Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Chapter 102

According to Dorien, the Vox Forest had a problem. A very big problem. One that needed to be resolved as soon as possible, unless the repercussions were severe. And it was that the entire ecosystem was faced with collapse.

“Do you hear it?” the [Druid] asked as he trudged forward.

I frowned, listening carefully. But all I heard were his footsteps on the muddy ground. “Uh, am I supposed to hear something?”

“Exactly.” He shook his head. “Where are the buzzing insects? Where are the birds and the butterflies and the animals rustling between the trees?”

“Right.” I nodded as I followed after him. “And this is all because… some bees are going to die?”

Dorien snorted. “They aren’t just some bees. They’re called bastion bees, and they’re going to go extinct if we don’t do something to save them.”

“And it’s all because of some poachers, right?”

“Exactly.”

I sighed. “Right…”

Apparently, bastion bees were classified under the Adventurer’s Guild as sacred monsters. I never heard of that term before, but it meant that they were protected by the guild itself, and that killing them would lead to immediate revocation of an adventurer’s badge.

Anyways, that wasn’t going to deter poachers from poaching. And that had ultimately led to this.

“So you want me to kill these poachers and save the bees?” I asked, and Dorien paused.

His brows snapped together as he glanced back at me. “What? No— the bastion bees dealt with those idiotic poachers on their own.”

I blinked, coming to a halt as well. “Seriously?”

“A colony of bastion bees is an A-rank threat,” the [Druid] said as he waved a hand dismissively. “Those poachers were barely even C-rank [Hunters]. They didn’t stand a chance once the swarm found them.”

“Why would a bunch of C-rank [Hunters] attack a colony of bastion bees?” I asked quizzically.

“They didn’t,” Dorien explained. “They were after the queen alone. So they snuck into the hive, and they shot her with a poisoned arrow while she was asleep. They thought that was enough to take her down, but she survived her injuries… for now.”

“I’m not a [Healer],” I said as I crossed my arms. “And neither am I a doctor. I don’t know what Noele told you about me, but I can’t cure someone who has been poisoned.”

“I understand that, and I have already acquired a cure from an [Alchemist] in Whiteridge.” The [Druid] nodded at me reassuringly. He patted a bag slung around his shoulder as I peered at him curiously.

“Then what do you need my help for?”

“I need your help with getting to the queen bastion bee,” he said, raising his head. “The colony has not left the hive since they killed the poachers, and they have not allowed anyone to come close to their queen. Not even me.”

I stared at Dorien. I looked at the way his brows creased as he said the last part. He spoke those words bitterly— like he was upset. But it wasn’t directed at the bastion bees. Rather, he seemed to be upset at himself for whatever reason. Either that he hadn’t been able to catch the poachers before they got to the hive, or that he wasn’t able to convince the bastion bees to let him enter their colony after the queen was nearly murdered.

I didn’t know the full story between him and these bees. But he was supposedly called the Guardian of the Vox Forest. The fact that he had failed to fulfill his role… he must have felt like a failure.

“Well, don’t worry about it,” I said as I placed a hand on his shoulder. “You just want me to get the cure to the queen, right?”

“Without harming a single one of the bastion bees,” Dorien clarified. “They will attack you, but please do not fight back. I don’t know anyone else who can do this— save for maybe an S-rank [Mage] or an S-rank [Rogue].”

“Alright, that doesn’t sound too difficult.” I shrugged as he smiled.

“Thank you…” He smiled gratefully, then he led me deeper into the Vox Forest.

The foliage here grew… withered. There were still trees and bushes and flowers scattered around. But the plants were clearly dying. Dehydrated and blemished. There were no animals, either.

As Dorien had pointed out, there weren’t any insects or birds flying around— not this deep into the Vox Forest. I did spot a handful of monsters wandering the area, but they were feasting on the dead plants and fallen leaves, so they probably were adapted to even survive in a barren landscape.

It was quite a terrible sight. But it made sense, considering that this had been ongoing for months now, and bastion bees played an incredibly vital role in the Vox Forest. There were a wide variety of exotic and unique plants growing here, and their durable physiology allowed them to properly nurture the harsh environment of the forest.

I was surprised to hear that the queen bastion bee was still alive even now after months of being poisoned. However, the poison was effective because it would normally permanently incapacitate its target if it didn’t kill them.

Dorien and I reached our destination as the sun began to set from the sky. We weren’t in any rush, and I was enjoying my relaxing stroll through the forest— even if it was, admittedly, less of a tranquil scene compared to before. But there were still some plants growing here, despite the withering state of the Vox Forest.

“Be careful,” the [Druid] warned me as he stepped around a tall shrub. “That’s a malim bush— you don’t want to touch it.”

“Malim?” I raised a brow, glancing back at it. “Isn’t that the juice you were trying to sell me?”

