Chapter 27
Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted continuously right in front of Jeon.
They were Bomb Bees crashing into the sand wall and detonating.
Dozens of Bomb Bees had already self-destructed. But neither Jeon nor Goduwon had sustained a single wound.
It was thanks to the sand barriers rising around them.
The Bomb Bees couldn't penetrate the sand barriers and exploded.
Thus, the two of them were completely uninjured.
"Th-this can't be!"
Goduwon couldn't close his gaping mouth.
He knew better than anyone just how terrifying and troublesome Bomb Bees were.
One or two of them were nothing to fear.
You could just shoot them with arrows.
The problem was that the number of Bomb Bees inhabiting the Black Forest was beyond counting.
The most arrows Goduwon could bring at once were a few dozen, but the number of Bomb Bees easily surpassed that by hundreds or thousands of times.
The Bomb Bees self-destructed without even fearing death.
Before the might of such Bomb Bees, Goduwon's abilities were utterly useless. The Bomb Bees and Goduwon truly had the worst possible compatibility. That was why he had only circled the outskirts of the Black Forest without daring to venture inside.
Unless one was an Awakened of Deiodeun's caliber, they shouldn't even think of entering the Black Forest.
He had entered with Jeon out of a drowning man clutching at straws mindset, with little real hope.
But the might Jeon was displaying now far surpassed his imagination.
Boom boom! Boom!
Like a heavy rain drumming on a roof, the Bomb Bees continuously battered the sand barrier and perished gloriously.
The Bomb Bees exploding beyond the sand barrier almost felt pitiful.
If Bomb Bees had the worst compatibility with him, then Jeon had the worst compatibility with Bomb Bees.
'So this is why that arrogant Deiodeun keeps him around.'
He gazed at Jeon, even forgetting that his daughter had entered the Black Forest.
Once his agitation subsided somewhat, he realized Jeon's robe looked familiar.
"Is that an Elf's robe?"
"How did you know?"
"My wife had a similar one."
"I see."
"Where did you get it? Elves never give their belongings to humans."
"Well, that's..."
"It seems Deiodeun massacred another Elf village somewhere."
Goduwon grasped the truth in an instant.
Jeon made an embarrassed expression.
Because he had no idea how to make excuses.
Fortunately, Goduwon didn't blame Jeon.
Jeon asked carefully.
"Do you know why Deiodeun hates other races so much?"
"Hoo!"
"Is it true that Earth became like this because of other races?"
"That... is the truth."
Goduwon answered helplessly. Because if he wasted time making needless excuses, saving his daughter could be delayed.
"So that's why he hates them so."
"Not all other races were like that. My wife opposed their decision. That is why she was left behind, met me, and even ended up marrying me."
"What did the other races do to make Earth end up like this?"
Jeon couldn't understand it at all.
From what he'd heard, Earth had been an incredibly large planet.
He had also heard that Neo Seoul was but a tiny speck compared to Earth's size.
He couldn't comprehend how such a massive planet could become a desert in an instant.
"I don't know that far. My wife was reluctant to talk about it too. Saying it was their original sin..."
"Hmm!"
"Sorry."
"Understood. Let's focus on rescuing Hareu for now."
"Thank you!"
Even at that moment, Bomb Bees were continuously crashing into the sand barrier and self-destructing.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
The deeper they went toward the center of the Black Forest, the more intense the explosions became. That many more Bomb Bees were launching suicide attacks.
The steadfast sand barrier was shaking violently.
Wheeee!
The sky was completely black.
Bomb Bees covered the entire sky.
"My god!"
Goduwon's face turned deathly pale.
There were dozens of times more Bomb Bees than he had vaguely guessed.
He couldn't believe that so many Bomb Bees were living inside the Black Forest.
Goduwon asked Jeon.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Now let's start reducing their numbers in earnest."
"In earnest?"
"Yes! There's a skill I want to test."
Jeon smiled slightly.
The Bomb Bees themselves were weapons.
There were countless such weapons.
But Jeon wasn't intimidated by such Bomb Bees.
"We have just as many weapons on this side."
Kuuuu!
When Jeon raised his control, all the sand within several tens of meters around them rose into the air at once.
No matter how numerous the Bomb Bees were, they couldn't outnumber the sand covering the entire world.
Against a numerical offensive, you respond with a numerical offensive.
The only issues were mana and control.
For now, it was enough.
Jeon began to unleash the image he had been contemplating and painting in his mind into the Black Forest.
The sand floating in the air gathered around Jeon.
Its appearance was like that of a gigantic cylinder.
A gigantic cylinder made of sand.
The image in his head was realized perfectly in reality.
All that remained was to pull the trigger.
"Here I go."
Jeon injected mana into the cylinder.
Vrooooom!
In that instant, the giant sand cylinder began to rotate at a terrifying speed.
The sand cylinder pulled everything in its surroundings toward it. And crushed it.
The Bomb Bees sucked into the sand cylinder were ground apart at a terrifying speed.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Inside the giant sand cylinder, the Bomb Bees caused a chain of explosions.
It was a spectacle hard to believe even while witnessing it with his own eyes.
Jeon muttered.
"I suppose you could call it a kind of sand mixer?"
And so, the skill's name was Sand Mixer.
Its advantage was being able to rotate sand at high speeds to grind up numerous demonic beasts at once.
