Belissar was resting in his room after a long day of woodworking. Niobee flew inside. Belissar smiled and held his finger out for her. She landed on it.
¡°King, ok?¡±
Belissar turned thoughtful for a second, and then nodded with a smile.
¡°You know what? I am.¡±
He glanced out the window at the Apiary¡¯s beehives. Eight had been converted to his beehouses, only one of the basket hives remained. He could still catch glimpses of the bees returning to their hives.
¡°Better even. All of this, Towers and gods and Hunger, was all confusing and scary at first. But now...I can¡¯t say I hate it. Just me and you and the other bees, all working together. I hope we can keep doing this.¡±
Niobee began dancing rapidly.
¡°King best king, will always be king! Workers and queens will always help!¡±
Belissar chuckled and then grinned.
¡°Hope you¡¯re right about that.¡±
The next morning, Belissar awoke to pleasant weather, as every morning had been in the Tower. He stretched, ate a bit of mana honeycomb, smiling as the warmth of mana spread through his body. Once his fears of spontaneous combustion had faded, he realized he had been eating the honey all along with no ill effect. In fact, he had come to enjoy the mana honey, it was quite pleasant.
He then exited the house and began carrying some wood over to the last basket hive remaining in the Apiary, intending to assemble the beehouse right next to it. He had learned after having to drag the first one over, after all.
He was just bending down to pick up a piece of wood when something changed.
Ongoing purification limit reached. Minor purification required.
Minor purification attempt in 3 days...
Belissar slowly rose back to his feet, his spine going completely straight. Niobee flew over to him.
¡°King, ok?¡±
Belissar¡¯s face turned grim.
¡°It¡¯s time, Niobee. The Hunger is coming again.¡±
Niobee flew about unsteadily.
¡°King have orders?¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°Inform the queens. We need to prepare for battle.¡±
Belissar took a deep breath as Niobee saluted and flew off. The queens received his intent even as he asked Niobee to inform them, and he could already feel them stir. Now was the key moment. Now was when Belissar would find out how his decisions would play out, and if all his decisions had been correct.
Minor purification attempt in 2 days, 23 hours, and 58 minutes...
But there was no time for further pondering. The clock was ticking, and Belissar intended to do everything he could to put the odds in his favor. Every preparation he could make would reduce the casualties among his bees, so he would spare no effort here. He walked over to the side of the farmhouse where firewood lay in large stacks. He grabbed as much as he could carry and made his way towards the Flower Meadow.
He kept the two Pit Traps by the Apiary entrance stocked with wood and kindling, but, now that he knew an assault was incoming, he planned to prepare as many fire pits as he could, starting with the ones closest to the entrance. The Sticky Honey Traps would help with that, but adding firewood and kindling to the pits would increase the blaze further, after all.
He would also need to prepare campfire pits near the other Pit Traps so he could be ready to set them ablaze. And, now that he had woodcutting tools and a forest beyond the Tower, he could also try to prepare actual fences on the path from the first gate, hopefully try to drive the shade into the first Pit Trap.
But all his thoughts ceased when he stepped through the Apiary entrance and into the Flower Meadow. His eyes went wide at the sight before him.
The air thrummed with the buzzing of countless wings. The sky turned yellow and black as a sea of chitin spread out above. An army of monster bee soldiers hovered before him, led by a dozen large monster bee queens. The lead monster bee queen shook her body and the others followed suit. Every monster bee soldier then curled back and thrust their abdomen forward, displaying their dagger-like stingers. Belissar felt a slight breeze from over a hundred simultaneous thrusts.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
His jaw dropped open and no words came to him. It seemed the Flower Meadow queens had been quite busy. Niobee flew in front of him.
¡°King! Queens say they fight! Soldiers want fight!¡±
The queens and the soldiers then hovered in place, remaining still as their eyes fixed upon Belissar. With such a scene before him, he could only manage a silent nod.
The Firstborn of the Second Dynasty of the First Spawner watched from the entrance of her hive as she waited for enough mana to lay another soldier egg. Her army flew up in the air. The soldier bees broke off into squads of different sizes and took turns diving down towards one of their own, who hovered close to the ground but otherwise did all that they could to evade.
The target soldier then shook themselves and all the bees in the air scattered in different directions, before coalescing back together. The target soldier swapped out for another in the process and rejoined the attackers above as the diving practice resumed.
The Conduit had shared all that she could of the First Dynasty¡¯s fall, and the Firstborn had shared as much with her soldiers. They now prepared the tactics the Third Queen of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner had discovered in her final moments. They did not attack all at once, but practiced a rotation of small squads that would prevent the invader from wiping them all out in one go. They practiced quick scattering and evasion to avoid the deadly breath attacks the Firstborn of the Second Dynasty had witnessed firsthand. They practiced hit and run attacks that would keep them out of the jaws of the enemy.
It went against their instincts somewhat, but even mundane bees adapted to their foes and monster bees were something more. Besides, their King did not wish to see them perish any more than necessary. The soldiers¡¯ instinct for sacrifice would not take precedence over the King¡¯s desire.
Something the Firstborn had spoken to her soldiers about until each one of them understood personally. The King had permitted them to fight. He had even permitted them to make the first attempt, after a discussion with the Conduit and the queens of the Flower Meadow. He would withhold his fire and his plans, focusing on the burning chasms towards the back of the Flower Meadow, and so give the soldiers a chance to engage the enemy. Only if they failed would the King step in to protect the hives.
And so, they would not fail. The Firstborn swore they would not fail. The destruction of the First Dynasty and the weakness of the Second would be repaid in full. She and the other queens of the Flower Meadow had worked solely to achieve this task. They had cut their workers to the bare minimum. They drank as much mana honey as they could, all seeking to grow as fast as possible. And once they had grown, they turned every bit of mana and honey they could to raise as many soldier bees as possible, all to assemble the army training before them. They had set aside their rivalry and pooled their efforts in order to avoid even the slightest bit of waste. The workers pushed themselves to the brink, producing as much honey as they possibly could, restricting their own meals and rest to the barest minimum. The queens held nothing in reserve, they emptied the honey storage as soon as it was filled and turned every bit of strength they had to lay even one more soldier egg. If the cold of winter were to come, they would all perish.
And even with all that effort and sacrifice, they had barely assembled enough soldiers for a single battle. That was why the soldiers now drilled relentlessly and were told in no uncertain terms that sacrifice was the absolute last resort. Each one of them was precious, each one of them necessary if they were to achieve victory. For the fight to come, they would not have the reserves to replenish their numbers. They would not only need to fight, they would need to survive if they were to succeed. Even minimum casualties could be enough to tip the scales.
But such was the will of the bees to protect the hive, and right the wrongs of the First and Second Invasions. Not a worker complained about the strict rationing. Not a soldier complained about the endless drills. Not a queen complained as their abdomens burned and their mana drained to the bottom over and over.
This was why they could not be permitted to fail, now that the King had given them his trust. And yet...the Firstborn was worried. The hives of the Flower Meadow were all on the brink. Despite the best efforts of the workers, honey production was beginning to dip. The existing workers were at their physical limits, there was no spare honey to help them recover, and with the queens cutting worker egg numbers there were no reserves to relieve them. Try as they might, the queens would have to stop laying soldier eggs, or else their hives would collapse. But that...might be unavoidable as well. The queens had not saved any of their own mana and the honey stores were empty. The queens would hardly have the strength to lay new worker eggs at this point.
But then, the Firstborn heard the buzzing.
She turned and faced the entrance to the Apiary, and her antenna shot straight up. Waves upon waves of worker bees flew from the Apiary, carrying with them glistening drops of honey. They broke apart into separate formations and each made their way to one of the hives, including the Firstborn¡¯s own. The Firstborn¡¯s tired workers pulled themselves from their rest and moved to block the entrance to their hive, but the Firstborn waved them down. The worker bee leading the formation landed by the Firstborn and the two touched antenna, speaking to one another.
¡°Conduit says all help King.¡±
The Firstborn acknowledged this in a daze, stepping away from the entrance to her hive. Every instinct told her to retaliate as the bees of another hive flew into hers, yet she did not. And her shock only grew as the worker bees of the Apiary deposited their honey into the storage cells, before exiting the hive and flying back towards the Apiary. An endless stream of them seemed to arrive, filling her entire storage in mere minutes. She could not help but gape at the sheer abundance of honey the Apiary bees had brought. They now gave away more honey than her entire worker force could produce. She had to wonder if the Apiary hives had stripped themselves bare to achieve such a thing...but it did not seem so. Even as she gaped, more and more Apiary bees arrived, buzzing around the entrance since there were no cells left to fill.
The Firstborn shook herself and got to work. She rushed over to the nearest cell and drank deeply of the honey, refilling her mana up to full. She flew over to the nearest soldier cell and laid more eggs as quickly as she could. Her workers sipped on enough honey to get moving, and then began to expand the hive, creating more cells for the Apiary bees to fill.
She realized the truth. The bees of the Tower were not rival hives. They were all one, a colony of many. They were all the brood of the King. And together, they would win this fight and earn his trust.
So, all the bees devoted themselves to their work. There was much to do, and only a short time to do it.
Chapter 22 - First Minor Purification
Minor purification attempt in 4 minutes 23 seconds...
Belissar had to remind himself to breathe once again. He had his arms crossed and he was tapping his foot. He kept taking deep breaths and tapped the torch he held against his arm.
He was currently standing in the Apiary just in front of the door to the Flower Meadow. A roaring fire crackled in the campfire pit next to him. But his attention was on the gate at the far end of the Flower Meadow, where soldier bees hovered in the air. They were gathered into small squads and spread out across the sky, waiting for the purification to begin.
He heaved a sigh. Niobee had convinced him to let the Flower Meadow bees take first stab at the monster. And he needed them to, if he thought about it. He had chosen the soldier bees for this exact reason, so what was the point in keeping them from danger? Plus...he needed to know what they could do. If even the soldier bees couldn¡¯t defeat a shade, then he¡¯d need to rethink a lot of his decisions and his defenses. As a result, Belissar wouldn¡¯t get involved right away this time. He¡¯d remain in the Apiary while the fight raged. If the bees couldn¡¯t take down the shade themselves, then they¡¯d lure it into one of the prepped fire pits near the end of the Flower Meadow. Belissar could then light his torch and rush out to set the pit ablaze.
Around him buzzed the workers from the Apiary hives...along with some newcomers. Monster bee soldiers hovered around him, but not from the Flower Meadow hives. Belissar had gone ahead and added a pair of monster bee soldier spawners to the Apiary. None of the Apiary hives had developed enough to spawn monster bee soldiers on their own...and none of them were able to do so in the time before the purification. Since the Flower Meadow hives were focusing on the soldiers, Belissar needed the Apiary hives¡¯ help to prep the fire pits with extra wax. Belissar also noticed the Apiary hives loaning honey to the Flower Meadow hives, perhaps allowing them to focus even more heavily on the soldiers. All of which meant the Apiary queens had not had the leeway to raise soldiers.
As such, Belissar had figured he should spawn some soldiers to cover the Apiary as well. If, gods forbid, the Flower Meadow hives fell and couldn¡¯t lure the shade into one of the Pit Traps, Belissar didn¡¯t want to leave the Apiary hives with only workers for defense.
With that, all the preparations Belissar could make in the time allotted were complete. They had prepped as many fire pits as possible, they had spawned more monster bee soldiers, and Belissar had even seen them training for the battle. Belissar himself held his torch and his axe.
But Belissar couldn¡¯t help but worry. He didn¡¯t want to see any of his bees hurt, after all. And if the bees didn¡¯t defeat the shade immediately, it would have the opportunity to rampage across the Flower Meadow until they could lure it into a pit. At worst, it might destroy one or even all of the hives in the Flower Meadow before it fell into one of the traps. Losing the queens there would be a heavy blow.
But the bees were resolved to do this, and Belissar needed them to if he was to be an effective Tower Lord. So, he did his best to calm himself and stand at the ready.
...he didn¡¯t really succeed.
But the timer counted down regardless and soon, the moment was upon them.
Minor purification attempt commencing.
This time was a bit different from before. The Tower¡¯s mana still heated up, but not to the burning extent of the initial purification. The Tower gate didn¡¯t'' swing open this time either. Instead...Belissar felt a chill down his spine as something cold crept through the Tower¡¯s mana. It inched out of the core and made its way towards the gate. Once there, it coalesced. Tendrils of the Hunger began to form and gather together. Once again, a shade of the Hunger formed and let out a roar.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Minor purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 1
Belissar...then tilted his head. He knew he was looking at it from far away with his ¡°Tower sight¡± as he had started to call it but...the shade seemed smaller than before.
But he had no time to question it, for the bees had already begun their attack. A squad of four soldiers had started diving the moment the shade took shape. It had barely finished its roar when they slammed into it. Two dagger-like stingers pierced into the shade¡¯s side, and it let out another roar. Two of the soldiers overshot their target and missed, and then all four flew up and away. The shade snapped its jaws at them, but they had left its range and escaped unharmed.
A second squad struck from behind even as the shade bit at the first. These four had adjusted their aim and all four stingers hit the shade¡¯s back. It roared again and its tail whipped around, but again the bees had flown out of the way of its counter.
The shade had apparently had enough at this point, and it took a deep breath. Most of the bees scattered as they practiced but the third squad had begun its dive and struggled to pull up as the shade unleashed a cloud of black mist from its mouth. One of the soldier bees was caught by the mist...and to Belissar¡¯s surprise did not drop to the ground. However, she shook about in the air and slowed to a crawl, so she couldn¡¯t evade when the shade¡¯s tail pierced through her torso. The bee went limp and stopped moving.
The bees renewed their assault, another squad stinging the shade¡¯s flanks even as their sister fell. The bees were finding their rhythm now and stung the shade again and again. The shade¡¯s tail and jaws missed time after time and the bees were careful to avoid the shade¡¯s breath now. A misty, black ooze dripped from various spots on the shade, which wasn¡¯t moving as quickly as it had at the start.
Belissar blinked. The shade...hadn¡¯t even advanced from the doorway, and yet the soldier bees had it on the ropes. Of every outcome he had thought about and planned for...this one came as a surprise.
¡°We¡¯re...winning?¡±
Niobee flew about him rapidly in response.
¡°Yes!¡±
Belissar started to grin at that but then something changed. The bees had the shade surrounded at this point...but a cornered beast was the most dangerous. The shade once again took a deep breath and the bees backed away once again. But the shade didn¡¯t let out the black mist this time. Instead, it took off running as fast as it could once the bees fell back, and so broke free of the cloud of bees around it.
And again, of all the outcomes the soldier bees trained for, they had not anticipated the shade might run from them. They were caught off guard and rushed to chase after it.
And that was what it was waiting for.
The shade then spun around and unleashed its black breath. Several squads of bees flew straight into it before they could evade, and then the shade was upon them. The beast pounced into their midst and assaulted the stunned squad. Its claws took one of the wings off a bee, sending her falling to the ground. Its tail pierced through another two while its jaws clamped down on yet another. An entire squad fell in an instant.
The other bees in the air retaliated, rushing in to sting the shade¡¯s sides. But the shade mostly ignored them, whipping its tail around while it focused on the stunned bees ahead. The soldier bees¡¯ careful rotation had broken with the sudden change in situation and the plight of their sisters, and so a group of them had all rushed in at once. The tail then caught them and knocked them away, leaving them spinning about in the air from the force of the strike.
But, the shade was not at its best. It had not crushed the bee in its jaws yet, though she lacked the strength to break free. Her chitin armor had saved her life, but it had begun to crack under the shade¡¯s grip, and its fangs had pierced through in places. She was bleeding heavily and could barely wiggle about at this point. There was no chance of escape.
However, escape was not her plan.
Her abdomen was still free as the monster had bit her torso, and it stretched up. Her stinger extended out...and then the soldier¡¯s abdomen began to glow. Even as her chitin cracked and shattered, she swung her stinger forward, shredding her torso on the shade¡¯s fangs as she curled her body around.
The stinger thrust up into the shade¡¯s head from the bottom, a flash of light shining from the monstrosity¡¯s mouth as the soldier bee poured all of her remaining strength into a Death Blow.
The shade wobbled and staggered about, before it fell to the ground. The soldier bees set upon, stinging it repeatedly, but it responded to them no longer. A few moments after it fell, the shade¡¯s body collapsed into a dissipating cloud of black mist.
Back in the Apiary, Belissar just stared at the sight.
¡°We...won?¡±
All hostiles defeated. Purification successful.
Chapter 23 - Bee Grateful
Belissar slowly closed his mouth. The shade may have seemed a bit smaller than the first, and never used the all-direction mist attack, but it also hadn¡¯t been particularly weak as far as Belissar knew. It wasn¡¯t like he could have taken it by himself without the Pit Traps, after all. And yet...the soldier bees had handled it. They took it down with only a handful of losses. The shade had barely made it beyond the gate, even.
It took Belissar a moment to accept the situation.
Minor Purification completed! Please select a reward:
- +50 DP
- +10 Max Mana
- Monster Bee Soldier Strength Boost (Minimal)
But he was not dreaming. A shade of the Hunger was defeated without needing the traps or fire at all. Belissar hadn¡¯t even lifted a finger. It was a tremendous victory.
"Bees win! King¡¯s hive best hive! King best king!¡±
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but smile as Niobee flew around him as fast as she could. The Apiary bees all around began to buzz and zip through the air, performing quick and elaborate aerial dances as they celebrated the victory. He took a deep breath, relaxing his body as he exhaled it.
His choices hadn¡¯t been wrong. His bees could defend a Tower of the Gods after all. He hadn¡¯t expected them to lose here, but to see the victory with his own eyes was still a relief. He really could call himself a Tower Lord now, without qualifiers.
Well, he¡¯d still appreciate a manual or guide of some sort, but as long as his bees were safe he was content with how things were going.
That thought did bring a slight frown to Belissar¡¯s face. He glanced at the fallen bee soldiers on the ground, the wounded one who could no longer fly, and the remains of the one who gave her life to strike the critical blow. The victory was great indeed, and with far less losses than Belissar had feared...but it had not come without sacrifice. He nodded to himself, and pushed aside the messages regarding rewards as he began to walk towards the Flower Meadow.
He had something to do, and all else could wait.
Belissar waited as the bees celebrated before he began his task. Once they had calmed down, he walked to the site of the battlefield. He picked up the wounded bee and placed her on his shoulder, then gathered the remains of the fallen bee soldiers. Niobee flew over to him.
¡°King, what doing? That workers job!¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°They gave their lives for me. The least I can do is honor them.¡±
Niobee shook about in the air.
¡°Honor? What that?¡±
The rest of the bees watched Belissar as he gently held the remains in his arms, carrying them to the end of the Flower Meadow, laying them down by the Shrine of Bees. He then retrieved his axe, saw, and some wood, and got to work. He dug a hole in the ground as best he could with what he had, and then placed the bees inside of it.
He knew that normal bees didn¡¯t seem overly concerned with their dead. The bees that died in the hive would be removed and dumped at a safe distance. The bees that died outside were simply left where they fell. He didn¡¯t know if monster bees did it differently but Niobee¡¯s confusion seemed to confirm that they acted much the same. So, since they had no ceremonies of their own, Belissar simply did as he thought best.
He put the bees in the same hole, figuring they would have preferred to be together. He then buried them back up, and then got to work on the wood. He made a hexagonal honeycomb sculpture, carving some bees into it as best he could, before propping it up over the grave.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
At this point, he was surrounded by bees. All of the queens had grown curious as to his actions, and gathered from both the Flower Meadow and the Apiary to watch him.
When he was finished, he turned to Niobee.
¡°Do you know who their queens were?¡±
¡°Will ask.¡±
Niobee gathered with the queens, and then three of the Flower Meadow queens flew over to Belissar, including the largest and oldest of the bunch.
¡°Do they have names? Or a way to call each other?¡±
Niobee flew unsteadily.
¡°No name. We call by birth. This is First Queen of Second Dynasty of First Spawner, Third Queen of First Dynasty of Third Spawner, and First Queen of First Dynasty of Fourth Spawner.¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin and then nodded. He took several planks of wood and placed them by the sculpture. He carved a set of numbers separated by dashes on each, corresponding to the numbers Niobee had stated. He then asked how many of the fallen belonged to each of the queens and carved a line for each into their respective planks.
He then took a deep breath and rose to his feet. He frowned for a moment, and his heart began to pound. His heart constricted in his chest.
Belissar did not often think of the dead. What point was there in that? No matter what tears were shed or what words were spoken, the dead were gone and that was that. It was unfortunate, but there was no sense dwelling on what could not be changed. The bees didn¡¯t bother with such things. They simply removed the corpses and kept at their work. Belissar had tried to do the same.
But when he thought of his bees, who gave their lives without hesitation or regret...he felt they did not deserve to simply be cast away and forgotten. He felt he had to do something for them.
So, he changed his mind. In the aftermath of the first purification, he had realized that he hadn¡¯t moved on at all. That the thoughts of those he had lost still lingered inside him, as much as he tried to deny it. Even the very thought of them brought tears to his eyes, which was why he had done all he could not to think of them. Those thoughts now stabbed through his chest like a cold knife. Every muscle in his body tensed and told him to flee.
But Belissar fixed his eyes on the bees hovering before him and put aside his own discomfort. He would do this for them, at the very least. He took the wounded bee soldier on his shoulder and gently placed her before the grave, then took a step back and faced her. He bowed his head.
¡°Thank you, for your sacrifice. We won because of you. I won¡¯t forget that.¡±
He didn¡¯t know what else to say or do. His parents hadn¡¯t even had a funeral, and he buried the old beekeeper himself. So, he simply stood in silence for a moment.
The wounded bee soldier squirmed a bit under Belissar¡¯s gaze, while the rest of the bees hovered in the air, unsure of what to do.
Then, one of them began to move. Niobee began to fly in a slow pattern, starting a new dance that she had never done before. This was not something instinctive to her or taught to her by her colony. So, she slowly, unsteadily mapped out the movements herself. She tried to match the dance to the feelings she could perceive from the King. She made slow and graceful movements, beating her wings as softly as possible, yet keeping her course straight and steady as she could. Once Niobee completed her dance she repeated it, now absent the hesitation or doubt of her first attempt.
A slow and steady buzz arose in the air. The other bees began to follow her, first the queens of the Flower Meadow, then the soldiers, and then all the rest. The wounded soldier couldn¡¯t follow without her wing, but she beat her remaining wing along the rhythm of the others. The King turned and watched as the bees conducted their dance. He nodded at them as they concluded.
¡°Thank you all.¡±
The bees buzzed in response.
The Firstborn of the Second Dynasty of the First Spawner trembled as the King¡¯s words vibrated through her chitin. Her mana stirred, filling her body with heat.
A grand and mighty victory was won this day. She had achieved all she had set out to do. The enemy was defeated by the strength of their armies, felled by the sacrifice of one of her own soldiers. The destruction of the First Dynasty was repaid in full, and the bees had proven themselves worthy defenders to the King.
If it had ended there, the Firstborn would have flown high for quite some time. But the King was not content with that.
No, he had taken the fallen and carried them by his own hand. He began a new construction, one that did not seem suited as either shelter or defense. The Firstborn had watched in confusion, uncertain as to the King¡¯s purposes here.
Until he called her. She stood before him as the Conduit reported her titles.
What happened next shook her from her antenna down to her stinger.
The King carved her own title into a monument of his own design, one that stood next to the shrine of the Goddess herself, the Queen who reigned in the skies above. She knew not the symbols but the King¡¯s intent came through their bond and she knew that this one was supposed to represent her. He carved a symbol for each of her soldiers that had fallen in battle. He left an enduring mark that would remind all who saw it what her hive had sacrificed in the defense of her king.
The rest of the day passed in a blur for the Firstborn, even as she followed the Conduit¡¯s dance. It was not until night fell that she came to herself, even as her soldiers and workers began to tug her back to her hive. Feelings and emotions she couldn¡¯t describe surged through her, causing her wings to buzz. Her hive all turned to her in alarm. She began to dance rapidly as thoughts raced through her mind.
This would only be the beginning. They had defeated one invader but more would come, and the Firstborn intended to be ready. Nay, they would be more than ready. Her hive would build the finest army bee-kind had ever seen.
All for the King.
Chapter 24 - Bee Rewarded
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Basic Resource Plants
Beehive
Hidden Wax Cell
Chapter 25 - Bee Resourceful!
Basic Resource Plants selected.
Belissar didn¡¯t have much trouble with this decision. Hidden Wax Traps just weren¡¯t impactful enough, especially since the monster bee soldiers were able to handle shades on their own. Beehives were more tempting but weren¡¯t a priority at the moment. He already had plenty of honey production at present, honeycomb was beginning to accumulate in the farmhouse¡¯s storage jars, even. The slight boost in brood growth would have been useful but the Flower Meadow hives had already developed to the point of producing monster bee soldiers, while the Apiary already had a bunch of beehouses. More beehouses just meant more of what he already had.
All in all, Belissar figured that the extra and possibly new resources from Basic Resource Plants would be the most beneficial to both him and the bees. More resources would increase the things Belissar could make and thus expand his contributions to the Tower. More plants meant more flowers and more nectar for the bees to gather, which might end up necessary before expanding the hives in any case. The donation of honey from the Apiary hives to the Flower Meadow ones implied there had been a shortfall, after all. He had been worried about that, but fortunately the Flower Meadow queens were birthing more workers now, so hopefully that wouldn''t be an issue going forward.
With his choice made, Belissar focused on the Flower Meadow. As he did, he noticed several spots shining across the field. He focused on those and found they were the mana flowers.
Compatible plant: Mana Flower. Upgrade to resource plant node?
Mana Upkeep: 5 per Mana Flower node
Belissar nearly confirmed immediately. The bees loved those flowers, and Niobee had informed him the flowers had been crucial for the development of the Flower Meadow hives. But he figured he should hold on, at least until he checked out what other nodes he could do. After all, each Mana Flower node cost more upkeep than enabling mana flowers for the entire field, and the same amount as the Flower Meadow itself, so it wasn¡¯t the cheapest thing he could do. He double checked his available mana:
Mana: 69/200
Enabling mana flowers for the Flower Meadow and adding the two soldier bee spawners in the Apiary had cut it a bit. He certainly had enough to add some Mana Flower nodes, but he could find himself out of free mana if he spent it haphazardly. So, he took a look to see what other resource nodes he could add...
Available Resource Plants for Flower Meadow:
- Basic Healing Herbs (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Basic Poisonous Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Basic Textile Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)
Belissar smiled. It turned out resource plants not only had one, but nearly all of the different resources he had guessed, plus a few more. He could gain access to both medicine and textiles with the right nodes. Poisonous flowers also made sense, since quite a few common flowers could be toxic. Belissar wasn¡¯t as versed in the ways of poison, nor did he have any of the tools necessary to handle and process it, but if he did manage to figure something out the flowers could represent another weapon to use against the Hunger. Presuming poison actually worked on them but the bee stings seemed to hurt the shades, so Belissar figured it may be worth a shot. Worse came to worse, poisonous flowers were still flowers, and Belissar had observed bees gathering nectar from them the same as any other in the past.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
And that was only for the Flower Meadow...
Available Resource Plants for Apiary:
- Basic Healing Herbs (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Basic Poisonous Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)
Belissar tilted his head at that. Seemed there wasn¡¯t anything new for the Apiary. Less options, even, as textile flowers weren¡¯t available there. But he just shrugged. It...made sense that a Flower Meadow would have more plant options than an Apiary, he supposed. Bees seemed to like most flowering plants, after all, so perhaps there wasn¡¯t anything particularly unique to the Apiary itself?
But it was no matter, for the Flower Meadow options were more than enough. All in all, this had been an excellent purchase. Now he just needed to figure out how many of each node he wanted.
Belissar decided he would test one of each node in both of the rooms. He also enabled mana flowers for the Apiary, leaving him with forty one mana remaining when it was all said and done. He figured the bees of both rooms would appreciate extra flowers, and doubling up on healing herbs and poisonous flowers could prove useful if he needed medicine or poison stockpiles in the future. He was fine with one textile node for now, since he was the only person in the Tower who could actually make use of it at present.
He placed the nodes in both rooms around the hives and the spawners so the bees would have quick trips to each. He then watched with interest as circles of light began to glow on the ground, followed by new plants going from brand new shoots to fully budded flowers in seconds. His eyes went wide he watched the display of the Tower¡¯s power once again. It was still an incredible thing to see.
