Pepper heads to the jungle for some serious cash-grabbing.
"Well… what's the plan?" Pepper muttered to himself.
Having conquered the special quest [The Roaring Stratagem in the Marsh], a new quest appeared: [Embodying the Hurricane, Clad in the Storm]. Tucked away in a back alley, ready to bolt to another area from Thirdrema if needed, Pepper pondered the quest title, trying to piece together its implications.
"Hey, Pepper-han, what's up?" chirped Aitoile, peeking from beneath his cloak.
"I mentioned I was working on a quest, right? Well, I cleared it, and now this new one popped up. Check out the title…" Pepper showed her the details.
"Hurricane… that's some fierce wind, sure, but clad in the storm? What's that supposed to mean?" Aitoile tilted her head.
"Beats me," Pepper admitted, scratching his head.
With only the cryptic title to go on, they were at a complete loss.
"…Come to think of it, I don't have a map of Thirdrema," Pepper realized. "Getting a rough layout of the city and the next areas would be a step forward."
His current bare-bones map was useless in Thirdrema's sprawling maze of streets and alleys. Without a sense of the terrain, getting lost was guaranteed—especially for someone like Pepper, a unique-title holder with players likely hunting him for information. Running into others or getting chased without an escape route was as good as shouting, "Come and get me!" So, Pepper slipped into the Enhance Guild's Thirdrema Market Street Branch and snagged a map.
Back in the alley, he studied the map, committing the city's layout to memory.
"Let's see… this route leads to the gate for Shindai's Iron Ruins. The farthest gate from here goes to Eikoseisui's Crater Lake…" He traced the paths with his finger. "The closest one's Senchibankou's Jungle Hollow. Sounds like a bug paradise. …Alright, that's the one."
After weighing the three areas beyond Thirdrema, Pepper made his choice.
"Aitoile, we're heading to Senchibankou's Jungle Hollow. Time for some new-area exploration—and I wanna meet some bugs."
"Hehe, boys and their bugs, huh?" Aitoile teased.
"You bet. Insects are pure romance," Pepper grinned.
He recalled an old arcade game that was all the rage, where players summoned insects from cards and battled with a rock-paper-scissors twist. His younger brother was obsessed with it, and Pepper would borrow his cards to play together. Smiling at the memory, he tucked Aitoile under his cloak and moved stealthily to avoid prying eyes.
They passed through the gate to Senchibankou's Jungle Hollow and stepped into a new world.
Senchibankou's Jungle Hollow.
A realm where trees, likely older than a millennium, formed a natural tunnel, allowing only slivers of sunlight to pierce the canopy. Glowing moss on the ground and rocks served as faint light sources, while droplets of water trickling from leaves nourished vibrant flowers and luminous mushrooms. This unique ecosystem thrived in its own delicate balance.
"Whoa… it's a bit damp, but the air's so crisp and fresh!" Pepper exclaimed.
"Tiny specks of light… the shimmering life of this place. It's beautiful," Aitoile murmured.
"Yeah. We're borrowing this place's bounty, so we gotta show some gratitude," Pepper said.
With a clasp of hands and a bow, the human and his rabbit companion began their trek.
Butterflies with massive wings danced between trees, their bloated abdomens swaying. Worker bees, the size of basketballs, bore scratch-like patterns on their underbellies. A praying mantis camouflaged as a giant flower ambushed prey, while a colossal beetle sported stag-like pincers. This was the jungle—an ecosystem straight out of a wild adventure.
"So… where do we start?" Pepper mused.
Insects, as a rule, don't attack unless provoked. Bees and venomous spiders are prime examples—humans panic at their sudden presence, swatting them away out of fear of poison. To bugs, that's an act of aggression, enough to trigger a counterattack. The trick? Stay calm, guide them to the ground or a tree, and they'll leave you alone.
"How about those mushrooms?" Pepper suggested.
He approached a cluster of faintly glowing white mushrooms, equipping a White Iron Dagger in his left hand, held reverse-grip. With a precise Ladder Slash, he sliced the base as if severing a foe's neck, then checked the item's details.
Horal Mushroom
A type of mushroom found in Senchibankou's Jungle Hollow. Its soft glow illuminates the jungle floor, aiding the photosynthesis of local flora.
Rare among the hollow's mushrooms, it's edible and often used in stews and other simmered dishes.
"Rare, huh? So the others are probably poisonous…" Pepper noted.
"Horal Mushrooms, yum! They're great grilled or sautéed," Aitoile chirped.
"Then let's get Teek to cook 'em up," Pepper said, imagining the flavor.
As they resumed their exploration, collecting more Horal Mushrooms and medicinal flowers, Pepper spotted a massive beehive nestled between the trees. Worker bees buzzed in a frenetic dance, while larger hunter bees guarded a central figure—a towering queen bee, presiding over her domain.
"That's…" Pepper began.
"That's the Empire Bee Queen," Aitoile explained. "The ones buzzing around are Empire Bee Workers, and the bigger ones are Empire Bee Hunters."
"An Empire Bee hive, huh?" Pepper said, eyes narrowing.
