[Floor: 1 of 2.] [Hornet nest.]
Meters appeared in his mind's eye, directing Clyde to where he needed to go. His first steps into the hive were met with surprisingly smooth wooden floors, but a weird interior. The walls of this place were made of wooden combs. Hornets didn't produce honey, they stole it—which explained why this place wasn't covered in it. The honeybee hive probably had the stuff everywhere. The lobby didn't have much going for it. Not even guards.
That wasn't the case for the second room. There were two.
"Oh my buzz, a man!" a guard yipped.
"Should we bring him to the queen?" the second guard said.
"Pssh, she has a pretty one already. We get to keep our pretty one. And I'm horny as buzz!"
Neko loudly sniffed.
"Bugs. Can't stand them."
"Look, he brought a kitten," the first guard said. "We can string her up and make her chase yarn balls for entertainment."
"Let's get rid of these intruders—I'm already wet," the second guard said.
Clyde shook his head, speechless. He did analyze the first guard, not surprised to see that they were stronger than Toru's kidnappers.
Hornet- NeeNee
Level: 53
Type: Monster
Work under: Queen Hornet.
Special: Lustful sting. [Great chance to stun. Hornet may lose control and vigorously super-rape victims].
Weakness: Fire, ice, lightning, wind, and lust.
Resistances: earth, nature, forest, and volcanic.
Secret: stole a bottle of the queen's secret honey wine and keeps it hidden in a trap door beneath her bed.
[Your party has entered combat!]
Neko vaulted ahead of the others, attacking the nearest guard with claws and martial arts. Moving with the grace of a cat, she demanded blood. Chika's vanishing stealth caught their eyes. And guard number one dropped like a fly.
The young man didn't bother to move—Neko pulled a dagger from a sheath on her belt and slit hornet's throat. The monster girl fell in a pool of her own blood.
"Kidnapping is what led to this," Clyde said without remorse. "I've got a party full of demons. You only gave them an excuse."
[Battle completed. Victory! Reward: 1000 EXP and $1000.]
Clyde strolled past them.
"Good shit ladies," he said. Chika and Neko smiled then hurried to his flank. And they said women weren't stronger than men. Clyde called bullshit on that all day. He'd not picture himself squaring off with the yandere, especially in her own place of power. The catgirl on the other hand was playful, but had power that probably matched Alice when deadly serious. Hell, even Alice held back.
At least he wasn't the weakest anymore. If he was going to continue to be team lead, he'd need to learn to control his abilities or get stomped into the ground. Did the others, "players," have special powers? Dark was a decent spellcaster, but there was no sign of it in him. Clyde would have to assume being the Stone in the stone-viper games meant more than he knew. And he didn't know much aside from what was told to him.
This dungeon was supposed to be very hard? Maybe for others without a strong crew.
The party mowed through at least half a dozen more guards before reaching a staircase. A barred staircase. With warded bars. Beside it was three empty honeycomb-shaped holes.
"A puzzle," Clyde said flatly. Clearly, something went into those holes to disable the wards. "Anyone here able to break the wards?"
They shook their heads. "Let's start searching the supposed keys. We'll start hearing Toru's shouting if we take too long."
"I hope he hangs in there," Yuki said.
Clyde was glad that no one in his party dared suggested a split. That cliché would ensure either him cornered and captured or one of the others. It always happened.
Five minutes passed and Chika spotted a strange indent in the wall, pushed it in, revealing a small hidden room. In it was a small chest and a pedestal. On top of the pedestal rested a bronze honeycomb. He motioned for one of the women to grab it while strolling over to the chest.
[You have found Honey Potion of Healing. Item class: rare.]
He warped the item to his inventory, gaining a fascinated look from Yuki.
"Let's go look for the other hidden chambers," Clyde said.
It took less than ten minutes to locate the rest of the metals, but as soon as they were set in place, the bars dropped.
[Floor: 2 of 2.] [Hornet nest.]
There were a lot of guards and workers. Perhaps thirty, forty, maybe fifty, all carrying out their day to day lives without any worries. A few of them even looked in their direction, winked at Clyde, and then continued on. Others went into rooms, lounged about, or chatted and boasted. And most of it was about who could capture the heart of a man first or bedroom techniques.
A worker hornet dressed in a silky robe that clung to every curve approached them, bowed, and seemingly smiled warmly.
"Our queen wishes to speak with you. Please follow."
She stepped into Clyde's personal bubbled and said, "do you want to have dinner with me later? I taste delicious." She grinned at the young man's laugh.
"Yeah, you can back the hell up, slut," Chika said. "He already has a reservation elsewhere."
The hornet harrumphed.
"How rude. Whatever, follow me." She muttered a few choice things about a certain silver-haired girl as she led them. No one attacked nor look threatening. Only two guards were armed, and they stood in front of the queen's door.
Clyde and his party knew to keep their guard up as they stepped past the door.