Belissar walked out of the farmhouse over to the Apiary nodes. He stood and stared as he saw the small patches of flowers that had just grown out of nothing, for it was even more impressive when viewed from the ground with his own eyes.
The mana flower node was particularly impressive. A lone mana flower was a subtle thing that blended in with the flowers around it, but it was different when a bunch of them gathered together. Their subtle glow blended together, creating little shimmers of light like the twinkling stars in the sky, or like the sun reflecting off a flowing river. Belissar walked over to the node and could feel the warmth of mana suffuse the area around it. The Apiary bees swarmed around the node, yet remained at a distance from it. Belissar smiled at the sight.
¡°Go ahead, I made it for you all.¡±
The bees buzzed and danced in gratitude before swarming over the flowers. Belissar chuckled and left them to it as he looked over the other two nodes. The healing herb node was more leafy green; Belissar felt it could be easily overlooked with all the flowers around it. Meanwhile the poisonous flower node was bright and colorful. Both contained a few different species, including some Belissar didn¡¯t immediately recognize. He nodded in approval and walked over to the healing herb node.
He noticed some of the herbs seemed to be glowing slightly, and he reached out to touch them. He only touched them lightly, but they pulled out of the soil with hardly any effort, almost removing themselves. Belissar glanced at the herb now in his hand and rubbed his chin. The Apiary beehives also pushed honeycomb out where it would be easily harvested, even before they had bees or the beehouse trays, so Belissar guessed this was similar.
¡°Well, that¡¯s convenient. Should help with the textiles, I hope.¡±
He wasn¡¯t looking forward to trying to process and weave fabric completely by hand, after all. In any case, he left the non-glowing herbs for the bees, nodding at them so they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to visit the new flowers, before making his way to the Flower Meadow. He smirked slightly to himself as he thought that the bees were probably waiting for him there too.
His smirk only grew as he stepped into the Flower Meadow and found the bees hovering around the new nodes here as well, waiting for him. He shook his head and chuckled as he walked over to them and gave them permission to gather. He chuckled some more as he watched them swarm over the new flowers. It turned out monster bees were the most polite people he had ever known.
In any case, he made his way to the textile plant node. He found a bunch of flax flowers there, several of which were glowing. He went ahead and harvested them...and sighed. The plants pulled off all as one piece...which meant it was up to Belissar and his bare handful of tools to process them into useful fibers. He shook his head. He supposed it was technically better this way, as the seeds and other parts of the plants could be useful as well, but this was a job he never particularly enjoyed.
Still, he would enjoy having an undamaged tunic, so he set about harvesting what he could before taking them back to the Apiary. The sooner he got started, the sooner he¡¯d get it over with.
Still, he couldn¡¯t help but grin as he walked past the other nodes and saw clouds of bees flying to and from the new flowers. He supposed he should take on the new work as enthusiastically as they did...
POBee 25.1 - The Favor of the King
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Chapter 26 - Youll Bee Going Mad!
The next few days were a bit of a grind for Belissar. First, he had to separate all the different parts of the flax from each other. He stored the seeds, since they could be processed into linseed oil. That could have uses in his woodworking and his fire traps, or even in his diet if he had surplus. Then he had to separate the useful fibers from the straw and inner pitch. Both were steps that were noticeably difficult for a lone person who lacked the normal tools one might use for the job.
And the little scrapes and scratches he got processing the flax with his hand also did not improve his opinion of the task.
And when that was done, it would have to retted and dried and scutched...
Belissar was starting to feel that the cuts in his tunic weren¡¯t that big a deal after all. He may not have had many fond memories of his neighbors...but he did miss being able to trade wax and mead for already processed cloth.
He broke up the monotony with some construction planning. He may have skipped out on beehives as a room feature, but he still wanted to build some beehouses for the queens that didn¡¯t have them yet. The Apiary itself had more queens than beehouses once its spawners had filled up to their max, and none of the Flower Meadow queens had a beehouse at all. The only reason he hadn¡¯t gotten started was that he was still thinking about modifications to the design.
The Flower Meadow queens, after all, were no normal bees at this point. The queens and the soldiers bees were far larger than any mundane bee could ever grow. At the very minimum, Belissar would need to build the houses far larger to accommodate both the existing soldiers and any future growth.
And beyond that there was the question of purpose. Belissar¡¯s current beehouses were a tool for a beekeeper. The trays made it easy for him to gather honeycomb from the hive, or to check on the status of the bees. That was helpful for the Apiary beehives, which were designed with that same purpose in mind. But the Flower Meadow colonies were different. Their focus was on defense, not honey production. So, the question was...how could Belissar adjust his beehouses to support them? Should he try to make his beehouses less accessible and more defensible? Did they even need trays and removable lids? Did they even need a beehouse at all?
All Belissar knew at this stage was that he didn¡¯t want to make the standard beehouses for them, but working out the details was slow going. He was no castle builder, and defensible beehouses went against the very idea of beehouses in the first place, so he was charting out new territory here in more ways than one.
But one thing he could distract himself with...work on right away was a fence for the entrance. The bees had proven they could handle a shade alone...but there was no reason not to make use of all those traps he bought. If he could make a tall fence leading directly to the first pit trap, they could handle shades without putting anyone at risk at all.
Belissar tried to process some larger branches and smaller tree trunks into tall stakes, and plant them in the ground. He figured he needed something a bit more substantial as a shade would probably just jump over a smaller fence. It was...not working particularly well, if he was entirely honest. Digging a deep enough hole with a small enough diameter was proving difficult for a solo worker who lacked any sort of digging tools. And then there was the matter of getting those holes close enough to form a useful barrier. He even tried using the Pit Traps...but even their smallest size was still too large for this case. He couldn¡¯t put them close to the entrance in any case.
So, Belissar was left back at his flax processing for the most part. That is...until one morning when he went to gather honeycomb from the Apiary beehouses...
He found the queen of the closest hive waiting for him at the entrance of her beehouse. She did a little dance of greeting once he approached. He tilted his head.
¡°You want to show me something?¡±
She signaled yes and then flew up to the lid of the beehouse. Belissar opened it and pulled out the trays that were ready for harvest. He normally just took one a day from each hive. He scarcely needed nine trays of honeycomb a day, much less more, but figured he should clear the way so they could keep making more at the very least. But this time, the queen seemed to want him to take all of them, so he did.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
The first tray was a tray of mana honeycomb as usual...but something seemed different. The mana concentration in the honey was unlike any Belissar had seen before, the tray felt warm to the touch. Belissar thought for a moment before realizing this honey must have been made with nectar from the mana flowers.
And that gave him a clue as to what the other two might be. He reached out for one of them that had a slightly green and blue tint to it. He was surprised, however, when he picked up one of the trays and words appeared before him.
Healing Herb Mana Honeycomb Tray
- Description: A tray of honeycomb containing healing herb mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of healing herbs, this honey has a slight medicinal and healing effects.
He knew honey had some medicinal qualities to it, but this was something else. Mana honey with a...slight healing effect? If Belissar didn¡¯t know any better, he¡¯d say that sounded like one of those healing potions from the stories. The healing potions that were supposed to be poisonous if drank by anyone not blessed by the gods, and that could only be the product of foul magics otherwise.
But well, Belissar was blessed by one of the gods. He could feel the mana inside the honey, so he knew it was magical in every definition of the word. So perhaps...the stories weren¡¯t so far-fetched after all. If so, he could be holding an actual treasure in his hand. Something that could heal wounds in an instant, before his very eyes, or even restore lost limbs and mortal blows. Well, the word ¡°slight¡± seemed to imply the effects might be a bit more muted than in the stories, but Belissar would be glad to have something like this available regardless.
He had one final tray left to check, one with a slight purple tint to it. And, well, at this point he had a pretty good idea of what it was.
Mad Mana Honey Honeycomb Tray
- Description: A tray of honeycomb containing mad mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of toxic flowers, this honey has accumulated a significant concentration of neurotoxins. Causes intoxication and hallucinogenic effects when consumed, in excessive quantities may cause paralysis as well.
Belissar nodded. As he thought, this was the honey produced from the poisonous flowers. The old beekeeper had told him stories of mad honey, though he never thought he might encounter it himself. He decided to be very careful with where he left this tray.
He looked at the queen, who was hovering in the air and staring at him. He smiled at her.
¡°Great work, this is amazing.¡±
She froze, dipping as her wings stopped beating for a second. Then she began to fly around rapidly before rushing back into the beehouse. Belissar chuckled and took the trays. He kept the mana honeycomb inside the house, then took the healing herb and mad honey trays with him. He had some ideas he wanted to try...
Sticky Mad Honey Trap
Type: Bee, Trap
Honey equipped: Mad Mana Honey
Mana Upkeep: 3 (1 if honey provided)
Description: Spreads sticky honey onto a target or area, hindering target¡¯s mobility. Upkeep reduced if dungeon has a source of honey. Effects may vary with type of honey. Currently equipped with Mad Mana Honey, may cause intoxication, hallucination, or even paralysis if ingested, or contacted for too long.
Belissar smiled as he confirmed his idea would work. When he brought the mad mana honey to one of the Pit Traps, he got an option to add it to the Sticky Honey Trap installed at the bottom. It would add an extra layer of defense to the trap, though it consumed an entire tray of the honey. Belissar would have to get to work installing it into the rest.
After that he took the healing herb honeycomb to the Flower Meadow. He found the wounded monster bee soldier standing by the entrance to her hive, unable to participate in the drills of her flying sisters. She began a dance of salute as Belissar approached. He smiled and let her finish before holding out the honeycomb.
¡°Here, try some of this.¡±
The soldier bee froze and stood still for a moment just staring up at Belissar. Then...she slowly began to crawl towards the honeycomb. She slowly extended her mouth and took a small sip. Belissar chuckled.
¡°Go ahead and drink up.¡±
She continued drinking slowly but did as Belissar said, until a bunch of the cells were empty.
¡°How¡¯s that? Feel anything?¡±
The bee paused for a second before dancing a hesitant no. Belissar watched her for a minute but nothing changed, and her lost wing did not regrow. He let out a soft sigh.
¡°Well, it was worth a shot. Let me know if you feel anything or want some more.¡±
The bee danced a slow salute to him, and then he began walking back to the Apiary. It seemed the healing herb honey wasn¡¯t exactly the limb-restoring potions of the stories, but it was better to have it than not.
With that, he had nothing pressing left to do, and so slowly returned to the flax processing...
Chapter 27 - Bee Honey Trapped
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Chapter 28 - To Bee Favored
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POBee 28.1 - The Hive of Hives
Belissar awoke the next day and went to check on the hives. He found the queen of the closest hive waiting for him at the entrance to her beehouse, flanked by two workers.
¡°Hi there, want to show me something again?¡±
The queen danced a salute and then brushed antenna with the two bees, who flew up towards Belissar. His eyes widened as he looked more closely at them...and found they were the wrong colors. One had bluish-green and black stripes, while the other alternated purple and black. He took a closer look...
Medicinal Monster Bee Worker
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal+
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minor
Notable Skills: Herbal Shot, Poison Sting, Brood Offspring, Brood Tender
Description: A monster bee worker raised on the nectar of healing herbs. It produces healing compounds and its stinger is optimized to deploy them. Additionally, will improve the overall health of its hive. These changes make it poor, though not entirely incapable, at combat.
Maddening Monster Bee Worker
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minor
Notable Skills: Mad Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring
Description: A monster bee worker raised on mad honey. It now produces the neurotoxins present in the honey in its own venom glands. Its stings, in addition to the normal bee toxin effects, may cause intoxication, hallucination, and in very high dosages paralysis.
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. This...was an unexpected development...and a massive one. Monster bees...could apparently change the properties of their venom, or even their color and shape based on the type of honey they were fed. He was starting to understand why they were considered monsters.
Bees with venom that had the same intoxicating effects as mad honey. Belissar could immediately imagine how that might be useful, for it meant even the workers would now stand a chance against larger and more powerful foes. Even if it took them a long time to take a shade down, they could now unsteady and slow it. If he thought about it more...that meant these workers could now help the soldiers with their work. It meant even the smallest of his bees was now a threat the shades would have to deal with.
Medicinal monster bee workers were harder to wrap his head around. Bees that...could make healing herbs in their bodies? He supposed that made sense, no reason they couldn¡¯t make medicine if they could make poison, right? The confusing thing for him was the idea that they could deploy said medicine via their stingers. That...seemed a bit contradictory. Apply medicine...by stabbing the patient? Or maybe they would spray it instead?
Belissar didn¡¯t know, but figured the bees would know what they were doing. In any case, extra medicine was always a good thing. He especially liked the part of their description about improving the health of the hive as a whole. Healthy hives and stronger broods always made him happy.
But the most important part of this development was not either of the two bees themselves. It was the knowledge that monster bees could change and grow into new forms...without a reward from the Tower or the gods. Belissar¡¯s mind raced as to what might be possible. If a couple of healing herbs and poisonous flowers had led to this...what might his bees be able to do? How far could they take this?Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He smiled and nodded his head towards the queen.
¡°Well done, this is amazing.¡±
The queen in question froze solid. Belissar chuckled as he went about to check on the other hives. And as he did so, he began to dream of all sorts of fantastical and impossible bees. Fantastical and impossible bees that might be very real one day, between the power of the Tower and the magic of the monster bees.
¡°I¡¯ll have to get some more plants next time...¡±
The Firstborn froze completely as her mind processed the report. The First of the Fifth had sent her new workers across the King¡¯s lands, declaring her achievement with the approval of the Conduit. And this news...changed everything.
The Firstborn admitted she had underestimated the First of the Fifth. She was the eldest of the Apiary queens, and yet she did not seem to understand their purpose as the Firstborn did. They were defenders first, and all else second. Should the invaders break past the gate to the Beyond, all that they had built would be torn down and destroyed. So, there were no tasks more important than preparing for the fight to come.
And yet, the First of the Fifth spent her days and her efforts on the production of honey. The Firstborn could understand the need to maximize production, but the First of the Fifth took it further. From what the Firstborn had heard, she obsessed over quality, and split her honey based on her assessment of each batch.
The Firstborn understood, to some extent. She, too, had the desire to offer her tribute to the King, and she agreed that he deserved nothing but the very best. Yet, she could not help but be a bit disappointed. The First of the Fifth was her counterpart in the Apiary, the eldest of the queens that the others looked to and followed. She did not wish for the First of the Fifth to change her focus, or anything of that nature. The Apiary hives¡¯ honey production had proved to be a critical asset in the Third Invasion. Moreover, the Firstborn was glad that the armies of the Flower Meadow were powerful enough that the Apiary hives could devote themselves to such efforts. Yet...she did wish that the First of the Fifth remembered the broader picture. She worried that her counterpart was neglecting their primary duty with her obsession and causing the younger queens to follow suit. It did not befit her role as a fellow firstborn.
But that assessment had proven largely wrong.
The First of the Fifth¡¯s efforts had paid off in completely unanticipated ways. Her honey from the new plants had transformed into a weapon that had great effect upon the enemy of the Fourth Invasion. And now, her offspring had taken on the qualities of the honeys she curated so obsessively. Her workers could now deploy a venom unlike anything the Firstborn¡¯s army possessed and had dedicated tenders to ensure every larva of her brood grew healthy and strong.
And she had done all of this with the plants that the Firstborn had neglected.
The Firstborn was ashamed to admit she had ignored the wisdom of the King. After he had gifted them with new patches of flowers, she had focused her workers¡¯ efforts entirely on the mana flowers. The flowers that would provide the most nutrition for their efforts, to allow her army to grow as large and powerful as possible with as little work as possible. So, when the other new plants had proven to have no more mana than the normal flowers, she had not paid attention to them. Their nectar and their honey had been mixed in with the rest of the normal fare, treated no different than any other.
So, she had not noticed the potential lurking inside that humble nectar. She imagined what might have been if she had done as the First of the Fifth. She imagined a soldier bee with a debilitating sting, causing the enemy to stumble and fall after but a few attacks. She imagined what her soldiers might look like had they been tended by dedicated healers.
She had been truly foolish.
The Firstborn set out to rectify this. She wished to separate out and organize her honey based on its source. She would not go to the extent the First of the Fifth did, but at least she would separate the nectar from the new patches so that they could feed some of the new brood upon it. She quickly realized, though, that this was not possible in the short term. Her hive was still operating on a smaller workforce, one that could not sustain her current army if they shifted focus away from the mana flowers. They did not have the time to spend on organization, nor on gathering sufficient nectar from the other, low mana patches. As they were, they would struggle to gather enough honey from the other plants to produce even a single worker of the types the First of the Fifth had displayed, much less a honey-guzzling soldier.
The Firstborn stood still again as she realized the truth. It had not been that she had not noticed the potential of the plants...it was that she couldn¡¯t have. Her focus on the soldiers prevented her from taking the steps necessary to ever discover such a thing.
It was only the First of the Fifth, and her obsession with honey quality, that could have produced this outcome. It was only her who could have revealed this new path for the army¡¯s growth.
Once again, the Firstborn realized the wisdom of the King. She had wondered why he permitted the First of the Fifth to do as she did. But now she knew. For not all bees in the hive had the same job. The queen did not go out to scout and gather. The soldier did not give birth to the next generation. The worker was not the first to fight.
And the King had built a hive of hives. He was the king of queens. And so, each of his queens had a different role to play. Each of them had their own mission to fulfill. Each of them was vital for the success of the whole.
The Firstborn thanked the First of the Fifth in her mind as she began to lay a new generation. And for once, she lay not a single soldier egg, instead intending to dramatically expand her worker force. She would need a great many of them to gather the honey necessary, for to feed a soldier larva on mundane nectar would be a herculean task. A task that would require her to cut down the growth of her army substantially, and for a long time.
But the Firstborn wanted to produce the finest army bee-kind had ever seen, and to do that she could not leave a single flower unvisited. She would follow the path set out before her by the King and the First of the Fifth, and they would all work together to fulfill the King¡¯s grand designs.
For though the queens could not be more different, they were all, in the end, one hive. The hive of the King.
POBee 28.2 - The Army of the Apiary
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POBee 28.3 - The Negotiations
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Chapter 29 - A Shocking Bee-vent!
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Chapter 30 - The Epipha-Bee
Belissar thought and he thought and he thought some more, even as Niobee buzzed around him. Eventually, she got his attention by landing on his hand.
¡°King, ok?¡±
Belissar sighed and shook his head.
¡°Not really. Just...give me a moment, please?¡±
Niobee buzzed her wings but said no more. She took off again, hovering a short distance away from Belissar. He sighed and began walking, heading over towards the farmhouse. He went inside, got a bit of honeycomb to snack on, and sat down at the table.
This was all way above his station...or would have been, were he not a Tower Lord now. Or...maybe it wasn¡¯t? Because if the tales of the demi-humans were wrong, then what else might be? He, a peasant, had clearly stepped into and been placed in control of a Tower, and didn¡¯t end up getting smote in the process. Maybe he had been wrong all along, and the gods didn¡¯t mind peasants in Towers either. But if that were true...then what made the Tower Lords and the Tower Guard special?
Or...were they special at all? If Belissar, of all people, could do the job of a Tower Lord well enough to earn the patronage of a god, then did the job truly require someone greater than other men to pull off?
Or...was the case that it wasn¡¯t those chosen by the gods who became Tower Lords, but those that became Tower Lords that were chosen by the gods?
And if all that was the case...then what of everything else he had been taught? Magic and potions being harmful to peasants? The Tower Lords requiring tribute to offer to the gods? Peasants naturally being beneath those the gods had chosen? The will of the gods being to obey any and all Tower Lords without question?
Belissar remembered going hungry in the cold of winter when the tribute cut into the rations on a particularly bad year. He remembered the villagers raiding his mead on orders of the village elder, for the local Tower Lord had requested it.
He remembered begging for help as his parents came down with the plague. A plague he later heard had been cured in the Tower cities by the fantastic powers of the Tower Lords.
He remembered the old beekeeper coughing in the night, believing there was nothing he could do. Even if he had magic or potions, he believed they would kill her as quickly as the pneumonia.
But if everything he had been taught was wrong...then all that pain...all that suffering...
Had it been for nothing?
Belissar groaned and clutched his head...
Ultimately, Belissar could not come to that conclusion on his own. He felt he needed more information, more confirmation before he could accept such a thing. He rose to his feet with his eyes narrowed, heat swirling in his chest.
¡°Niobee...ask the queens to send out the scouts. I want to know more about our visitor.¡±
Niobee flew a bit unsteadily.
¡°Ok...King, ok?¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°I don¡¯t know. But I need to know more before I can do anything.¡±
Niobee hovered for a moment before dancing a salute and flying off to relay his command. Belissar crossed his arms and frowned.
Honestly, he wanted to see things with his own eyes...but that wasn¡¯t an option right now. If the tales of the demi-humans were true, then they carried a deep hatred towards all of humanity that had not shared in their fate and would attack on-sight. Belissar had a feeling that would not be the case, but he wasn¡¯t about to bet his life on it. Besides, the last few times he had dealt with people they had either confiscated his mead or else tried to kill him, so he wasn¡¯t exactly excited to meet more.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Likewise, Belissar was not particularly good at sneaking, nor was he a hunter. So, he had little confidence he could spy on the demi-humans without being noticed. And this was doubly true for demi-humans, since the tales stated they also tended to have better senses than the average human. Well, again Belissar didn¡¯t know how much of any of his knowledge he should believe at this point, but after seeing what the monster bees could do compared to their mundane cousins, Belissar decided it was best to assume the demi-humans were more capable if anything.
So, he would have to rely on the scout bees. The demi-human hadn¡¯t attacked them on the way to the Tower, nor did he fight with the soldier bees inside, so Belissar believed they could observe him peacefully. The only problem was that the monster bees, while more intelligent than normal, were still ultimately bees, and focused on the things that bees cared about, such as when they found the mana flowers and completely ignored the nearby ruins. Even their initial reports of the demi-human were limited to ¡°an animal is approaching,¡± with detail being limited to colors and shapes.
Belissar wanted to know a bit more than that. He wanted to know how the demi-human acted and talked. He wanted to know if this man acted more like a beast or like a man, if he used tools and tents and fire or if he simply lived in the wild. If his spear and his shield were something he intentionally made himself or something he simply picked off a human he had slain.
Getting a good sense of all that off the bees¡¯ reports would be a challenge, but what other choice did Belissar have? If only he had a way to use his Tower sight outside of the Tower...
And, of course, the moment he thought that his Tower sight rushed from his body and thought the Tower, heading to the outside world. It turned out he could do just that, he just hadn¡¯t had any particular desire to do so until now. Even when the bees reported the mana flowers, they had asked him to come personally so he hadn¡¯t thought of checking from afar. With the ruins, on the other hand, that had been a personal curiosity and he had not intended to distract the bees from their work with it.
He quickly tested the limits of what he could do. He was limited to what his bees could perceive with their senses, though he could move his attention from bee to bee, or even get a vaguer sense from several of them at a time for a bigger, less detailed picture.
All of which was perfect for his current purposes. Belissar looked through the sight of different bees until he found one that was following the bear man. The man trekked through the forest until he was close to the edge of the Tower¡¯s influence. There, he arrived at a large hole in the ground, and walked down inside of it. The bee watching him hovered at the edge of the hole. From what Belissar could tell, her night vision wasn¡¯t great, so she was uncertain of entering the dark hole.
Belissar tried to send some intentions to her like he could with the bees inside the Tower and found it worked. He let her know to remain outside and keep watch over the hole. She danced a little salute and then flew towards a nearby flower, gathering some nectar while she waited. He then checked which bees were closest to the hole and directed them to reinforce the lone scout.
Now, he had to wait until the demi-human returned...
Fortunately, Belissar did not have to wait for long. The bear man soon returned...and he was not alone. Several more armed bear folk exited the hole and set up a perimeter around it.
And then after that...came a whole tribe.
There were unarmed men and women carrying bundles and backpacks and even pulling carts. There were children and mothers carrying infants in slings. There were old men and women being supported by the young. Maybe a hundred or so demi-humans in total exited from the hole, all with brown fur on any part of their body not otherwise clothed, and round ears on the top of their heads, all standing tall above a normal human. Even the women would tower over Belissar, and some of the children could match his height. The armed ones wore armor of leather and bone over their torsos and extremities, while the others were more lightly clothed, revealing more of their brown fur.
And then, they began to make camp.
The man from before led them to a spot nearby where the bushes weren¡¯t as thick, and the tribe got to work. They began to chop away at the trees and bushes with axes and set up tents in the cleared area. A group of them got a fire going, and even hung a large iron pot over it.
And most of all, the entire tribe was exchanging conversations throughout the whole process.
One of them, a wrinkled and hunched woman holding a large staff with all sorts of trinkets and decorations hanging on it, turned towards one of his bees. She smiled and inclined her head.
¡°Thank you, for allowing us here. Please excuse us, we will visit shortly.¡±
Belissar ordered the bees to fall back and then withdrew his Tower sight. He staggered back and held his head, his heart pounding in his chest.
There was no mistake. There was no denying it.
The demi-humans were acting no different than humans would. Everything Belissar had seen pointed to them being, well, normal people all things considered.
Which meant...
The tales were wrong.
All of them.
Chapter 31 - Bee-hold the Truth
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Chapter 32 - Attempting Diploma-Bee
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Chapter 33 - Bee Challenged!
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Chapter 34 - Bee Assisted!
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Chapter 35 - To Bee Ready
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Chapter 36 - Bee Purified!
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Chapter 37 - Reme-Bee-rance
- Bee Memorial Room Feature
Bee Memorial Room Feature
Bee Memorial Room Feature
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Bee Memorial
Chapter 38 - Bee Respectful
¡°What about this?¡±
Belissar had spent the night brainstorming what he could do to improve the Tower¡¯s defenses. It was now morning, and he was in the farmhouse along with the soldier bee that had helped him weave linen. The soldier crawled along the table towards a stick Belissar had placed on it and tried to pick it up with her mandibles. Her wings buzzed softly as she started a slow dance. Belissar let out a sigh.
¡°No good, huh?¡±
Belissar¡¯s first idea was a simple one. If it was too dangerous and took too long for him to approach the Pit Traps with a torch, then why not let the soldier bees carry the torch instead? They could fly with it overhead and drop it into the pit from above, even if there was another shade around to interfere. It was low risk and, well, even if Belissar didn¡¯t want to accept it, the bees were willing to fly into danger if they had to.
He was running into some issues, however. Soldier bees may have been gigantic for bees, but they were still fairly small in the grand scheme of things, so a full-sized torch was out of the question. What was worse was the lack of grasping appendages. Their legs were designed mainly for walking, so they were limited to their mandibles. That meant the torch had to be thin enough to be held within the soldier bee¡¯s jaws, as well as light enough to be carried without excessive imbalance during flight.
But on the flip side, the torch couldn¡¯t be too small, either. The smaller the torch, the longer it would take to start a fire in the Pit Traps. A flame that was too small might even be extinguished as it fell from the sky or when it landed. Likewise, a small torch wouldn¡¯t last very long and so would have to be used quickly after being lit. That could lead to a situation like before, when Belissar couldn¡¯t get the torch to the pit before the shades escaped. And finally, if the torch was too small the bee itself could get burned by it, which would prevent its use entirely.
So, Belissar and the soldier bee were experimenting with different stick sizes to find the right balance, but they hadn¡¯t found a suitable one just yet.
It was then that Belissar was interrupted by another challenger message. He turned his Tower sight to the entrance and found the bear people had returned. This time, the old woman and her group had stayed home, and it was just the big guy and his warriors. His name was Metsaitti, or something, if Belissar recalled correctly.
Niobee flew in front of him as he stopped.
¡°King! Problem?¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°It¡¯s just the bear people again, but I¡¯m going to keep an eye on them for a bit. You girls can take a break for now, too.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Niobee zoomed out the window. The soldier bee gave a salute and followed after her. Belissar figured he probably didn¡¯t need to watch the bear people but, well, he still wasn¡¯t used to them, so wanted to observe a bit more closely.
The group acted the same as before and began sweeping through the meadow. As earlier, remnants appeared every now and again and were handled by the group, while they kept a sharp lookout for the Pit Traps.
