I curled myself beside the walls, grumbling at the fact that I could never get rid of the pesky lizard now.

Unfortunately, before I could rest, I picked up vibrations coming from below the tunnel opening and instantly became alert.

Five heavily armoured hunting wasps arrived into the lair soon after, moving through the cavern slowly and carefully like they were afraid to make themselves known.

I suspected they were searching for the hidden queen, now that they knew she was alive.

With the scary wasp gone, there was no one to stop them. Or were they using this opportunity to search around his things?

I appraised the nearest one and its status flashed up at me.

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LV14 Melior Hesperia

Specie: Ailith Vespoidea

HP: 120/120 Defence: 96

MP: 44/44 Intellect: 40

SP: 74/106 Magic: 56

Attack: 92 Agility: 86

Skills:

[?????: LV?] [?????: LV?] [????: LV?]

--------------

They were closing in on the chamber that housed the hidden queen and I was faced with the moral dilemma. Was it best to retreat with the lizard and allow them to discover her, or attack them to protect the queen who would most definitely consider me an enemy.

There wasn't much of a choice.

If I did not defend the scary wasp's queen, not only would I lose a possible ally, but most likely I would be killed on his return.

My sudden alertness woke the lizard beside me and without any commands, it too began to watch the air with caution.

I appraised each of the wasps as they came through. The first happened to be the strongest at LV14, while the others consisted of two LV12's and one LV10, with the weakest being a LV9.

If any of them had unique detection skills, it wouldn't be long before they found the queen's hiding place.

The group moved above the lair's walls, cautiously combing through the spaces in between them that could possibly conceal anything. When I saw them searching manually I felt relieved to move even closer to observe them. The lizard followed behind me in tow, but I glared at it causing it to stay back.

Unlike me, who was smaller and could hide in the shadows with [Stealth], it was far too conspicuous. I couldn't let it make us a target so soon.

I hid myself in a dark corner and observed the wasps looking around. The entrance to the queen's chamber was hidden behind an additional wall that made its opening hard to see. If they did a simple search and moved on, there would be no need for me to take action. And I hoped that would be the case.

The wasps had split up to cover more ground, two searched near the periphery while the remaining three went off to search other areas.

However, one of the LV12 wasp's flew nearer to the chamber's hidden entrance, its antennae flicking with curiosity.

But before it could encroach any further, I opened [Dimensional box] and threw out a large piece of wall debris that fell with a loud bang.

The two wasps immediately flew in my direction, separating further from the group as I concealed myself nearby, waiting for the moment they landed.

〚Skill Aptitude Increase: 『Stealth LV8』has become『Stealth LV9』〛

And as soon as their antenna came into view, I set free all the debris I'd stored in [Dimensional Box], letting loose an avalanche of dirt over both wasps.

In the end one of the wasps had its wings crushed while the other was buried underneath the rubble.

While the wasp struggled to free itself, I immediately attacked the injured one . There was some resistance on my fangs but unlike before, they were able to sink into its tough shell.

With my fangs successfully embedded, I made quick work of it with [Poison Fang], pumping out two shots of venom.

〚Skill Aptitude Increase: 『Poison Fang LV8』has become『Poison Fang LV9』〛

〚You have killed LV10 Melior Hesperia〛

〚You have earned 50XP〛

I then quickly moved on to the buried wasp who had managed to free itself halfway through. But before it could free its claws, I constricted around its exposed neck with [Steel Skin] and [Stinger], tearing off its head swiftly.

〚You have killed LV12 Melior Hesperia〛

〚You have earned 76XP〛

Although I managed to kill the two wasps, I made too much noise by throwing out all the wall debris. I knew the other three wasps would descend on me any moment, so I quickly withdrew into a hidden corner again.

Soon after, a wasp flew over to investigate the noise, followed by the lizard and the two began to clash. I quickly slithered over to them and watched from the sidelines to see how the lizard would fight.

It had followed me long enough, and now I had to determine if it was an asset to keep or a liability.

Surprisingly the wasp whom I expected to quickly beat up the lizard was having trouble keeping up with it. It fought well and managed to sting the lizard a couple of times, but the sly fiend whose HP had recovered, actually used this to trick its opponent into thinking it was paralysed!

Lulled into false safety by its stiff opponent, the wasp came closer and was swiftly knocked down by the lizard who proceeded to viciously tear it apart. I was more shocked that it did not give me any chance to jump in and save it.

Before long the wasp was dead and the lizard stood over its corpse with its head held high in what I presumed was a stance of victory.

I pretended not to see this and quickly moved on.

«Your new pet is quite interesting.» Sensei added with a chuckle.

"Pet?" I scoffed. "He's just a dumb lizard."

«He's keeping up with you just fine.» Sensei taunted.

"Hmph. I had no problem beating him before. I could easily do so again."

I scowled at the lizard who cheerily walked beside me, oblivious to our conversation.

«Concentrate now…You don't want to get distracted.»

My attention returned to the battle and with [Heat Sense], I spotted the remaining two wasps heading in our direction.

I looked at the proud lizard and wondered if I could make use of him. Since he was now my [Pit Member] I instructed the lizard to go ahead and approach the pair, in hopes of tricking them into thinking he was alone.

As soon as they spotted him, the two wasps gave chase and I watched their outlines draw closer until finally, the LV14 wasp came into range. Without hesitation I launched myself at it, grabbing it out of the air by its wings and sinking my poisonous fangs into it before it could manoeuvre free.

[Poison Fang] worked fast, weakening it in seconds, but it was not enough to kill it - much to my disappointment.

The other wasp was left to the lizard. Its fighting skills were quite good and it too managed to pin it down, but before it could land its killing blow, the wasp I was constricting suddenly let out a terrible screech.

In its weakening state, its dying wail was louder and coarser than anything I'd ever heard. It sent vibrations through the entirety of the chamber, and sounding out even further outside.

I felt it especially harshly through me because of my close proximity, the continuous vibrations causing my fangs to tremble.

I realized it might be a cry for help.

To stop the terrible sound I immediately constricted tighter, pumping in an additional shot of venom and finally managed to kill it.

〚You have killed LV14 Melior Hesperia〛

〚You have earned 92XP〛

〚You have gained a level!〛

Without a doubt, a sound that loud would not go unnoticed and I was annoyed at myself for not killing it faster. I had succeeded in defeating all the wasps with the lizard but after such an alarming cry, I was sure more were headed our way soon - if they weren't already.

I considered collecting all the bodies to conceal traces of the battle but there wasn't any time for that. By the time I managed to do so, reinforcements would have already arrived.

I wondered if the queen had also heard the cry, so I aimed my [Mana Sense] towards the hidden room. There were movements coming from within but no sign of her coming out.

But now the situation has changed and this place might not be so safe anymore. If more wasps were to arrive - or worse, if the other queen came here herself, she would be in deep trouble.

Arriving at the entrance of the hidden chamber with the lizard in tow, I wondered what to do next.

I didn't know how many wasps heard that cry of help or how many were coming this way.

I also didn't know if the stronger Queen would come her or send more squads of hunting wasps.

The only one who could help me in this situation was the scary wasp and I didn't know where he was or when he would return.

Did I have to face another queen head on? And fight passively while trying to convince I was there to help her? Would she even believe me?

I sighed, it was something I just had to try. With that thought, I entered the queen's chamber.