Josh had been feeling increasingly useless, stuck watching Brett methodically torch the hive while Perberos and his friend picked off the slow trickle of wasps spilling from the burning nest. But when the paper-like walls began to bulge outward, he knew his turn was coming.
Suddenly the hive burst apart in a shower of charred fragments, and the queen forced her way out. She was easily five times the size of her drones, her chitin glistening black with sickly yellow veins. Josh’s first thought was that if those wings carried her into him at full speed, the impact would be brutal.
Flakes of burning hive clung to her exoskeleton until she gave a violent shake, sending them drifting to the ground as ash. Her wings began to beat, faster and faster. Josh didn’t wait for the group to call a plan, if she got airborne, they’d be in trouble. He strode forward to intercept, only to see her launch into a half-jump, wings buzzing in a thunderous blur… before she slammed back to the ground, too heavy to fly.
“Josh, move up and hold her attention!” Brett’s voice came from behind. “We’ll circle wide and hit her rear!”
Josh nodded, not daring to take his eyes off her. His mouth was dry, heart hammering. He advanced in quick strides until the queen’s multifaceted eyes locked on him. It was like staring into black diamonds, cold, sharp, and hungry.
She shrieked and charged, pounding the ground with terrifying speed. Josh lowered his shield to protect his legs, meeting her head-on. His arm lashed out almost instinctively, smashing the shield’s rim into her face. The collision was like hitting a moving boulder, his shield slammed back into his chest as the queen’s mass drove against him. Gritting his teeth, he dug his boots into the dirt, holding his ground. He couldn’t shove her back, but she couldn’t push him either.
Feeling a slight give, he twisted the shield aside and thrust his sword toward one of her eyes, only for the blade to scrape harmlessly along her armour.
Josh stepped back, realizing brute force was a losing game. The gap gave him a quick glance to the side, Brett was already drawing magic into his hands. The queen lunged again, snapping for his shin. Josh brought his shield down just in time, jamming her mandibles into the dirt before springing backward.
A sharp crack rang out as an arrow shattered against her flank, followed by the thud of a firebolt slamming into her opposite side. She reared back with a hiss of pain, head turning toward her attackers.
Josh charged in, desperate to bring the queens attention back upon himself. His shield smashed into her head, and his sword drove deep between the plates of her neck. This time, the steel found purchase. He twisted the blade, widening the gap before yanking it free, dark green ichor spilling down her chest.
Her scream was pure fury. Her jaws clamped onto the edge of his shield, the serrated inner ridges biting into the wood. With a sudden wrench, she tore sideways, dragging his guard open. Before Josh could react, one of her spined rear legs shot forward, slamming into his right thigh.
The impact was like being hit by a sledgehammer. His leg went instantly numb, buckling under him. He barely stayed upright on his other foot, muscles screaming with the effort. The queen still had his shield locked in her jaws, pulling him off balance, and he realized with a jolt, he was one bad move away from being on the ground with her right on top of him.
Just as Josh’s grip began to fail and he was about to abandon his shield to stay upright, a rush of mana slammed into him, hot, electric, like being doused in liquid sunlight. Pain flared in his thigh, sharp and immediate, before ebbing away under the steady warmth of Carcan’s magic. His breath caught. That had been more than bruising, the queen had probably broken the bone. And Carcan had just stitched it back together in seconds.
With the numbness gone and his leg solid under him again, Josh wrenched his shield arm back, dragging the queen’s head forward, then drove his sword straight at her face. Steel met resistance, then burst through one of her faceted eyes with a sickening pop. A spray of green and black fluid streaked his arm.
The queen reeled, letting out a piercing, glassy shriek. At the same instant, a firebolt exploded against her side - this blast seemed larger than before, sending cracks spiderwebbing through her armour, and an arrow punched into the softer joint at her leg. Her jaws unclamped from Josh’s shield, snapping uselessly at the air as she spun toward her attackers, ichor pouring from the ruined eye.