Something changed, however, when they came across a certain flower. The bear folk all froze in place. The spearman nudged the spearwoman with his elbow.
¡°Hey, are my eyes tricking me, or is that a mana flower?¡±
She slowly nodded.
¡°For once, they¡¯re not.¡±
The spearman began to grin and step forward. But Metsaitti held out his hand and blocked the spearman from going any further. The young man frowned.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
¡°What gives, Metsaitti? I was going to share credit, you know!¡±
Metsaitti shook his head and then pointed at the flower.
¡°Look more closely and tell me what you see.¡±
The spearman raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.
¡°I¡¯m guessing you mean besides the glowing and priceless flower?¡±
The spearwoman rolled her eyes.
¡°Obviously. He means the bees, you idiot.¡±
The mana flower in question had a small swarm of bees around it, each waiting their turn to gather from it. The spearman shrugged.
¡°So? They¡¯re just bees.¡±
Metsaitti stepped in front and looked the young man in the eyes.
¡°The Sacred Den Master has been incredibly generous to us. He has allowed us to settle in his land and visit his Den all without cost, or submission. In return, he has given us one condition. Just one. Don¡¯t hurt his bees. Do you plan to be the one to earn his fury and lose us our new home?¡±
The young man glanced away.
¡°W-Well, how about we just...wave them off? As long as we don¡¯t hurt them, right?¡±
Metsaitti narrowed his eyes.
¡°And how would you feel if someone stole your food? It¡¯s all fine because they didn¡¯t hurt you, right?¡±
The spearman threw up his hands.
¡°Fine! We¡¯ll leave the priceless treasure alone for a couple of bees!¡±
Metsaitti nodded and patted him on the shoulder.
¡°Patience. This den is still young, so it¡¯s not strange its resources are all claimed by its denizens for now. Hopefully, we¡¯ll have many more chances to visit in the future, perhaps we¡¯ll find a bit more then.¡±
And so, the group carried on. Belissar nodded with his arms crossed and told the soldier bees gathered nearby they could return to training. Belissar may have been confused regarding the bear people overall, but the one thing he was absolutely clear on was that no one was allowed to harm his bees. So, it was a good thing their leader had a good head on his shoulders. Belissar took a deep breath to calm himself down.
He then rubbed his chin as he thought over the bear man¡¯s words. So, they expected to find stuff in his Tower? On the one hand, Belissar wondered why that would be the case? Why would he let them just take stuff from his dungeon, even if he had the resources?
On the other hand, they technically were helping out already. They were helping to purify the Hunger and earning Belissar DP in the process. And then there was the question of why the Tower had options for resources and rest zones in the first place. Perhaps...he was supposed to offer them stuff in exchange?
He wasn¡¯t sure at all. He knew the Tower Lords didn¡¯t exactly offer up their resources but had already decided he wasn¡¯t going to follow their example. The bees would just tell him whatever he decided and he already knew the bear people¡¯s opinions, so there wasn¡¯t anyone else he could ask.
So, instead, he left the farmhouse and walked towards the Shrine of Bees at the end of the Apiary, taking with him some extra honeycomb. He had been offering daily tribute to the Shrine, seeing as he owed the God of Bees a great deal, and had already done so today, but figured he wouldn¡¯t come empty handed when he had a request.
He placed the honeycomb inside the chest and then looked up at the statue of the god.
¡°Um, sorry to ask this of you, but I could use some guidance. Am I...supposed to make stuff for those people to find? Do you have a preference on what I should do?¡±
The Shrine of Bees glowed with soft, warm light, but otherwise did not respond. Belissar sighed.
¡°So, you want me to decide?¡±
The Shrine continued to glow. Belissar took a deep breath, and then rose to his feet. Well, if the God of Bees said as much, he would just have to figure something out himself. But at the very least, her approval to do as he thought best at least gave him a little more confidence in his own opinion.
He figured he would test things out. He added another node of healing herbs close to the entrance and let the bees know to clear the way if the bear people approached that one. Belissar figured the bear people would appreciate some extra medicine, and a single healing herb node wasn¡¯t too expensive. On the other hand, mana flowers were quite precious to his bees, so he wasn¡¯t going to hand those out for free. Maybe if the bear people wanted to trade or something. But for now, he¡¯d stick to healing herbs and see how it went.
Fortunately, the group hadn¡¯t made it to the end of the meadow where the mana flower nodes were, so they weren¡¯t aware that the single mana flowers here and there were only a drop in the bucket. So, hopefully they¡¯d be content with the herbs.
Belissar then looked them over, for something caught his eye. He noticed the packs the bears wore and smacked his own forehead. He had immediately found a solution to his earlier conundrum.
If the bees were having trouble carrying something, then why not use ropes and straps? Isn¡¯t that how people carry things?
With confirmation that the bear folk weren¡¯t going to hurt his bees, Belissar didn¡¯t feel the need to watch them as closely anymore, so he got to work. He got some of the processed flax from his store and started to weave a cord.
Well, at the very least, the bear people were reminding him of what people could do...
Chapter 39 - Prosperi-Bee
The bear team had finished up for the day and were making their way back to the entrance when one of the archers suddenly stopped, staring off to the side. Metsaitti brought the rest to a stop and turned to face him.
¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±
The archer pointed towards one of the trees.
¡°Might be my imagination but...was the grass glowing by that tree before?¡±
Metsaitti turned and looked in the direction indicated.
¡°Hm?¡±
And then he smiled.
¡°I think we¡¯re in luck. Come on, let¡¯s check it out.¡±
The group made their way over and found a small patch of herbs, several of which were glowing. Metsaitti stepped forward and reached for one of the glowing ones and it practically pulled itself out of the ground and into his hand.
¡°Hm, looks like healing herbs. The chief will be pleased.¡±
The spearwoman narrowed her eyes.
¡°This...definitely wasn¡¯t here when we arrived.¡±
Metsaitti smirked.
¡°No. No, it was not.¡±
He stood up and turned to face the group.
¡°Something to keep in mind about Sacred Dens. The master can see and hear everything that goes on in one. He probably heard our earlier conversation and adjusted things accordingly.¡±
He made eye-contact with the spearman who wanted to take the mana flower.
¡°He¡¯s been very cooperative thus far, but do remember that this is his home, and his domain. We are guests, and he WILL know if we act otherwise.¡±
The spearman gulped and glanced around while Metsaitti turned and looked toward the sky.
¡°Thank you, Den Master.¡±
Belissar was still working on the cord and regretting sending his soldier bee helper off when the message came in.
Challenger blessed.
Gained 12 DP.
Belissar turned his attention and found the bear group back at the entrance, praying at the Shrine of Bees one by one. He received the DP messages, finding all of them granting one or two more DP than before. Even Metsaitti gave two instead of one! In total, Belissar received fifty DP from the blessing, plus the five from the shades they had hunted.
He checked the healing herb node he had placed and found they had gathered the glowing herbs for the day from it. He rubbed his chin.
So, he hadn¡¯t received any messages or anything when they had gathered from it, but they did give him more DP at the Shrine than last time. Belissar thought a bit about why that was. If it were directly related to the healing herbs, then he probably would have gotten the DP when they gathered it. At the same time though, that was the only thing that Belissar could tell had changed between yesterday and today.
His sight settled on the Shrine of Bees and his eyes widened a bit. He got the DP specifically when they prayed at the Shrine and when the God of Bees blessed them in turn. So maybe it had something to do with that. Something like they had done more in the God of Bees¡¯ Tower...or maybe they were just more grateful when praying this time?The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Belissar nodded to himself. It appeared this was worthwhile after all. More DP was always helpful, and the bees could still gather nectar from the plants before they were harvested.
And above all, this seemed to be related to the God of Bees. She was his patron who had given him a powerful blessing and both guidance and rewards via her missions. Belissar was ever grateful to her, so if this brought some benefit to her Shrine, then Belissar was all for it.
And then he heard the chime.
New mission received: Help ten challengers receive full blessings.
Belissar smiled. At this point, he was wondering if the God of Bees was reading his thoughts. Well, she was a god so that was probably true. He nodded his head.
¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±
Belissar thought a bit about what that would mean. First of all, the mission said ¡°full blessings.¡± That implied that whatever mana or blessing the challengers had received thus far wasn¡¯t a full blessing. Which made sense to Belissar, as he certainly hadn¡¯t seen any of the superhuman deeds the Tower Guard were reported to be capable of.
The unarmed challengers had offered tribute and been blessed in turn, save the one who apparently tried to offer something someone else had made. Meanwhile, the armed challengers went and fought Remnant shades, then got blessed. They had repeated this process the next day, and then the blessing increased when they gathered herbs too.
Belissar figured that they needed multiple blessings to get the full one, and that they had to do something for the God of Bees to receive that blessing. That something appeared to include offering tribute, or helping Belissar with the purification.
Belissar frowned a bit at this. The one thing that worried him was the guy who offered something that he hadn¡¯t made himself. And mostly because...Belissar had also offered honeycomb that he hadn¡¯t made himself. Unless...it counted because it was from his dungeon?
...in any case, the God of Bees had accepted it without complaint or smiting. Belissar figured he would at least try to include something he had done by hand whenever he could, though.
But otherwise...to help the bear people get their blessings, Belissar should help them do things. He should help the unarmed folk make more tribute, and he should give the armed ones...more to do? More to gather?
He shrugged...and then started to grin.
For he had an idea.
A wonderful, not at all selfish, idea.
He made another textile node, next to the healing herb node by the entrance.
Well, if the bear people happened to gather some flax, they could process it into linen to offer as tribute, right?
And if they happened to thus have some cloth Belissar could then trade for without having to make it himself by hand...well, Belissar wouldn¡¯t turn them down!
Beyond that, Belissar wasn¡¯t fully sure what else to do. He wasn¡¯t certain about adding a poison flower node. What if the bear people thought it was medicine and ended up poisoning themselves? Well, he could always just tell them, but then he¡¯d have to talk to them again.
And when he remembered his awkward gathering of their tribute and farewell...he didn¡¯t particularly look forward to speaking with them again.
He could send the bees...but he wasn¡¯t sure anyone but he could actually understand them. Even he hadn¡¯t known what Niobee was saying prior to him becoming a dungeon master.
Besides that...there wasn¡¯t a whole lot to do in the Tower besides walk around looking for Remnants and flowers to gather. There was the Apiary, but Belissar wasn¡¯t comfortable letting them snoop around in there. That was where many of his bees made their home, after all. And while they could probably gather honeycomb from the hives like they could harvest the resource plants...Belissar didn¡¯t like the idea of them reaching into his bees¡¯ homes.
Ultimately, he decided honeycomb would be something they would have to trade for.
So, in the end, the only answer was the same thing Belissar had already set out to do. He needed to expand and grow and gain more options. So, he needed to keep performing purifications, growing his mana, and gathering DP.
He still had some time before the purification cooldown was ready, so he could continue work on his cord for the torches. He could also review his defenses some more. Watching the bear folk walk around had given Belissar another thought, after all.
Which was that putting Sticky Honey Traps only at the bottom of Pit Traps may not be ideal.
His rationale was to use them to help with the fire pit strategy. But he realized a problem with that as he watched the bear people avoid the Pit Traps. If an invader managed not to fall into any of the Pit Traps, then the Sticky Honey Traps didn¡¯t do anything either. This had borne out in the minor+ purification as well, when only the shade that fell into the pit got hit with the mad honey.
So, it might make sense for Belissar to place some honey traps beyond those at the bottom of the pits.
The only downside would be it may take more honey from the Apiary to support those traps, especially if he wanted to use mad honey. Now that he was aware the bees were carrying honey to them, he noticed that a few of the Apiary hives were producing less honey than normal. Well, they were still producing far more than he could consume, but it did mean he should pay attention to how many honey traps he made.
In the end, he decided that rather than making some new traps, he would move some of them out from pits that were further off the beaten path, the ones less likely to catch a shade in the first place. His bees also needed the honey to grow their hives and to make new bee types, so he didn¡¯t want to overburden them with the traps. The honey traps, while helpful, still were only a minor hindrance to the shades. The bees were what would finish the job.
In the end, between more bees, and more anything else, Belissar¡¯s choice was obvious.
POBee 39.1 - The Bee-st Laid Plans
Speaking of honey and flowers...
The First of the Fifth stomped through her hive, pacing about in a dance of anger.
She had been deceived. Fooled. Swindled.
She knew now why the King had not granted her the flower type that existed only in the Flower Meadow. And that was because this flower was useless.
First of all, it had no mana beyond that of a regular flower. What¡¯s more, unlike the other two flower types the King had spread, this one possessed no particular compounds in its nectar that resonated with mana. The First of the Fifth had made a batch of honey from these flowers and found it little different from that of other flowers. If anything, it felt a bit lower in quality. But the differences were minimal enough that she would not be able to produce a new honey type with it, much less a new bee type.
And that was before she considered the reports from her workers circulating through the hive. The flowers in question were some of the worst they had ever visited. The petals fell off when the bees landed on the flowers, the pollen was especially heavy and difficult to work with, and the entire flower would fall off the plant by evening. The nectar collection was difficult and each flower could only be gathered from a few times, maybe even just once each. Her honey production had even dipped this latest cycle. All for a honey that did not improve upon any other she had made.
She did not believe any plant the King had spread would be entirely useless. But it was clear that whatever special qualities this plant possessed were found elsewhere in the plant, in its stem or perhaps its seeds. Its flowers and its nectar were largely unsuited to the production of honey. The First of the Fifth could do little with it beyond donating a soldier or two to help the King with his own work on it.
And she was paying for access to this plant¡¯s nectar with a portion of her own harvest. Sure, she could also lay claim to any achievements the Firstborn made with that harvest, but such was not enough by itself to justify donating honey to a rival queen. Truly, the Firstborn had played her with this deal. The First of the Fifth¡¯s wings buzzed. She should have followed the wisdom of the King when he did not feel she would appreciate this plant.
But she had not, and now she was trapped. To simply renege on the deal was to admit defeat. And if she stopped gathering from the flowers in question, it would appear as if she was just handing over tribute to the Firstborn unprompted. Their positions in this deal would be reversed.
Yet, to continue expending her workers¡¯ efforts on a suboptimal yield was simply unacceptable. So, she paced and she paced, considering what she could do. She checked the honey for the hundredth time today, searching for any quality that might justify the effort. And like the ninety-nine other times, she found nothing of the sort. She buzzed her wings once again.
She paced and she paced until eventually, she started to slow down. It was clear she would not produce an achievement from this that would earn her the favor of her King. But that did not necessarily mean she could not gain at all. There were other queens besides the Firstborn, after all, and all of them would be searching for ways to increase their favor.
She made her decision and gave her command.
¡°Send word to the Fourth of the Seventh. I would have words with her.¡±
The Fourth Queen of the First Dynasty of the Seventh Spawner, the first of her line, slowly flew towards the First of the Fifth¡¯s hive. As slowly as she could without angering the First of the Fifth. She almost came to a halt as she saw the flowers on the ground below. Vibrant colors filled her vision, brighter and fuller than she had ever imagined, drawing her in.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
She would admit she didn¡¯t mind this break from her work. She did what she needed to, but laying eggs got old after the thousandth time or so. And that was about all she did. Sure, her hive produced honey of quantity and quality that would not bring shame to a queen of the Apiary, but she had little to do with that. Her workers were the ones who gathered the nectar and processed it into honey, so she felt they knew better than her and left them to their work. How could she, a bee who rarely even saw the flowers they were gathering from, improve upon that work with uninformed commands?
So, she spent every day like the last. Sipping on honey and laying eggs. Sometimes she went to check on those eggs, but even caring for the brood was the job of workers, not the queen, so she just tried to stay out of their way.
She could not help but watch the dances of her workers. The tales they told of bright and colorful flowers, and of the sweet abundance of nectar they drank directly from the source. Sometimes, the Fourth of the Seventh liked to imagine what it would be like to be a worker, and to see such beauty directly.
But it was not to be. She was the queen, and it was her role to remain in the hive. Every moment she spent doing anything other than laying eggs or restoring her mana would reduce the size of the next generation. She could maybe peek out of the entrance of her hive, but to fly out, or, King forbid, even touch one of the flowers directly would be too much. So, she tried to content herself with the stories she heard.
She wouldn¡¯t use the word bored, for no bee even knew the term, but she found she didn¡¯t mind having something new to do. Though, she was curious, and perhaps a bit worried, about being summoned by the First of the Fifth, the queen of the most powerful and productive hive of the Apiary. But above all...now she had a chance to fly out into the world and see the sights she had heard so much about with her own eyes.
It was more beautiful than she had ever imagined.
But, in the end, the Fourth of the Seventh was a bee still. She slowed down to take in the sights, but she did not stop in the end. She had her jobs to complete, after all, and she would not delay them...more than was reasonable, that is.
The Fourth of the Seventh stood at the entrance of the hive. The First of the Fifth came out to meet her, accompanied by two soldiers and a couple of workers.
¡°Finally here. I let you gather from new plants in Flower Meadow. In exchange, you help feed soldiers. Understand?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh didn¡¯t. Or well, she got what the First of the Fifth was saying but had no idea why the First of the Fifth would do all this. But well, she didn¡¯t see any reason to refuse either.
¡°Ok, thanks.¡±
The First of the Fifth buzzed her wings.
¡°These workers show yours where.¡±
¡°Ok.¡±
The First of the Fifth stared at her a moment longer and then returned to her hive. The soldiers and workers saluted at her. The Fourth of the Seventh looked up at the big soldiers for a moment. They were even bigger than her!
¡°Let¡¯s go?¡±
The soldiers and workers saluted, and then off they went.
The First of the Fifth rubbed her front legs together. All had gone according to plan. The Fourth of the Seventh, being one of the last generation of queens, had very little favor, and little chance to gain any. She didn¡¯t even have one of the King¡¯s palaces, and so could barely produce a fraction of the honey the First of the Fifth could. She was weak, unassuming, and, most of all, no threat whatsoever. She wasn¡¯t even a competitor.
So, granting her access to new flowers, even suboptimal ones, was a great boon.
And in exchange, the First of the Fifth got her help with the soldier bees, cutting a big drain on her honey supplies while also ensuring the Fourth of the Seventh wouldn¡¯t grow too quickly from the additional resources.
So, she had granted a favor and secured her influence over her subordinate queens, all in exchange for a boon that was not really a boon. An effective outcome considering the situation overall.
With that, the First of the Fifth returned to her work, seeing what she could do with the honey types she had available.
***
Meanwhile, the Fourth of the Seventh was staring at the soldiers and the workers from the First of the Fifth as they danced a tale for her. A blessed land of plenty, with flowers as far as the eye could see. Of the grand constructions formed by the King, not from wax but from the very stems of flowers.
Her mind raced as she attempted to imagine all these wonderous things.
She made up her mind.
She had to see these things for herself.
POBee 39.2 - Bee Inspired
The Fourth of the Seventh hovered as still as she could. She was flying in front of the window to the King¡¯s own hive, the giant one made of entire trees. She had never dared to come so close...but apparently the First of the Fifth¡¯s soldiers had been invited inside, and so had led her there. She remained outside but could not resist the temptation to come and see the King at work.
She also wanted to visit the Flower Meadow, but that trip was a bit too far for merely indulging her curiosity, so she left that to her workers. But, well, no bee could begrudge her a chance to see the King!
He was as majestic as always, a towering giant taller than an entire hive with a body she couldn¡¯t have even imagined. He had but two legs, mighty pillars so strong he needed only a third the number to support his entire weight. He had two arms but each of these split into five more for an unparalleled ability to grip. His eyes were smooth and colorful, like the petals of a flower, and his hair was like an entire forest.
And what he was doing was no less fascinating. The King was building something out of the plants themselves, twisting them together into some long vine of some sort. And even more curiously, the First of the Fifth¡¯s soldiers were helping with the task!
Then the Fourth of the Seventh began to buzz, for she noticed something.
The color and shape of the vine they were weaving...matched a part of the King¡¯s torso. She noticed now that he was not covered in some sort of hair or fur, but rather that he wore some construction of plant stems over his body. It looked nothing like normal plant stems, so she would not have noticed had the soldiers not explained to her their current task, and if she had not then seen it in progress. She wondered why the King put such a thing on his body.
But the surprises weren¡¯t over.
¡°There, how about that? Maybe if you both try at once?¡±
The King and the soldiers finished constructing their vine, and the King wrapped it around a large branch with a tip coated in wax. One of the King¡¯s legendary fire sticks, with which he reportedly lay waste to any invaders that intruded upon his realm.
The two soldiers crawled to the ends of the vines on either side of the fire stick, where the vines made loops. They crossed their front legs together inside of the loops and then began to fly. The vines went taut...and then the fire stick began to rise into the air.
The King smiled.
¡°What do you think? Can you fly with this?¡±
The soldier bees tried to fly around the room. They were a bit unsteady and the fire stick wobbled this way and that, pulling one bee down and then the other. But ultimately, they managed to remain in the air.
The Fourth of the Seventh couldn¡¯t tear her eyes away until her workers began to pull her back to the hive.
A bit later, a wave of workers returned, carrying an abundance of nectar. The Fourth of the Seventh drank deeply from her honey reserve, overflowing like it never had before. Her hive had been one of the smaller ones on the outskirts of the Apiary, so access to an entire patch of fast growing flowers had vastly increased her resources despite the far trip and the suboptimal flowers.
One of the workers came and danced before her and she raced over to the front of her hive. The First of the Fifth''s soldiers were returning for the day, coming for their meal before they returned to the King¡¯s abode. The Fourth of the Seventh danced rapidly before them, asking her questions without even pausing to hear the answers. The soldiers buzzed and danced as the workers brought them honey, telling their story from the beginning. They told the Fourth of the Seventh the entire process the King had showed them, how he had gathered the flowers themselves. How he had removed the flower and the seeds, how he had broken apart the stems and left them to partially rot, how he had processed them into the fibers she had seen him work with, and then how they and the King worked together to weave those strands into the constructs of his design.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The Fourth of the Seventh hung on their every motion, trying to imagine what it would look like. She thanked them for the tales as they thanked her for the honey, and then raced back to her reserves once the soldiers flew back to the King. She drank as deeply from the honey as she could without cutting into the growth of her hive.
She was deeply curious about this process...and she had access to the very flowers the King used for it. But she and her workers were still tiny, too small to participate. She would need to grow if she wanted to get involved.
And so, for perhaps the first time in her life, the Fourth of the Seventh was determined to grow. Previously she had been content with her lot in life. Born too late, relegated to a corner of the Apiary where she would ever play a subservient role to the queens that came before her. And that was fine with her. She had her role, and she would carry it out. Any more than that could be decided by those above her.
But now....now she found herself too small to achieve what she wanted, her honey reserves too small to allow her to grow, and her worker force too small to expand those reserves. But, fortunately, the First of the Fifth had granted her access to a wealth of flowers like she never had in her little patch of the Apiary.
And so, the Fourth of the Seventh grew. Her workers flew far and brought back the riches she had been given, and she used those riches to lay more eggs than she ever had before. A new generation would arise, until one day they gathered enough honey for her to grow.
In fact, she made other plans as well. She had some of her workers begin preparing a second hive, much closer to the Flower Meadow. Once the construction had finished, she would move her entire hive closer and so cut down the length of her workers¡¯ trips. Such a location was further away from the King¡¯s hive and the flowers he had planted, no other queen wanted to live there and so no other queen objected to her efforts. The First of the Fifth even approved of the move.
For now, she had something she wanted to do. And she was going to do everything she could to achieve it.
The First of the Fifth tilted her head as she watched her worker report. The Fourth of the Seventh had taken to her duties with an enthusiasm that surprised even the First of the Fifth. She knew that the offer was a big deal for the Fourth of the Seventh, an offer of resources and opportunity no queen in her generation had ever received, but it was tempered by the need to support soldiers that weren¡¯t her own. So, the First of the Fifth expected a good, but measured response. Yet, from all reports the Fourth of the Seventh was expanding more rapidly than she had ever done before. Not only that, but she apparently personally welcomed the soldiers in anytime they came by her hive.
All this was strange to the First of the Fifth. If anything, she might wonder if she had made a mistake, and given the Fourth of the Seventh too great an opportunity. Maybe the Fourth of the Seventh was making a play to rise among the Apiary queens, and perhaps attract the favor of the King upon herself? Perhaps treating the soldiers well to throw off the First of the Fifth as to her intentions?
Which is what the First of the Fifth would have assumed...were it not for the news that the Fourth of the Seventh was planning to move further away from the King. The First of the Fifth could understand it from an efficiency standpoint, given the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s main resources were now located in the Flower Meadow, but the move was still unthinkable to her. Every Apiary queen wished to dwell as close to the King as possible. In the early days, they had nearly fought over the locations of their hives, even. So, no Apiary queen would willingly move away.
The First of the Fifth thought and thought...and then gave up. She came to the conclusion that the Fourth of the Seventh was just happy to have a role now as more than a minor queen on the outskirts, and so was enthusiastically carrying out the task the First of the Fifth had given her. And well, the Fourth of the Seventh still had one of the smallest hives in the Apiary. If she understood her role and wasn¡¯t making a play for the King¡¯s favor, then what she did was of no particular concern to the First of the Fifth.
Or so she thought at the time...
Chapter 40 - Dont Bee Awkward!
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PO...Bear 40.1 - Un-Bear-able Profits
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Chapter 41 - Do You Bee-lieve in Magic?
¡°Get out of here, and don¡¯t let me catch you around again!¡±
The young boy fell back as the baker swung his fist towards his face, falling back into the dirt. He didn¡¯t know why the baker was so protective of his trash, but he wasn¡¯t going to stay around and ask. He scrambled to his feet and ran as the baker kicked at his bottom.
He limped down the road, his stomach growling. His eyes stared blankly forward as he considered where else he could search for food. The other villagers scowled at him as he walked down the street, but he hardly noticed.
He had come to the outskirts of town before realizing that his mind had gone blank, failing to come up with even a single idea. He tripped on a rock and fell into the dirt. He lay there, not bothering to get up. It wouldn¡¯t matter. If he couldn¡¯t come up with an idea to find food, walking around was just a waste of energy...
And then he felt something poke his back.
¡°Boy, what¡¯re you doing there, blocking my road?¡±
He barely turned his head to glance back. Some older woman was poking him with a stick, holding a sack over her hunched shoulder. He didn¡¯t respond, but his stomach rumbled. The woman¡¯s face scrunched up. She heaved a sigh.
The boy heard a thud as a sack fell to the ground right in front of his face.
¡°Come on, get up, will you? Help me carry that home, and I¡¯ll give you something to eat.¡±
The boy laid there for a moment more as his mind processed the statement. And once he did, he immediately rose to his feet, grunting as he tried to lift the sack with his scrawny arms. But the thought of food pushed all others out of his mind, focusing entirely on the task that would grant it.
And that was the start of the boy and the old woman¡¯s life together...
Belissar frowned at Chief Rohsuak¡¯s proposal. On the one hand, he had been tricked into free labor by offers of instruction before and was in no hurry to repeat those experiences. But on the other hand, he very much needed to learn about the mystic arts. He was a dungeon master now, with mana flowing through his body, his bees, and his Tower. Learning how to put any of that to use would be immensely helpful. The chief was right in that he didn¡¯t know the value of the resources at his disposal, and he couldn¡¯t truly know until he learned what they were actually used for.
His mind was also bringing up unhelpful memories at the moment. He didn¡¯t really want to think about that with an older woman offering to instruct him in front of him, so he tried to push them aside. Chief Rohsuak wasn¡¯t anybody he knew, and it would likely lead to pain if he tried to equate them. So, he focused on the situation as logically as he could.
First and foremost, he needed to confirm that the bear people actually could use magic and mana or whatever. He was not going to take their word for it. Back when he was poor and helpless, he pretty much had no choice but to trust people and hope they might one day make good on their promise. But now? Now he had plenty of food and shelter that his body didn¡¯t even require anymore, so there was no need to deal with anyone if there wasn¡¯t a confirmed benefit. Likewise, he had a monster bee army if they tried to force the issue. So, he could afford a bit more suspicion now.
But if the bear people actually could use magic and if they would actually teach him in good faith...such a thing could dramatically improve his Tower¡¯s defenses.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
Chief Rohsuak smiled and motioned to the bees above.
