Jake's leftovers

With my side of the fight taken care of, I head back down the tunnel while opening the dungeon map to check the situation ahead. I wouldn't want to intrude at a bad time, would I?

The map shows me that Jake has lost his battle but if his opponents were similarly strong as mine, he stood no chance. However, since only two red dots remain, Jake must have put up one hell of a fight.

<To be fair, his opponent weren't as challenging as yours. That guardian and her shinobi companion were freakishly strong considering their low level. Also, be advised that one of the survivors has a camera and we do not want that footage to get outside this dungeon. Focus on destroying that camera over everything else.>

Got it.

As I approach, I slow down and stealthily make my way forward. I can hear the voices of the survivors, one of them seems pretty pissed.

"F***in s***! How can a single bee be this f***in strong! It killed more than half of us! And what was that fire thing it did in the end? That was way too hot! It burned that swordsman to a crisp… at least the footage of that will be worth gold. Hey, you, healer, when will miss Beatrix arrive? Shouldn't her group be here by now?"

"My name is… actually never mind that. Beatrix and her group probably ran into something as well. They'll get here as soon as they can. Let's just wait and keep out of sight."

"Nah, I need something sweet after this b**ch of a fight. We didn't bring any carriers so we can't harvest the honey anyway. I'll help myself to as much as I want."

Well, that certainly was an interesting conversation I just overheard. From their conversation just now, the camera guy seems to be a recent addition to the group.

I also decide to wait where I am a little longer. If the only still standing combatant start gorging himself on the poisoned honey, my job will be really easy.

Navi, how much honey is needed for the poison to be effective?

<Just a spoon full can be lethal but only after a few hours so he can get treated. The more honey he consumes, the faster the poison acts up and the lower his chance to escape all this gets.>

"Mmm, this honey is really sweet and so damn delectable. I just can't get enough of this!"

I inch forward along the wall and see a big dude with his upper body bared shoveling honey into his mouth. That is definitely more than a spoonful. I doubt I'll even have to fight him. At this rate the poison will accumulate and take him out instantly.

Meanwhile the healer is standing further back, nervously tapping his foot as he watches the big dude eat honey. Around him are his fallen companions and the scene of a gruesome battle.

From the scorch marks around one guy and the earlier conversation I overheard, Jake used his bee furnace skill and it proved very effective. The trap has also been triggered but I can't see if there is anyone inside the pitfall.

"You shouldn't eat so much honey. There might be toxins inside and even if there aren't, all that sugar will cause you to hit a low half an hour later."

The healer makes another desperate attempt to talk some sense into the honey consuming maniac. However, his teammate, a pugilist, doesn't listen at all.

"Look here, healer guy, if you want some, all you gotta do is ask. I'm not gonna go hogging all this sweet goodness. Come here, taste some of it."

"I don't want any honey! We are in a dungeon for gods' sake! Can you take this seriously?"

"I just nearly died to a bee. A f***ing bee! I'm done with taking stuff seriously. Let me eat my honey and then, we'll get out of here."

The healer is becoming increasingly agitated by the pugilist's dismissive attitude. These two definitely don't see eye to eye.

"Just the two of us? What about Beatrix and her group?"

"They'll be fine. She's strong enough take on anything this floor throws at her. Once we meet her outside we'll just say it was a tactical retreat. They can't tell how our situation was once we are out."

"What If they are hurt? Their group didn't take a healer with them! We need to go and look for them!"

The healer is agitated to the point where he starts to yell and gesticulate wildly. The pugilist who was focused on gorging himself on the honey seems to be getting annoyed.

"Go on then, look for them by yourself. I'm not taking another step further into this sh*tty dungeon. I'm going right back the way we cleared out. If you want to die playing hero, that's on you."

The healer hesitates. He looks like he has some experience fighting with his wooden staff but that's not going to cut it. Going alone would indeed be suicidal.

Suddenly, the pugilist halts his honey shoveling gestures. The healer looks over hopefully but when he sees the pugilist drop to the ground with foam at his mouth, he realizes that this wasn't a change in heart.

"I told you that honey could contain toxins. With how much you are the potency probably outmatched your constitution stat. I'll be right there!"

The healer runs over, preparing to heal his downed teammate. Despite all that happened between them, he still needs the pugilist if he wants to leave the dungeon alive.

Unfortunately, I am much faster than he is. I started approaching the healer from behind the moment the pugilist stopped moving. Before he can reach the pugilist who is still foaming at the mouth, I catch up from behind and sink both my daggers into his back.

The healer goes down too and with that it is game set and match. I deliberately don't finish off the pugilist myself so Jake can get the experience for the kill. If I did it he'd probably just get a part for the assist.