Josh didn’t wait. He lunged again, ramming his sword between her mandibles. The steel grated against chitin before sinking deep, and yellow ichor flooded her mouth. Her scream turned to a wet, rattling roar. More shots landed, another arrow, a pair of quick firebolts, each one forcing another lurch of pain from her.
Josh’s breath came in ragged gasps, each inhale sharp and hot in his lungs as sweat trickled down the back of his neck, mixing with the grime and dust caking his skin. His heart hammered like a war drum, echoing in his ears louder than the furious buzzing of the queen’s wings. Every strike of his sword and slam of his shield sent jolts of pain through his arms, but it was the sting in his leg, the heavy throb where the queen had kicked him, that made him grit his teeth against the urge to collapse. Was it phantom pain he asked himself, knowing his HP has refilled Carcan’s healing magic and he could bear weight on his leg. Fear curled low in his gut, a cold whisper telling him he might not be strong enough to beat this monstrous wasp, but he pushed it down, focusing on the weight of his shield, the feel of the sword’s hilt biting into his palm, and the fiery determination burning hotter than any pain.
Around him, chaos roared like a living thing. The acrid sting of burning paper and venom stung his nostrils, mixing with the sharp metallic tang of sweat and blood that coated his tongue. Smoke from the blazing hive curled upward in twisting, choking spirals, casting flickering shadows that jittered across the gnarled trees like restless spirits. Beneath his feet, the crunch of shattered wasp bodies mashed into the dirt sent sharp pops and wet hisses echoing as venom sacs burst underfoot. Every step was a gamble the ground littered with splintered wood and razor-sharp chitin fragments that threatened to unbalance him. The queen’s deafening roar split the air, a sudden burst of sound that seemed to shake the very branches overhead, and for a split second, the world fell into a tense, suffocating silence, only broken by the ragged gasps of breath and the crackle of flames hungrily consuming the hive.
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The queens body shifted. Josh tried to wrench the blade free, but she surged forward, her abdomen curling toward him like a whip. The stinger shot forward, a black lance of death. Instinct screamed louder than thought, he let go of his sword and dove hard to the left.
The stinger ripped through the air where he’d been a heartbeat before, so close he heard it hum. A mist of liquid sprayed from its tip as it sliced past, splattering his arms and legs. The effect was instant. The pain hit him like a wildfire white-hot, searing through every nerve ending, burning through flesh and bone. His muscles spasmed involuntarily; every breath was a razor’s edge slicing through his lungs. He dropped to one knee, mouth clenched tight to keep from screaming.
Carcan’s healing magic swept over him again, cool and sharp, but this time it was a distant reprieve, a faint breeze over a raging inferno. The acid’s burn was deep, far beneath the surface and though the surface pain dulled, a dull, relentless ache pulsed like a drumbeat in his leg. Every move sent fresh shocks up his nerves.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself up, shield raised like a lifeline. He surged forward and slammed it into the queen’s side with all his weight, feeling her body buckle slightly. She screeched, and Josh brought the rim of the shield down on one of her forelegs. Something snapped, sharp, brittle and her hiss turned into a guttural scream.
He stepped back just in time to avoid her snapping mandibles. Then a heavy jolt shuddered through the shield as her tail drove straight into it, punching clean through the outer boards. Josh gritted his teeth, twisted his arm, and yanked back hard, dragging her off balance with the stinger stuck fast.
She thrashed, jerking violently to tear herself free. Josh leaned his weight into the pull, boots carving deep furrows in the dirt as he forced her to stumble and slide with him. Arrows kept thudding into her hide; firebolts detonated across her carapace in bursts of heat and light. Ichor sprayed, sizzling on the dirt.
One final wrench, wood splintered, something tore wetly, and Josh staggered back a step, nearly falling. He glanced over his shield… and froze. The queen was retreating, but the lower half of her abdomen, stinger and all, hung in jagged ruin from his shield. Her lifeblood poured from the ragged tear, pooling on the ground.
