We've just entered the Haunt, the Dim Forests. And now I'm witnessing a scene that could have been taken straight out of a comedy.

"GYAAAAAAAAA!!" 

"...Should we help them?" - Garami

"I don't want to. Do you?" - Noire

We looked at the three newest members of the Guild running around in panic while evading the stinger of an adult-sized bee, the first monster we encountered here. Seriously...

"Poison Fume." - Garami

Not wanting to get too close to the bee, I dosed it with some insecticide from a distance. It died instantly.

"*Wheeze, wheeze*, G-Garami... c-couldn't you ha-have done that... a little... sooner?" - Flint

Flint asked me on behalf of the trio, as Ciara was lacking air in her lungs after having run so much and Karnel was still in bee shock. Guess he's bad with insects. Makes you wonder about the person who dragged him to go bug-hunting until he got the [Insect Slayer] title... not that I'm any better.

"That was a Poison magic that one can learn once the skill reached Lv.10." - Garami

"...Huh?" - Flint

"In other words, that bee was so weak that even a weakling spell from me was enough to kill it. You guys were too busy running to notice that I've already weakened it." - Garami

This Evil Eye's damn useful. It didn't change the bee's scary appearance though, but I can't believe that they didn't notice its flying abilities had worsened during the chase. 

"And you two! Is that the attitude of someone with [Fear Resistance] at its highest?" -Garami

"*Sniff*, it's because I've seen so much scary stuff that I've grown even more scared of it!!" - Ciara

"Same here... ahh, not centipedes, not centipedes..." - Karnel

Crap, they're right. Skill or not, I don't wanna face any more reptiles. I've already had more than enough of my share. They're my small trauma, no, an arch nemesis-like existence. Flint is okay though...

"...In that case, Ciara, that Clairvoyance skill of yours is an improved [Identification], isn't it? Why didn't you look at the bee's stats? It was only level 7." - Garami

"It was!? ...Sorry, I never thought about it..." - Ciara

Crap, this place may be worse for their training than I could ever imagine...

"Maybe this place is a better place for training these two than we first expected." - Noire

"You think so? Not the opposite?" - Garami

If they've grown so bad that even a completed [Fear Resistance] can't overcome it, then isn't forcing them to fight more bugs a bad idea?

"We'll have them get used to the weaker bugs through buffing and debuffing so that they gain enough confidence to face those critters even if they are scared of them." - Noire (whispering)

That's ...not a bad idea. We got the perfect duo for those jobs.

"Still, this place's called 'the Dim Forest', was it? Quite fitting." - Noire

True. The place looks like a normal forest... albeit, with ten-meter-high trees. The branches block out the sun and darken the whole place. Hadn't it been for those patches of glowing moss, then this place would be impossible to travel through except for bats or those with [Night Vision]. It feels like anything could pop out... are those three fine with that?

"Ghosts are weak to magic, so I'm feeling okay. It was horrible the first time I saw one though..." - Ciara

Ah, I feel that a backstory's gonna come up if I keep going on this route, so let's change the channel. 

"I think back on the ghosts that Garami makes. Those are worse than any natural ones." - Flint

Oh... okay... aren't ghosts supposed to be "supernatural"? Not that it sounds convincing when a demon's saying it.

And Karnel's... Is he switched off? Let's see if this will turn him back on. *Bonk*.

"Ah! Uh... I'm fine... or, maybe not." - Karnel

"Got problems with fighting? Like harming other creatures?" - Flint

"No, it's not that... it's just that I'm... a little unathletic... I can with confidence say that the number of my punches that misses far exceeds those that hit the target." - Karnel

Crap, that's not good. He's got some good long-range skills though, so I don't think that will be too much of a problem. 

"Okay, then we will use the following plan-." - Noire

"Ah, before that, stock up on cheap skills." - Garami

"Huh!? Didn't you say at the beginning that we needed to farm Skill Points in this place? Why are we using them then!?" - Ciara

"You're getting double the Skill Point for working with me. Even Karnel will earn 3.6 Points for raising a skill to its highest level. Select skills that you'll use a lot anyway and they will pay themselves back before you know it." - Garami

"Really!?" - Ciara & Karnel

Hey, hey, you two got some levels from the pirate ship incident. At least take note of it...