¡°Could you ask them to back off a bit? I wouldn¡¯t want any of them to get hurt.¡±
Belissar nodded and let the soldier bees in the air to move back a bit. About half of them flew back, while the other half flew down near the ground and hovered next to him. Chief Rohsuak then took a deep breath. Belissar could feel mana surge from within her. She held her hand up into the air and a geometric pattern formed out of red light. It flashed and a ball of pure fire formed in its place and shot straight into the sky.
It then burst into a large explosion of flames, causing Belissar to stumble back and fall to the ground. The bees began to buzz and form a wall between Belissar and the bear people. Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile.
¡°How was that?¡±
Belissar squeaked out a response. That certainly fell under the magic category. The buzzing of the soldier bees shook him out of his revelry though as he watched them form up into attack squadrons. He waved them off, letting them know he was fine.
He stood up and dusted himself off. He looked Chief Rohsuak in the eyes while narrowing his own. She just kept smiling and held his gaze until he felt awkward and glanced away. He couldn¡¯t really judge how honest she was being or not.
But she clearly knew magic. So, if she actually did teach him something like that...perhaps Belissar wouldn¡¯t need a torch to light the Pit Traps. No, he might not even need the Pit Traps to set the shades on fire in the first place. If he could learn to do something like that, maybe the bees wouldn¡¯t need to risk themselves at all. At the very least, he would be able to fight by their side and contribute to the defense.
He knew that he was no warrior. As much as he hated to let the bees die on his behalf, he knew it would not help them to put himself in front of a shade. The best he could do was trust in them and honor those who fell.
But that could change if he had access to magic.
Belissar decided that the risk was worth taking. He looked back at Chief Rohsuak again.
¡°That¡¯s...acceptable. But...you come here to teach me. And, um, I pay you after the lessons, not before.¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew, and she nodded.
¡°Of course. Thank you, Den Master. It will be an honor. When would you like to begin?¡±
Belissar frowned. Part of him wanted to put it off...but when he thought about it there was no specific reason to do so. Any excuse of needing to work on his dungeon¡¯s defenses could be countered by the benefits of learning magic for those same defenses. It was just that he was feeling uncomfortable around these people...but that wouldn¡¯t change later. So, Belissar took a deep breath.
¡°Right away, if that works for you?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded and then glanced over at Metsaitti.
¡°Why don¡¯t you take the others and proceed with the hunt?¡±
He raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the soldier bees.
¡°Are you sure about that?¡±
She smiled and nodded.
¡°Oh, I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t you worry about me.¡±
Metsaitti nodded and motioned to the others.
¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±
The others hesitated but slowly followed as Chief Rohsuak waved them off. Belissar watched them as they went. A couple of the soldier bees followed his gaze and broke off to follow them at a safe distance. He then turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Do you mind if we sit?¡±
Belissar shook his head at her question and Chief Rohsuak sat down, crossing her legs on the ground. Belissar followed suit.
¡°Then, let¡¯s begin. First of all, are you aware of your own mana?¡±
Belissar nodded. He had felt the warmth of the Tower¡¯s mana flowing through him, as well as the mana within the honeycomb whenever he ate some. At this point, he could also feel that same warmth resting in his body at all times. Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile.
¡°Then you have already completed the hardest part. Are you able to move it?¡±
Belissar frowned at that. He hadn¡¯t done anything of the sort. Perhaps the Tower Lords had lied about the dangers of peasants using magic...but at the same time, Belissar had still been concerned about experimenting without any knowledge, so he hadn¡¯t attempted to interact with the mana in his body. He thought about trying now but in the end, he just shook his head. After that fire spell Chief Rohsuak had displayed, he couldn¡¯t deny that magic was dangerous, and he had a possible teacher now.
¡°Got it, then that¡¯s where we¡¯ll start.¡±
Chief Rohsuak rose to her feet. Belissar tilted his head but did so as well.
¡°My master taught me a bunch of breathing exercises for this step, but I found that slow and frustrating. So, I found it¡¯s better to keep your body in motion. Let me teach you a couple of tricks...¡±
What Belissar did not know was that Chief Rohsuak had a...unique perspective on the mystic arts. And a unique training method. One that the other bear people found....difficult. Such that even Metsaitti¡¯s hunters feared to learn from her.
Belissar may have been hasty in agreeing to the training...
Chapter 42 - Training Bee-gins!
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POBee 42.1 - Aggressive Bee-spanding
The Firstborn paced about as she waited for her mana to regenerate. She knew she should conserve every bit of energy she had, but she couldn¡¯t help it. She had a lot on her mind, lately.
First were the newcomers. They were giants who appeared much like the King, yet they also had features her instincts warned her about, indicative of vicious threats. But the King had asked her to stay her hand, and apparently the Queen of All Bees approved of their presence here, so the Firstborn¡¯s soldiers held back their stingers. Still, she could not be comfortable with the presence of outsiders in their midst, ones who could not even dance to convey their intentions! The King could understand them, as powerful and wise as he was, but even he was wary of them. Fortunately, they had not approached the hives. The Firstborn wasn¡¯t sure how to respond if they did.
And now, one was pushing the King to run, and driving him to the point of exhaustion. The Firstborn had been ready to strike them low but the King apparently did not consider this a hostile act. The Conduit had confirmed with him and revealed that he was training.
It was that news that had the Firstborn pacing about. The King was training. That meant...he was planning to join the fray once again. The Firstborn¡¯s hopes had been dashed. Now that the army of the Flower Meadow was powerful enough to face the invader head-on and now that the Apiary soldiers could carry the flames on their own, she had hoped the King could withdraw from the fighting and remain in safety. But apparently, he was not satisfied yet.
It was no mystery why, for the Firstborn was there when the Queen of All Bees blessed the King¡¯s memorial. She saw the way he looked upon each of the symbols displayed there. As he honored her fallen warriors. As he lavished praise upon the wounded one, the one she had only continued to feed because of the King¡¯s attention.
The Firstborn then detected the stirring of mana and turned her body. A new soldier was pushing against its cocoon and starting to emerge. Medicinal workers helped pull away the cocoon and brushed their antenna across the soldier as it stepped out of its cell. A soldier with purple pile.
Thanks to the aid of the First of the Fifth, the Firstborn had raised a new type of soldier, one that would have the same toxins used by the King¡¯s honey traps. The Firstborn crawled over and brushed the soldier¡¯s antenna. She responded with a salute dance before marching off to join the army in their training.
This was a good first step. Medicinal workers had taken over the task of tending the brood, improving the health of her hive as well as freeing up her other workers for increased foraging, and the new soldier would hopefully increase the impact of the army¡¯s attacks.
But the Firstborn felt it was not enough. She had made a stronger bee army, but she had not yet created the strongest bee army. She had not yet raised an army so powerful that the King could send them into battle without worry.
So, she began to ponder. What more could she do? How else could she increase the strength of her armies?
But think as she might, it would not be her who would come up with the next step...
The First of the Fifth had finally calmed down. The deception of the Firstborn had caught her off guard, but it was to be expected. The Firstborn was the one the King trusted with the defense of his realm, she had to be capable of at least this much. The First of the Fifth had made the most of it and passing the soldier feeding onto the Fourth of the Seventh had freed up a lot of honey for her. She would simply need to be careful in her future dealings to ensure she was not sent scrambling again.
And, once the First of the Fifth had calmed down and took stock of the situation, this incident had born unexpected fruit. It had given the First of the Fifth a new perspective, one that helped her divine the purposes of the King.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
There was a huge abundance of resources in the Realm that were not being put to good use.
The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s move to an unoccupied section of the Apiary and her subsequent growth made the First of the Fifth realize just how many flowers were growing without any visits by the foragers. It was, perhaps, only natural. The bees of the Apiary had only two concerns up to this point: honey production and proximity to the King. As a result, they focused entirely on the mana flowers that could produce the most and best honey and competed for the areas closest to the King¡¯s personal hive.
And because of that, the First of the Fifth had missed an obvious opportunity. But no more.
She had conferred with the queens of the Apiary, for she needed their help with this. She set forth her plans and now, they were about to pay off.
She stood before a small wax cell, watching as a new bee, fully grown emerged from her cocoon. She was far, far smaller than the First of the Fifth or a soldier bee, yet she was larger than the workers now tending to her.
For she was a princess. Yes, the First of the Fifth was starting a new hive.
None of the Apiary queens had thought to do so thus far, for none of them wanted more competition for mana flowers and the space around the King. But the Fourth of the Seventh had revealed that there was far more room to grow for those who were willing to accept less. Likewise, recent events had revealed a need for expanded honey production. The King now shared the honey of the Apiary with the bees who did battle on behalf of the hive. The First of the Fifth wanted to ensure there was sufficient honey of...less than top quality available, so that her own labor would remain at the King¡¯s table.
It had been a significant expense. A single queen took even more mana than a soldier bee did, and the First of the Fifth had to imbue honey with her own mana to create the necessary royal jelly. It would have been a costly endeavor had the Fourth of the Seventh not accepted the burden of the soldiers. And beyond that, a queen would require drones and that meant cooperation from other queens. None of them were ready to bear queens of their own, so the First of the Fifth was required to offer concessions in exchange for drones. Some of the other queens would now be permitted to gather from the new flower patches the King had made. The First of the Fifth did not enjoy sharing the King¡¯s gifts to her, but it was necessary.
For now, she would have her offspring utilize the space and resources that the rest of the Apiary overlooked. It would be her line that fulfilled the designs of the King when he filled the entire realm with flowers.
Now that the new queen bee was born, the First of the Fifth realized something else. As a monster bee queen, she had an innate ability to command her own brood. And contrary to her expectations, she still felt a connection with the young princess. The new queen was not exactly a member of her hive and the connection was not as strong as with her workers...but still there was a connection. The First of the Fifth danced happily. The new queen would not be an additional rival, but instead would be a part of the First of the Fifth¡¯s strength.
The First of the Fifth began to buzz and tremble. The King himself had made a hive of hives. And now...the First of the Fifth had begun to follow in his path.
The young queen stood before her. The First of the Fifth brushed their antenna together, and then assigned some workers to attend her. The young queen saluted and then made her way out of the hive.
And so, the First of the Fifth began to build her own hive of hives. Meanwhile, workers from the Fourth of the Seventh caught sight of the new princess on her maiden voyage. They brought news of this to their queen who loved to hear of all that went on outside her hive. And when they went to gather from the flowers of the Flower Meadow, they exchanged scouting reports with the workers who lived there, intending to gather more news for their queen...
The Firstborn stood completely still after she heard the report.
Of course.
It was so obvious now.
A new queen would double the number of bees born. More workers, more honey, and therefore more soldiers. The Firstborn and the other queens of the spawners had largely focused on the mana flowers, so there was an abundance of normal flowers available. The Flower Meadow could support many more hives than it had. The King was building a hive of hives so it was only natural they should raise more hives of their own.
It was so obvious that the Firstborn had to spend quite a while pondering why exactly none of them had thought of it until now. In any case, she would have to thank the First of the Fifth. Thanks to her ceaseless efforts, yet another path had opened up for the King¡¯s army.
And so the Firstborn got to work...
Chapter 43 - Bee Focused and Committed
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Chapter 44 - Everyone Bee Growing
Chief Rohsuak raised an eyebrow. She and Belissar had just finished the physical training for the day and had sat down to practice moving his mana.
¡°Already?¡±
Belissar nodded. Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin and then nodded.
¡°I suppose a Sacred Den Master would have some advantages. Very well, let¡¯s move on to the next step, then.¡±
She held out her hand and a small ball of dim light appeared.
¡°You must learn to move your mana outside of your body but remain in control of it.¡±
She went on to explain how to do so. Belissar nodded and then held out his hand. He tried to move his mana once more, concentrating it in the palm of his hand. He then tried to push it out...
A huge flash of light blinded him. Belissar cried out a fell back. Chief Rohsuak, on the other hand, had already shielded her eyes, and grinned.
¡°Happens to everyone. Yours was brighter than most, but that¡¯s to be expected.¡±
Belissar rubbed his eyes as he sat back up. He held his palm out again...but turned his face away...
Which turned out to be wise as flashes of light filled his view time and time again...
Belissar sighed as he walked back to the Apiary. Thanks to the large quantities of mana he could feel from the Tower, the first steps of accumulating, sensing, and moving his own mana were quite simple. This step was not. The mana did not want to leave his body and when it did it would do so all at once. Trying to control that burst was proving difficult.
Still, it was only the first day, so Belissar tried not to get too discouraged. He was learning magic, after all. He glanced around as he stepped into the Apiary, watching the bees as they visited the nearby flowers. He had heard one of the queens had moved out here, so he wasn¡¯t surprised to see them this far from the beehouses.
However, he did see something that surprised him.
A second, relatively new hive was under construction. He could feel the queen inside like the others but something felt a bit different about her.
¡°Hey, Niobee.¡±
Niobee flew into his vision.
¡°Yes, King?¡±
Belissar pointed at the hive.
¡°Did another of the queens move out here?¡±
¡°No. New queen!¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°A new queen?¡±
The spawners had long since reached their maximums and Belissar hadn¡¯t made any more recently. So, there was only one way a new queen could exist.
¡°The queens can reproduce? Have new queens as children?¡±
Niobee flew rapidly.
¡°Yes!¡±
Belissar began to smile as a small queen bee crawled out of the hive and gave him a hesitant salute. Somehow, he had not considered that the monster bee queens could give birth to each other, but it made sense. And it would very much change his strategy.
Because he checked his mana and found that it hadn¡¯t changed.
He could tell now what felt different about this queen. The Tower¡¯s mana flowed through the spawners and the monster bee queens. It did through this queen as well but it felt a bit weaker than with the other queens. Which made sense to Belissar, since the other queens were born from the Tower while this one was born from more normal parents.
Which apparently meant she didn¡¯t require a spawner or an upkeep of mana from him.
And that meant...from now on, Belissar didn¡¯t need to make any more monster bee queen spawners. The current queens could expand the bee numbers on their own. He could subsequently devote his mana to other uses, perhaps to more resource flower nodes to support the new queens if the current flowers weren¡¯t enough.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
He nodded at the new queen.
¡°Welcome, and great work. Let me know if you need anything, or if you don¡¯t have enough flowers.¡±
She began dancing a salute as fast as she could, before returning to her hive to continue setting up. Belissar grinned, and then continued home in a good mood, imagining how he could grow the Tower to support more bees. He looked forward to the day the Tower expanded that much more.
The days began to fall into a rhythm for Belissar after that. The magic practice went slowly with no discernible progress, but Chief Rohsuak told him that such was normal, so he kept at it. Belissar and his bees performed minor purifications in the late afternoon, and at this point could consistently pull them off without issue. No new perks or room feature offers caught Belissar¡¯s eye, so he steadily expanded the dungeon¡¯s mana reserves, working towards the day he could attempt an expansion.
But for other residents, some things did change in that time...
Light died down within the hive. The Fourth of the Seventh shook her body and then stared down at the honeycomb, at her limbs, and at the little workers crawling around her.
She did it. She was big now! It had taken a while but when the Firstborn had learned of her intentions she shared access to the Mana Flowers, which dramatically sped up the process. And now, she could begin to lay some soldiers of her own. Once they hatched, she could put her plan into motion.
She couldn¡¯t wait.
The Firstborn and the other queens of the Flower Meadow gathered before the Memorial. She felt it appropriate to meet there, a place that belonged to all the bees of the King. The place that reminded them of the sacrifices required to achieve what they had.
The wounded soldier stood up and danced her salute and greeting. After the King had lavished honor and attention on her, the Firstborn could not simply discard her. Yet, with her missing wing the soldier could not participate in either the training or the battles of the army, nor could she do much work around the hive, so both the Firstborn and the soldier were at a loss for her purpose. But that had changed with the new memorial. Now, the soldier stood guard at the entrance of the beehouse, the hive of the fallen where the sisters of her squad lay buried beneath. While the Firstborn knew the soldier would not be capable of handling any threats, it felt appropriate, somehow. A job that she couldn¡¯t justify devoting healthy bees to...and yet, a job that she felt needed to be done.
After greeting the soldier, she flew over to one of the monuments and paused before the symbols there.
Queen 1 ¨C Dynasty 1 ¨C Spawner 1, and her hive of 1018 workers.
Queen 2 ¨C Dynasty 1 ¨C Spawner 1, and her hive of 564 workers.
Queen 3 - Dynasty 1 - Spawner 1, and her hive of 186 workers.
The Firstborn liked to remind herself that the King had built a hive of hives. And there was no better way to do that than to remind herself of those who had come before. The Queens of the First Dynasty who had sacrificed everything; their children, their hives, and even their very lives. She danced her own salute before making her way to the meeting place. The other queens soon arrived, each greeting the soldier and pausing before the memorial as she had.
And then, they began their conversation.
The Firstborn had wanted to follow the First of the Fifth in raising a new queen, but she had run into an issue. To do so required drones, which meant the cooperation of one other queen, and the drones the First of the Fifth had used had already perished. At first, she was going to see if the First of the Fifth would be raising a second queen and if they could collaborate, but she quickly realized that wasn¡¯t going to happen. The Firstborn had been stunned when she realized how much mana and honey it would require to bear a queen, so she knew the First of the Fifth would not be ready to bear a second anytime soon.
So, instead, she gathered the queens of the Flower Meadow. She greeted them, and then explained her plan...which was simply to follow their instincts. If all the queens released both new queens and drones at the same time, all of them could bear a new queen at once while sharing the burden of raising drones.
The First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Third Spawner then asked for more details.
¡°A queen and drones. How much mana, honey needed?¡±
The Firstborn told them and all the queens fell still.
The Fourth Queen of the Fourth Spawner then began a slow dance.
¡°My hive, can¡¯t. Not enough.¡±
The Firstborn expected as much and gave her prepared reply.
¡°Will help, give honey.¡±
She looked around at all the queens.
¡°We are all one hive. All help when in need.¡±
One by one, the other queens gave their approval. Afterwards, however, the Third Queen of the Second Spawner began to dance.
¡°But...if all spending mana and honey, will need to cut soldiers. If all cut soldiers, army not grow?¡±
The queens once again fell still at that. The Firstborn danced her acknowledgement.
¡°Yes. But, more queens mean more soldiers later.¡±
The Third of the Second stood still before beginning an even slower dance.
¡°But...King planning something. Something big. Need army now?¡±
The Firstborn paused at this. She...had not considered that. She stood in silence for a bit. In the end, it was the First Queen of the Second Spawner that replied.
¡°Ask Conduit? If King needs army, wait until King¡¯s plan, then try? If not, try now?¡±
The other queens began to agree. The Firstborn quickly agreed as well, for that was a much wiser idea than she had. She, perhaps, had been a bit overexcited, but now that she thought about it coordinating with the Conduit and the King¡¯s plan was only natural. If anything, she should have done that to begin with.
But that was why the queens were gathered now, and why they were a hive of hives. Even if she should miss something, another bee might notice.
¡°Then, everyone agree?¡±
The queens all danced their affirmatives, and the meeting adjourned. The Firstborn sent messengers to find the Conduit and the Conduit quickly sent her reply. The King was indeed planning something big, something that would likely require a fight more dangerous than the daily assaults. It had been immensely fortunate that the Firstborn had asked before enacting her plan, for now the queens of the Flower Meadow could focus on soldiers until that battle came.
The Firstborn was left deep in thought. Had the Third of the Second not spoken up, she may have made a major mistake. But because they had cooperated as a hive of hives, they had found the most efficient course of action. So, she thought...perhaps the queens should get together to speak more regularly...
Chapter 45 - Time to Bee Brave
And so, time passed. Belissar still hadn¡¯t managed to control his mana outside of his body yet, but today his lack of progress did not cross his mind. No, today, Belissar had other things to consider, for he had just finished the latest purification. He selected another ten mana, bringing his numbers to the current values:
Mana: 132/300
With this latest increase, he had reached his goal. He could now conduct an expansion purification.
Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.
Belissar hesitated at that. He did not know how strong a small purification would be, but he couldn¡¯t imagine it would be weaker than the minor purifications. It could be as strong as the initial purification...or stronger, for he didn¡¯t know what the intial purification was classified as. His bees were both capable and numerous at this point and his traps all stocked and prepared, but they had only been tested by the weaker shades thus far. He still didn¡¯t know if they could handle the shade from the initial purification as easily as they did its smaller kin.
And if the next purification was stronger than that...then sacrifice would be inevitable, and victory would not be guaranteed at all. Belissar would almost certainly have to watch his bees fall and could end up losing everything he had built so far. He had been so focused on reaching this point that he hadn¡¯t truly considered the risks involved.
He got up from his chair and gathered some honeycomb. He made his way to the Shrine of Bees in the Flower Meadow. He placed the honeycomb in the chest and then knelt in front of the statue of the God of Bees. Niobee followed along quietly, as she always did.
¡°Do you have any guidance for me? I...don¡¯t want to see my bees get hurt again.¡±
He felt a slight warmth and opened his eyes. The Shrine was glowing slightly. The glow then faded, which allowed Belissar to catch a glimpse of another light. He turned to the side and saw the nearby Bee Memorial. Both the beehouse at its center and the pillars surrounding it glowed faintly.
Belissar stared at the memorial for a minute. He walked over, looking over the pillars and the numbers inscribed there. He saw the carved bees dancing up and down them. He looked over to the beehouse that held the remains of the fallen. The wounded soldier bee stood guard there and began a salute dance at his approach.
The frown on Belissar¡¯s face shrank and his body relaxed, even as his eyes narrowed. The bees never hesitated to sacrifice themselves. Niobee, the workers and queens of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner, the soldiers who had perished in the purifications that followed. The soldier who stood before him now, and who had not once complained about her permanent crippling. And the memorial itself, that encouraged such sacrifice.
Even though she had not spoken with words, Belissar knew what the God of Bees was trying to say. It made sense. She was the God of Bees, and bees were born to sacrifice for the hive. She would not fear those sacrifices.
And, if he were to be a King of Bees like they called him, neither could he.
Belissar took a deep breath.
¡°For the good of the hive, huh?¡±
The soldier bee immediately danced a salute...and Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as the bee carvings in the memorial followed suit. Belissar looked to Niobee, his constant companion. She did not wait for his question before beginning her dance.
¡°Bees ready. King is best king, bees follow.¡±
Belissar made a slight smirk and nodded.
He did not wish to see any of his bees fall. He did not wish to see his Tower devastated once again. He did not want to take this risk. But he knew that he must. If the Tower and the hives were to grow, Belissar needed new options. New rooms, new flowers, new bee types, new perks. Now that he knew that the existing queens could bear new ones, the Tower¡¯s current space started feeling small. It may not be long before all the existing flowers were claimed.
As for the worst case...well, the worst case was why Belissar needed to take this risk in the first place. A shade would slay all of his bees, tear down all he had built, and corrupt his core...and that wasn¡¯t the worst thing that could happen to his Tower. Belissar had had a chance to rebuild and recover even from that disaster. It would be painful beyond belief if he had to do so again...but he at least knew it was possible.
But the Tower Lords, on the other hand, were an unknown threat. Belissar had no idea what they might be capable of...or if it would be possible for him to recover from what they could do. The risk presented by a small purification now might be dwarfed in comparison to the threat of the Tower Lords down the line.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Belissar resolved himself. For the good of the hive...for the good of all the hives, they needed to take some risks now. He sent a call to the bees...to all the bees. He requested all the queens and as many of their brood as could be spared. Soon, the sound of buzzing wings grew as loud as a roaring fire. The sky and the ground turned yellow and black as bees hovered in the air or landed on the flowers below. Countless eyes looked at him as the queens flew ahead of them. Niobee took some distance from him to join the queens at their head. Belissar¡¯s heart constricted as he thought of subjecting them all to danger, but he forced himself to speak.
¡°We...now have an opportunity for greater growth than we¡¯ve seen so far. But...it comes with greater danger. We, um, will probably have to face a battle worse than anything we¡¯ve encountered so far. I...cannot guarantee that we all will survive. ¡±
He furrowed his brow as he thought of the initial purification.
¡°I cannot even guarantee that we will win.¡±
He paused as he looked at each and every queen. They hovered in the air, waiting for his next words.
¡°So, um, I wanted to ask you all. Are you ready to face the greatest challenge you have faced so far, even if you must risk death and destruction?¡±
Belissar nearly took a step back as he was battered by the roar of buzzing wings. Every bee immediately danced a salute, all as one.
¡°Then...I think we need to do this. For the good of the hives, and to grow strong enough to face whatever threats come later. We¡¯ll attempt the expansion purification tomorrow at the normal purification time. Um, do whatever you need to do to prepare.¡±
The air roared with another synced salute, and then exploded into motion as the bee swarm began to move. The queens raced back to their hives, the soldiers immediately began to split into squads and conduct maneuvers, while the workers spread out across every flower they could find. Belissar exhaled his breath.
Niobee stayed and flew before his eyes.
¡°King, ok?¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°Yes. I¡¯m just...I think bees are going to die tomorrow.¡±
Niobee flew straight and steady.
¡°Bees ready. Fight for hive.¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°I know. But I still don¡¯t like seeing you all get hurt.¡±
Niobee paused for a minute before flying slowly.
¡°When Niobee caught, was going to die. That fine, Niobee just worker, queen had many. But then, King helped, saved. Gave honey.¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes were fixed on Niobee as she danced. She slowly began to speed up.
¡°Niobee not even King¡¯s worker then. Niobee knew King best king. But King was alone, needed workers, needed hive.¡±
Her wings began to buzz louder.
¡°Then, others hurt King.¡±
She slowed down a bit.
¡°Now, King has hive, has workers. Now, hive protects King, helps king.¡±
Belissar smiled and lifted his finger. Niobee landed on it and he gently brushed her back.
¡°...thanks, Niobee. How about we try to protect each other from now on?¡±
Niobee flew off his finger and began dancing rapidly.
¡°No! King is king! Workers, soldiers protect queens, King!¡±
Belissar chuckled as Niobee continued to dance. His steps were just a bit lighter as he returned to the farmhouse for the night.
Chief Rohsuak lifted an eyebrow.
¡°A break, you say?¡±
The Sacred Den Master nodded.
¡°We have a big fight coming up, so I want to make sure everything¡¯s prepared.¡±
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin and then nodded.
¡°I see. Is there danger approaching?¡±
The Den Master paused for a moment before shaking his head.
¡°Um, I don¡¯t think so. Not unless you saw something on the way here?¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head and the Den Master continued.
¡°It¡¯s more...I have to do this to expand the Tower.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded. She didn¡¯t know many details of a Sacred Den¡¯s inner workings, but that made sense given what little she knew.
¡°I see. In that case, it is wise to prepare for battle. Should I return tomorrow?¡±
The Den Master paused again.
¡°Um, maybe? I, um, might be busy.¡±
Chief Rohsuak gave him an encouraging smile.
¡°How about I check in the day after to see how things are going, and we can decide our future schedule from there?¡±
The Den Master nodded.
¡°Um, yeah, that sounds good.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded and then turned to Metsaitti and his hunters.
¡°Let¡¯s all take a break then.¡±
The other hunters began to complain but Metsaitti just nodded and told them to pack it up. Soon, they were walking with Chief Rohsuak back to their camp.
¡°Metsaitti.¡±
¡°Yes, Chief?¡±
¡°Take your hunters and scout the Underway. I¡¯ll make sure everyone is prepared.¡±
Metsaitti nodded.
¡°Right away.¡±
The other hunters, bless their hearts, just looked confused. Fortunately, Metsaitti had caught on, and took them ahead. Chief Rohsuak let out a sigh.
She had heard tales of Sacred Dens falling. It was rare, but it did happen. The Sacred Den Master was clearly anxious...or rather, more anxious than normal as far as she could tell. If he was attempting something big, then the risks would be big as well.
She considered offering assistance for a brief moment before burying that idea. Her people were teetering on the edge of a knife as they were. The situation would already be extremely grim if they had to pack up and continue their sojourn now. If the Sacred Den Master lost his fight they might have to do just that, and would need every advantage possible to survive. So, if they lost any of their hunters to injury or death trying to help, it could mean the death of them all.
And the Den Master, for his part, did not seem to trust them yet. He had not even told them his name yet, nor made any attempt to engage with the hunters passing by him every day. He hardly spoke to Chief Rohsuak outside of their lessons. It did not seem to occur to him to even request their help. Which was fortunate, since Chief Rohsuak could not offer that help. As much as she wished to keep this Sacred Den around, their relationship was not close enough to risk everything on it.
