for adventurers we don't even know about?"
"I am not asking you to be cannon fodder! I know you can deal with them"
Emir: "…"
'Ha… What can I do if she keeps looking at me with those determined eyes? I know that if I accept her request, I will earn a lot of points with her, but there are still dozens of monsters inside the trap room. It is very risky… But her status points are placed in the best positions in order to improve her battle potential, and her chain mail also has a [Physical Shield]. So, as long as she doesn't get hit in the head, she'll be fine.'
"No."
"But master-..."
"I don't want to put your life in danger for someone I don't know." I reached out my hand and patted her head "I also intend to save people if I get the chance, but I will only risk it for those I really know. There is a fine line that must not be crossed."
"You and I are strong… I know this because, while others travel in groups of three or four, we are only two... But even so, I fully understand your words. Your will is my will, master."
'This is the best result… I did not add or subtract points with her. I also just created one of the bases for our scouting party. I don't want to risk ourselves for strangers but… What Alessia doesn't know is that inside that trap there are actually acquaintances.'
As we approach the door of the room, we can hear the battle within it.
"Miria, don't go so far away, you don't need to give it the final blow!"
"Three of them are aiming at you, Zia! Get out of there!"
"Wait for me a bit! After defeating this one, I'll get an HP potion"
"That voice... Master!"
"Haa, as much as I didn't want you to come in... Fine, go. Bring them here."
"Right away!"
I already knew that this would be the end result, but I don't regret my previous words. There is meaning in saying them out loud.
"Oh, right. For third parties you are not my slave. Do you understand what I mean?"
"yes, I understand... Emir"
Smiling, I nodded.
I quickly removed an arrow from my inventory and equipped it in my hand, drew the string with it, and then shot. It wasn't even necessary to aim with so many monsters inside the room… the arrows would hit something.
My thoughts came true the next moment, in which a bee fell to the ground with one of its wings destroyed.
And so, in just seconds… 30 arrows were fired.
Seconds in which Alessia ran in the direction of the three annoying beauties.
"Zia, we're here to help!"
On her way, Alessia defeated two bees that were very close to each other. She was able to easily kill them by just piercing them a bit with her spear.
"Alessia?!" Zia said so as she jumped to the side, avoiding two stingers while deftly deflecting a third with her shield. And with the remaining time, she settled hair.
Alessia: "…"
'— Mn, they look less troubled than I thought…'