She returned to the office, hoping no one noticed her absence. Seeing Dauven sitting at her desk crushed that hope.

  “Salutations, Dauven, it is pleasing to see you,” she greeted him, feeling several bees manifest. She felt as each one popped out of existence before she could dispel them.

  Dauven’s nostrils were flared so wide her bees could have flown up his nose. A thought that under normal circumstances would have her giggling, but facing an irate Dauven killed all mirth. “Keylynn, how you manage to disappear when you are supposed to be working in the office is astounding.” He said calmly. He let out a deep breath and looked up at her, his nostrils closer to their normal size. “You missed the meeting with Lark.”

  Keylynn’s stomach flipped. She forgot there was a meeting with Lark. She got too caught up in the break room dispute and making her atonement. “Was he irate?” She asked meekly.

  Dauven snorted. “As if anyone could tell with that one.” Dauven sighed and started to walk her towards his desk. “You didn’t miss much. Barnibus is furious, not at you or our assignment but about our situation. Riv, on the other hand, is excited to make an odious man squirm."

  “Will you be taking the lead on the annual assessment?” She asked as she followed him.

  “I thought that would be best.” He sat down at his desk. Keylynn found an empty chair and pulled it over. “Your comms device.” He placed it in her hands.

  “My apologies.”

  “Lark is making the travel arrangements, so prepare your team for departing in the next couple days. I have filed a requisition for the quest files. When I have them, I’ll be forwarding them to you,” he explained as he clicked through her matrix on his computer. “You’ve made good progress in your training, and it seems you have handled the problem with Demetra. Riv agreed to mentor her. And Akzer named your team. We can consider having been mentored.” He said, sounding tired. It was near the end of the workday.

  “Many thanks, Dauven.” She stood up slowly. “Akzer was odd earlier. They acted as if they didn't want me to take the assignment."

  “You requested an assessment on one of the most sought-out quests by adventurers. That quest is overseen by a director.” Dauven let out a sigh. “Their reaction made it clear that things have been wrong for far longer than we thought. We kicked the proverbial hornet's nest.”

  “I have an affinity for bees, hornets, and the like. Mayhaps they won’t sting.” She mused thoughtfully.

  “We are where we are meant to be,” he agreed. "Let's hope you're right, but prepare for the sting anyways."

  He may be right on that. Why else would things have unravelled as they have? Her only regret was that there are others who are in stinging range. All the more reason to be prepared.

  Her team was in the process of slowly preparing to leave the office. Half of their computer screens were dark as they mindlessly typed at their keyboards. She smirked.

  “Before you are released for the day, I have news.”

  All typing stopped as they turned to face her. The only one who didn’t look completely miserable was Zukyov, who was moderately miserable.

  “Oh, we know we will forever be known as Team Mushroom, not very creative.” Demetra sneered.

  “I—No.” She paused. That must be the name Akzer assigned them. “That was Akzer, but no, that is not my announcement, nor is it anything important.” She attempted to brush it off. Demetra clearly thought differently.

  "The team name isn't that bad. It could be Team One or Team Floor Five," Ragna chimed in. He took a sip from the flask that Demetra had earlier. She almost reached out with her magic. If it was fermented juices, she will have to report it. It was better to simply ignore it for the day.

  “So what is it then? I want to get as far away from that bowl of evil snot as I can,” Demetra grumbled. Keylynn sighed and ignored that too.

  “You have your first field assignment. We will be conducting an annual assessment of the Ody’s Journey quest. Because this is a massive undertaking, the Floor Five team will also be joining us.” She announced it nowhere near as casually as she was intending.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “I think those mushrooms have gotten to your head,” Ragna retorted with a laugh. “An annual assessment of a director’s love child? Assigned to us? I don’t think so.”

  That wasn’t the reaction that she was expecting. Keylynn sucked in a deep breath and thought, 'What would Dauven do?' Dauven wouldn’t be laughed at. She felt a dozen bees manifest and start to buzz around her. Before she could dismiss them, they disappeared at the same time. Ragna stopped laughing and was staring at her.

  “Your mushroom ate your bees. That’s new.”

  Quite. “Check your assignments if you are not believing my words.” “She’s right,” Zukyov stated. Being the least miserable, he was the only one who still had his computer turned on. She needs to speak to them about workplace motivation and how to fake working at the end of the day better. That can wait until they can enjoy coffee throughout their workday again.

  “So the snake is trying to wash his hands of us finally,” Ragna stated before taking a long drink from his flask. That was most certainly fermented fruit juices.

  “No, I was requested to complete the assessment—”

  “—Oh, so it’s you he’s trying to fire. Good shit. Here’s to going down with the ship.” He held his flask up. Before he could take another drink, she grabbed the flask from him.