So, she would prepare for the worst. She turned back towards the Tower and bowed her head. She lifted up a small prayer to both the God of Bees and to her own patron.
¡°Best of luck to you, Sacred Den Master. I sincerely hope to meet you again.¡±
POBee 45.1 - Prepare the Bee-fenses!
The Firstborn scrambled to the next soldier cell as her mana filled back to the minimum necessary. A part of her longed to join her soldiers, to see her army¡¯s preparations firsthand. But she quashed such feelings, for such was not her role.
The King had spoken and had appeared as solemn as the day she was born, just after the fall of the First Dynasty. Not even when he had honored the fallen from her hive had he appeared so. It was obvious that this had been a decision he made only with great deliberation...and perhaps resignation. Such was the nature of the danger they would soon face.
The truest test of her army. A threat on the scale of the one that ended the First Dynasty...or perhaps greater. The Firstborn would like to believe that she was ready but doubts still crept into her mind. The King was preparing for a bloodbath. There was a risk of loss with every purification, but this time the King seemed to be expecting deaths.
Such was the purpose of her army. Neither the Firstborn nor a single one of her soldiers would hesitate to give their lives for the sake of the King, yet still the Firstborn was troubled. She no longer wished for mere victory. She wished for perfection. The strongest army that could win any fight without grieving her King.
To see the King as she saw him today was perhaps her greatest failure yet. Proof that as strong as her army was, it could not yet avoid troubling the King. That falling as the First Dynasty had was still a very real possibility.
Unfortunately, there was little the Firstborn could do about that for this battle. The time was upon them, the soldiers she laid now would not be ready in time for the fight. The queens of the Flower Meadow were not striving to grow their numbers...but to replenish them if the battle turned out as bloody as the King feared.
So, she allowed her heart to burn. She would trust that her warriors would carry the day tomorrow, whatever the cost. And then she would do all in her power to cut that cost and ease the King¡¯s burden.
After laying her next egg, she rested right next to the cell, willing her mana to regenerate that much faster...
A soldier bee sat at the entrance of the Memorial''s beehouse. She watched as her sisters flew in the distance, practicing as many different maneuvers as they could think of, preparing for as many different scenarios as they could.
She could not help but beat her single remaining wing, but without its pair she would never fly again.
The King had preserved her life right when she was about to leave her hive in a final exile. She believed it had been for a reason, and that reason was beginning to take shape. She now had a job as the guardian of the fallen, the one who looked after the home of her sisters who had sacrificed for the hive and the King.
Yet still, now that the eve of battle had arrived her questions returned as well. Was this truly all that was left to her life? Was this truly worth the continued support of her Queen, and her worker sisters? Would she truly never join her sisters in battle again? Was she truly doomed to remain here even as the sisters of her squad passed on?
There was no one to answer her questions, nor would she ever ask them. She would not dare take the time of even a single worker. After all, she contributed the least to the hive of any bee within the King¡¯s realm, despite having received some of the most gifts from the King himself.
So, she was left alone with her thoughts as everyone else prepared...
The First of the Fifth watched as her workers scrambled. The sound of buzzing filled the air as her workers fanned their wings in sync, creating an air current across the latest honey batch. The First of the Fifth¡¯s mana surged and touched that of the honey. She knew then that the honey in Tray 3 was drying faster than expected, so she could reallocate some of those workers to the mana processing chain. She brushed antenna with the nearest workers, sending them to relay orders to that effect.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
A great battle was coming, greater than any within her lifetime. That meant that the Firstborn would have a great opportunity to gain the King¡¯s favor through the victory and sacrifices of her soldiers. That was a field the First of the Fifth could not compete on.
So, she wouldn¡¯t. Instead, she would utilize her strengths to remind everyone of who she was, and the critical service she provided for the King. She would ensure that she could not be forgotten even in the midst of the Firstborn¡¯s moment.
And that meant honey. Lots and lots of honey.
She followed the workers as they transferred from Tray 3 to the entrance, where her workers were assembled into large lines. Foragers arrived at the entrance and landed in front of designated lines, passing the nectar in their honey crops to the first workers in the chain. The workers then began blowing the nectar into bubbles while cycling their mana through it, starting the process of converting it into honey while also imbuing it with mana. The workers then passed it to the second row, where a large strip of greenish-blue interrupted the yellow lines.
The First of the Fifth was not merely producing honey. A great battle was coming...and the King was expecting blood. And unlike the Firstborn, the First of the Fifth could address the King¡¯s concern directly, through the creation of healing herb honey. She would prepare vast stockpiles of the honey in order to heal as many of the future wounded as she could, reducing the sacrifices required of the Flower Meadow queens. She would become a balm for the King...and would turn the Flower Meadow¡¯s sacrifice into her own triumph.
But the nectar she gathered from the healing herbs was not enough, not least of all because she had allowed the other queens access to it in return for producing drones. So, the First of the Fifth did the unspeakable.
She mixed the honeys.
She combined her rigorously categorized products into a single amalgam where quality could not be guaranteed. She turned her hive to brute mass production and focused on expanding the healing honey stockpile as much as possible. The first step of doing so was to have the medicinal workers participate in the honey processing. The workers could producing the same healing compounds as the healing herbs, and so could imbue any nectar they processed with a bit of it.
Of course, diluting the healing compounds by mixing the honeys also reduced its potency. Which was why the First of the Fifth was also mixing the nectar of mundane flowers with that of the Mana Flowers. The additional mana from that precious nectar resonated with the scarce healing compounds from the healing herbs and boosted their effect, allowing a much lower concentration to reach the same levels of effectiveness. With the additional compounds from the medicinal workers, she was able to produce acceptably effective healing herb honey even though the majority of the nectar came from other flowers.
She would not dare serve such shoddy honey to the King, but it was sufficient to heal the wounds of the soldiers. And nothing, not even her own pride in her honey quality, would prevent the First of the Fifth from being of service to the King.
For that was what it meant to be the most favored queen.
Even the Fourth of the Seventh had been stirred to action by the words of the King. She had not the strength of the Firstborn, for her first soldiers hadn¡¯t even hatched yet. She could not produce even a fraction of the honey the First of the Fifth could, even if she were blessed with a magical hive like the best of the Apiary queens had. But she did all that she could.
The workers she sent to the Flower Meadow to forage were redirected to the Flower Meadow hives, dropping off their nectar to the queens that would do battle. The workers gathering from the Apiary nearby offered their nectar to the First of the Fifth. The First of the Fifth would normally reject such an offer, but today she accepted the nectar, to the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s surprise. And then, she sent some of her workers to the newest queen, the First of the Fifth¡¯s child. The First of the Fifth had loaned some workers to help her out at first, but had recalled them in the time of need. The Fourth of the Seventh was the closest queen and didn¡¯t seem to have as urgent a task as the First of the Fifth, so she figured she could lend a hand.
Her workers said the new queen danced a gratitude dance like they¡¯ve never seen before. She wished she could have seen it, but that would have to wait. There was work to be done, and not a bee in the realm would rest for even a moment until it was finished.
Belissar himself spent the time reviewing the traps. He moved some of them about, such as placing one of the honey traps by the door to the Apiary. It would spray its honey just before a shade reached the Pit Trap waiting there, hopefully knocking them off balance so that they would stumble into the pit. He set up a couple traps like that. Then he double checked the kindling and firewood at the bottom of each pit and refreshed them as needed. He wove a couple more rope-torches for the bees to carry and double checked that the campfire in the Apiary was ready to go on a moment¡¯s notice.
He then went ahead and added more traps, as many as his current mana could buy. He figured they would make more sense than monster spawners given they wouldn¡¯t have time to reach their spawn limit. And...he also needed to keep his mana for after the new choices came in. Traps could be removed once they were no longer needed, but spawners would keep hold of the mana for each monster they spawned.
And there was no world where Belissar even thought of getting rid of bees to reclaim some mana.
And so, everyone in the Tower prepared themselves for the fight to come, as the purification cooldown slowly ticked down...
Chapter 46 - First Expansion Purification
Yellow and black covered the sky, with the occasional purple. Flowers swayed in the wind generated by rapidly beating wings. The soldier bee army assembled into its formations and squadrons, deploying around the Tower entrance. A handful of mad honey soldiers joined their ranks, ready to fight alongside their sisters.
The worker bees retreated to their hives. There they assembled into formations of their own, ready to fly out should the worst come to pass. The queens stood at the entrances, trying to see the soldiers in the distance as best they could.
A roaring flame crackled at the front of the Apiary. Several squads of soldiers stood nearby, their legs already holding the loops of their ropes. They would be ready to light their torches and fly at a moment¡¯s notice.
Belissar stood next to them with his woodcutting axe beside him. Niobee hovered nearby.
Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.
Belissar took a deep breath and then spoke, sending his intentions to all of his bees.
¡°Here we go.¡±
Expansion purification attempt commencing.
At this point, the flow of the Tower¡¯s mana had faded into the background for Belissar, but it was still there. It permeated every inch of the Tower and beyond. Trace amounts of the mana flowed through the surrounding area, condensing again as it came into contact with the Hunger at the edges.
But now, Belissar clearly felt that flow once again. His body began to heat up as the Tower¡¯s mana burned, the flows growing rapid and intense. It began to pour into the surrounding area, racing across the fields and trees and past the camp of the bear folk. Then, it hit the edge, where the Hunger awaited.
Belissar shivered as the cold of the Hunger responded in kind, creeping back along the trails of mana. As it approached the center, the gates of the Tower swung open once more.
¡°Everyone, get ready! Here it comes!¡±
The Hunger soon grew visible at the edges of the gate, an amorphous black mist spreading across the empty air. Soon, it covered the entrance entirely, appearing as it had when Belissar had first opened the gate.
And then a high-pitched screen cut through the air. Belissar winced as the noise stabbed into his mind. Soon, something began to emerge from the mist...
But it was not a paw. Not this time.
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as the shade began to emerge from the top of the gate rather than the bottom. A long beak longer than Belissar¡¯s arm came first, with sharp teeth sticking out from both top and bottom. A big head emerged next, with five glowing red eyes arranged in a tight circle right in the center. Two wings spread out across the length of the gateway, and small bolts of black lightning leapt across the shade¡¯s body. Razor sharp claws that appeared more like daggers tipped its feet. The shade beat its wings, remaining aloft as it hovered above the ground. It opened its beak, revealing rows and rows of teeth, and then let out another high-pitched screech.
Expansion purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 1
Belissar felt a chill go down his spine. He couldn¡¯t help but shout.
¡°Watch out! It can fly!¡±
Unfortunately, he was a bit too late. The first squad of soldiers began diving the moment the shade began to take shape, but they had been positioned for a target on the ground, and had not reached full speed by the time they reached the shade. The shade swung its wings and pulled its body back and the bees passed right before it.
It snapped its jaws and the first bee of the day fell. Belissar gritted his teeth.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
The rest of the soldiers reacted immediately. Several close squads began to fly in while the rest pulled up. The close squads couldn¡¯t gain the speed for an attack dive, and instead ran interference for the first squad. They flew in but prepared to take evasive action once the shade turned its attention toward them. In the meantime, the rest of the bees tried to gain altitude and set up for higher-speed dives.
The shade snapped at the bees around it, but now that the nimble bees were focused on dodging they managed to evade its beak. Two of them even managed to get behind the shade and stung its back. The shade screeched again.
Belissar held his breath as the close bees danced around the shade, while two squads of the further bees began to dive. It seemed that beyond their initial surprise, the bees were still faring well. The shade might be able to fly, but its large size meant it couldn¡¯t outmaneuver the agile bees in close combat. It snapped its jaws again, but bit only air as the target soldier suddenly changed direction, and then yet another bee landed a sting on its back.
But then, the shade looked up into the sky and saw the bees above, including the two squads on approach. It lifted its wings up as high as they would go and then pushed off. The wind from its wings blew away the closest bees, which spun in the air as they tried to right themselves.
It shot up towards the bees overhead with frightening speed. The bees in its path began to scatter, but the diving squads weren¡¯t so fortunate. The shade slammed into them as they tried to kill their momentum and turn away, snapping up two of them in its jaws. One perished immediately.
But not the second.
The second began to glow and continued moving despite being impaled by the shade¡¯s teeth. She channeled her mana into her stinger and drove it into the shade¡¯s shoulder. A moment later the glow around her body faded, and she, too, was torn apart, leaving her stinger imbedded in the shade¡¯s shoulder. The shade screeched again.
The rest of the bees began to fly around the shade, trying to encircle it. But the shade beat its wings and shot into the sky faster than any of the soldiers could follow. Its eyes glowed as it looked down on the bees climbing after it, then tucked in its wings as it twisted its body. It began a dive even faster than its climb. Again, the bees were forced to scatter. Two more bees failed to do so and ended up in the shade¡¯s jaw. It bit down on them and then swung its beak to toss them away before any survivors could strike again.
The other bees tried to entrap it once more but the shade was climbing again before they could catch it. It began to prepare itself for another dive.
Belissar¡¯s heart leapt to his throat as his grip on his axe tightened. They were losing. His Tower had nothing to deal with a flying foe that could outrun the bees. There was nothing but clear, open skies up above. His mind raced as he tried to think of something to do, but nothing came to mind. As a human on the ground, he was helpless against a flying enemy. He had no ranged weapons to even attempt to help. No bows, no javelins, not even a sling.
He stared at his hand and gritted his teeth. Maybe, if he had learned magic successfully, he could have done something. But he had not. So, he had no choice but to hope that his bees could find a solution.
One of the soldier bees began to dance and the others saluted. The bees rearranged themselves as the shade began to dive once more. And as the shade approached...the bees collapsed together, as close as they could fly. They did not scatter, but instead flew towards the shade and its beak.
The shade could not pull out of its dive at this point, so it dove forward instead. It chomped down with its beak and this time three soldiers were caught in its jaws.
But at the same time, five more right next to them were not caught, and instead crashed into the shade. One was struck by the side of the shade¡¯s beak and knocked away. Another was blown down by the shade¡¯s wing. But the other three landed on the shade¡¯s back and belly, and immediately stung their stingers into it.
The shade screeched. And this time, the bees didn¡¯t bother flying away. They clung to the shade and stung it over and over again. The shade reached down and snapped up the one on its belly with its beak but she responded by just stinging the bottom of the shade¡¯s head. It screeched and released her, though she tumbled from the air due to her wounds.
And, of course, the rest of the bees were not idle in the midst of all this.
The shade had come to a stop as it tried to deal with the bees clinging to it. The other bees began flying towards it at maximum speed. The shade could not even remove the two bees on its back. If more bees could begin piling on, they could overwhelm it. They could bring it down.
They could win.
Belissar held his breath.
And the air began to crackle.
Black lightning began to surge and coat the shade. It struck the bees on its back and soon they fell off of it, smoke and lightning clinging to their bodies. The shade then spread its wings wide and screeched as loud as it could. A wave of the black lightning surged out in all directions. The closest bees were struck, either falling from the sky or twitching in the air. The rest were forced to fall back.
And the shade didn¡¯t miss that chance.
Even before Belissar could react to the horror before his eyes, the shade beat its wings. And this time, it did not fly up.
No, this time, it flew forward. It shot through the sky away from the cloud of soldier bees.
And straight towards the door to the Apiary.
Chapter 47 - Broken not Bee-ten
Belissar gasped as his mind caught up to the scene before him. The shade was soaring across the Flower Meadow, flying at about the height of the trees as it raced towards the Apiary door. And the flying shade, of course, ignored every single Pit Trap and Sticky Honey Trap Belissar had placed. Not a single one of his preparations would slow the shade down in the slightest.
The soldier bees raced after it. The air buzzed as they beat their wings as fast as they could go. But the sheer size difference between the wings of the bees and the shade meant they couldn¡¯t match its top speed. Now that it had gotten out ahead of them, they wouldn¡¯t catch it.
Belissar¡¯s mind went blank and his expression slowly twisted as he realized that there was nothing to stop the shade from reaching the end of the Flower Meadow. It could tear the Flower Meadow hives to shreds before their soldiers arrived to defend them. It could continue on straight into the Apiary and attack him, or the beehouses behind him. It could even keep going...and fly straight into the core room.
Niobee frantically danced commands in the air while Belissar was stunned, and the soldier bees from the Apiary spawners began to assemble. But the soldier bee spawners capped out at fifteen each and there were only two of them. The small force of thirty soldiers seemed paltry in comparison to the shade heading towards them.
But Belissar couldn¡¯t think of anything else to do. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he should do anything, or if he should run and tell the bees to hide. Maybe the shade would target the core and some of them could survive.
Either way, he was too late. The shade was fast approaching the entrance to the Apiary and did not divert its course. It would fly into the Apiary, and into Belissar, within moments. Niobee was frantically dancing in front of him, but he didn¡¯t notice. There was nothing and no one between him and its snapping beak.
Save one.
The little head of a soldier bee popped up above one of the Memorial pillars, the one closest to the Apiary entrance. One single soldier bee with a missing wing climbed to the top of the pillar. The wounded soldier watched carefully as the shade approached, tensing her legs. She waited for her moment...
And then she leapt off the pillar. She beat her single wing as she glided through the air, willing herself to go even a little bit faster. Hoping that she had timed her single chance correctly...
And she had.
She was on a direct collision course with the shade¡¯s back, so she spun about as best she could and extended her stinger forward, filling it with her mana.
The shade screeched as the stinger plunged into its back. Since it had not seen any bees flying overhead, it had not anticipated being attacked from above. As a result, it dipped down, an instinctual motion to move away from the sudden assault.
And as a result of that, it just came into range of the Sticky Honey Trap Belissar had placed on the ground by the Apiary entrance. A plume of honey erupted into the air as the trap triggered and bathed the shade as it flew by. The shade found its wings coated in sticky, damp, and thick honey.
It quickly lost lift and crashed into the ground.
The wounded soldier continued to sting the shade...and she wasn¡¯t alone. The Firstborn leapt into action, leading her workers into battle. She arrived and dealt a sting of her own to the shade¡¯s back. She may not have had the strength of the soldiers, but the large queen had quite the reserve of mana she could push into her attacks. A cloud of worker bees swarmed over the shade, making up for their tiny size with raw numbers as they dealt a thousand stings at once.
The shade shook as it tried to escape, but the sticky honey held its wings to the ground and the bees on its back were out of range of both its beak and its claws. So, instead, it took a deep breath...
The Firstborn¡¯s antenna twitched as she felt the gathering mana. She quickly flew off the shade¡¯s back and her workers followed.
A surge of black lightning coated the shade and began to burn at the honey. Thanks to the Firstborn¡¯s quick actions, all the bees managed to escape the attack...save for one. The wounded soldier convulsed as she was covered in black lightning.
¡°NO!¡±
A shout filled the Flower Meadow. Before he even knew it, Belissar had rushed out of the Apiary with his axe held high. He brought it down and struck the shade¡¯s head. The shade screeched as its head slammed into the ground. The lightning stopped surging and began to fade.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
¡°King!¡±
Niobee flew after him and straight towards the shade. Her abdomen glowed bright with mana and the shade screeched again as she stung it. The Apiary soldier bees came after and landed on the shade, dealing stings of their own. With the lightning gone, the Firsborn and her workers resumed their attack as well, and they were soon joined by the other queens and workers of the Flower Meadow.
Shortly afterwards, the fastest of the Flower Meadow soldiers began to catch up and join in. Belissar struck the shade¡¯s head over and over with his axe.
¡°Don¡¯t! Touch! My! Bees!¡±
Over and over the axe fell. The shade struggled at first, but the sheer number of bee stings had taken their toll. The shade was unable to retaliate. Soon, it was unable to move at all and its head fell against the ground as Belissar continued to strike it.
He didn¡¯t stop until the shade burst into a cloud of black mist and his axe dug into the ground.
All hostiles defeated. Purification...
Belissar ignored the message, as well as the growing heat of the Tower¡¯s mana as he rushed forward. He knelt the ground and slowly picked up the fallen soldier bee. Her chitin was charred, her legs, antenna, and remaining wing twitching now and then. Bits of black lightning danced across her on occasion, causing Belissar¡¯s hands to go numb, but he ignored that as well. She was still alive, if barely. Belissar quickly turned his head towards Niobee.
¡°Get some healing honey, quick!¡±
Niobee flew off towards the Apiary as the queens of the Flower Meadow rushed to check their honey stockpiles. Belissar gritted his teeth as he held the soldier bee. His mind raced as he tried to think of a way to help her.
¡°Don¡¯t die on me!¡±
Her antenna twitched faintly at his words. He felt her mana stir. She had more than the average soldier bee, but it was quickly fading. He narrowed his eyes.
He stirred up his own mana.
¡°Come on...come on!¡±
He took one of his hands and moved it away from the bee, trying to condense his mana above it. He didn¡¯t want a blast of mana to hit her if she failed. But if he could just condense his mana externally, then maybe he could give her some of his own. He didn¡¯t know if that would actually help, but he felt he had to do something.
The mana burst into light and Belissar snarled.
¡°Come on, work already!¡±
He willed with all his heart for his mana to obey his command. And as he did, the nearby Shrine of Bees began to glow. Belissar didn¡¯t notice as both he and the soldier bee took on a similar glow.
¡°YES!¡±
The mana released from his body but did not explode beyond its control. Instead of a burst of white light, It condensed into a small ball of yellow light above of his hand...and began to stretch out into lines. It formed hexagonal patterns reminiscent of honeycomb which flashed. Then...the yellow light began to condense further into a ball, becoming more and more solid...until soon it became a shimmering yellow liquid.
It became honey.
Belissar had no idea what was happening and he didn¡¯t care. He brought the ball of floating, glowing honey to the soldier bee¡¯s face. She slowly extended her probiscis and began to drink...
The wounded soldier had been satisfied. Despite her injuries, she had been able to join the battle. She had been able to strike a blow against the invader and ensure victory for the hive. For a soldier bee, there was no greater joy than that. Though she would perish, she would gladly join the sisters of her former squad who went before her. She was no longer ashamed to have endured, to have spent the resources of the hive on a soldier who couldn''t fight.
Until she heard the words of the King.
¡°Don¡¯t die on me!¡±
For her, that was enough. The command of the King was absolute, for her above all. She only lived to this day by the will of the King. Her life was his to end.
And so, she fought back. She stirred up her mana and tried to purge the enemy¡¯s attack from her battered body. But it wouldn¡¯t be enough. She would fail the King¡¯s final command to her.
Until suddenly, she was bathed in the warmth of the King¡¯s mana. A ball of honey appeared before her, brighter, sweeter, and more beautiful than any she had ever seen. She began reaching out before stopping herself. She wanted it, more than anything, but was she truly permitted such a thing? She, a mere crippled soldier?
But the King¡¯s mana filled her with warmth. As well as another¡¯s...
She reached out and began to drink. Warm mana flowed through her body and began to burn. Heat scorched her as the mana attempted to heal her wounds. She trembled as the black lightning resisted, surging through her once again.
So, she began to beat her remaining wing and moved her body, rubbing her legs and hairs together as best she could. She filled them with mana as the movements began to create the tiny-lightnings that the workers used to help gather pollen. The tiny-lightnings began to carry her mana, and the mana granted to her from the honey as it joined with the black lightning surging across her chitin.
Soon, the lightning began to change color. Black lightning became black and yellow lightning as she warred with it for control. But the black lightning¡¯s source was long gone, while she was filled with more and more mana every moment. Soon, she was coated in golden lightning only. She moved about it, searching for a place to put it so that it would stop harming her body and the King.
And she found one. An empty void that her mana and her mind wanted filled.
The yellow lightning condensed and gathered together along her back, and then extended out before looping around. It formed a long curve that grew wider the further it got. Smaller bolts zig-zagged across the interior.
A wing formed of yellow lightning now extended from her back.
And then the remaining mana within her flowed to her wounds, which began to heal...
Chapter 48 - Bee-fitting Growth
Tears welled up in Belissar¡¯s eyes as he looked down at the bee in his hands. The lightning had changed color and turned into a wing. He had no idea what had happened but the important part was that the bee was going to be ok. Her body was no longer twitching and she was still alive, he could feel her mana growing stronger. She slowly began to move around and climbed up his arm to rest on his shoulder. Belissar smiled and laughed as he wiped his eyes with his free hand.
It was only one out of all the bees that had died that day so far, but he had saved at least one of them from death. And, hopefully, she wouldn¡¯t be the only one.
He placed her down as the medicinal bees began to arrive and pour over her, brushing her with their antenna and mana. Niobee returned with an army of worker bees from the Apiary, each carrying cells filled with healing herb honey. He nodded at her and then turned to the soldier bee army arriving from the front.
¡°Gather up the wounded, we¡¯re going to take care of them all.¡±
But as he spoke, Niobee suddenly began to glow. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°Niobee?!¡±
A moment later, she was covered in light so bright Belissar had to shield his eyes.
As Belissar moved to help the other wounded bees, Chief Rohsuak and her people were gathered by the entrance to the Underway. Soon though, she heard the perimeter scouts begin to shout. She turned her head in the direction of the Sacred Den.
She could see a bright light from that direction, even with all the trees between them and the Sacred Den. She felt a wave of mana pass them by. Even those without mana of their own began to glance around from the slight warmth, for her it was more like a roaring flame.
She smiled.
¡°I guess I was worried for nothing. Well done, Sacred Den Master.¡±
She motioned to her people to return to their home.
Belissar lowered his hand as the light faded...and then his jaw dropped. A soldier bee now flew where Niobee had once been. A soldier bee with a missing antenna.
¡°Niobee?¡±
The soldier bee began dancing.
¡°Yes, King?¡±
Belissar let out his breath. If Niobee was fine, he could deal with whatever had happened later. Like he would with those messages trying to distract him or those intense flows of burning hot mana rushing through the Tower and beyond.
Right now, he had bees to heal.
Medicinal workers began to guide wounded soldier bees to cells full of healing herb honey, lightly jabbing them with their thin stingers on occasion. More soldier bees came and went, carrying their wounded sisters to the medicinal workers. Meanwhile, the soldiers led Belissar to the most heavily wounded, those who could not be moved at all. He did the magic honey thing his mana had done for the first wounded soldier, filling them with mana in hopes of stabilizing them.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Some made it. For others, the mana honey simply seemed to ease their pain as they passed. Belissar teared up at that but kept moving to the next one that needed his help.
The first wounded soldier still stood on his shoulder. He had wanted her to rest but she had insisted and he had no time to argue, so he brought her along. He soon learned why she had wanted to come as they found other bees who had been burned by the first lightning surge. One by one, she climbed to them and brushed them with her lightning wing. Soon, the black lightning arcing from their bodies turned yellow as well, after which Belissar¡¯s honey could heal their wounds.
They worked hard until every bee that could be saved was stabilized, and every bee that could not was accounted for. After that, every bee gathered by the Memorial. All those who were wounded stood on the beehouse, while the rest hovered in the skies around. One by one, Belissar placed the remains of the fallen inside the Memorial, and new words appeared on the pillars as the bee carvings danced. When it was done, Belissar took a step back and lowered his head towards the beehouse.
¡°Thank you, for your sacrifices. We won today because of you.¡±
Niobee then led the bees in their solemn dance. The wounded soldiers joined in as they were able, and the bee carvings followed suit. Belissar watched as the Shrine of Bees and the Memorial itself began to glow faintly.
Today had been a victory, but at great cost. Twelve soldier bees had perished and another fifteen had received wounds to varying degrees, mostly due to lightning burns. Belissar thought he had done all he could to prepare but the shade had defied all of his expectations, and the bees paid the price. In fact, had it not been for the wounded soldier¡¯s attack at precisely the right time and place to trigger a honey trap, they likely would not have won at all. He himself might have died, and he didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d come back, or what would have happened to the Tower in that case. He was reminded once again that he had a long way to go as a dungeon master. His defenses may have been impressive compared to the wolf-like minor shades, but they fell apart immediately against a new kind of foe.
