After traveling in the plain lands for approximately an hour, Celes and Arthur reached the insect-infested area. There was a large swamp that was situated at the center of the area, it looked disgusting and the smell was nauseating, to say the least. In addition to the countless types of insects found here, there were also all kinds of poisonous plants and water-creature that were able to adapt to his harsh environment.

"Are you sure the Bee is here?"

Celes looked disgusted, frowning and waving her hand around, trying to get rid of the flies clustering around her. She looked uncomfortable and unwilling to spend an extra second in this place. Unfortunately, Arthur replied with words she most likely didn't want to hear.

"I never said I'm sure but considering how many insects there are here, the Bee should be hiding somewhere in the swamp or in its vicinities."

Currently, the two were inside an unusual small forest around the swamp, their footsteps were light as to not alert any enemies. While it is true that they were both very strong, Arthur didn't dare behave recklessly as he was able to sense several monsters that are able to equally fight Overgods.

Thanks to his detections skills, he's able to locate the threats and make a detour. After all, fighting would only alert other monsters and, possibly, contestants too.

Up until now, Arthur didn't see or sense any pairs that have entered the swamp beside them, which made him a tad relieved.

As the two were silently walking, a small tree, which reached their waist, suddenly moved, latching itself onto Celes' ankle, its branches becoming poisonous thorns. Before this half-sentient plant could do anything, it disintegrated into dust. The moment it made contact with the woman's skin, its body ceased to exist due to the latter's Death Physique, which is able to turn anything she touches into nothingness.

Actually, it accelerates one's growth and makes it die much faster than it should. Such plants do not live for a long time so Celes didn't do anything as the Physique automatically took care of the attacker. If it was human, he wouldn't die so fast unless he's much weaker than the Grey Seat.

Arthur witnessed everything but didn't comment, choosing to continue walking without minding his silent and grumpy companion.

…

Ten minutes later, Arthur abruptly halted his steps, motioned for Celes to remain silent as his body vanished, transforming into a large praying mantis with two long scythe-like limbs and two transparent wings. Before the Grey seat could say anything, the mantis disappeared, leaving afterimages as it traversed the forest with incredible speed. The place was a bit narrow for Arthur but he managed to easily zigzag between the trees until he reached the Southern part of the swamp.

Unlike what they do invaders, the weaker insects and plants didn't try to attack Arthur and, instead, backed away, leaving him standing alone on the edge of swamp, which had dirty green water and felt ominous. Without even needing to look, Arthur felt the presence of at least two strong monsters deep into the swamp. One seemed to be gauging him while the other was uninterested, simply laying on the floor of the swamp, these two, at least, had the power-level of a peak Overgod, if not more.

Such monsters can easily fight against Exalted Gods and leave unscathed if they ever wanted to. Fortunately, none of the two was a Bee so Arthur doesn't have to provoke them, furthermore, the more problematic matter is the arrival of another pair.

If it were two people that Arthur deemed as non-dangerous, he wouldn't have acted like this, however, one of the incomers was Maxine. She the boss of the mage and thief who attacked him on the 2nd floor and the Appraisal results from last time told him more than enough about her.

She was one of the strongest contestants and seemed to be mentally unstable. She kind of reminded him of his brother, Wolfram, and that is very good news. She was a battle-freak and won't stay still if he and Celes were to meet with her.

As for the woman accompanying her, the pink-haired one, she was totally unfamiliar to Arthur. Maxine and her companion were standing on the other side of the swamp, three to four hundred meters away. They seemed to be preoccupied with something. Plus, the monster who was gauging his strength seconds earlier has shifted his attention to the two women. It slowly crept towards them, its body magically slithering in the water, smooth and almost unnoticeable, it seemed about to merge with the transparent water, becoming one with it.

'It'll make them busy for some time but I shouldn't get my hopes up.'

Maxine and the woman beside her didn't seem weak and even if the monster were to initiate a fight, they would be able to deal with it sooner or later.

"Hey, the Bee is not here so let's go."

Celes followed Arthur and shrouded himself in Death Energy while talking to the praying mantis from a distance.

"Wa-"

Arthur was about to reply only for his insect-eyes to meet with the pink-haired woman, who, unlike air-headed Maxine, was sharp and very aware of her surroundings. The distance between them wasn't that big, however, the sheer number of insects and monsters in-between made it quite difficult for anyone to notice him, in addition, he was using skills that lowered his presence.

Like a shooting star, Lucy kicked the ground, launching herself toward the praying mantis though he target wasn't the insect but something close it.

Sadly, before she could even cross half the distance, the swamp water rose into the air and an enormous monster revealed itself. It actually resembled a very ugly and grotesque merman. Its upper body was humanoid with long dark green hair and light green skin, its eyes were jet black, as for its lower body, it was like a fish… or a mermaid, albeit more unsightly.

It used its kind of slimy body to block the incoming Lucy, who punched a hole through the merman's abdomen. Her fist enveloped by Lava, melting the tough skin and reaching deep into the organs. The monster screeched loudly and retaliated by lashing out with tail, its speed faster than Lucy's reaction. She was flung in the air but wasn't seriously injured and just when the merman was about to follow-up, another monstrous force attacked it, cutting parts of its scale-riddle tail and pushing back into the water.

Maxine smirked as she drank a green potion before falling in the water, surprisingly not drowning and actually walking on it as if it's solid. As for Lucy, she managed to stabilize her body and retrieve the flying feather, using it to move freely.

Arthur didn't have the time to watch the fight as was shocked to see a seemingly normal Bee appear out of nowhere. The moment the pink-haired woman noticed him, the insect appeared from the emptiness and started buzzing around him. He remained motionless and patiently waited for it to get within his range.

Of course, he could still jump and catch it but the task was definitely not as easy as it seemed. The Bee looked normal but he couldn't appraise it and it didn't seem afraid of him at all as it flew from one flower to another.