The more Erika analyzed Mercy’s efficiency against Windfloras and Waterfloras, the clearer she saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

In the end, no matter how big it is, the Windflora King is just another flower. It just might be possible for Mercy to take on this monster. Or am I too optimistic...?

Mercy’s “flower assassination” skills were top-notch, there was no doubt about it. However, he only ever murdered normal flowers. They were small and frail compared to the huge road boss. It wasn’t likely that Mercy could wipe out the Windflora King as easily

In truth, even against normal flowers, Mercy hadn’t always delivered an instant K.O. Sometimes, he needed one or two extra stabs to seal the deal. On these rare occasions, enemy flowers managed to retaliate against him. Luckily, their counterattacks were short-lived and didn’t faze the nimble bee.

Same as these scenarios, Mercy certainly needed to deliver a couple of strikes in order to kill the Windflora King. Therein lay the question: could Mercy survive the boss’s nuke attacks? These tornado shots were in a whole different league compared to the attacks of ordinary flowers.

Right now, there was only one thing the RPG veteran felt confident about: Drainer Bees must had been the Windflora King’s weakness. Draner Bees could one-shot a normal Windfloras, hence their attacks had to deal severe damage to the king as well.

Huhu, one bee may not be enough. Then, how about five? Or ten?

Erika smirked as she eyed Blobby. The little water baby was her trusty negotiation tool against Drainer Bees. Nothing stopped Erika from assaulting a few more bees and forcing them to cooperate with her. With an army of bees - the Windflroa King would be overthrown.

“Blobby, please attack this bee.”

“Pyu!”

Blobby complied without thinking twice. In fact, he seemed very eager to splash bees. For the better or the worse, bullying bees was his second nature as a Water Blob.

“Pyu!”

Blobby waved his tiny arms and shot a wave of water at an unsuspecting bee. The attack flawlessly connected and soaked the bee.

“Z-zuu...”

The bullied bee staggered in midair and began descending toward the ground. Blobby made sure to splash it a few more times, to utterly submit it. Everything went according to plan, until Vivi’s yell changed everything.

“Watch out, you idiot!”

“Eh...? Agh! ACK!”

Erika was pierced in the neck. The attacker was none other than... Mercy.

【Mercy is no longer your familiar.】

“Eh...?”

Erika was frozen with a dumb face. Her eyes shifted back and forth between the enraged bee and the sudden announcement. Nothing indicated what brought upon this sudden betrayal.

“Zuu!!”

Mercy thrust his stringer again from point blank. There was no time to dodge. No chance to block. Erika didn’t even have the leisure to figure out the situation.

Luckily, Vivi interviewed.

“Zuu!?”

Mercy was kicked away by a gust of wind. However, as any self-respecting Drainer Bee, he was resistant to the wind attack and quickly recovered.

“Like, I knew we can’t trust these vermin!”

Vivi’s body overflowed with swirling winds. She darted toward Mercy and kicked him in the face. The attack connected, but it wasn’t nearly enough to wipe out the bee.

“Death to traitors!”

VIvi whammed Mercy with kicks and punches, shooting painful shockwaves across his whole body. Her fists and legs were tiny, but each strike exploded like a cannon shell.

“T-thank you, Vivi...”

Erika still struggled to accept reality. Even though it was by force, Mercy still joined her. He was her familiar. He was an ally. She even began trusting him.

But now, Vivi and Mercy were duking it out with each other. Their intention was nothing short of destroying each other. Now, Mercy was an enemy that had to be killed. This transition happened so quickly that Erika couldn’t wrap her head around it.

Is it because I attacked another bee...? Did Mercy lose his respect for me...?

Erika looked at the staggering Drainer Bee which she ordered to attack. It shook pitifully and struggled to stay afloat above ground level. Erika needed more manpower, therefore she casually bullied that bee. She didn’t even stop to think twice of any consequences.

It sounds stretched, but I can’t deny the possibility that even bees have this level of AI here...

Mercy was submitted through force and threats. He was sent to fight tons of enemies, but he did his best to faithfully complete the mission. After all that pain, he was now forced to witness the suffering of a fellow bee. Any sentimental creature would feel like revolting.

Could Mercy possibly possess such complex AI? He was a mere insect on the surface, but that didn’t mean anything in the fantasy worlds of video games. Even a rock could be programmed to have deep feelings in a game.

As Erika was torn between doubt and a sense of guilt, the match between Vivi and Mercy came to an end. The loud yell forced Erika back to her senses.

“This is what you get for messing with the great Vivi!”

Vivi kicked Mercy across the face. After he was trashed all over, this last kick proved fatal for Mercy. His wings lost their strength and he collapsed onto the ground.

【Vivi defeated a Drainer Bee. Obtained 7 [Absorption] pieces, 1 Windflora Pollen and 1 Waterflora Pollen.】

Victory was normally a joyous event, but this message twisted Erika’s insides.

So, in the end, he died as just another “Drainer Bee”, huh.

Mercy’s death message was flat and void of personality. It was only for a brief period, but Mercy faithfully served Erika and became her money-printing machine. Till the very end, he was only put through hassles and wasn’t rewarded in any way. He was submitted with terror and perished like a nobody; it was a miserable life..

“A-ah! No!!!”

A yellow fog latched onto Vivi and coated her. She tired to chase the aura away, but it was to not avail.

“Oh, this isn’t good...”

Erika completely forgot about the aggro aura that Drainer Bees emitted. All bees in the area noticed the yellow signal and branded Vivi as their enemy.

“Vivi, let’s retreat back to the village!”

“Hmph, I know that much!”

Vivi frantically flapped her wings and dashed away from the danger zone. Meanwhile, Erika grabbed Blobby and stuffed him into the DiVe.

“Z-zuu...”

The soaked Drainer Bee tilted from side to side, about to collapse any moment now. Even without any additional water attacks, it didn’t look like the bee would make it.

If it’s going to die anyway, then I may as well...

She drew her knife with the mixed feelings of pity and greed. She wanted to put the suffering enemy out of its misery, but... she also wanted the reward for the kill. After the the recent incident with Mercy, she was disgusted with that part of her intentions.

“Z-zuuuu....”

The bee was struck down with a single slash. In its weakened state, even a shallow cut was enough to seal the deal. The perished bee didn’t release a yellow aura, because it was drenched.. With this, the tip Erika received about fighting Drainer Bees was confirmed to its full extent. Water was the bees’ weakness and it also stopped them attracting allies after death.

“Zuuu!”

Oh, right! I need to get out of here!

Erika turned around and dashed toward the village. The Drainer Bees only tailed Vivi, but Erika fled as well, just in case the bees had a change of heart.

In the end, they had to run all the way back of Murph Village in order to lose their pursuers. After a short rest, the aggro state vanished and Vivi was no longer marked for annihilation.