A naked Toru was tied to the wall by what looked a giant strand of golden taffy. His eyes blazed with defiance. Two guards had spears and lusty eyes trained on him. One of them was openly drooling.
"Alright, get him down from there," Clyde said without increasing his tone. The two guards simply turned to him, eyes widened, delighted to see another man. "Do you monster girls ever do things the civil way?"
"Ah, you mean boring and human? Nope, it's not in our blood," said the hornet guide. "Our queen should be out in a bit. Please wait patiently at the table. If you want to talk about being civil, then have honey tea with us and chat. We can work something out." She entered another set of doors.
"Toru, you really are unlucky," Clyde said.
"Tell me about it," Toru said, his voice resigned.
"We'll go ahead and get you down," Clyde said. "Kil—"
A hornet that was clearly the queen walked in followed by two servants. She sat at the table and gestured for the others to take a seat. They didn't.
She was a curvy woman with long blonde hair and large red eyes. Eyes that were part human, part hornet. Large breasts and a hell of a lot of cleavage set the tone of the large room. Her silky see-through dress drew Clyde's eyes for a least a few seconds. Enough to glance at the lingerie underneath. Yep, it was time for him to get out of here.
"Let's get to the point," Clyde said, annoyed at the cliché, "release my friend there and I won't have to burn down this place."
The queen smiled.
"Manly bravado, oh how I missed that," she said. "Would you like to visit the insides of me? I haven't had proper sex in years and our hive is dwindling. We need men to inject their seeds into us. Well, I do."
"Then why don't you go to the city and ask for volunteers?" Clyde said. "Set up advertisements or something for massaging services."
"You know we can't do that and especially not in a forest that belongs to…her," the queen said. "Don't try to shove your human logic onto us. But…you know what you can shove into me." She stood. "So enough of the pretenses. You can join your friend or trade spaces with him. One of you will be staying. I'm looking for a husband." She smiled, fondly. "Of course, we are hornets. And do things differently from our honeybee cousins, but you'd enjoy every moment of it."
"You're mistaking if you think we're going to stand by and let you make demands," Yuki said. Purple aura blasted around her. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."
The queen snarled.
"You don't scare me, demoness. I carve up your kind for breakfast."
She stepped forward. Her guards ran in front of her.
"Kill them. And detain the man. I will be violating him, a lot. We'll see which will make the better husband."
Clyde equipped the wind blade. Three-day training camp my ass, he thought. Fuck this. Day one and he was already face to face with a dungeon boss.
[Floor: 1 of 2.] [Hornet nest.]
Meters appeared in his mind's eye, directing Clyde to where he needed to go. His first steps into the hive were met with surprisingly smooth wooden floors, but a weird interior. The walls of this place were made of wooden combs. Hornets didn't produce honey, they stole it—which explained why this place wasn't covered in it. The honeybee hive probably had the stuff everywhere. The lobby didn't have much going for it. Not even guards.
That wasn't the case for the second room. There were two.
"Oh my buzz, a man!" a guard yipped.
"Should we bring him to the queen?" the second guard said.
"Pssh, she has a pretty one already. We get to keep our pretty one. And I'm horny as buzz!"
Neko loudly sniffed.
"Bugs. Can't stand them."
"Look, he brought a kitten," the first guard said. "We can string her up and make her chase yarn balls for entertainment."
"Let's get rid of these intruders—I'm already wet," the second guard said.
Clyde shook his head, speechless. He did analyze the first guard, not surprised to see that they were stronger than Toru's kidnappers.
Hornet- NeeNee
Level: 53
Type: Monster
Work under: Queen Hornet.
Special: Lustful sting. [Great chance to stun. Hornet may lose control and vigorously super-rape victims].
Weakness: Fire, ice, lightning, wind, and lust.
Resistances: earth, nature, forest, and volcanic.
Secret: stole a bottle of the queen's secret honey wine and keeps it hidden in a trap door beneath her bed.
[Your party has entered combat!]
Neko vaulted ahead of the others, attacking the nearest guard with claws and martial arts. Moving with the grace of a cat, she demanded blood. Chika's vanishing stealth caught their eyes. And guard number one dropped like a fly.
The young man didn't bother to move—Neko pulled a dagger from a sheath on her belt and slit hornet's throat. The monster girl fell in a pool of her own blood.
"Kidnapping is what led to this," Clyde said without remorse. "I've got a party full of demons. You only gave them an excuse."
[Battle completed. Victory! Reward: 1000 EXP and $1000.]
Clyde strolled past them.
"Good shit ladies," he said. Chika and Neko smiled then hurried to his flank. And they said women weren't stronger than men. Clyde called bullshit on that all day. He'd not picture himself squaring off with the yandere, especially in her own place of power. The catgirl on the other hand was playful, but had power that probably matched Alice when deadly serious. Hell, even Alice held back.