  She took a sniff and smelled nothing. She almost handed it back when she remembered that it was a magical flask. She took a sip and grimaced. He was drinking pure fermentation secretions. “If you insist on drinking fermentation secretions at work, do so in a manner that isn’t obvious. Are you a child sampling it for the first time? Do better.” She huffed and handed it back to him. “Now, no one is getting fired unless they are deserving of such. I was requested to do this assessment, and I cannot conduct one of this size on my own. You all need field experience; otherwise, Akzer will condemn you to file clerks forever. If that is what you wish, carry on as you have been.”

  Ragna put the flask away. “I hate to break it to you, but someone is out to get you. No director-funded quest ever gets assessed. And annual assessments are conducted remotely now,” he stated as if it were obvious.

  Keylynn frowned. Annual assessments cannot be conducted thoroughly without doing them in person. “Who told you of this?”

  “The boss, who do you think?” Ragna retorted.

  “Go home, all of you. Prepare to be at the train in the next couple of days. Dauven or I will inform you of when,” she dismissed them. She had work to do, and the less they know, the better. She can handle all the hornets stinging, as she’s the one who invaded their hive.

  Her team stood and quickly rushed towards the elevating chamber. Keylynn barely heard their rushed, mumbled farewells as they left.

  “You will need to be nicer to them. They do not live to serve you, and you don’t need to make them feel worse because you desire coffee,” she scolded slime Eugene.

  Her first task was to check her matrix to discern what exactly is going on with both her fungal colonies and slime Eugene.

  Telepathic Slime Mould—Eugene: A new telepathic variant that spontaneously developed a caffeine addiction. Caffeine stimulates the growth and development rates of this variant. It can reach out mentally and request coffee from all that have come within 15 growth radii of a standard fungal bloom. It has developed mild compulsion abilities when it is desperate for a caffeine fix. More research is needed to ascertain the exact implications of this caffeine addiction and the telepathic capabilities of this variant.

  That explained a few things. She will need to teach slime Eugene impulse control, something she hasn't done before. She assumed the first step will be to develop a deeper connection with slime Eugene. She already planned to carry him with her, so they will develop a deeper bond over time. She just has to think of a way to motivate a caffeine-addicted slime to not use its telepathy to constantly demand coffee.

  She scrolled on, looking for an explanation of a mushroom eating a bee. She hoped to find an answer for both her decreased mycelium activity and her increased bee manifestation. If it was simply a skill advancement or caused by her emotions, both problems would have resolved themselves. Dauven would have surely said something if it wasn't as simple as one of her mushrooms.

  Corpse Flower Mushroom: This carnivorous fungus will use whatever means necessary to feed itself. It prefers to hunt insects. It is theorized for the thrills. If there are no insects nearby, it will find other ways to feed itself. As it grows, it will develop an atypical fruiting body that smells like a freshly rotting corpse to attract even more insects to consume.

  She frowned. The corpse flower has to be the cause of everything. And judging by the bee ingestion moment, it has started to develop its fruiting body. But that doesn’t explain why bees.

  She’s summoned many insects for the compost pile, so why the bees? Yes, she has an affinity for her black and yellow friends, so much so they were the first chitinous friends she ever summoned. Wait, that could be it. She summoned the bees and the compost insects using different spells. The bees were summoned using Summon Swarm, a minor summons spell. The compost insects, on the other hand, were summoned with a mass summoning spell. She needs to change the bees to something else. Bees cause fear and harm. Locusts aren’t much better, and no one trusts the soft velvety wings of a moth. She needs an insect that won’t be alarming. Carrion flies. They are harmless and come in all shades of rotting flesh.

  Hungry corpse flowers explain why her mycelium felt odd. They were consuming all colonies they could reach. She felt terrible for not having noticed sooner. She summoned a few carrion flies that flew around her. As each one buzzed, a hypha reached out and snatched from the air. Keylynn sent an image of the fly to the corpse flower, hoping it will learn how to ask for its meal.

  A Progression Fantasy

  Richard Serdin, the only mage in history to ever reach the 11th circle, was the strongest ally of the 5th king of Falconridge Kingdom. He led a carefree life after his potential was recognized by the king. However, his naivety brought him misfortune.

  Richard was soon assigned his first military duty, but during a sudden invasion, his allies deserted him. However, what shocked him the most was the king's decision to not provide him with any backup–the same king who he worshipped like a god.

  "Aren't you an 11th circle mage?" smiled the king.

  After a gruesome battle, his will to fight finally ran out. Lying down, he thought to himself, "If I was a little bit more cautious, maybe—just maybe—I could've saved myself…"

  But fate said otherwise.