The Lone Wanderer

Countless legs poked Percy from all sides, pushing him around like a boat amidst a sea of insects. They came in all sizes, from the rod-like limbs of the soldiers pinning him to the ground, bruising his body with each heavy step, to the stick-like legs of the drones crawling all over his skin. Their soft, frequent taps were as intrusive as they were unnerving.

The young man had to lean on both knees and one elbow, desperately trying to resist the weight of the wasps above, doing his best to keep Micky from getting squashed in his embrace.

“Ugghhh!” Percy couldn’t help but groan in pain, as the frightened crow clenched its talons, digging into his flesh and soul both.

As for his right hand, it didn’t fare much better, creaking as Nesha clasped it tightly, short-lived but frequent tremors coursing through his bones every few moments. It was nearly impossible to make out what was happening around them, as the flurry of insect shadows bled into the dizzying glow of the cavern, plunging Percy’s surroundings into chaos. Still, he vaguely spotted his partner trying to shield her head with her free hand, her face a nauseated green.

“Hold on!” he shouted, though his voice barely pierced through the buzzing cacophony of the hive.

At first, he wasn’t sure Nesha heard him, but a prompt squeeze of her palm soon revealed she indeed had. Percy gathered all his strength to crawl forward, forcing himself against the current.

‘Should I use Circulation?’

Even with two Orange cores and a trained body, enduring the current of bugs without his boosting art was a struggle. The thought of resorting to it was tempting, especially since the dense accumulation of mana inside the tunnel promised to make the act easier than ever.

But he shook his head.