At least he wasn't the weakest anymore. If he was going to continue to be team lead, he'd need to learn to control his abilities or get stomped into the ground. Did the others, "players," have special powers? Dark was a decent spellcaster, but there was no sign of it in him. Clyde would have to assume being the Stone in the stone-viper games meant more than he knew. And he didn't know much aside from what was told to him.
This dungeon was supposed to be very hard? Maybe for others without a strong crew.
The party mowed through at least half a dozen more guards before reaching a staircase. A barred staircase. With warded bars. Beside it was three empty honeycomb-shaped holes.
"A puzzle," Clyde said flatly. Clearly, something went into those holes to disable the wards. "Anyone here able to break the wards?"
They shook their heads. "Let's start searching the supposed keys. We'll start hearing Toru's shouting if we take too long."
"I hope he hangs in there," Yuki said.
Clyde was glad that no one in his party dared suggested a split. That cliché would ensure either him cornered and captured or one of the others. It always happened.
Five minutes passed and Chika spotted a strange indent in the wall, pushed it in, revealing a small hidden room. In it was a small chest and a pedestal. On top of the pedestal rested a bronze honeycomb. He motioned for one of the women to grab it while strolling over to the chest.
[You have found Honey Potion of Healing. Item class: rare.]
He warped the item to his inventory, gaining a fascinated look from Yuki.
"Let's go look for the other hidden chambers," Clyde said.
It took less than ten minutes to locate the rest of the metals, but as soon as they were set in place, the bars dropped.
[Floor: 2 of 2.] [Hornet nest.]
There were a lot of guards and workers. Perhaps thirty, forty, maybe fifty, all carrying out their day to day lives without any worries. A few of them even looked in their direction, winked at Clyde, and then continued on. Others went into rooms, lounged about, or chatted and boasted. And most of it was about who could capture the heart of a man first or bedroom techniques.
A worker hornet dressed in a silky robe that clung to every curve approached them, bowed, and seemingly smiled warmly.
"Our queen wishes to speak with you. Please follow."
She stepped into Clyde's personal bubbled and said, "do you want to have dinner with me later? I taste delicious." She grinned at the young man's laugh.
"Yeah, you can back the hell up, slut," Chika said. "He already has a reservation elsewhere."
The hornet harrumphed.
"How rude. Whatever, follow me." She muttered a few choice things about a certain silver-haired girl as she led them. No one attacked nor look threatening. Only two guards were armed, and they stood in front of the queen's door.
Clyde and his party knew to keep their guard up as they stepped past the door.
A naked Toru was tied to the wall by what looked a giant strand of golden taffy. His eyes blazed with defiance. Two guards had spears and lusty eyes trained on him. One of them was openly drooling.
"Alright, get him down from there," Clyde said without increasing his tone. The two guards simply turned to him, eyes widened, delighted to see another man. "Do you monster girls ever do things the civil way?"
"Ah, you mean boring and human? Nope, it's not in our blood," said the hornet guide. "Our queen should be out in a bit. Please wait patiently at the table. If you want to talk about being civil, then have honey tea with us and chat. We can work something out." She entered another set of doors.
"Toru, you really are unlucky," Clyde said.
"Tell me about it," Toru said, his voice resigned.
"We'll go ahead and get you down," Clyde said. "Kil—"
A hornet that was clearly the queen walked in followed by two servants. She sat at the table and gestured for the others to take a seat. They didn't.
She was a curvy woman with long blonde hair and large red eyes. Eyes that were part human, part hornet. Large breasts and a hell of a lot of cleavage set the tone of the large room. Her silky see-through dress drew Clyde's eyes for a least a few seconds. Enough to glance at the lingerie underneath. Yep, it was time for him to get out of here.
"Let's get to the point," Clyde said, annoyed at the cliché, "release my friend there and I won't have to burn down this place."
The queen smiled.
"Manly bravado, oh how I missed that," she said. "Would you like to visit the insides of me? I haven't had proper sex in years and our hive is dwindling. We need men to inject their seeds into us. Well, I do."
"Then why don't you go to the city and ask for volunteers?" Clyde said. "Set up advertisements or something for massaging services."
"You know we can't do that and especially not in a forest that belongs to…her," the queen said. "Don't try to shove your human logic onto us. But…you know what you can shove into me." She stood. "So enough of the pretenses. You can join your friend or trade spaces with him. One of you will be staying. I'm looking for a husband." She smiled, fondly. "Of course, we are hornets. And do things differently from our honeybee cousins, but you'd enjoy every moment of it."
"You're mistaking if you think we're going to stand by and let you make demands," Yuki said. Purple aura blasted around her. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."
The queen snarled.
"You don't scare me, demoness. I carve up your kind for breakfast."
She stepped forward. Her guards ran in front of her.
"Kill them. And detain the man. I will be violating him, a lot. We'll see which will make the better husband."
Clyde equipped the wind blade. Three-day training camp my ass, he thought. Fuck this. Day one and he was already face to face with a dungeon boss.
