'Ah hell.' Klaus thought and immediately rolled to the side as the Razorwing Hornet slammed its razor-sharp mandibles into the exact spot where he had been standing moments before.
Even with his evasion, the sheer speed at which the monster approached him still carved a thin line through his light armor with the mandibles scraping against the leather and almost piercing his flesh underneath.
'What the fuck?'
They were this strong and Taula was carving them in half like they were nothing...?
He guessed he wasn't supposed to be surprised since she had quite literally been boxing with an orc using its own weapon. At this rate, he wouldn't be surprised if she started fist-fighting a giant or wrestling a dragon.
"Fucking hell." Klaus cursed as the swords came out of his storage ring in a flash and he immediately activated Magnetic Field, feeling the spell drain mana from his core.
Thinking back at it, he should have had them out and ready as soon as he came into this field. This was an amateur mistake.
The Razorwing Hornet shot toward him again with terrifying speed and its wings buzzed loudly.
However, one of his swords defended against the strike, meeting the mandible with a metallic clang while the other three converged onto the back of the monster from different angles, boring into its carapace and punching straight through to come out the other side in sprays of yellow ichor.
The hornet's body twitched violently as the swords impaled it.
However, out of pure spite for Klaus, when the monster realized that it was going to die, its mandibles parted wide.
"CREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
The screech was much louder than the previous one, echoing across the entire field. The surrounding area that had been filled with buzzing sounded eerily quiet now in comparison.
Klaus controlled the fourth sword to strike the hornet's head with a sharp mental command, killing the monster completely and silencing its cry but it seemed like the damage was already done… the creature had already called back the rest of the swarm, and it was only a matter of time until they came back for revenge.
"Fuck... fuck... fuck, what the hell do I do?" Klaus muttered frantically as he hurriedly began yanking flowers from the ground by their roots, not bothering to be gentle about it.
His hands moved on pure adrenaline.
Not only did he need 15 Crimson Starflowers for himself, but he also needed to grab some of the varied colors since he couldn't just take his own and leave.
After all, Taula had risked her life leading the Hornet swarm away from this field… she was probably still being chased by dozens of them right now.
The least he could do was grab her flowers while he had the chance. The buzzing sound was getting louder in the distance and it looked like they were coming back.
'Shit, shit, shit!' Klaus thought, grabbing flowers as fast as his hands could move but it wasn't enough so he controlled his swords, carving through the field completely and reaping as much as he could see into a pile of Starflowers.
He quickly placed all of them in his storage ring, all went in one go and after that, Klaus made a split-second decision. He activated Magnetic Field again and commanded one of his swords to shoot forward horizontally at maximum speed while keeping the others then he grabbed onto the hilt with both hands.
The sword took off like a rocket, pulling Klaus along with it as he held on for dear life.
His body wasn't strong enough or coordinated enough to actually stand on the sword properly like some kind of cultivator, so instead he just dangled from it desperately as it shot through the air above the treeline.
The wind screamed past his face and his arms felt like they were being pulled from their sockets, but it was working. He was moving fast… really fast.
Behind him, the swarm of Razorwing Hornets burst into the field and found it completely cleared of flowers and their angry screeching echoed through the entire grove but Klaus was already gone, sword-surfing away like his life depended on it, which it absolutely did.
'Now where the hell is Taula?' Klaus thought desperately as he flew through the air.
Then he remembered, he had Metal Sense!
He activated the detection spell, feeling more mana drain from his already depleting reserves. The spell spread out in a 15-meter radius around him as he flew, scanning for metal signatures.
After moving for a while, he could finally sense the large metal axe to the northeast and it was completely stationary.
Klaus mentally commanded his sword to change direction, and it banked hard to the left. He nearly lost his grip but managed to hold on with his fingers white-knuckled around the hilt.
A minute later, he spotted her standing in a small clearing and deactivated Magnetic Field. The spell cut out and Klaus fell the last three meters, hitting the ground in a graceless roll before scrambling to his feet.
…
"Hahahahaha…" Taula laughed aloud as she cut through yet another Razorwing Hornet that had bitten into her now completely ripped sleeves with its mandibles, tearing through the fabric. "Your poison won't do anything to me!"
She flipped backward gracefully, creating distance between herself and the pursuing Hornets that were still chasing after her in an angry swarm. They were oversized and coordinated in their attacks, but at the end of the day, that was all they had going for them.
They were still very weak compared to her.
Taula gripped her axe firmly with both hands and cleaved sideways in a powerful horizontal arc, taking out three hornets at once.
Their bodies fell to the ground in pieces, but more immediately came forward to replace them.
One particularly aggressive hornet closed the distance between them in a blur and bit down hard into her hand, its mandibles tearing into the skin and injecting its poison directly into her bloodstream.
However, Taula simply tensed her hand muscles.
The sheer force of her flexing shattered the mandible of the monster right where it was embedded in her hand, snapping it clean off.