Its disadvantage was that it consumed a lot of mana, so it couldn't be used for very long.
For now, its rank was low, so its range wasn't that wide, but later, when its rank increased and his mana grew, its power would be maximized.
If it became S-rank, summoning sandstorms wouldn't be just a dream.
Goduwon stared at the Sand Mixer, entranced.
"Madness!"
The sky, which had been pitch-black, was gradually returning to its original appearance.
He couldn't believe that the Bomb Bees which had tormented the Goya Clan could be dealt with so easily.
His wife had never told him that such a skill existed in this world.
That meant this was a skill and authority appearing in this world for the first time.
More than half of the Bomb Bee swarm had already been reduced.
But Jeon's expression wasn't very bright.
"Tsk! My mana is running out, as expected."
"Are you saying you're lacking mana?"
"I'm afraid I'll have to stop reducing their numbers around here. Let's quickly find Hareu and get her out."
"W-wait! I'll give you this. With this, it should cover your mana deficiency to some extent."
What Goduwon pulled from his bosom was a necklace shimmering with blue light.
It felt like no ordinary artifact.
"What is it?"
"It's my wife's keepsake, the Tears of Ellura. An item she brought from her homeland; it has the effect of restoring consumed mana to its original state once a day."
For a moment, greed clouded Jeon's face.
"Are you lending it? Or giving it?"
"I'll give it. On the condition that you reduce the Bomb Bees' numbers as much as your mana allows today."
"Very well."
"I'm counting on you."
Goduwon handed the necklace of Ellura to Jeon.
The necklace of Ellura was a precious artifact difficult to obtain even in his wife's homeland. But it wasn't something Goduwon particularly needed.
Because his skills didn't consume mana so severely. In contrast, it was an enormous treasure to Jeon.
Right now he was managing his mana somehow, but as his skills developed, his mana consumption would clearly become enormous.
If he could possess such a treasure, pushing himself a little wouldn't be a problem at all.
It was a profitable deal for Goduwon as well.
Because the more Jeon reduced the Bomb Bee numbers, the higher the probability of finding the Black Forest.
Rescuing Hareu was important, but finding the Black Forest was also important to him.
Because he couldn't give up on either, he handed over the Tears of Ellura, the treasure of the Goya Clan, to Jeon.
Jeon put the Tears of Ellura around his neck.
Instantly, a refreshing sensation spread from the point on his chest where the necklace touched to his entire body.
"Excellent!"
It was no different from obtaining an extra mana tank, so a deep smile rose to Jeon's lips.
Now he could operate the Sand Mixer without worrying about mana.
Vrooooom!
The Sand Mixer rotated at an even more terrifying speed, striking down the Bomb Bees in the area.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Enormous explosions shook the Black Forest.
The number of Bomb Bees, which had boasted an astronomical count, was visibly decreasing.
It seemed that if he kept at it a little longer, he could eliminate all the Bomb Bees.
That was when.
Kuuuu!
Suddenly, the center of the Black Forest shook.
In that instant, both of their complexions changed.
"It's the boss."
"The queen?"
Unable to endure the near-extinction of its colony, the Bomb Bee boss had emerged.
The center of the Black Forest heaved, and a single Bomb Bee appeared. But its size transcended imagination.
From its head to the venomous stinger at its tail, its length reached a staggering seven meters.
It was the Queen Bee, the boss of the Bomb Bee swarm.
Countless eggs were attached to the Queen Bee's abdomen. But clinging to one of them was a small girl.
It was Goduwon's daughter, Gohareu.
"Hareu! Why are you there?"
Goduwon's eyes widened.
The egg to which Hareu clung differed in shape and light from the others.
It seemed that something egg-like, yet not an egg, was mixed in.
Hareu was unconscious, clinging to that object.
"Release my daughter, monster!"
Goduwon nocked an arrow to his bowstring and drew.
He couldn't exert much strength against a swarm of Bomb Bees, but in a one-on-one duel, the story was different.
He was a martial-class Awakened who possessed skills specialized in archery.
The arrow's target was the Queen Bee's head.
"Explosion Arrow."
Peeeeng!
The arrow flew at a terrifying speed and struck the Queen Bee's head.
Bwaang!
The arrow exploded, causing the Queen Bee's head to tilt back slightly. But soon, the Queen Bee's head returned to its original position.
It hadn't received any damage at all.
"Damn it!"
Goduwon fired arrows in rapid succession.
His arrows landed precisely on the Queen Bee's head.
Wheeee!
The Queen Bee's wing beats grew more violent.
Goduwon's repeated attacks had greatly fueled the Queen Bee's rage.
In an instant, the Queen Bee vanished from Goduwon's sight.
It was flying at such high speed that it couldn't be tracked with the eyes.
"Damn! It's dangerous!"
Jeon detected the Queen Bee's movement first.
He hurriedly erected a sand barrier before Goduwon.
Bwa-aang!
With a thunderous roar, the sand barrier was shattered into pieces. And Goduwon was sent flying far away.
He had taken a heavy blow from the Queen Bee's high-speed flight.
If Jeon hadn't used the sand barrier to disperse the impact, he would have lost his life.
Jeon spoke, looking at the Queen Bee.
"Your opponent is me."
Wheeee!
As if answering, the Queen Bee's wing beats grew even fiercer.