Her legs scrambled, but the broken one barely moved. She turned, mandibles snapping with a chattering fury, but Josh’s sword still jutted from between them, locking her bite half-open. She made a strangled, gargling roar, more blood than sound and then her body gave out. She slumped forward, eyes dimming.
Josh finally let the breath out of his lungs, chest heaving. His arms trembled, whether from the fight or the adrenaline crash he wasn’t sure. He walked to the corpse, the venom’s effect still evident, every step felt like walking on shards of glass, but relief washed over him nonetheless. He moved to the corpse, nudging the head with his boot, making sure it was truly still. Then he bent to retrieve his sword, pulling it free with a wet squelch.
By the time he straightened, the others had closed in, weapons still ready but relief in their eyes.
“Wow. That was the longest minute of my life. When she smacked you in the leg, I honestly thought you were a goner,” Perberos said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Josh blinked in surprise. “That was a minute?! Felt more like an eternity!” he shouted, still catching his breath.
Brett nodded with a wry smile. “Yeah, maybe a minute and a half but it didn’t feel that long. Still, it was a brutal fight, especially for you. I definitely need to learn some stronger support spells. I can’t imagine facing more than one of those things without backup.” He glanced around at the others. “If we stick together after this, maybe we should consider adding another melee fighter to the team.” The twins exchanged noncommittal shrugs, leaving the idea hanging in the air.
Josh was too stunned to reply, but felt Carcan’s gentle hand on his back and heard her quiet voice, “You did very well, Josh.”
He looked at her and smiled, grateful, though was interrupted before he could say anything.
“Okay, let’s see what loot we got,” Perberos said with a laugh, jogging over to the queens dissolving body.
The group looked down as the wasp queen’s body shimmered and vanished, replaced by a collection of items: black and yellow chitinous plates, a cluster of dark gems, and a nasty-looking dagger shaped like a stinger.
Perberos scooped up the loot, holding the gems up to the light. “Oooh, these are nice. They’d fetch a good price from enchanters or alchemists. The dagger’s not bad either, it gives +3 to Dexterity and has a minor poison effect. Anyone want it?” He glanced around the group.
Josh and Brett exchanged confused looks before Brett spoke up. “Uh, how do you know it has that effect?”
“Oh! I forgot to mention, I have the Inspection skill. It’s low level, but good for identifying simple items like these.”
Josh’s face lit up. “That’s awesome! So you actually know what all the loot does?”
“I wouldn’t say all of it,” Perberos admitted with a grin. “I can only use the skill a few times a day, and it won’t work on anything above uncommon yet.”
Josh chuckled softly. “Magic is pretty cool.”
No one seemed eager to keep the dagger, so they agreed to sell it and split the proceeds. Josh finally glanced at the messages still flashing on his HUD.
[Congratulations, your party has slain Level 5 Giant Wasp Queen!]
[You have leveled up to Level 3!]
He couldn’t help but whoop with joy, catching the smiles of his friends, especially Brett’s. “Hey, I just hit level 3!” he announced to the slightly puzzled elves.
Perberos grinned. “Congrats! We actually reached that level just before our training started, so you’re not far behind. Take a moment to sort your stats, then we’ll finish looting the nest and head to the next quest.”
The pair nodded and their eyes glazed over as they focused on their character sheets. Josh knew he wanted to pump points into Strength and Constitution, quickly assigning two to each and one to Dexterity. Just then, another message appeared.
[Congratulations, your One-Handed Weapons – Basic – has progressed to Adept!]
Another whoop burst from Josh’s lips. “Yes! I’m already seeing progress!” he said, glancing around to see the amused stares of his companions. “Sorry, I just leveled up a skill too.”
“No worries! Congrats again. Ready to move on?” Perberos asked, already eager to get going. “I want to explore around the hive a bit more, see if there’s any other loot.”
Josh and Brett nodded eagerly, ready for whatever came next.
----
Level - 3
Class - Warrior
HP - 180
MP - 100
Str - 18
Dex - 14
Con - 18
Int - 10
Wis - 10
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