After the skill-additions, we ventured further into the Haunt. Flint's taking the lead with that big katana, an odachi(?), ready. Ciara and Karnel are walking behind him, ready to support whenever it's needed. Behind them again is Noire who will give a helping hand if needed.

Me? I'm scouting the area. Gotta make sure the others don't fall into any traps. None of them have Scout-line classes after all. Not that I can imagine a smith or two magicians owning one. 

And sure enough, one of the bees came to check the sounds we were making. About time. 

The bees here are called Stunstinger Workers, a type of bee-monsters that paralyzes their victims with their stingers and special pollen that they drop on you. The paralyzation won't be a problem with the items and enchantments members have, but those stingers are damn big...

I led the bee to the others to take care of. Ciara looked terrified but Flint manned himself up and knocked the bee away with his odachi. Karnel followed up with an Earth Lance spell... and that's that. These bees got annihilated instantly. They're more fragile than me..., is not the case, considering how crazy my stats are lately, but they're not focused on VIT at least.

"See? That's how easy it is." - Garami

"Damn right you are. Bet I could take it down with that one attack if I enhanced the sword with flames..." - Flint

"They are bugs after all." - Noire

More bugs kept on coming after that. Flint used the [Taunting] skill he had learned to attract the attention of the bees to him. Since he's protected by Karnel's barriers, that's a good move. Flint's not the fastest guy on the team either, so having the enemy come to him is a smarter alternative than chasing them around and breaking the formation. Plus, bugs that get too close get to taste the [Burning Ground] skill. The forest won't catch fire with all this, will it?

Karnel is... like a moving fortress? Those barriers are tough to crack, and the skill-based barriers are enhanced with magic and vice versa. Plus all his attacks are heavy like a cannonball. Though, he's focusing more on keeping Flint safe. Between attacking or defending, I guess it's his practice to favor the latter. 

Ciara was scared of the bees, but after the second wave, she started to attack too. Currently, she's got the highest kill count. Using that [Ocean Territory]-skill to make her spells and skills register a certain area as the sea is fair, but to let her produce tidal waves that wash the bees away!? That's broken! And she's using Ink Demons to guard her back.

That fairy has no blindsides! And she's minimized herself to become a smaller target, but her spells aren't any smaller at all! That's a pure cheat! Someone, please nerf that girl, now!

Jokes aside, we're up to... 200 bees already? No, I'm serious here. I got the [Insect Slayer] medal just for being in the same Party as those three, and I've amassed around that much Materials, and that's only from the bees still in good enough condition to be converted. 

"ARGH!! Bugs bug me!! Just leave us alone already!!" - Ciara

"She's acting like me when I can't finish an order for a new weapon..." - Flint

"Everyone has their weaknesses. Miss Ciara, deep breaths..." - Karnel

Considering we've been here for three hours now, it's not surprising. And I've even got to figure out most of the newbie's personalities. Ciara can be described as a city girl, so I should refrain from giving her too much fieldwork from now on. Karnel's like a gentle elder, but maybe too gentle? I can see him naively getting tricked to help out someone with a nasty personality. Kindness is a virtue, I get that... but I can't stop worrying...

It's getting late, and the others are tired despite Noire and I recovering their stamina and mana with spells and potions. Even their nerves are worn out, as Ciara's demonstrating. There were also more and more bees as we ventured further in. 

However, Karnel is still at Lv.38. Just two more's enough for him to evolve...

"You three, leave the forest. You too, Noire." - Garami

I decided to let the others leave the forest.

"What!? And having to come back here tomorrow!?" shouted Ciara in dismay, unhappy that her time in the forest would be extended with one more day.

"Ciara... is it not better to have a good meal and rest properly first? We have yet to reach the depth of the forest," said Karnel in an attempt to pacify Ciara.

"That's a damn good idea. I can't feel my arms anymore," replied Flint with a tired voice.

"...If that's what you want," said Noire, a little confused over my sudden statement, but she couldn't hide her pleasure of leaving the forest. 

"...Fine then. But I don't want to return here ever again! Or at least a reward!" said Ciara, who reluctantly left the forest with the others.