But, though Belissar¡¯s heart ached at the thought of all the bees that had perished, this time he did not regret it. This exact scenario was what he had been worried about when he made the decision to expand. His Tower was not prepared for a flying enemy that could channel lightning. They couldn¡¯t have been. More queens, more flowers of the types he had, and more soldier bees would not have changed the outcome today, while the Pit Traps and the fires he had prepared had been entirely useless. And most of all, he couldn¡¯t have known the threat he was facing before he started the purification. His Tower and his bees needed more options to deal with future threats, including ones he couldn¡¯t predict for ahead of time.
And thanks to the courage and sacrifice of the bees, they had gained just that.
Expansion successful.
Reward: Floor limit increased to 2. Receive one perk choice, and two random reward choices.
But he would deal with that a bit later. Soon the dance came to a close and Belissar made a smile.
¡°Let¡¯s celebrate. Today we won, thanks to you all.¡±
The air exploded into motion as thousands of bees began to zip about. Belissar brought out as many trays of honey as he had. Even the mad honey trays, which apparently didn¡¯t poison the bees themselves. Workers buzzed around and brought honey to the soldiers while countless bees of many different hives danced together and brushed each other¡¯s antenna. Belissar looked over to the Apiary queens and nodded at them with a smile.
¡°Thanks for making all that honey for this.¡±
The Apiary queens danced happily at his thanks. Belissar felt a bit of the ache in his chest fade as he watched the bees all around him.
This was why he didn¡¯t regret his decisions. The bees themselves were full of nothing but joy tonight, the wounded no less than the healthy. They didn¡¯t mind the sacrifices and they didn¡¯t fear death or pain. So, Belissar would honor that courage, and celebrate what they had achieved. He would still do what he could to minimize the sacrifices, but neither would he run from them if they were necessary.
And he would bring ruin upon those who caused them.
At that point, Niobee flew over to him, carrying a chunk of honeycomb with her new, larger body.
¡°King! King should eat too!¡±
He smiled and held his hand out. Niobee placed the honeycomb in it.
¡°Thanks, Niobee.¡±
He took a bite and then held out his other hand. Niobee landed in it, barely fitting now. He then held out the honeycomb for her and she drank from it. He grinned as her wings fluttered.
The celebrations continued even as the sun went down.
Chapter 49 - Bee-musing Choices
The next day, as Belissar woke up, he looked around for Niobee. He frowned when he didn¡¯t see her, then paused as he saw a soldier bee hanging around his bed. He rubbed his eyes as the soldier bee shook herself and began to fly before him.
¡°King!¡±
His eyes widened as he caught sight of her antenna and remembered what had happened the night before. He then smiled.
¡°Good morning, Niobee.¡±
Right, Niobee had grown dramatically. He had wondered about that at first, but put it aside to treat the wounded, honor the fallen, and then celebrate the victory. But now that he thought about it, he guessed it made sense. Niobee was listed as the Conduit and connected more deeply to the Tower than any of the other bees, Belissar guessed, so perhaps she would grow as the Tower did? Well, in any case, Belissar figured it was a good thing and so moved on to the next order of business.
Taking stock of the Tower¡¯s growth.
The Tower had grown another floor to become a two-story structure. It now achieved the bare minimum to be called a tower in the first place, though it was still shorter than the surrounding trees. Belissar thought for a moment if he should keep calling it a tower at all, especially since he refused to call himself a Tower Lord. The bear people called it a ¡°Sacred Den¡± while the Tower¡¯s own letters referred to it as a dungeon. But, at the same time, Belissar thought ¡°Tower of the Gods¡± was still an appropriate name given the role of the God of Bees in all of this. He shrugged and moved on as he rose from the bed and grabbed some honeycomb to eat.
He had bigger things than the name to think about.
Dungeon Status:
Patron: God of Bees
Floors: 1 (Rooms: 2/2), 2 (Rooms: 0/2)
Mana: 0/300
DP: 664
Available Monster Types: Monster Queen Bee, Monster Bee Soldier
Available Room Types: Flower Meadow, Apiary
Available Room Features: Basic Pit Trap, Sticky Honey Trap, Basic Resource Plants, Bee Memorial (Limit Reached)
Core Corruption: 0%
Dungeon Master: Belissar
Dungeon Conduit: Niobee
Perks: Blessing of Bees, Bee Breeder, Monster Bee Soldier Strength Boost (Minimal), Monster Bee Soldier Speed Boost (Minimal)
Current Missions: Help ten challengers receive full blessings
One perk selection, two random reward choices available
And now for the moment of truth. Belissar opened up the new rewards from the latest purification.
Please select a perk:
- Monster Bee Soldier Defense Boost (Small) (Rarity: Common)
- Cross-Pollination (Rarity: Uncommon)
- Boosted Beehouses (Rarity: Uncommon)
The soldier bee defense boost was pretty straightforward, so Belissar focused on the other two perks.
Cross-Pollination
Description: May grow hybrids of dungeon plants. Rate of hybridization improves with pollinator-type monsters.
Belissar rubbed his chin. The description was a little vague for his tastes, but he knew of farmers who tried to grow new and better versions of their crops. Mostly because they would yell at him because his bees were ¡°contaminating¡± their prize crops or some other nonsense like that. Belissar would have liked to see how their prize crops grew without his bees.
He shook his head to rid himself of currently irrelevant memories. The point was, this perk would probably let him get new and improved plants, which meant more flowers for his bees. And bees were the best pollinators that Belissar knew so the perk would work nicely in an all-bee Tower.
Still, the benefits of that weren¡¯t specifically defined, so there was a bit of risk with that choice, unlike with the next perk.
Boosted Beehouses
Description: Beehive features produce honeycomb 10% faster and can store +1 maximum products
The beehouses were making at least one honeycomb a day, sometimes more, so a ten percent increase meant...Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
After about ten minutes of trying to make numbers with the honey that dripped on the table, Belissar gave up on figuring out the exact amount and settled on the conclusion that this perk meant more honey. More honey was good. Chief Rohsuak even claimed the honey was priceless!
So priceless that they couldn¡¯t trade for it, even though Belissar had no idea what to do with the honey besides Sticky Traps and meals.
So, those were his options. Tougher soldier bees, maybe new flowers, or more honey. Belissar wasn¡¯t going to decide right this second, however, as he still had two more choices to review. He figured what he chose for one might affect his choices for the other, so didn¡¯t want to rush it. He definitely wasn¡¯t just putting it off.
Please select a reward:
- Uncommon Room Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- Uncommon Room Feature Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- +100 max mana
Belissar clasped his hands together, rested his elbows on the table, and then held his hands in front of his mouth. So now...he had a choice of choices. Or he could pick more mana. He had two of such choices...but apparently he could only pick one at a time. Would they offer the same selection of choices? Or would the choices he could choose change each time?
He would apparently have to choose his choice before he could find out.
Belissar sat there for a moment before deciding he¡¯d make this choice now, at least. A choice of choices was too vague to inform his choice of perks. And he could at least rule out the max mana option. He could get ten max mana a day from the minor purifications, so it didn¡¯t seem worth giving up new options. New options were, after all, the point of having risked an expansion in the first place.
So that meant a new room type, or a new room feature. He apparently now had a second floor which had two rooms open he could fill. The question was, did he want to put something new there? Or would he rather add more Flower Meadows and Apiaries and then add something new to those? What would help his tower and his bees the most?
Uncommon Room Choice selected.
Please select a room:
- Orchard (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Nature, Resource)
- Hedge Maze (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Labyrinth)
- Dirt Tunnels (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Labyrinth)
He made his decision thanks to the latest purification. Neither the Flower Meadow nor the Apiary had anything that could help his bees deal with a flying enemy. And maybe it was because he lacked knowledge, but he couldn¡¯t imagine what sort of room feature might help them do so. A lot of the room features he had seen weren¡¯t battle-oriented at all, even.
On the other hand, one of his room choices had included a forest or dirt tunnels. Trees may have made it harder for the shade to use its speed since it wouldn¡¯t have been able to fly in a straight line. Even if it had gotten above the canopy, at least it wouldn¡¯t have been able to see and target the bees underneath. And if Belissar could place Sticky Honey Traps on the trees themselves, then maybe the bees could have driven the shade into one more easily.
Dirt tunnels, on the other hand, may have prevented the shade from flying at all.
The point was, Belissar guessed a new room would offer more options than a room feature. Not to mention that with the Resource Plants room feature, a new room might offer new flower types for his bees. It just seemed an altogether better choice to him. And if the next reward selection was the same, he could always just pick room feature then.
After he looked over the new choices, he guessed.
Orchard
Type: Nature, Resource
Innate Features: Fruit Trees
Mana upkeep: 10
Description: A farm dedicated to fruit-bearing trees. Decent for Nature type monsters and features. Excellent for resource production.
Orchards were a natural companion for apiaries, at least outside of Towers. Belissar figured that wouldn¡¯t be much different here. An Orchard would presumably come with fruit-bearing trees...which of course, meant more flowers that his bees could gather from. Additionally, they would provide more resources that he could trade with the bear people.
...assuming the fruit produced wasn¡¯t also some sort of magical treasure, that was.
On the other hand, though, an Orchard may not assist all that much with the defense. Belissar didn¡¯t know how dense the trees would be, but he guessed they wouldn¡¯t be as tightly packed as in a forest. So, would it offer anything more than the Flower Meadow or Apiary in that aspect?
Hedge Maze
Type: Nature, Labyrinth
Innate Features: None
Mana upkeep: 5
Description: A maze made of tall and dense hedges. Beware of ambush by root and branch. Excellent for Nature-type monsters and features.
A maze made of tall bushes would be an excellent battleground for his bees. They could hide within the branches, or fly over the maze to attack at will. And, depending on what sort of bushes the hedges were, maybe the maze would even produce flowers the bees could gather from.
But such an environment had downsides as well. If the roof of the maze was open to his bees, then maybe it might be open to a flying shade as well, in which case the Hedge Maze wouldn¡¯t be much better than the rooms he already had. And, even considering a ground-based shade, a tight and restricted maze might work against his bees, like when the wolf shades in a Pit Trap used the close environment to defend themselves.
Although, thinking of the Pit Trap, would it be possible to set the entire hedge on fire? That could be a powerful defense if so, though it would mean none of his bees could set up their hives there. It was something to consider, at least.
Dirt Tunnels
Type: Ground, Labyrinth
Innate Features: None
Mana upkeep: 5
Description: A network of tunnels dug directly into the ground. Soft walls mean new tunnels may be dug by defenders and invaders alike, and that plants and fungus may take root with ease. Excellent environment for Ground type monsters and features.
Finally, there were the dirt tunnels he had seen before. These didn¡¯t have many special features, but did have two notable advantages over all the other options. One was that they were underground, with no open sky. While that would work against his bees if they faced ground-based enemies, it would help them immensely against another flying shade that could outrun them in the air.
The other advantage was that the bear people had come from underground and brought with them crops and even flowers they had gathered there. At the present moment, Belissar couldn¡¯t use any of them as he had no place to put them, but that might change with this room. Likewise, if he were to acquire some monsters that could operate in the Dirt Tunnels, they could also scout the tunnels the bear people came from. His current bees couldn¡¯t see well enough in the dark to venture down there at the moment.
Of course, that meant they would also have trouble fighting in the Dirt Tunnels should he choose that option. He would be all but forced to acquire a new monster type if he wanted to make use of that environment...which might come back to bite him if the next reward choice didn¡¯t include monsters.
And that meant it was time to pick the next reward.
Chapter 50 - Bee-fuddled
Monster Bee Captain
Monster Bee Sprayer
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Monster Mason Bee
Chapter 51 - A Bear-y Important Question
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Chapter 52 - Counsel and Deli-Bee-ration
Belissar stood in silence in front of the Bee Memorial, gazing up at the names on the pillar. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He had panicked at the thought of meeting the Tower Lords. He could still remember the smell of smoke and blood from that day. He could still hear the screams of people he had known his entire life as the soldiers cut them down. He could still feel the pain from when the arrow pierced his back. He reached to scratch at his back, though he couldn¡¯t reach the exact spot.
He had rushed in his panic and bees had died as a result. If he had spoken with the bear people from the very start, he would have learned that he had plenty of time. The bear people hadn¡¯t even heard of humans, much less Tower Lords. Who knows how long it would be before he met one again, or if he ever would?
So...was there a reason for these bees to have died? Did he truly need to grow as quickly as he had? Couldn¡¯t he have waited? Couldn¡¯t he have learned magic first, and then participated in the fight directly? Or maybe traded with the bear people for one of their bows, now that he remembered they had archers. Couldn¡¯t he have done more?
He opened his eyes and then reached up to touch the names. But as he did, the bee carvings moved, and one of them flew as if to land on his finger. His eyes widened. His heart burst in his chest as his vision began to blur.
He rubbed his eyes and then glanced over to the beehouse as he heard a crackling noise. He saw the wounded soldier there, stirring up her mana. A wing made of yellow lightning appeared on her back. She tried to swing it around like she did her original wing, though she did not manage to take flight.
Belissar took another deep breath and closed his eyes once again.
¡°Right...¡±
He reminded himself once again that the bees did not regret their sacrifice. In the case of the soldiers, fighting and, if necessary, dying for the hive was what they were born to do. And though the cost was high, the Tower and the bees had grown through this. Belissar only needed to look up into the skies of the Flower Meadow to see the soldier bees practicing new movements and formations in response to the latest battle. He could look to the flowers where countless worker bees continued their tireless gathering. He could watch the newest queen as her hive took shape, as workers from a nearby hive arrived to assist her.
He couldn¡¯t change the past. He couldn¡¯t fix mistakes he had already made. All he could do was to do better in the future. The battles were fought. The bees had fallen. The rewards had been gained. What Belissar needed to do now was ensure that it was worth the cost.
He stepped back from the memorial and glanced around until he found Niobee.
¡°Hey Niobee, can you ask the queens when would be a good time to meet? I¡¯d like to speak with them, though I don¡¯t want to interrupt their work.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Belissar watched as Niobee flew off. He decided first things first...he wouldn¡¯t act alone. He had missed critical information by ignoring the bear people when he rushed to prepare for the Tower Lords. At the very least, he wanted to see what his bees thought of their home.
The First of the Fifth didn¡¯t even wait for the Conduit to finish her dance. She rushed out of her hive and soared through the air.
The King was calling for her. He desired her counsel.
She immediately dropped everything to rush to his side...and then froze in the air.
The Firstborn and her council of brutish queens were already there, surrounding the King, likely filling his head with all sorts of nonsense. She nearly charged them at them.
And then worse, she saw the Fourth of the Seventh and her own kin. The queen she had born, along with all the other queens of the Apiary. She had been the last to arrive.
A betrayal most foul.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
But she calmed herself. No, this was better, wasn¡¯t it? If she thought about it, the queens that arrived first had to wait for those that would come later. They had to waste their time while she would lose none at all. If she thought about it that way, it absolutely made sense the Conduit had told her last. It was proof that her time was the most valuable of all.
Surely.
But as she pondered, the King laid eyes upon her. He smiled with the warmth of the sun, a face as inviting like the petals of a flower.
¡°There you are, we¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±
The words rocked the First of the Fifth to the core, and she forgot all else that was occurring around her.
Belissar stood surrounded by queens and scratched the back of his head. The queens were the most important member of their hives, for the hive would not exist without them. Yet, every single queen had dropped everything they were doing and immediately rushed over to him. He had hoped to schedule this for a time he wouldn¡¯t interrupt, but at this point he couldn¡¯t say he was surprised by this turn of events. Anytime he had spoken, the bees had responded to his requests immediately and without complaint. It was clear they regarded him extremely highly and took his words as absolute.
All the more reason for him to get better at this job.
He opened his mouth, then paused. He closed it and rubbed his chin. He was going to start by laying out the choices and asking the queens what they thought. But Niobee had answered that question often enough that he could predict exactly what they were going to say.
¡°Whatever King chooses!¡± was endearing, but it was not what he wanted to hear today. So, he took a moment to think about how exactly he should approach this.
¡°Um, the Tower is about to grow. I, uh, want to hear from you all. What do you think the Tower needs? Or, um, what would you want to do your job better, if you could have anything?¡±
Belissar smirked as a lot of ¡°Whatever King chooses!¡± dances started. Well, he wasn¡¯t exactly good at leading just yet, so he figured he wouldn¡¯t get his point across right away. But, to his surprise, there was one bee that hadn¡¯t joined in the dances. One bee that stood still...and then slowly started to dance...
The Firstborn was about to join the others. The King had built this entire land before they were even born. He could create entire fields of flowers. He could grow mana flowers in an instant. He could build grand constructions the likes of which they couldn¡¯t imagine. He bent destructive infernos to his will and set them upon his enemies.
What was the opinion of a mere queen in the face of such power? Could anything she imagined add even the tiniest bit to the wisdom of the King? How could she contribute to plans on a scale she couldn¡¯t comprehend? Especially her, for she had failed. Her army''s latest performance had put all the hives and even the King himself at risk...
All of the other bees acknowledged the wisdom of the King and indicated as much with their dances. But something caused the Firstborn to hesitate, for after everything she could not get this wrong as well. Such thoughts were obvious...and so, surely the King had thought of them as well. Surely, he knew how far the depths of his wisdom outstripped their own.
And yet, he had asked them anyways. He had requested their opinions, their desires.
She thought of her own meeting with the queens of the Flower Meadow, how a queen younger than she had brought up a concern she hadn¡¯t thought of. She thought of the First of the Fifth, whose efforts had revealed paths the Firstborn had never dreamed of. She thought of the hive of hives the King was building.
The King wanted to know their thoughts. Not because they were worth anything, and not because he needed their help to design his grand plans, but because they might be different. Their very limitations may force them to face concerns the King never would, not in spite of but because of his overwhelming power and wisdom.
So, the Firstborn thought about his question. What did she think the hive of hives needed? What did she want to fulfill her own role within it? What could resolve her failures?
And then, slowly, she began to dance. The King fixed his eyes upon her, as well as all the other bees. She nearly stopped. How terrible would it be if she were wrong? If she dared to question the plans and wisdom of the King?
But she was the Firstborn. She had resolved to defend the lands of the King. She aimed to build the greatest army bee-kind had every seen. And most recently, she had failed. So, she pressed onward, and spoke her mind.
Belissar watched as the largest of the queens gave an answer.
¡°Army not strong enough.¡±
He smiled. It was a simple answer, but it was an answer. Indeed, the soldier bee army had weaknesses that needed to be addressed.
¡°Um, can you think of anything that might help fix that?¡±
The queen stood still for a while before slowly beginning another dance.
¡°More soldiers, bigger soldiers. Need queen that can raise. Need better queen.¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin and nodded. A moment later, another queen, the largest from the Apiary, flew in front of him and began a dance of her own.
¡°More flowers! More nectar means more bees! New bees!¡±
Belissar nodded at that.
¡°That¡¯s a good point, those medicinal bees really helped.¡±
All the bees froze at this point. Soon, they slowly began to dance.
¡°More flowers is good.¡±
¡°Soldiers should be tougher.¡±
¡°Should be faster.¡±
¡°Mana flowers best!¡±
¡°More palaces!¡±
Soon, each of the queens was dancing their own dance. Some of them even began conversing with each other. Belissar nodded as he tried to take in all of their suggestions. Slowly, ideas began to form in his mind. He couldn¡¯t help but grin.
He knew asking the bees was the right choice!
Chapter 53 - Priori-Bees
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Chapter 54 - A Bee-autiful Day
Belissar felt the mana of the Tower surge once more as his changes went into action. He could feel a new room grow in the corner of his mind. He could have checked it immediately with the tower sight, but decided to hold off. Instead, he stepped out of the core room and turned to Niobee with a smile.
¡°Shall we check it out?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Belissar walked over through the Apiary with Niobee following along. He could see his bees stirring, the workers pausing on their flowers as the Tower¡¯s mana passed through them. He smiled as he thought of them discovering the newest room.
Belissar reached the end of the Apiary and stepped through the entrance. He entered into a room made of yellow wax arranged in hexagonal patterns. The room was empty save for an entrance opening to a stairway. Belissar could only see a couple of steps before it curved around a corner. He glanced around, shrugging when he found nothing of interest, and then made his way to the stairs.
When he stepped onto the first step his vision blurred. He had the distinct feeling of falling, and then a moment later found himself exiting into another empty wax room. He frowned.
¡°Weird¡¡±
He glanced around the room, again finding nothing of note. He wondered if he had somehow gotten turned around until he glanced at the room¡¯s exit. He could see a slightly blurry image of a field filled with trees.
¡°Is that it?¡±
He asked mostly just to reassure himself, since he knew the answer already. His tower sight¡ªor maybe tower sense since he was not actively using the vision at the time¡ªlet his intuition know he had moved ¡°down¡± a floor. He shook his head and walked towards the exit.
His eyes widened and a smile broke out on his face as he entered into the next room. Before him were rows upon rows of trees standing in a grassy field, their green canopies filled with red apples and pink and white flowers. Belissar was pretty sure apple trees weren¡¯t supposed to have fruit and flowers at the same time, but figured that was an effect of the Tower and so put it out of his mind. Instead, he walked up to the nearest tree and placed his hand upon it.
Manage tree types? Available types:
-Apple (Selected, Mana upkeep: 0)
He made a smirk. It was about as he expected. The Orchard grew fruit trees like the Flower Meadow did flowers, and just like the Flower Meadow he got one type for free. He guessed he would have to start gathering pinecones after all. Maybe if they searched the surrounding forests they could find some juniper trees? If that happened Belissar could even resume work on his mead with juniper berries!
Belissar paused for a second as he thought of mead for the first time in a while. Between almost being killed by the Tower Lords, almost being killed by the Hunger, becoming a dungeon master, learning of the Tower Lords¡¯ lies, and most of all gaining the companionship of intelligent monster bees, Belissar hadn¡¯t had the chance to think about his old hobby. His bees were giving him more honey than he could ever eat and he no longer had to supply tribute to either the village chief or the local Tower Lord¡so didn¡¯t that mean he could use as much honey as he wanted on recipe experiments?!
Not to mention¡his bees were making magical honey. Honey filled with mana, medicinal honey that healed wounds, and mad honey that could poison; Belissar couldn¡¯t help but imagine what sorts of mead he could make from those. Ok, maybe not the last one until he really knew what he was doing, but the point still stood.
Belissar shook his head. He had a lot to do before he could think about hobbies. Not to mention he would need some more equipment first, water-tight containers at the very least. And water. Now that he thought about it, his Tower didn¡¯t really have any water in it, did it?
But he still couldn¡¯t help but have a smile on his face as thoughts of mead danced through his mind. He reached up and grabbed a low-hanging apple and took a bite as well. His eyes widened. It was crisp and sweet and juicy, much unlike most of the apples the villagers traded to him.
He turned to Niobee and motioned to the apple.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
¡°Want a taste?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Belissar held out his free hand for Niobee to land on, and then brought up the apple to her face. She couldn¡¯t actually take a bite, but there was some juice dripping out now that he had bit into it. He turned that side towards her and Niobee extended her mouth, sipping a bit of the juice. She began dancing around happily, causing Belissar to smile even more.
All in all, Belissar thought this was a good day indeed. Regardless of whether it helped fight shades or not, the Orchard was a wonderful place.
The Fourth of the Seventh paused as she felt the King¡¯s mana flow through her. Something had happened, she knew that the King had just performed great and wonderous deeds. She knew because the mana imprinted new knowledge onto her instincts. New foraging instincts that encouraged workers to visit different types of flowers within a single trip. A new type of soldier, one that could fight in a completely different manner than any other type of bee.
And¡something else. Something had changed about the world around her, though she knew not what. She could not help but take a short walk to the entrance of her hive. She moved her antenna about in the air, trying to see if she could see, feel, or smell anything different.
Well, she didn¡¯t notice anything, but she did get to see the King and the Conduit walk by her home.
Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t figure out anything else and her workers wanted her back inside the hive. Since she didn¡¯t know what had changed, she had no specific reason to refuse, and so went back as her foragers began their next trip to the Flower Meadow.
Not even a minute later and her foragers rushed back into the entrance of the hive and began a frantic dance. The Fourth of the Seventh noticed the disturbance in her hive and rushed over to find out what had happened.
She froze as the workers spread their news.
The Flower Meadow¡had disappeared? When the workers passed through the normal entrance, they found an entirely different environment.
The Fourth of the Seventh began to tremble. She now knew what she had sensed. The King had reshaped the world! He had built an entirely new land in between the Flower Meadow and the Apiary! That was where he and the Conduit were going earlier!
The Fourth of the Seventh nearly flew out of the hive immediately, but her instincts held her in check. Instead, she began to dance and brush her antenna against the surrounding workers, giving them her commands. A third of the foragers who normally visited the Flower Meadow would stay in the Apiary today, and focus on keeping up honey production by gathering from the flowers around her hive. The rest would head into the new lands and scout them out. Surely the King had not removed the Flower Meadow entirely, so the Fourth of the Seventh figured there must be a new route to get there, her foragers just needed to find it. Finally, she told them to speak with the Conduit if they had the chance, to discover the King¡¯s purposes with this new land.
Her workers stopped their frantic dances as their queen gave her speculations and orders. Now that they knew how to respond, they immediately began organizing themselves as she had said. Before long, workers began flying out to the new lands. The Fourth of the Seventh couldn¡¯t help but dance about as she watched them leave.
What wonders would they find? What new lands had the King created? What sort of grand design was he building this time? The Fourth of the Seventh couldn¡¯t wait to find out!
While Belissar and Niobee were sharing the apple, he heard buzzing. He turned back and noticed worker bees flying from the entrance to the second floor and the Apiary. He hummed for a moment.
He considered whether he should add some spawners to the Orchard or not. They would spawn new queens to fill up the new room very quickly¡but since he had much more time than he originally thought, was that necessary? One of the queens had moved her hive already, so maybe some of them might want to check out the Orchard? Or they could raise some new queens to populate the room.
Belissar nodded to himself and decided he would wait and see on the spawners. Instead, he checked what he could do with traps and basic resource nodes.
Available Resource Plants for Orchard:
-Apple Tree (Mana Upkeep: 1 per tree, upkeep reduced due to room)
-Basic Wood Tree (Mana Upkeep: 3 per tree)
-Mana Flower (Mana upkeep: 5 per node)
Belissar tilted his head at that. Apple trees were a resource plant? He tried to place one to see if it would make a bunch of trees like with the flower nodes, but only a single transparent tree appeared before his eyes.
Did that mean all the trees in the Orchard were resource plant nodes? Or would a tree made with a resource node be different? Belissar figured it was probably the latter. Maybe it would produce fruit faster, like the difference between the beehouses that came with the Apiary versus a normal beehouse he just made himself?
Other than that, there wasn¡¯t much new. Wood trees might be pretty useful if making them a resource node made it easy to harvest useable wood. On the other hand, while he could easily gather flax plants from the textile flower node, he still had to process them himself, so he might end up having to saw and dry the wood himself anyways. He would have to try it out. Beyond that, he was limited to the apple trees that came with the room¡and the Mana Flowers for some reason. Not as many new options as Belissar had hoped for¡but he supposed that was what Cross-Pollination would help with. In any case, it might be good to scout the forest more thoroughly and pay attention to what sort of trees were out there.
Belissar finished his apple and Niobee took to the air once more. It was a good break, but he should finish up the room as much as he could. He then stretched and started to consider where to put traps for the room¡
POBee 54.1 - Failure and Victor-Bee
The Firstborn lay still on the floor of her hive. The last few days had been¡confusing.
The hive of hives had won a great victory, yes. But once the celebrations came to an end and she had time to reflect, she realized that her hive had not. No, her hive had failed. Her army had been beaten.
Yes, the soldier bees overwhelmed the shade and drove it to flee from them. Had they been facing a normal enemy, perhaps that would have been enough. But these invaders were different. They did not fear death. When they ran, they ran towards the hive, not away from it. Such a foe running away from her army was not a victory, but a failure.
This latest battle the enemy had slipped out of her soldiers¡¯ grasp and there was nothing they could have done to catch it. It could have killed her, destroyed her hive, and slaughtered her brood before her defenders returned. And worse¡it could have moved deeper into the hive, where the King and the honey-producing queens took shelter. It could even have reached the core itself, the very heart of the King¡¯s domain.