He nodded in response. “That’s right. But growing malim fruits is a very delicate process. If the bush is disturbed before its fruit matures, the fruit will never ripen. That’s why you can’t find malim fruits being sold anywhere around the Vox Forest.”

“I see.” I nodded, before glancing past him towards a cave entrance situated at the base of a small rocky hill. “And this is the colony of bastion bees?”

“Indeed,” Dorien replied. “This is where you’ll have to continue on your own.”

He dug into his bag as I took in the hive. Well, it was less like a hive and more like a fortress. I could see where the name of the bastion bees came from. Seriously, there were large octagonal-shaped bricks made out of stone walling off the entrance to the cave, with a small little hole about the size of my head in the very middle of the wall.

“I know I can’t fight back against the bees, but can I at least break down the wall?“ I said, gesturing at the cave entrance.

“As long as none of the bees get hurt.” The [Druid] nodded, handing me a small vial.

“Alright.” I started forward, accepting the cure.

Dorien watched as I casually walked up to the brick wall. But I didn’t even raise a fist to break it down. Instead, I just stepped straight through it.

He blinked, and I waved back at him.

“I’ll be back in a minute!” I called out.

With that, I began to descend down a narrow tunnel, heading deeper into the heart of the hill. It wasn’t a complex network of caves that made up a natural labyrinth. It was a relatively straight walk to get to the center of the hive.

I paused only for a moment when I stepped on something wet. A glowing green sludge. At first, I thought it had been some kind of acid. But I saw the way it stuck to my shoes, and I narrowed my eyes.

“This is… honey?”

I shook my head and continued forward. I could investigate that later. For now, I had a job to do. I turned a corner as the tunnel grew danker with the luminescent green honey of the bastion bees.

And in the distance, I started to hear a buzzing. At first, it was very soft. But the closer I got to the source, it almost sounded like the chirping of a thousand birds. A chittering that was so cacophonous I was surprised I didn’t hear it from outside of the cavern.

I turned the final corner, and I saw it.

A mass of bastion bees. Each one was the size of my head, and their stingers were about the size of a finger. Their translucent wings rapidly beat behind their backs as they clustered together into a giant abomination in the center of the cave chamber.

There had to be hundreds of them— maybe even thousands of them. And while each one wasn’t exactly stronger than a B-rank alone, altogether they were considered a high A-ranked threat. It was dangerous. Very dangerous.

But I still took a step forward and I waved at them.

“Hey,” I called out casually. “Sorry, but I need to see your queen to give her this antidote or whatever.”

And all at once, hundreds of heads snapped towards me. Their gazes bore into me. Their bulbous crimson eyes were glowing in the dark. It illuminated their figures, revealing a striped black pattern on their golden chitin. They hissed, flapping their wings faster as I got closer. Probably a warning.

I raised my hands placatingly. “I’m not your enemy—” I started.

But the bastion bees attacked. Hundreds of them swarmed out, their stingers aimed at me as they circled around me. I sighed, shaking my head.

“Dorien was right. You guys really are irritable, huh?”

In response, the bastion bees just stung me. They crashed into me from behind— their wings buzzing loudly in the cavern. Perhaps they struck with enough force to topple even the walls of Windrip. But I didn’t even budge back.

I just continued walking forward as I rubbed my temples.

“Man, I’m just trying to help…”

Their stings didn’t actually hurt me, but I couldn’t lie and say that their cacophonous buzzing wasn’t really annoying. I walked straight up to the large mass of bees, and they charged me, trying to slow my approach.

They failed, of course. Their stingers couldn’t even cut my skin.

In their attempts to stop me, the swarm of bastion bees slowly peeled apart to reveal their queen at the very center. I spotted her amongst her workers. It was not that hard, really. She was quite big— about the size of a child.

Unlike the other bastion bees who were shaped like large… bees, she actually looked quite distinct. She had four segmented bodies instead of the usual three, and a coat of black fur that was shaped like a dress. Not only that, but she was vaguely human-like in shape too.

And she was hurt. Her golden chitin was a dull yellow in color, and there was an arrow puncturing her sides. Her wings fluttered weakly behind her back as she raised her head to face me. I strode up to her while her hive continued to assail me from all sides. I gestured at the bastion bees, before raising the cure Dorien had given me.

“Hey, can you tell your workers to get off my back? I’m here to save you, and I kinda need to get that arrow out of you first before I can help.”

The queen tilted her head, before her antennae twitched. Her workers slowly started to fly back as I stared with round eyes. Her mandibles parted open, and I blinked.

“Huh, I didn’t think you’d actually—”

And a wave of acid shot out from her mouth. The attack engulfed me as the watching bastion bees buzzed with excitement. The rocky ground beneath my feet melted, and the streak of green liquid struck the back wall. But I didn’t even flinch.

“...why can’t things ever be easy?”

I just shook my head as I walked up to the queen bastion bee. She struggled— her swarm continued to attack me. But eventually, I managed to remove the arrow from her body. And finally, I could feed her the antidote.