I stayed behind to "guard the rear". It's not a lie. Because soon after the others had left, the real threat of this Haunt appeared. 

Now then, the Stunstingers we've encountered by now were all Workers. However, is a beehive manned..., "bee-ed" by only worker-bees? The answer is "no". And to prove it is this... HEY! You're not a Stunstinger Soldier!

What came out of the forest depths was a massive bee, prolly four times bigger than the Workers. It's got ten legs, but six of them look like stingers... or at this size, maybe lances would be a better word? In any case, it looks not so different from the Workers except for its extra legs and size. However, it's not the D-rank Soldier bees. It's a Stunstinger General. Rank C!

I fled. Why wouldn't I!? I could perhaps handle that thing on my own if I had the right tools and a plan for it. But no, this thing had to suddenly appear, and it still has a ton of underlings to support it. Why're they suddenly skipping the ranks here!? This thing's worse than the dragon in these conditions!!

...Crap. The [Kin Killer]-title. Now I get it. These bees may kill each other during the times when there's not enough food, or simply be ordered to by the Stunstinger Queen so more efficient guards will be produced. 

I ran through the forest as I fled from the General. I'm taking a different route than the one the others took. Can't have them be collateral damage. And if I use the trees in the forest... screw that! That bee's wings are slicing through the trees like a knife in soft butter! What are those, laser saws!?

The General started to use various Lightning-based skills to shoot me down while chasing me. Compared to Mira's though, they lack some punch. Then it must be power-leveled then. No techniques or personal experience behind those attacks. That doesn't stop them from crushing the trees its strikes though! Damn overpowered stats!! And it's fast! It's SPD's close to mine!

I could run away with Genocide Drive, but this thing has [Pursuit] of all the skills out there. Having it follow me... is not good. It's too fast for me to find the time to lay a decent trap. And... geh!? The lighting's changing tractory!?

I used Genocide Drive to dodge the lightning blast. Luckily, they're way slower than real lightning. But what was that?! And... here comes some more! And from the ground!

Time to use the new killer-move; [Aerial Maneuvering]!! Formed from [Acrobatics] and two more movement-easing skills! In my case, those are [Climbing] and [Footwork]!

I jumped into the air to dodge the "crawling" lightning on the ground and... stayed in the air. [Aerial Maneuvering] eases any form of movement, be it climbing, acrobatics, or anything else, plus it lets you create footholds like [Sky Jump] does. Those two are prolly related somehow. In any case, now I can create footholds wherever I want and give me the option to stand on them or have them launch me into the air. 

And now it's time to fly!

I used the foothold to jump away from the General's stinger that came dangerously close to strike me there. I created more footholds and kept on dodging the lightning blasts and those gigantic stingers. Good thing that guy's bad at aiming. However, I'm not gonna flee away. Okay, I will, but not without giving some pain back to these guys. 

The General charged at me while covered in lightning, so I used Genocide Drive for a speed boost and fled that lightning tackle. It was then that the magic-[Parallel Minds] notified me that the "pain-returner" is completed.

I let the lightning-covered General pass me again before I released my payback plan. Along with the new skill, [Poison Fog], I added all the Poison Magic that the [Parallel Minds] had been preparing ever since I told the others to go ahead. Being prepared is also a virtue. 

The General saw what I was doing and prepared a Wind skill while ordering its subordinate-bees to do the same. Relax already, I've seen that you also have Wind skills on your list along with the sparkly stuff. 

As the purple fog blew to the bees, I used [Storm Compression] at full power while multiplying the output thanks to [Chaotic Concurrence]. By using my punch as a "guiding track", I send the small, horizontal tornado towards the bees. It absorbed the poison fog and become a tornado of poison, killing all the weaker bees when it grazed them and pushed the General back into the forest's depths. 

That went well~. If I only used the poison, then the bees would have sent it right back at me, and if I only used the tornado, then the General may have survived. Using them both, however, will make the guy incapable of following me until I've reached the exit. Rather, isn't that guy dead by now?

I ran a little more until I decided to look at the System Messages that had hopped up during the bug extermination. If that guy died, I should hope for one more level, not including the one I got when we hunted all those Workers. He had a pretty high level...

Okay, it's safe... I guess? And what's up with that title? A little late, aren't ya?!!