Chapter 315: The Cocky Bee

Fundamentally, the areas in ShanFro are described using multi-kanji idioms. Some use the exact literal characters like the "Rampant Forest" (Jumping and Bounding Forest), while others have slightly altered characters like the "Crater Lake of Rise and Fall" (Extinct Volcano Lake of Ancient Prosperity and Decline). But for this particular area, you could say the literal characters mean exactly what they say.

"The Sea of Clouds in the High Heavens... flowing and weaving above the clouds. It's exactly as described."

The Sea of Clouds in the High Heavens. Dense, pure white clouds reaching up to my waist blanketed the entire landscape. The atmospheric currents shaped them into flows that looked exactly like woven yarn, creating an illusion that made you feel as if you were truly standing on top of the clouds—a dream everyone has at least once.

If this continued endlessly toward the horizon, it would undoubtedly be an absolute masterpiece of a view. However, seeing rocks and trees occasionally jutting out of the clouds here and there... Well, I suppose that has its own kind of mystical charm.

"At least the ground underneath feels normal. Still, tripping and getting ambushed from below is a pretty scary thought..."

Essentially, the entire bottom half of my field of vision is completely blocked off. If any monster shorter than the height of this sea of clouds decided to hold its breath and ambush me, it would be insanely troublesome.
Wait, are Domineion Hornets actually in a place like this? From what I heard, they're monsters with an incredibly unique ecology that involves taming other monsters. So I guess I need to be on guard against things other than just bees, too.

"Emul."

"Gotcha! Mumumu... 【Active Sonar】!"

The 【Active Sonar】 magic I previously used via a Magic Scroll can now be spammed infinitely since I had Emul learn it. Using Emul—whose aptitude as an optional radar part skyrocketed after receiving massive enhancements—as a makeshift detector, I proceeded through the flowing land of clouds.

Bariii!

"Emul, any enemies nearby?"

"They're all terrified of Sunra-ko-san and running away, desu wa!"

"Well, considering the level gap, it wouldn't even count as a fight anymore, just bullying..."

"But, but, won't the Domineion Hornets probably run away too, desu wa? What are you going to do?"

"I'll corner them into a situation where running won't save them, and then exterminate them to the last root."

"D-Demon, desu wa! This person is a demon, desu wa!"

The fact that my equipment completely blew up leaving only my waist belt isn't even worth bringing up as a topic anymore. The trash mobs—like the flying fish-esque monsters swimming... or flying? through the clouds—were apparently fleeing from me, leaving my path completely devoid of encounters. While constantly scanning the area to figure out where my target bees were, I kept moving forward.

"Uumu... It's kind of annoying how my lower half keeps getting wet from these clouds."

"I'm not getting wet at all, so it's not a problem for me, desu waー."

"........."

With a dobon, I submerged my entire body into the sea of clouds and sprinted forward with a shakashaka while staying crouched down about thirty meters away.
When I resurfaced, what a surprise! The dripping wet beauty was now accompanied by a drenched rabbit rather than a drowned rat.

"............Well, I figured you'd do something like that, desu wa."

"I'm glad to see our bond has deepened to the point where you can perfectly predict my actions."

As expected, I couldn't see a damn thing inside the sea of clouds. It's safe to assume the visible range was less than a single meter. Actually, I couldn't even see my own outstretched fingertips. Is this what they call being completely lost in the fog...? Well, since my navigator is sitting right on top of my head, it shouldn't be a problem.

"Sunra-ko-san! I'm picking up multiple buzzing flying reactions over there, desu wa!"

"Well done!"

Through various tests I've conducted up until now, I've concluded that the aggro-drawing range of my "Scar" is roughly ten meters. Since Active Sonar has a radius of thirty meters, having a twenty-meter advantage is absolutely massive.

Submerging my body back into the clouds and leaving only my head exposed, I strained my eyes and indeed managed to spot several black specks completely disjointed from this pure white carpet floating in the distance. The way they hovered in the air was way too strange for a bird, so it's safe to say I hit the jackpot, right?

"Alright, Emul... wait here for a bit."

"A surprise attack, desu wa?"

"Yeah. If I sprint at full speed, I should make it in time. Emul, are there any obstacles between here and those reactions?"

"None at all, desu wa! It's completely flat and straight ahead, desu wa!"

"Excellent. Let's go do some pest control, then...!"