Before the hornet could retreat, she gave it a devastating headbutt, her forehead smashing into its head and shattering it completely.
Blood and brain matter spilled all over her face and she cleaned it off with her other sleeve.
"CREEEEEEEEEEE!!"
A different screech came from the direction of the Starflower Field, it was much more urgent than the others.
The rest of the hornets all turned in that direction immediately before abandoning Taula and flying off at full speed, leaving her behind completely.
"Ah…" Taula muttered, realization dawning on her.
She took a deep breath. "I left him back there…"
One of the Razorwing Hornets had probably discovered Klaus in the field and alerted the others. Now the entire swarm was heading there to attack him.
"Just wait up, Klaus, I'm coming." She said while digging into the wound where the mandibles had bitten her and pulling out the first broken mandible piece, letting it fall to the ground with a small clink.
"Weird... It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would."
She pulled out the second mandible fragment and it hit the ground as well.
Blood was gushing freely out of her hand, mixed with the purple poison from their mandibles, creating a disturbing violet color but she could attend to the wound later.
Taula was about to start searching for Klaus when he suddenly appeared right in front of her face.
"Are you okay?" Klaus asked, breathing heavily.
Immediately the woman raised her bloody axe to his neck with the blade stopping just short of his throat.
"Monster…" she said dangerously. "What did you do with Klaus? And why do you sound exactly like him?"
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
This monster thought it could really fool her... Klaus was a weakling mage and he couldn't run that considerable distance in such a short amount of time. And even if he somehow could, how had he found her location so easily?
She was a considerable distance away from the Starflower Field and deeper in the forest.
"There are shapeshifting monsters in this place?" Klaus took a step back with genuine fear in his eyes.
If shapeshifters existed here, then the Taula he was talking with right now could be a fake monster trying to lure him into a trap.
He pulled out his own sword from the storage ring and held it in an awkward defensive stance.
"You… what did you do with Taula? I know she's dumb but she's not that dumb to be caught by a monster… I think."
"I'm the real Taula!" She jabbed a hand at her chest indignantly while heaving the axe over her shoulder and showing him her bleeding arm as proof. "And I don't think there are any shapeshifting monsters in the grove at all… Huh?"
Klaus leaned forward and gently touched her face just like he had done earlier with the Cleanse spell.
Her hand moved purely on instinct, slamming into his gut with tremendous force and making him fall to his knees, gasping for air.
"Ugh." He coughed out saliva as his vision swam. "You're Taula all right, still as dumb and heartless as ever…"
Her cheeks reddened immediately.
"I... I'm not dumb and stop touching me without warning! This is the second time, no—"
"CREEEEEEEEE!!!!"
All of the Razorwing Hornets screeched at the same time from somewhere in the distance, their collective cry shaking the trees.
Taula immediately knew that it was time to go. She latched her axe back onto the holder on her armor and then looked at Klaus before reaching down and scooping him up in a princess carry without asking permission.
"What the hell are you…"
"Hold on tight." She said simply, her voice brooking no argument.
Though her bitten arm felt completely numb and was still bleeding, she held him securely against her chest with both arms and took a single step forward.
The ground beneath her foot cracked like a spiderweb with chunks of earth flying up from the sheer force then she began running at full speed.
The instant she accelerated and continued running, Klaus could swear that she broke every single athletic record back on Earth because why was everything completely blurry...?
How fast was she even moving?!
The trees were just streaks of brown and green whipping past! The wind was screaming in his ears! He could barely even process individual objects since everything was just a constant blur of colors!
'This is insane!' Klaus thought, gripping onto her armor tightly. 'She's faster than a car! How is this even possible without aura enhancement?!'
But Taula didn't slow down at all, she just kept running as her legs were pumping at superhuman speed, carrying both of them effortlessly despite Klaus's weight and her injured arm.
They covered what must have been half a kilometer in less than a minute.
Finally, she pulled to a stop under a large tree with beautiful pink leaves blooming up top and gently laid Klaus at the base of the trunk then she collapsed on the ground beside him, falling over with her back flat on the grass, heaving deep breaths.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she gasped for air.
"Are you okay?" Klaus looked over at her while catching his own breath. It was clear that the woman was not okay at all… she looked pale and exhausted.
"Yeah… Just give me a minute." She said between breaths. "My arm feels really numb. I think it's the poison spreading."
Klaus looked at her arm closely and saw several bite marks clearly. Alongside the wounds, there were dark purple veins spreading up her forearm like tree roots.
She really did look pale too, and the veins were getting darker by the second.
"Why would you let them bite you?" He asked while approaching her with concern.
It was at that exact moment that Taula realized with growing horror that her body was completely motionless.
She couldn't move at all… not her arms, not her legs though she could talk. Her body refused to obey her commands and she was completely at the mercy of Klaus.