So, in truth, her army had been defeated. They failed to stop the enemy¡¯s advance. They failed to protect the hive. Had it not been for the extremely fortunate attack by the wounded soldier and then intervention by the King himself, that day would have been a disaster. It was the greatest failure any of the King¡¯s queens had ever suffered. Even the doomed First Dynasty had not allowed the enemy to reach the King before every last bee in their hive had perished. Forget building the greatest army bee-kind had ever seen, the Firstborn had not even built an army sufficient to defend her home. A crippled soldier had done more to save the hive than she.
She had assumed when the King called for her that it would be her end. Workers would fly until they died enroute. Soldiers who could not fight would leave the hive, never to return. So, wouldn''t be only right that a queen who had failed as egregiously as she had did the same?
But once again, the King defied all of her wildest expectations. Not only did he not punish her for this failure, he didn¡¯t even mention it. He had instead gathered all of his queens together and then asked for their counsel. As if a failed queen such as she had anything to offer him.
She had spoken up in the moment. She told the King the truth. He needed a stronger army. He needed better soldiers.
He needed a better queen to lead his defense.
And then she returned to await her fate. But it never came.
She felt the Tower¡¯s mana stir, and then begin to flow into her, granting her new knowledge. Her antenna twitched and she began to crawl about, her wings fluttering.
Because in the new knowledge came knowledge of a new kind of bee. A new type of soldier, one that could do things no normal bee was capable of. It had an entirely different method of fighting and would revolutionize the army.
She trembled. The King¡had granted them better soldiers. He had seen her dance¡and interpreted it differently. He did not replace her with a bigger and better queen who would raise bigger and better soldiers. No, he saw beyond normal soldiers and came up with something entirely different.
And then he granted it to her, the queen who had failed. To all of them.
Regarding things that were entirely different, her mind drifted to the wounded soldier. It turned out that the King had been incredibly wise to keep her around. Though she could not fly and fight like the others anymore, her contributions had proven critical to defending the hive. And now¡she was becoming something else entirely. She had been fed mana by the King¡¯s own hand and gained powers unlike any other bee in the hive of hives. Even now that power moved in place of her lost wing. Her injury was slowly becoming her strength.
The Firstborn stood up on her legs and shook herself. She realized again the vast wisdom and distant sight of the King. The average hive tossed aside all that it felt was lacking, but not the King. In the hive of hives, the wounded and the broken and the failure remained. They had a place by the King¡¯s side, until one day he found a use for them. Not a single second of his bees¡¯ lives would be wasted.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
And so neither would hers. If the King came to punish her for her failures, she would accept it as was right. But if he did not, then she would continue on. She would find a way to be useful in her failure. She would not stop until the King commanded her to.
She crawled through her hive once more and took stock of her honey reserves and the growth of her brood. At the soldier cells, she found a curious sight. One of the soldiers had returned, her purple hair identifying her as one of the mad honey soldiers. She stood by one of the empty cells and turned to the Firstborn, her antenna twitching. The Firstborn walked up to her and the two exchanged antenna brushes and began a dance. The Firstborn fluttered her wings at what the soldier told her, and then danced her assent.
The soldier crawled into the cell and curled up inside of it. The Firstborn ordered her workers and they brought as much of the mad honey as they had left, pouring it into the cell. The Firstborn filled the honey with her own mana, charging it up until her instincts told her it was enough. The workers then covered the cell with a layer of wax. The cell began to glow softly.
And then the Firstborn moved to her next task. There was no time to rest if she were to rebuild the army.
The First of the Fifth was over the moon. First, she had been thanked personally by the King for the contributions of her honey. Her medicinal honey had saved many lives, and then she had provided for the grand celebration of the King¡¯s victory. She would not even of the abject failures that had put the King himself in harm¡¯s way, so it went without saying that her position had been utterly secured after the latest battle.
Next, the King had called for her, personally, and asked for her counsel. Her! Nothing could take from her elation at the King¡¯s trust in her. Nothing! Not even the small, irrelevant, infuriating detail that an abject failure of a queen had been the first to speak, as if she understood the King¡¯s will in that gathering. As if! The First of the Fifth always knew the King¡¯s heart the best and understood his desires as best any mere bee could. It was only that she was not utterly shameless enough to dare to lecture the King on his domain! Even if he requested it, only after she had made her complete trust in his wisdom unmistakably clear would she let the King know what was on her mind! Only a shameless, disloyal fool would do otherwise! Especially one whose failures had put the King himself at risk!
The First of the Fifth stopped the frantic dance she didn¡¯t remember starting.
The point was, the King¡¯s favor for her had reached new heights never before seen. Truly she was the most favored of all bees. Even the Conduit, with her sudden and concerning growth, could not compare to her! And the Conduit was just about the only bee left the First of the Fifth needed pay attention to!
But of course, she would not stop here. The King¡¯s favor was boundless, and so her efforts must be equally boundless. For now, though, she simply waited for she, above all others, understood the designs of the King. The King was planning something big and had even taken her counsel to do it. She had no doubt something incredible was coming, and that anything she could plan now would pale in comparison. So, she would wait to see what the King had wrought and then do her utmost to support him.
And she did not need to wait long.
As the mana passed into her she knew that she had been right. New instincts filled her regarding the gathering of nectar. The King¡wanted them to gather from multiple different types of flowers on each trip?
The First of the Fifth paused at that, and then began pacing in a circle.
She had spent a while instructing her workers not to gather in that very manner. Each worker gathered only from a single type of flower during a single trip. The nectar was then categorized and organized in different sections for nectar from each different type of flower. This system was critical to maintaining the First of the Fifth¡¯s exceptional honey quality.
Mixing the nectars during processing was already bad enough. If they mixed the nectars during gathering, then her workers would be completely unable to categorize and sort them out. The outcomes of each batch of honey would become entirely random, completely out of her control. Such a thing was unthinkable to the First of the Fifth.
But again, she, above all, understood the King. She understood the depths of his wisdom and she would never presume that she knew better than he. As she said before, she would not even offer her opinion until she had completely reassured him that was the case! So, she knew that the King saw something she did not when this knowledge was passed to her.
She assembled the workers currently within the hive and gave out her instructions. Half the foragers would continue in the normal gathering method, while half would act as per the new instincts. New sections were to be set aside and dedicated to the mixed nectar they would bring in. And while they were abandoning rigorous sorting of the nectar by source, she still expected exceptional quality in every other aspect of the honey processing.
The workers set off immediately to fulfill her commands, and pass them along to the foragers as they returned. The First of the Fifth could not help but continue dancing. The King had taken her counsel and returned to her detailed instructions on the nectar gathering process. She had no idea what would result from this at the moment, but she knew it would be incredible. It was a collaboration by her and the King, even, so it could only be so.
She couldn¡¯t wait to see what exactly it would be.
POBee 54.2 - A Whole New World
The Fourth of the Seventh stood with her eyes fixed upon the scouts before her. There were two groups giving their reports. One group was the first wave back from the new room, here to report the initial findings while more of their number combed the area in detail. The other was the group assigned to find the Flower Meadow, who had flown far and fast while trying to relocate the path. The tale the two groups danced together was truly astonishing.
The King had created an entirely new room in between the Apiary and the Flower Meadow. This room was filled to the brim not with small flowers, but with massive trees, their canopies filled with gorgeous flowers and ripe fruits. The Flower Meadow and the Apiary had the occasional tree, but the scouts reported the sight was unlike anything they had seen in the King¡¯s domain before. A field of flowers not on the ground below but in the skies above.
The Fourth of the Seventh wanted to see it for herself but put her own desires aside. Her first soldiers had just hatched, and she now could put her plans into motion. She desired to participate in the weaving of plant strands she had seen the King perform, and now that she had bees large enough to gather and transport them. She needed, therefore, to focus on the management of her hive and ensure said project could proceed nicely and without disrupting normal work. She would need to work extra hard at this now, in fact. With a new room between her hive in the Apiary and the Flower Meadow flowers she was granted access to, her foragers had a much longer trip. She would need many more foragers to keep up the same honey surplus as she had before¡
Suddenly, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s thoughts stopped entirely.
She had an idea.
A simple, incredible idea.
Rather than adding a bunch of foragers to maintain a long gathering route, which would in turn require more honey themselves and thus require even more foragers to achieve the same honey surplus, why didn¡¯t she just move the hive closer? She had already done so once before, and making the route shorter was far more efficient than trying to fix the extended supply line. For example¡why didn¡¯t she move her hive into the brand new, apparently amazing room the King had built? Wouldn¡¯t that be the most efficient option of all? Not only would that shorten her foragers trip to the Flower Meadow, it would also give her hive access to an abundance of brand new flowers from the new room.
Her workers had grown worried at her lack of movement and were buzzing around her, trying to get her back to work when she suddenly exploded into a dance. She called for a general assembly of the hive. Her workers reluctantly began to gather.
Once they had, she began a passionate explanation of her plan to move the hive. And her workers¡just stood still. One slowly began to dance.
¡°But, moved already? Moving again?¡±
¡°Inefficient.¡±
¡°Unnecessary.¡±
One of the workers who often followed her around danced rapidly.
¡°Queen just want to escape, see new things.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh glanced away for a moment before beginning a slow response.
¡°¡yes. Want to see. Only see, not escape! But, not only reason. Flowers we gather are far away. New room has new flowers, and closer to current areas. Lots of work now, but will make gathering more efficient. Need more honey to feed soldiers, efficient gathering will help.¡±
The worker stared at her for a while but this time the Fourth of the Seventh held her gaze. The worker reluctantly began to dance.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
¡°Seems¡right? Suspicious.¡±
But one of the scouts then began to dance.
¡°Have seen new room. Flowers incredible. Queen has good idea.¡±
The other scouts began to dance their assent and the workers of the hive began to ponder this. One by one, they began to agree, until the suspicious worker was the only hold-out. She, too, began to dance slowly.
¡°Ok. But ask Conduit first.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh danced happily.
¡°Yes! Of course!¡±
The workers dispersed to begin preparing the hive for a move, while the scouts headed out to begin evaluating possible locations in the new room. The Fourth of the Seventh moved about, sending a messenger to the Conduit. This was, of course, premised on the King¡¯s own plans for the room, but he hadn¡¯t had a problem with her moving before so the Fourth of the Seventh was hopeful. Her dreams would come true, she would be able to see new sights for herself while still fulfilling her duties to the hive!
And then she paused as another thought passed her mind.
Wasn¡¯t she supposed to be the queen? So, why did she need her workers'' permission again?
She pondered this as the worker who followed her gave commands to the rest of the workers and arranged the move¡
The First of the Fifth listened to the reports from her own scouts and discovered too the new room that the King had created. An abundant land with brand new flowers that grew on trees, and that formed into fruits so large only the King could consume them.
This gave her pause. She very much desired nectar from these new flowers, for who knew what sort of honeys she could produce from them? After all, shouldn¡¯t she, the producer of both the most and best honey of all the hives, be the first after the King to drink of his latest flowers? She very much wished to order a foraging mission immediately.
But there was a problem this time around. Her hive was nearly overextended at the moment. Her bees needed to clear the hive of the mixed healing herb honey she had created, which while suitable for the soldier bee army was not nearly of a quality she would dare serve to the King. They then needed to rebuild her stockpiles of top quality honey and resuming providing for the King¡¯s table. They also needed to create new stocks of non-blended healing herb honey, as was as mad honey. She, too, was aware that a new type of soldier bee was now available and presumed that the Firstborn would be moving immediately to raise some, so she could not suddenly cut the agreed-upon donations. Even if the Firstborn had deceived her and then failed in her own mission, the First of the Fifth would not deign to be seen reneging on her own word. She was above such a blunt refusal. On top of all that, her workers were now experimenting with the new gathering method provided by the King and trialing the production of blended honey.
So, to gather, produce, trial, sort, and refine a new type of honey from flowers in another room was one job too many. She would have to make compromises elsewhere if she wished to do so, and the First of the Fifth never compromised when it came to her honey.
But what then? If she waited until she could expand her worker force, another queen might move upon the new fields and lay claim to them. The First of the Fifth had no wish to conduct another negotiation, not after she had been swindled by the first. She also needed to consider the possibility of the King creating new spawners and new queens being born¡
Her thoughts came to halt. She had it. She had the solution.
Her hive was not sufficiently large enough for the task. But her hive was not a mere hive anymore. Hers was a hive of hives. A new queen had already been born.
Her own daughter.
The First of the Fifth commanded that word be sent to her daughter. If her daughter were to move to this new room, she could lay claim to it in the name of the First of the Fifth. The First of the Fifth could even requisition her daughter¡¯s workers to deliver the new nectar directly to her own hive. She would, of course, pay her daughter for the effort, for she was not so crude as to steal from her own kin, but the terms would be far more favorable than if she had to negotiate with a separate queen.
And if the King planned to create a new spawner to populate the new room, then the First of the Fifth could assist him! Her daughter would represent an established, experienced queen who could help lead and guide the new queens as they began setting up. It would give her a chance to assist the King directly¡while also ensuring that the new queens found their proper place in the hive of hives under the watch of her, the most favored queen, and not any of those who had failed.
The First of the Fifth returned to her work, satisfied that she had found a solution.
Later, she heard the Fourth of the Seventh was moving to the new room as well, but that was fine. The Fourth of the Seventh had an agreement with her and had even helped her daughter out of her own initiative, so the First of the Fifth was confident the move wouldn¡¯t interfere with her own plans. No, since the Fourth of the Seventh was already working under her, this was even better! All was going in the most favored queen¡¯s way¡
POBee 54.3 - The Child
The First Daughter of the First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Fifth Spawner, the Second of Her Line, lay flat against the floor with her antenna drooping, even as her mother¡¯s worker repeated the dance. She had received a new command, she was to move her hive at once to an entirely new and unknown land, and lay claim to it in the name of her mother.
This¡did not excite her. Her mother was the greatest and most productive of all the queens of the Apiary, and as such demanded excellence from all of her children. Her first daughter was no exception to that. Her mother had great expectations as to the growth of her hive, the quantity and quality of her honey, and the numbers of her workers.
But a queen was not a worker, and working as hard as she could was not a simple matter. A queen needed to carefully balance the growth of her hive against her currently available workforce. Her workers had many jobs to do: gathering nectar, processing honey, making wax, and tending the brood, all of which were necessary for the growth of the hive. If she tried to lay as many eggs as she possibly could, her worker force could end up overwhelmed by the extra tasks the new children created. Too many workers needing to build honeycomb could end up cutting their nectar gathering. Too many workers needing to gather nectar might leave the eggs and larva untended. And, of course, all of those workers required honey to sustain themselves, on top of the honey and mana required for the new brood to grow, as well as what the queen needed to replace her own reserves and keep up egg production.
The First of the Fifth¡¯s expectations had driven her first daughter to the brink. Her hive had barely managed to balance honey production, hive expansion, and brood tending. She did not have the magical palace built by the King¡¯s own hand her mother did, and so her workers just couldn¡¯t produce honey as quickly as her mother¡¯s could. Likewise, without access to the Mana Flowers her mother had, her workers had to work even harder to ensure the honey was fit for the larva.
Her mother was not unreasonable, however, and had sent her own workers and donations of her own reserves to help her daughter achieve the stated goals¡at least at first. However, events elsewhere had interfered. A great battle had occurred, and her mother moved to support the King directly. She had, as a result, withdrawn her support for her daughter. Whether or not she had withdrawn her expectations as well never crossed her daughter¡¯s mind. She had a job to do and she did her utmost to fulfill it.
Her hive came close to collapse in that time¡but timely assistance by the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive had managed to carry her through. With that help, she managed to reach her mother¡¯s expected goals for her growth. She was just stabilizing to the point she wouldn¡¯t require assistance when her mother¡¯s latest order came in.
This would be her greatest challenge yet. Her hive had been operating at the limits of its own production for all its history, and she thus had no reserves. Moving her hive would require her to send scouts to find locations, rebuild her entire hive, move all the honey and brood, and then locate and arrange for new foraging routes. All of that would take time and effort from all of her workers, time during which they couldn¡¯t be making honey. And without any reserves to tide them over, that meant in the short term either her workers or her new brood would have to go hungry until the new hive was established and honey production stabilized.
She slowly crawled over to her brood, watching her workers tend the eggs and the larva lying within. Her antenna drooped once more.
She would have no choice. She could not starve her workers when they would be needed for the work of setting up the new hive and then gathering the next wave of honey. Her entire hive would starve if she did. So that meant¡she would have to cut rations to her children that were not contributing.
She would have to let her latest generation starve to fulfill this command.
But to fail the command of her mother was unthinkable. To beg another queen for assistance was equally inconceivable, especially for her who had already received much. She was a queen bee. To be a bee was to complete her job or to die trying. To be a queen was to guide the hive¡and to accept its failures as her own.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
She rose upon her legs as she resolved herself. She would not fail in her task, not matter the cost¡
Just then, one of her workers brushed antenna with her. She turned her attention and the worker began to dance.
The Fourth of the Seventh¡had come to visit?
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter slowly crawled to the entrance, her antenna twitching about. The Fourth of the Seventh was the queen who had saved her earlier. It was thanks to her that she had been able to meet her mother¡¯s expectations beforehand. The Fourth of the Seventh had offered said assistance unprompted and had asked for nothing in return. So, the First of Fifth¡¯s Daughter could not help but hesitate.
What would the Fourth of the Seventh say to her? What was she like? What should she say back? How should she act?
Such thoughts nearly paralyzed her, but she was a bee queen with a great deal of work ahead of her, so she had no time to meander. As such, she made good time and crawled out of her hive.
She froze as she gazed upon the visiting queen. She was a mighty thing, nearly as large as her mother. Her wings were strong, carrying her extended abdomen in the air without strain. Her mana shone bright like the fires of the King.
¡°Hey! Nice to meet!¡±
The First Daughter was stunned as the giant queen began to dance, and so was a bit slow in her response.
¡°Hello. Nice to meet?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh danced happily in response before continuing on.
¡°Just want to tell. Moving to new room. Will keep trying to help but might slow down.¡±
The First Daughter froze.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh moving¡to new room?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
The First Daughter was having trouble thinking and so just danced out something related.
¡°Me too.¡±
She nearly took a step back as the Fourth of the Seventh flew right up to her.
¡°Really? You too?!¡±
¡°Y-Yes?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh began a dance more rapid than the First Daughter would have thought possible for her size.
¡°Let¡¯s move together! Help each other, build hives together!¡±
The First Daughter froze. An unrelated queen¡wanted to build hives together? It took her a while to respond.
¡°¡can¡¯t.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh drooped mid-air.
¡°Why not?¡±
The First Daughter¡¯s antenna twitched about rapidly at the sight of the Fourth of the Seventh drooping. The First Daughter did not wish to speak of her own failures, but the Fourth of the Seventh was her savior and deserved to know.
¡°My hive, no reserves. Can¡¯t help.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh rose back in the air.
¡°No reserves? Hive ok for move?¡±
The First Daughter couldn¡¯t bring herself to admit it, but she also couldn¡¯t bring herself to lie, and so just stood in silence. Unfortunately, that in itself was enough of an answer for the Fourth of the Seventh.
¡°It¡¯s ok! My hive has! I help! New room has lots of flowers and can ask Firstborn if not enough!¡±
The First Daughter took a few steps back at that. The Fourth of the Seventh¡was offering to help her? She quickly began a dance.
¡°No. Won¡¯t bother.¡±
But the Fourth of the Seventh flew up to her, overwhelming the smaller queen.
¡°Not bother! Firstborn and Conduit says we hive of hives! All King¡¯s bees help! We help now, you help later! First of Fifth helped too, gave new flowers! Now I help First of Fifth''s daughter!¡±
The First Daughter couldn¡¯t respond to that. Her mother¡had helped the Fourth of the Seventh? Gave her flowers? If all this were true¡
The First Daughter very slowly danced her response, more of a crawl than a dance.
¡°¡ok. Please help.¡±
¡°Yes! Let¡¯s go! Need get hive ready!¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh danced happily mid-air, leaving the First Daughter to collapse on the floor of her hive once more as she stared up at the mighty and glorious queen flying around, the sun shining off of her chitin. Once again, the Fourth of the Seventh was helping her unprompted. Once again, the mighty queen didn¡¯t even think to ask her for anything in return. And once again, the help was truly necessary. If the Fourth of the Seventh helped her, if she shared her reserves during the move¡then The First Daughter¡¯s hive would not need to cut rations. Her youngest children would not starve.
She could fulfill her mother¡¯s command without sacrificing her hive in the process.
¡°Hey, you ok?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh noticed her on the ground and flew over to check. The First Daughter looked up at her for a moment.
She didn¡¯t remember what happened after that, only that she began to dance. She didn¡¯t know what sort of dance it was, only that she needed to convey her gratitude, and that the normal dance was insufficient to express what she felt. She danced until both the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers and her own retrieved their queens and began to prepare for the impending move.
The First Daughter then walked over to the brood and brushed an antenna against one of the larva, ignoring the honey sticking to her as a result. She swore to herself in that moment.
One day, she would repay the Fourth of the Seventh for all she had done.
Chapter 55 - Bee-nefactors
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POBee 55.1 - The Role of a Queen
The Fourth of the Seventh zipped up and down the tree. She flew right up to one of the apples, the bright red fruit as large as her torso. She brushed her antenna against one of the pink and white flowers. She took it in with all her senses, memorizing its colors with her eyes, its scent with her antenna, its touch with her legs, and even the charge of the petals that changed if she brushed her legs and wings together to make tiny-lightnings. She unfolded her probiscis and drank directly from the flower¡¯s nectar, dancing about at the sweet taste she had never experienced before.
One of her workers watched from a polite distance, swaying back and forth. She wanted to get moving, but she did not approach her queen. Her queen was unlike any other in that she wished to see the world outside of the safety of her hive, much to the chagrin of all of her children. But, it was the workers¡¯ duty to see their queen¡¯s will fulfilled. Their queen knew her role and her importance, and so held back her desire to see the world. The workers wished that she could do as she pleased, even as much as they wished she would remain safely within the hive. So, the workers let her fly about while they moved the hive, and even act like a worker would. It was the least they could do, since her role would prevent her from doing so under normal circumstances.
The worker thus ignored her instinct to pull her queen to safety and glanced back at the rest of her siblings. The move was well underway, with countless workers carrying single wax cells filled with honey or with the brood. The worker flew over and danced a command to a group of scouts, sending them to assist a group of workers that were falling behind. Normally, this would be the role of the queen, but the worker did not wish to interrupt her in the moment of her joy. And well, at this point she was used to it. It wasn¡¯t the first time she had taken care of details on behalf of her queen.
Their hive was a bit unique in that regard, in that the workers were left to their own devices to an even greater extent than the other hives. They didn¡¯t have the rigid and efficient discipline the First of the Fifth¡¯s hive did, nor the urgent energy the workers supporting the Firstborn¡¯s army strove with. Instead, they had grown used to taking matters into their own hands and organizing themselves, leaving their queen free to do¡whatever it is she chose to, within reason.
For example, raising soldiers.
The worker glanced over as the two soldiers that had recently hatched carried larger pieces of comb. The worker still didn¡¯t fully understand her queen¡¯s intention with those, since their hive did not participate in the grand war, but at present their bulk and strength was proving invaluable. One of them was even carrying the Daughter of the First of the Fifth on her back, since the young queen grew exhausted by the trip.
It was moments like these that the worker was reminded why she was not queen. For monster bees like them, the queen was more than just the mother of the brood. She was larger, stronger, and more intelligent than any of the rest of them. She could see the world in a way that they couldn¡¯t. She could think thoughts that never crossed their minds. And more than that¡she connected them. Each of them had a bond with her through which mana¡and more¡flowed. She elevated them all and they, in turn, acted as the implements of her will. For monster bees, the queen truly was the heart of the hive.
The queen could, therefore, see further and more than the normal worker could. Even this worker, who had taken on many duties beyond her instinctual tasks, generally saw the world through her instincts. She saw flowers and predicted whether or not they would produce good nectar. She saw the brood and felt the urge to check them for healthy growth and illness. She saw the hive and sought to ensure its security.
Not the queen. She saw the world and saw possibility. That was why she was so excited to go and see more of it, even though every instinct in the worker¡¯s body told her to keep the queen secure and safe.
But¡the worker only needed to look out at the sight before her eyes to understand the value of the queen¡¯s perspective. Countless trees as far as her eyes could see, creating a field of flowers above their heads. An abundance that filled her with the urge to fly to the flowers, and to report the location to the rest of her sisters, even though she knew they were currently flying with her. And not a rival bee in sight, save for the ones travelling along side them. Had the queen not pushed them for this move, they wouldn¡¯t have had access to even a fraction of the resources now stretching out before them. Their hive could grow exponentially once this move was completed.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
And to think she, along with most of her sisters, had thought this move was unnecessary. Inefficient. She now saw with her own eyes that she had been overwhelmingly wrong.
That was why she took on some of her queen¡¯s duties without complaint. That was why she and the workers strove to let the queen indulge her desires as much as she could. And that was why she now assisted a rival queen without complaint. She had no doubt that, once again, the queen had seen something that she had not.
So she turned away from the flowers and her queen and continued to manage the flight of the hive. The queen was doing what only she could, so the worker would do all the rest.
But even the worker herself froze at the sight ahead of her once the group had arrived at their destination. There was a mighty grove of trees, tightly packed together in a location that would give them ready access to the Flower Meadow while remaining out of the immediate path. Their canopies overlapped and interweaved in a way that would be perfect to support an elevated hive. Massive hidden caverns guarded the ground approach while honey traps would surprise any aerial invaders. And, above all, there was a patch of mana flowers in the center of the grove, a treasure previously reserved only for the greatest and most powerful of the hives. The likes of the Firstborn, the eldest of the living queens and commander of the mightiest army, and the First of the Fifth, the largest and richest of the hives whose honey fed the King himself.
And most of all, this entire grove had not existed according the most recent report by the scouts. It, therefore, must have grown entirely within the past hour, for the worker did not believe her sisters would have managed to miss such a perfect location. The worker began to tremble at the implications.
This could only have been the work of the King. He had taken notice of their move and had prepared a perfect location for their arrival.
The King was an existence beyond her. If the queen could see things beyond a normal worker¡¯s vision, then the King saw things beyond a queen¡¯s wildest imagination. He built the world by hand, he created trees and flowers like a worker molded wax. He laid the spawners from which the queens came. Only the wisest and mightiest of the queens would dare to interact with him. As for a worker like her¡only the Conduit could approach him, and that was if they considered an existence like the Conduit to be equivalent to a worker based solely on their previously shared external form.
And now, his attention was on her hive specifically, and he was moving personally to assist them. The worker trembled at the foresight of her queen. What she and her sisters thought was an unnecessary, inefficient move, the King approved of and changed the land itself to support. What they thought was the queen¡¯s attempt to indulge her desires proved to be part of the King¡¯s grand design.
Only truly great queens like the Firstborn and the First of the Fifth were worthy of such attention. Or so the worker had accepted as fact. Until now.
This was why, for all of the authority their queen conceded to them, she would ultimately remain queen. The worker once again thanked her queen and resolved to expand the freedoms afforded her, even if it went against her instincts. She could not possibly have come up with the decision that her queen had, nor earned the personal support of the King himself.
As such¡she did not move to fetch her queen now that they had arrived on the site. Instead¡she began to instruct her stunned sisters. They looked at her warily, but then slowly agreed with her dancing. The workers, therefore, began to set up their new hive¡without waiting for the presence and instruction of their queen. They would do anything and everything that they could, so that their queen could do that which only she could.
And then the worker flew over to the Daughter of the First of the Fifth and requested her instructions. The queen hesitated to respond, but the worker insisted that her queen had instructed them to assist. Slowly, the queen began to dance, asking to set up her hive right next to their own. The worker agreed and started giving out commands to that regard. Workers from both hives began to mold wax in the boughs of the grove.
The worker knew not what would result from cooperating with a rival hive like this. And that was why she knew she needed to do it. All for the queen.
Bee Names Poll
Turns out those of y''all who comment feel there is room for improvement on the naming scheme. And due to my anxiety intense love for democracy, I shall let your voices be heard! What will be the Royalroad version of the bee names?
In the patrons'' defense, I did unilerately adjust the names and then ask them to vote on various options, so perhaps they felt compelled to pick a compromise option. On the other hand, I guess I could use this to advertise the patreon? Pay me money and decide the fate of the masses before they even knew there was a question, muahahahahaha!