Equipping the Levin Trigger: Hazard, I knocked my chest to activate it. Wrapped in black Sparks with a bajiri, I completely submerged myself into the clouds and... GO!

"Tch!"

Don't think a little lack of visibility is enough to stop me! There are absolute madmen challenging Full-Dive RTAs who can sprint from the start all the way to the finish line completely blindfolded. This level of thick fog is nothing but a joke to me!

During the Overflow state, your sense of distance drastically shifts. If you let your guard down, it feels like you're slipping on an invisible banana peel, and because your motions are exaggerated on top of the extreme acceleration, you'll end up doing two and a half spins in the air before dying.
But looking at it another way, motions that are normally impossible to sustain due to balance issues can be forcefully stabilized using sheer inertia. It's the exact same logic as a massive chunk of iron like an airplane using overwhelming propulsion to fly through the sky.

Maintaining an extreme forward-leaning posture that felt like I was literally one second away from face-planting, I charged straight through the clouds, and right around the spot where I Guessed they were, I leapt up.
And simultaneously with that jump, I deactivated the Levin Trigger: Hazard! If it's active for less than ten seconds, my HP doesn't drain. The start-up/cancellation motion makes it difficult to use consecutively, but for a one-off burst of speed, it's an incredibly effective tactic.

"Monster Panic-style surprise attack coming right up, oraaa!"

I feel exactly like a shark bursting out of the ocean to drag a jock down into the depths. Except I don't have the squishy movement necessary to end up eating a chainsaw to the face.

When it comes to bees in ShanFro, the Empire Bees that served as the materials for the Emperor Bee Twin Swords immediately come to mind, but those were designed with a honeybee motif. However, the Domineion Hornets I caught in my attack range upon breaching the sea of clouds were completely pitch-black hornets... Clearly the type of species whose prosperity relies entirely on raiding and predation.
Well, since our base stats are completely different, I don't really feel threatened by them anyway.

"This is an Assassin Kill!"

Swinging the Duxram in an upward arc from directly below, I sliced the Domineion Hornet's abdomen clean open. The hit effect—which had been multiplied by three thanks to the already active Flowing Flash Dance—devoured the black hornet's HP bar entirely.

"That's one!"

Since they might demand some kind of rare drop material later, I'm just going to hunt every single bee in this area down to the last one!!
With a strong impression solidifying in my mind that it's perfectly fine to treat it roughly and haphazardly, I chucked the Duxram forward. I then slashed down the Domineion Hornet—which had flinched from the impact—with my other Duxram.
As the bee exploded mid-air, I caught the drop items along with the Duxram that had impaled it, instantly shifting my focus to the next bee. However, right then, I noticed the remaining Domineion Hornets making a strange movement.

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!!!

"No, you guys are hornets, not bees... wait, never mind."

I already possess a certain amount of prior information about this area and these monsters. That's exactly why I know these things aren't just simple bees, and I have a pretty solid, albeit vague, grasp on what it means when they Attempt to counterattack without Fleeing.

Let's use an example. Say someone picks a fight with an opponent clearly stronger than them. Assuming they know their own strength is lacking, normally, they would run away.
But conversely, what kind of situation would cause a weaker being to stand their ground instead of fleeing...? The answer is simple. It means they have a "Pawn" capable of opposing that threat...!

"A whistle to call your servants, huh...!"

The ground shook, and I heard Emul's voice coming from behind me. It seems something Massive just entered Emul's detection range... Yeah, I can tell. Especially when there's an obviously massive chunk of clouds barreling straight toward me...!

"Paoooooooooooooon!!"

"That's huge...!"

From a cluster of clouds roughly the size of a large truck—no, possibly even larger—a gray "trunk" thrust forward with a nyu, thrashing wildly like a writhing snake and blowing away the clouds clinging to its massive frame.

So this is the rare enemy of the Sea of Clouds in the High Heavens, the Cloudive Elephant.........!
Wait, hold on a second! Based on how it's completely ignoring my aggro-repellent effects, it has to be over Level 100! So why the hell is it acting as a pet for these Domineion Hornets, you bastards!!

Author's Afterword
Domineion Hornet: "I've won, gahaha."

By the way, even for the Domineion Hornets, capturing and taming an adult Cloudive Elephant is completely impossible. So this specific individual is one that got separated from its parents and was rigorously tamed since it was a calf. The Hikaru Genji plan...!