A queen bee commanding such a vast hive, supported by her workers and hunters, was practically a kingdom. Pepper's mind raced. If he could infiltrate that colony and take down the queen himself, wouldn't that make him stronger? To sharpen his fangs for Night Assault Lycaon and gain the strength to fight back, he wanted to challenge this hive.
"Aitoile, we're taking that hive down," Pepper declared.
"Whoa, that's bold, Pepper-han!" Aitoile laughed.
"I need combat experience for Lycaon's rematch. Here's the plan," he said, whispering the strategy to her.
Thus began the human-and-rabbit duo's campaign to topple the Empire Bee's kingdom.
"Hello, Empire Bees!" Pepper called out.
With Aitoile perched on his shoulder, Pepper leaped before the great tree hosting the hive. Swapping his White Iron Dagger for the Vorpal Chopper, a blade etched with afterglow, he readied himself. The queen sensed his killing intent, releasing alarm pheromones. Workers and hunters buzzed furiously, their wings a threatening hum.
"Aitoile, we're storming the colony!" Pepper shouted.
"So, Pepper-han, how're we taking down that queen?" Aitoile asked.
"For swarm monsters like bees or ants, the strategy's always the same: ignore the minions and go straight for the head. That's the rule!" Pepper grinned.
Activating every movement skill he had—Double Leap, Accel, High Beat, Hydrate Work—Pepper ignited his agility, kicking off the tree trunk and sprinting upward. The queen, perceiving his advance as a threat, waved her forelimbs, and a swarm of Empire Bee Workers surged toward him.
"Whoa, getting that close, Workers? You're just asking to be a stepping stone!" Pepper taunted.
He calculated the workers' positions, mapping the shortest route to the queen while keeping a backup path in mind. With Double Leap boosting his jump, he vaulted straight up, planting a fierce kick on a nearby worker's abdomen. Using the bees as platforms in a triangle jump maneuver, he defied gravity, dashing along the tree trunk toward the queen's nest.
(Twenty-five seconds in… thirty-five seconds left on High Beat!)
As Pepper surpassed the workers, the Empire Bee Hunters guarding the queen mobilized. To counter his triangle jumps, the queen waved her forelimbs like a conductor's baton, orchestrating the hunters into a phalanx formation, reminiscent of Sparta's stand against ancient invaders.
"Aitoile, use Drunk Breeze to blast a hole through the center! We're breaking through to take the queen!" Pepper shouted.
"You got it, Pepper-han! I'll match your resolve!" Aitoile replied.
Never slowing, never stopping, Pepper landed on the tree and kept running. Undaunted by the hunters' needle-like onslaught, he pressed forward. Aitoile, sipping from her gourd flask, pursed her lips and unleashed a concentrated flame breath, incinerating the hunters in the center and carving a path.
"To Her Majesty, with utmost respect! Yet, I shall claim your soul!" Pepper roared.
Having breached the workers and hunters, Pepper faced the queen herself. She beat her wings, whipping up a gust to knock him down.
"Trying to blow me away? I'm not falling here!" Pepper countered.
Using Thunder Turn for a sharp-angle dodge, he evaded the wind and closed in on the queen's flank. But the hunters regrouped, refusing to let him reach her.
"Aitoile, how long for Drunk Breeze to recharge?" Pepper called.
"Eight seconds!" she replied.
"Then I'll circle the tree to buy time!" he said.
With fifteen seconds left on Accel and High Beat, Pepper leaned into gravity's pull, spiraling upward with Actus Dash—a skill that shone in his marsh battle. He sprinted along the uneven tree trunk.
"Raaaagh! Bring it on!" he bellowed.
Racing, racing, racing, Pepper and Aitoile reached the top of the hive. The queen, brandishing her lethal tail stinger, charged to impale them. Pepper leaned back, letting his body flow with the motion, and parried the stinger with the Vorpal Chopper. Metal clashed, sparks flying.
In that moment, the queen saw a blazing red flame breath hurtling toward her. Aitoile's Drunk Breeze scorched her wings, staggering her. In those fleeting seconds, Pepper drove his blade into her neck.
"Skill: Piercing Roar! And—Horizontal Slash!" he shouted.
With the Vorpal Chopper's critical hit boost and a throat-slitting strike, the queen's polygons shattered. Pepper landed triumphantly atop the hive. The remaining workers and hunters, leaderless, scattered like frightened spiders, leaving him unmolested.
"Hell yeah! Queen down! Aitoile, thanks for the backup!" Pepper cheered.
"No, no, you landed the killing blow, Pepper-han. You were so cool!" Aitoile beamed.
They high-fived, celebrating their victory, then rummaged through the hive. They scored rare loot like Empire Bee Larvae and Empire Honey, treasures exclusive to the nest. Descending the tree, they collected materials from the fallen queen, a critically hit worker from the triangle jump, and a hunter singed but intact from Drunk Breeze. In high spirits but ever cautious, they ventured deeper into the jungle…
Jungle Loot Galore!
----------------------------------
The next chapter is already available on Patreon! If you'd like to read early and support me, check it out here ❤️ [pat*eon*com/Greyhounds]