"D-don't come any closer." She said, and Taula's voice trembled with genuine fear. "I've heard stories about this… since my body can't move now, you'll take advantage of me since we're alone in a dungeon and force yourself on me."
Klaus blinked in confusion and took hold of her paralyzed hand, examining the wound. He brought out a blue vial from his storage ring which was an antidote.
'What is she even on about?' Klaus thought while uncorking the Antidote. She genuinely thought he was going to assault her? He hadn't even remotely considered it.
"I'm sure it's nobles that do that kind of thing." Klaus said with a sigh, pouring the antidote carefully on the infected area.
The liquid sizzled on contact and it looked as if the poison was literally burning off, steam rising from the wounds.
"Razorwing Hornets naturally give a poison status that causes Temporary Paralysis and drains 2 Health points per turn, so it's advisable to take an antidote as soon as possible." He said and realized he was talking like a gamer.
She was extremely lucky that he happened to have one since the Landlord of the inn had decided to give him a small gift basket just this morning, which just so happened to include an Antidote among other basic supplies.
"Oh right." Taula said as she started getting feeling back in her hand again with her fingers twitching. "It's nobles that take advantage of others… I hate nobles."
"Me too." Klaus said honestly.
However, he hated them because he wasn't one of them... things would have been drastically different if he had actually gotten a noble character on that Legendary Spin instead of this trash mob.
"Thank you." Taula perked up immediately, sitting back up with her usual energy. "Now let's go get the last herb on the list!"
Klaus still looked at the gaping wound on her hand with concern. She actually tore a strip off her own skirt that she wore underneath the light armor and used it to wrap around the injury as a makeshift bandage.
Now he could see significantly more of her thighs, and the girl was apparently completely clueless about it.
"The last one is Silverleaf Moss." Klaus said, bringing them back to the task at hand. "I hope there's no monster guarding this one."
"There most certainly is." She corrected him casually and stood up, winding her waist left and right to stretch. "But how many flowers did you manage to get and why did the hornets sound so angry when they left me?"
"Oh." Klaus said while summoning a large pile of flowers taken at the root from his storage ring. "I just cleared the whole field with my swords so there are no more flowers left on that field at all."
"Nice, nice." She said, taking hold of all the other flower colors apart from the red Crimson Starflowers which Klaus wanted for himself. "I'll sort them and stock up the store with these. Thank you very much."
Klaus took the rest of the red flowers back into the storage ring and Taula pulled him onto his feet, dragging his hand upward with surprising strength.
One moment she thought he was going to assault her and the next she was completely comfortable with him touching her... Trying to read this woman was like asking for a literal headache.
"Alright, Silverleaf Moss, here we come!" She said enthusiastically and took him behind the pink-leafed tree.
In the field behind this large tree, silver moss was growing everywhere, covering the ground like a shimmering carpet near a big round pond in the center and the water was completely still then she leaned in close and began to whisper directly in his ear.
"We can take as much moss as we want… just don't throw anything into that pond. The monster that lives there will attack us as soon as we alert it to our presence."
"Alright then." Klaus let out a small sigh after whispering back quietly.
They approached the moss carefully and began harvesting.
This was the last ingredient here and then he would finally go home. The Galen Dungeon would still be in turmoil from the monsters but he would return tomorrow for more hunting and grinding.
He needed to get as strong as possible since two months were rapidly approaching.
Securing a good position in the entrance exams was the ultimate goal, and these herbs were just the first steps to achieving that goal.
Klaus slowly picked up the moss, pulling gently on it and taking a sniff of it after it came free from the ground.
Unlike the disgusting worm-infested roots from earlier, this actually smelled pleasant and clean, almost like mint and he didn't need to fight any monsters to get it either.
'It smells like victory.' Klaus thought with a satisfied sigh.
Since he couldn't exactly measure how much he was supposed to take for the fifteen doses, he just took as many handfuls as could fit in his hands and kept transferring them into his storage ring repeatedly.
"Alright, let's…" He whispered, ready to suggest they leave.
However, he stopped mid-sentence because for some reason, Taula seemed to be in a throwing stance with a rock in her hand.
There was a bird-like creature on the other side of the pond, just sitting there peacefully.
"No." Klaus said in horror.
She chucked the rock through the air anyway.
It generated a small shockwave from the sheer force, slamming into the bird and sending the creature flying backward but not before the bird recoiled directly into the water with a loud splash.
Klaus let out a long sigh of despair.
"Fu—"
The water bubbled ominously.
A giant oversized snake erupted through the surface with a terrifying hiss with the water cascading off its scaled body. It looked around with slit-pupiled eyes and saw the bird first as it hissed again. Its tongue extended outward impossibly long, wrapping around the bird's struggling body and pulling it into its massive jaws. It swallowed the creature completely in one gulp then it turned toward Klaus and Taula.
In that instant, Klaus knew they were already cooked.
"HISSSSSSSSSS!" the snake hissed out.