Well, anyways, here are the choices. Let your voices be heard! For consistency, I am running the poll with the same options the patrons got. Each option will include how the Fourth of the Seventh and the First Daughter of the First of the Fifth would look as the most representative examples of how things would turn out.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
...maybe we''ll just have to hope we don''t get a major tenth gen character or anything. Y''all better not make the Eighth of the Tenth of the Fifth of the Third of the Fourth of the Ninth of the Elevensies of the Fifth your favorite character, got it? Well, that or Belissar could give her a nickname, but that would require me him to actually think of names. You know how long...he spent on Niobee?! (On a serious note I am not at all opposed to giving the bees actual names but that would be as they organically arise within the story...aka when Belissar gets it in his head to do so!)
Anyways!
What will the people choose? Are we permitted to have shorthand? Will we obtain maximum efficiency? Will...Belissar have to think of actual names? Tune in next time, to find out!
Chapter 56 - A Bee-lated Job
Belissar smiled as he watched two hives of bees migrate to the Orchard. One of the queens, in particular, seemed quite excited as she zipped around the new room. That, above all, convinced Belissar he had made the right decision.
At this point, the day was growing late. Belissar decided to give the bees a break from the routine purifications, so he headed for the Apiary farmhouse instead. As he settled in to rest from the day, he considered what he would do next. The Orchard was now set up and none of the new features required any more direct and immediate action from him. The migrating queens needed to set up their hives, the Flower Meadow queens would need time to raise or evolve some sprayers, and he had no idea how long it would take Cross-Pollination to start working. In any case, all three of those were the work of his bees, not him, so he would need to find something else to work on in the meantime.
His bees barely even needed him for the normal purifications at this point. He would need to set up a campfire site in the Orchard and start the fire before the purification, but after that the bees could handle it themselves. In fact¡Belissar turned his tower sight to the Memorial and saw the wounded bee still flapping her lightning wing as she stood outside the memorial beehouse. Since she still had access to lightning, she might even be able to start a fire on her own, in which case Belissar would be entirely unnecessary¡against the normal wolf-shades at the very least.
Point was, the bees could and would take care of the fighting and growing aspects of the Tower work for the near future. Belissar¡¯s role there was setting up traps, leading the celebrations, and making decisions on the rewards. None of that would take up the majority of time he had each day. But Belissar wasn¡¯t just going to sit around and do nothing while his bees were working their hearts out.
Fortunately, Belissar did come up with a task, one that the bees had specifically requested. One of their dances at the meeting had stood out to him, when one of the bees requested more beehouses.
Yes, Belissar had stopped making beehouses. He had put that task aside after upgrading the Apiary beehives, but there were far more queens than that who were currently building their own hives. Including all of the Flower Meadow queens, the ones who had been here the longest and who were bearing the brunt of the fighting and the sacrifice.
Belissar frowned. It was a travesty that he hadn¡¯t made anything for them as of yet. He may have been distracted by world-shattering revelations and heavy panic on account of Tower Lords and shades, but at there was no excuse to delay any further. Now that he confirmed the Tower wasn¡¯t in any immediate danger, he would make that task priority number one. Especially now that the queens were starting to reproduce, so their numbers would only grow. If he didn¡¯t get started on it soon, he might fall behind permanently.
Well, there was the magic training with Chief Rohsuak. He had learned how to use magic, but surely that wasn¡¯t all there was to it, right? And there was also the quest about helping the bear people acquire blessings or something. But for Belissar, the bees came first, and they deserved a roof over their head.
Belissar nodded and rose to his feet, walking to the bed. He had his path set forth now, so now it was time to rest and prepare for the work to come.
The next day, Belissar walked over to the Flower Meadow. He glanced over at the wounded soldier. She was no longer trying to flap her wing to fly. Instead, she was apparently trying to make the lightning move on its own, as parts of her lightning wing distorted and curved about.
It was fascinating to watch but Belissar had a job to do so he pressed on. He walked over to the Flower Meadow hives. The largest queen there, the First Queen of the Second Dynasty of the First Spawner if Belissar had the name right, crawled out of her hive and greeted him. Belissar nodded and smiled.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
¡°Hello, are you busy?¡±
She danced a negative. Belissar made a small sigh and then chuckled. As she was a bee, he was pretty sure that was a lie, but she¡¯d probably always make time for him so he¡¯d just have to be quick.
¡°I¡¯m going to build you and the others here some beehouses. I figured that the soldiers might need a different design, though, so I wanted to check my ideas with you, first. Would now be a good time to take a look?¡±
The queen froze solid. Belissar¡¯s smile started to drop when she suddenly burst into action. Her dance was rapid and chaotic, her legs got tangled and her torso fell to the ground. Belissar started to panic but Niobee flew to the bee first. She began to brush her antenna against the queen¡¯s and Belissar could feel her mana move as well. The queen stopped writhing about, then slowly rose to her feet. Slowly, she began to dance. Niobee flew off as she did.
¡°Honored, gratitude.¡±
Belissar held back a gulp. After her initial reaction and the care she was taking with her current dance, Belissar felt that the words told him by the Tower¡¯s translation power were not enough to convey the queen¡¯s current feelings. He could tell that this was a big deal to her.
He had the urge to reconsider the plans he had come up with casually, as they did not seem to be worth such a reaction, but he held it in. He may have felt that way, but the bees were apparently happy with his work. However bad he might feel about his work, letting the bees go without a home would be worse, so instead of second-guessing himself he would just have to do his best to build them something nice.
¡°Ok, um, so¡since you girls already have well built hives, I was thinking of building a larger home around them all, and then building some larger trays for raising soldiers. I¡¯m guessing you make larger cells for the soldier eggs, right?¡±
The queen watched him intently and responded immediately.
¡°Amazing. Yes, larger cells.¡±
Belissar nodded. As he did, Niobee returned with more of the Flower Meadow queens. Belissar nodded at her as he turned to the Second First of the First.
¡°Got it, so bigger trays for the soldier cells. I was going to split it up into larger rooms for each of you¡¡±
Belissar took some sticks and stuck one into the ground, then walked around in a square and placed a stick at each corner.
¡°Would about that big be enough for each room? Not just for your current hives, but in case you want to expand?¡±
The newly arrived queens stared for a moment before exploding into rapid dances.
¡°Amazing! Incredible!¡±
Belissar shook his head and chuckled before he got serious.
¡°Ok. Next¡I want to talk about defenses, since you girls are in the most danger. We¡¯ll keep the entrances small, maybe with one large one at the back for me. But, I also want to try and dig a ditch around the house, with as many Pit Traps as we can fit together, and then maybe a fence of some sort on the other side. How does that sound?¡±
He treated to another flurry of ¡°Amazing¡¯s¡± from most of the queens. The Second First of the First started to dance before stopping. She slowly changed course and began a new dance.
¡°Protect us from enemy?¡±
Belissar nodded. She paused for a moment, then started another slow dance.
¡°We protect hive of hives. King¡should protect all.¡±
Belissar frowned a bit and tilted his head.
¡°What do you mean?¡±
Her dance slowed even more.
¡°If King make for us¡King should make to help all. Help soldiers fight, stop enemy.¡±
Belissar crossed his arms and hummed.
¡°So you¡¯re saying¡you would rather me make something that would help you fight, rather than something just to protect your hives?¡±
The queen slowly danced her affirmative. Belissar hummed and rubbed his chin. Obviously, it didn¡¯t sit well with him for the queens not to have some protection, but it was true that the soldier bees were the first and best line of defense. If a shade were attacking these queens, it would have already bypassed the soldiers. Helping the soldiers defeat the shade would be the preferable option, and yes, if he was going to devote the time and effort to building a ditch and a fence it may make sense to make something that would benefit the defense as a whole. But how could he do that while also helping to keep the queens safe? Belissar knew he should consider the Tower as a whole but he didn¡¯t want to lose any of them if he could help it.
He thought, too, about the last shade. How it had nearly beaten them, and how it had been beaten in turn. What could he build that would help the queens face it?
His eyes lit up.
¡°How about this? What if we move the house and the ditch right in front of the exit of the room? We put a big entrance through the house here where you girls don¡¯t put any of your hives. The shades will have to pass through to get to you or further inside, and we put some honey traps there too. If a shade gets past the army again, you can plan to trap it in there while they catch up. Like, wait on the house here to ambush it like the wounded soldier did?¡±
The Second First of the First looked at him for a moment before responding.
¡°Amazing. Incredible.¡±
Belissar chuckled at that.
POBee 56.1 - The Grace of the King
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Chapter 57 - Bee-maginative Tactics
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
POBee 57.1 - The Burdens of Command
The next morning, the First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Second Spawner, the first of her line, did not proceed to laying eggs as she normally would. Instead, she made her way outside of her hive and flew up into the sky. There, she found the joint soldier bee army waiting for her. Yes, waiting. Not immediately conducting their practice runs and training as they normally would.
She would admit she had doubts about the Firstborn¡¯s idea. She knew that the Firstborn was correct about the benefits of having a queen on the field. Yet, she also knew that said benefits came at great cost. Even one day of a queen not laying eggs would impact the future growth of her hive, all the more so for the Flower Meadow queens who already operated at the edge of sustainability. And putting aside that, the very benefits of a queen commanding the soldier bees also applied to the operation of the hive. A queen¡¯s presence boosted efficiency all around, identifying inefficiencies such as traffic jams within the hive, over- or under-allocation of workers to given tasks, or changes in the honey making process due to climate, temperature, nectar source, or any number of other factors. So, time spent commanding the soldier bees meant time that her hive would run less efficiently than normal, with no one around to identify and resolve issues. Her workers would be left on their own.
But, ultimately, the First of the Second could not object, not after the failure of their army. The Firstborn had come up with an idea to address some their demonstrated weaknesses, which was more than she could say, so here she was, ready to take her agreed-upon turn at command. Without many ideas of her own, she simply followed the Firstborn¡¯s own proposals. She separated her own hive¡¯s soldiers into a smaller force and set the others as a reserved force. She then set about practicing as the Firstborn had, having her hive practice attack runs while she moved the reserved force around.
Only half an hour later and her antenna were twitching, and she was constantly shaking herself. This¡was not going well. Oh, she found she could command her soldiers as easily as her workers, and they were performing marvelously. But not so with the rest of the army. As the Firstborn had informed them during yesterday¡¯s celebrations, her command did not extend beyond the reach of her children. Her orders had to passed through the army one bee at a time, which led to delays in execution. Anytime she wanted to conduct quick movements in succession, the soldiers closest to her would respond immediately while the ones further away would continue on with the previous order. This led to delays as the soldiers had to slow down to avoid collision, or else started to separate from one another as the distant soldiers continued on too far. She was having to slow down and wait before issuing new commands, an inefficient use of her time on a task that was already dropping the efficiency of her hive.
She couldn¡¯t help but be a little frustrated at this. How could this be more beneficial than managing her hive? And she would have to do this on a regular basis?
But she was a bee and this was her assigned task for the day, so she would not abandon it no matter how frustrating or inefficient it seemed. She paused the exercise and told the soldiers to return to normal training. Since the command situation was not acceptable to her, she needed to think on how she could improve it¡
Another agonizing half-hour passed before she came up with anything. She gathered up the bees again, and separated her hive and the reserved force once again. This time though, she gathered several of her own soldiers into the reserved force, splitting up the force into sections and assigning one of her own soldiers to each one. She tasked each of these soldiers with passing her commands to their respective groups, while informing the other hives¡¯ soldiers to pay attention to hers.
She then, reluctantly, took command once again. She ordered the reserved force to fly forward, then suddenly turn to the right. Her soldiers received her command immediately and began passing it along without delay. The whole formation turned with only a minimal gap in time, and with significantly less collisions.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
The First of the Second noted the improvements and began the exercises in earnest, conducting as many maneuvers she could think of. There¡was still a lag in the execution of her commands that grated on her, but it was significantly less than before, just enough to be tolerable to her. And, even with the command delay, splitting the reserved force into several groups appeared to have other benefits. Since they were not all in one solid mass, the group did not get as easily tangled when the bees closer to her responded more quickly than those at the edge, cutting down on the chaos from earlier.
It was a start, at least. And it meant she could get comfortable enough with commanding to take on the intruder coming later today. That, ultimately, was the most important priority. That was the duty and the purpose of the First of the Second, of every bee within the Flower Meadow.
That, at least, all the Flower Meadow queens agreed upon. Not one intruder would ever make it past them again, not while there was anything they could do to stop it.
Back in the First of the Second¡¯s hive, the disaster she had foreseen was coming to pass. Well, ultimately the hive was still functioning, unlike her worst fears, but all was not well. A group of foragers dropping of nectar tried to enter the same area as a group just about to leave. The two groups ran into each other and had to confer and decide who would move out of the way. Then, once the arriving group was able to enter the area, they found all the cells already full and being processed. They had to leave and then search the hive for a vacant area¡only to be told by a group on brood-tending duty that the first such area they found was slated for the queen to lay more eggs later, and so sending them to search once more.
Individually, none of this took very long, mostly just a few seconds for each incident. But altogether, those seconds added up. This was especially true for a hive that always operated under the command of their queen. Where once they used to just receive and immediately execute commands from their queen, now they had to identify and solve issues on their own, which led to further hesitation whenever an obstacle was encountered. And all of this was compounded by a general sense of unease and anxiety due to the queen being absent¡and potentially exposed to danger.
As the day moved along, the drop in efficiency was growing noticeable to the entire hive. The workers started to grow agitated and began moving hastily to pick up the slack. But moving hastily was not enough without the queen to allocate the effort effectively, and so the inefficiency only grew.
It was then that the hive received visitors. A small handful of foragers from the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive landed at their entrance to rest their wings and exchange news. At first, the workers of the First of the Second¡¯s hive had been wary of the intruders, but the newcomers had received permission from the Firstborn to operate in the Flower Meadow and the exchange of information from the Apiary proved useful to the queen, so the workers soon considered this as just another task.
¡without the queen to assign workers to greet them, however, it took a moment before some of the First of the Second¡¯s workers acknowledged the waiting bees, which the newcomers took note of.
¡°Problem with hive?¡±
The greeting worker couldn¡¯t help but begin a frustrated dance.
¡°Queen gone, hive not working well.¡±
The newcomers burst into motion.
¡°What?! Queen gone?!¡±
The greeting worker paused before realizing her mistake.
¡°Queen ok, with soldiers. But not here, hard to work without.¡±
The newcomers stopped their dance.
¡°Oh, good! Really? Work without queen all the time, not too hard.¡±
The greeting worker nearly lunged at them.
¡°You¡work without queen?! Know how?!¡±
The newcomers simply confirmed.
¡°Yes!¡±
The greeting worker nearly tripped over her own legs in her haste to dance.
¡°How?! Please tell!¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers back up a bit at the aggression, but in the name of exchanging information to bring back to their curious queen they went ahead and explained how things worked in their hive. Particularly, how the hive had organized itself when their queen had to (or wanted to) fly off and handle a task outside, including a single worker taking up the queen¡¯s tasks regarding keeping track of the state of the hive as a whole and issuing commands to the other workers. Tasks said worker continued to do¡even when their queen was present¡
The greeting worker was completely still as she stared at them, before she raced back into her hive to spread what she had learned. The newcomers, now left alone, glanced at each other.
¡°So, no news?¡±
¡°First of the Second not at home, working with army? That news?¡±
¡°Yes, guess so. Let¡¯s go!¡±
And so the newcomers flew off as word of their hive¡¯s unique organization spread throughout the First of the Second¡¯s workers¡
Chapter 58 - Distracting, or Bee-neficial?
The minor purification went off without a hitch, the bees handling it as they had many times before. Belissar was curious when they arranged themselves differently than before, but figured that was the influence of a queen joining the battle. Regardless, everything went according to expectations. Belissar got the usual minor choices and added another ten mana to his max. He wasn¡¯t planning another expansion for a while, but figured it wouldn¡¯t hurt to start working on the mana beforehand. More mana never hurt, either. Belissar threw a celebration for the bees and then turned in for the night.
The next morning, Belissar walked over to the Orchard and found the wood tree having completely regrown over the night. He went ahead and chopped it down, then started to remove the branches. He was just finishing up when something caught his attention. A shift in the Tower¡¯s mana.
He turned his sight to the area in question which turned out to be the entrance. A group of bear folk had entered the dungeon, including Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Oh. Right.¡±
Belissar had sort of forgotten about them, but it had been a day or two since the purification so it was just about time for them to return. Belissar sighed and wiped some of the sweat off his brow. He didn¡¯t want to put off the beehouse work, but he did want to keep learning magic. Making magic honey that could help bees heal themselves was great, but there was a bit of gap between that and the massive fireball Chief Rohsuak had displayed.
Belissar walked over through the Flower Meadow and on to the entrance. Chief Rohsuak smiled at his approach.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master. I hope we¡¯re not intruding.¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±
She smiled at him and waved to Metsaitti and his hunter group.
¡°Thank you. Would you mind if our hunters resumed their challenges?¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°That, um, should be fine. Just don¡¯t disturb the bees.¡±
Belissar made a point to glare at them at that. The hunters all shook their heads, while Metsaitti nodded, and then the group departed. Belissar turned back to Chief Rohsuak¡and the young woman who remained with her. Belissar thought he had seen her from an earlier group, but he didn¡¯t remember exactly.
¡°Um, so, should we start with the magic lessons, then?¡±
Chief Rohsuak made a bit of a smirk.
¡°About that¡I have to admit you have already completed your studies, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar gaped at her.
¡°Huh?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°The magic that you and I possess is not so much of a school to be studied as an innate blessing that we have received from our respective gods. All you needed to learn was how to sense and manipulate your mana. And I have to say, you picked that up marvelously quickly. You have a talent for this.¡±
Belissar squirmed a bit at that.
¡°Oh, um¡but I can¡¯t do big fireballs like you? Surely there¡¯s more you can teach me?¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
¡°From now on your blessing and your patron god will guide you as to the development of your magic as you continue to use it. Our patrons are quite a bit different, so while I am willing to share my experiences I do not expect you would learn much from them. My best recommendation would be to use your magic often and in as many ways as you can think of, as well as to reflect upon your patron¡¯s domain,¡± she glanced up at the soldier bees flying overhead, ¡°though I don¡¯t imagine that will be problem for you.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Belissar frowned at that. But before he got caught up in his thoughts, Chief Rohsuak motioned and the young woman stepped forward.
¡°However¡I suspect there¡¯s more than one mystic art you may wish to learn? Allow me to introduce Juosiutik.¡±
Juosiutik gave him a nod.
¡°Nice to meet you, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar glanced at her.
¡°Oh, um, nice to meet you.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°Juosiutik here is our herbalist and potion maker. You may remember her from when she offered tribute at your patron¡¯s shrine; she, too, is seeking a blessing from your patron. She is also most interested in your Den¡¯s products.¡±
Juosiutik leaned in and stared at him without blinking.
¡°Especially the honey and the mana flowers.¡±
Belissar took a step back and gulped. The soldier bees flew a bit closer, arranging themselves for an attack run if needed. Chief Rohsuak placed a hand on Juosiutik¡¯s shoulder and the young woman jumped a bit before glancing around sheepishly at the bees. Chief Rohsuak gave Belissar a reassuring smile.
¡°What we¡¯re proposing is that Juosiutik could introduce you to the art of potion-making in exchange for some of your products. Juosiutik tells me your bees¡¯ honey has great potential, so perhaps a collaboration could benefit you both?¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin and started to think. So¡his magic lessons with Chief Rohsuak were done? That was unexpected. Apparently, he could just learn magic on his own by using it a bunch?
With all the supposed dangers and complexity of magic he had been told before, he figured it would be more complicated than that. Just another lie, he guessed. On the other hand, he was a dungeon master blessed by a god, so maybe it was only easy for him. Now that he knew the feeling of mana, he couldn¡¯t remember ever feeling something like that in his life beforehand, so who knows how hard it might have been for him to sense and move the mana if it weren¡¯t for the Tower?
But that was besides the point for now. The point was his lessons with Chief Rohsuak were done, but they were offering to start new lessons with this Juosiutik regarding potions. Another magical field Belissar had vaguely heard of and been warned against, though at this point he was leaning towards completely disregarding any warnings from his past. How many of them had proven to be even remotely true?
¡well, the warnings about the Hunger seemed to be all too accurate, so there was that.
So, would it be worthwhile for him to trade resources and time to learn potion-making? Belissar looked at his hand and felt the mana flowing through it. The answer to that¡was a resounding yes, even with what little Belissar knew of real potions. He had seen the growth of his bees accelerate thanks to the Mana Flowers. He had seen basic herbs turned into healing honey and poisonous flowers turned into a weapon that could affect a shade of the Hunger. He had seen brand-new types of bees he could never have imagined taking on the attributes of those honeys. He had saved the wounded soldier with the magic honey he managed to produce.
If he could develop those resources into actual potions, who knows what might be possible? Maybe he could make healing potions that could fully restore a crippled soldier¡¯s wings. Maybe he could make poisons that would not only intoxicate, but suffocate a shade of the Hunger without putting his bees at risk. Maybe he could make magical honey that would promote the growth of his bees even further.
One thing both the folk stories and the Tower Lords¡¯ warnings agreed upon was this: potions were magic, for better or for worse. Having access to that magic would give him new and potentially powerful options both to grow his bees and to defeat shades. More and powerful options were precisely what he needed to protect his Tower and his bees from whatever the future may hold.
But still, he hesitated. Chief Rohsuak kept smiling as he pondered, but Juosiutik was starting to frown and fidget.
¡°Um, Sacred Den Master¡?¡±
Belissar jumped a bit, realizing he had gone silent for a while and both women were now staring at him.
¡°So, um, I am interested in your potions but¡I¡¯m starting work on a project for the Sacred Den right now. If our original lessons are over, I would like to focus on that.¡±
Yes, as helpful as learning the mystic arts was, Belissar had put off building beehouses long enough, and didn¡¯t want any more delays. If he had the chance to spend more time on the bees, he would take it.
Juosiutik¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°Y-You can¡¯t, I need those¡!¡± She cleared her throat. ¡°Ahem, I think you, uh, shouldn¡¯t be too hasty in your decision, Sacred Den Master. Perhaps we could help you with whatever you¡¯re working on, then you would have time to fit in a few lessons, right? Right?!¡±
Belissar took another step back at the sudden assault.
¡°Oh, um, maybe? Oh, do you have any building materials? Clays, sealants, adhesives? Dry wood if you have any?¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew bright.
¡°Actually, we could help you with that.¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened for a second, and then he started to grin. New materials that would let him upgrade the quality of the beehouses, plus learning magic potions in the mix? Now that was a deal worth taking.
¡°In that case, let¡¯s discuss the price?¡±
Juosiutik smiled as wide as she could while Chief Rohsuak chuckled.
Chapter 59 - Bee a Potionmaker?
From then on, the talk got technical. Belissar described in detail the things he was looking to build and the kind of materials he would need, while Chief Rohsuak confirmed or denied what they could supply. Belissar had experience in home projects by necessity, but he was no master architect, so his needs were fairly basic. While the bear folks¡¯ previously nomadic lifestyle restricted what they had available immediately, they were at least familiar with anything known to Belissar, so the talk went fairly smoothly. Once Chief Rohsuak had a good idea of what was needed, she left to arrange things, at which point Juosiutik took over.
¡°Ok, shall we get started, then?¡±
Belissar thought for a second and then nodded. He could spend the time cutting down more trees, but at this point he should probably wait for Chief Rohsuak to start delivering materials so he would know what he didn¡¯t need to make himself. So, he could afford to spend some more time today on a lesson.
¡°Yes, that should be fine.¡±
Juosiutik nodded.
¡°Ok, first of all, how much do you know about herbology and potions?¡±
Belissar shrugged.
¡°Um, not much? I know some basic remedies and stuff, but I don¡¯t know anything about potions.¡±
Juosiutik tried to hold back a frown at that.
¡°I...see.¡±
She took a deep breath.
¡°Ok, let¡¯s start at the beginning, then. Potions are NOT simple medicines, unlike what the hunters will tell you. If I had to put it simply, they¡¯re like medicines, but more. You have to learn regular medicine making, and then add a whole extra layer of complexity on top of it.¡±
Belissar gulped.
¡°That, um, sounds pretty complicated. Um, what¡¯s the extra layer then?¡±
Juosiutik nodded.
¡°It is. Ok, so, the basics. For a potion to be a potion and not just a medicine, you have to imbue it with mana. So, first, you have to have a source of mana. Either you have to add it yourself or you have to find some material that possesses it. Then, you need to imbue it into your ingredients. But mana isn¡¯t like any other ingredient, you can¡¯t just mash it together in a pot and expect it to work. Mana interacts differently with every object, plants and ingredients included. Some plants that make powerful medicines normally don¡¯t interact with mana at all and are useless for potion making. Other plants that are mere weeds have a powerful resonance with mana that make them ideal. And then, just having the mana and the ingredients present isn¡¯t enough. Every method of processing the potion, from mashing to drying to boiling, will affect the mana as well, and you need to account for that. Sometimes, you need to add ingredients and processes that are entirely unrelated to plants and herbology just to get the mana to develop properly. And mana has different types as well, so all of this will change depending on the source of mana in question.¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes were spinning at this point.
¡°That, um, uhhhh...I¡¯m sorry, that¡¯s a bit much. I don¡¯t really understand, I think?¡±
Juosiutik caught herself.
¡°Oh, um, sorry. Maybe a practical demonstration might help? You have more of those herbs Metsaitti¡¯s group brought back from here, right?¡±
Belissar nodded and Juosiutik smiled.
¡°Could you bring some, then? I could make a potion and explain what I¡¯m doing and maybe that would help? Oh, um, since we¡¯ll be using both yours and my materials, would it be alright if we split the potions?¡±
Belissar nodded at that.
¡°Ok, I¡¯ll go get some, then.¡±
And with that, he made a trip to the healing herb patch by the Flower Meadow hives. There was a closer patch but that was for Metsaitti¡¯s group to gather from so Belissar figured he¡¯d leave that one to them. Assuming his bees didn¡¯t need the flowers he was about to gather.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
But they did not. The healing herb patch had more flowers than the glowing ones he could harvest, so grabbing those did not prevent the bees from continuing their gathering. Belissar was able to get what he needed without issue.
When he returned, Juosiutik had set up a mat on the ground. On top of it, she laid out a knife, a pestle and mortar made of stone, a water pouch, a small pot, and a radish of some sort. He walked over to her and handed over the herbs. Juosiutik nodded as she put on some leather gloves.
¡°Thanks. Why don¡¯t you have a seat? I¡¯ll get started, then.¡±
Belissar nodded and sat in front of her. Juosiutik placed the herbs down and then grabbed the radish. It was bright red with a bit of orange.
¡°I¡¯m going to stay pretty basic, this time. Just the herbs you brought, and a fire radish.¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°Fire radish?¡±
Juosiutik nodded.
¡°A radish with a bunch of Fire mana inside of it. They¡¯re normally pretty rare, but the chief can sense sources of Fire mana so we have a surprising amount of them. They¡¯ll catch fire if you pass a bit of mana into them, we use them to start fires and stuff. I¡¯m going to use it here for both heat and mana. The heat will be for boiling, while the Fire mana will adjust the effects of the herbs and imbue the potion.¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin.
¡°I...see?¡±
Juosiutik shrugged.
¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t get it now, you¡¯ll see as I process it.¡±
She began to shave off a bit of the root.
¡°Too much Fire mana will overwhelm the herbs¡¯ healing properties...or will just burn off all the water and set the mix on fire.¡±
Belissar gulped.
¡°Um, how do you know how much is too much?¡±
Juosiutik gave him a serious look.
¡°Practice.¡±
Belissar started at that.
¡°But...wouldn¡¯t you get burned?¡±
Juosiutik¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t waver.
¡°Yes.¡±
Belissar gulped again as Juosiutik¡¯s expression softened.
¡°Well, for this you can just learn it from me, so pay attention to how much I use. It¡¯s just we lost...our last potion-maker before I could learn everything I needed to, so I¡¯ve had to figure a lot of things out myself.¡±
Belissar let out a sigh of relief at that. He would much prefer to be informed what would catch fire before it actually did. Then he thought a moment longer and caught the rest of what Juosiutik said.
Losing people and having to figure things out for yourself was something that sounded familiar to him.
¡°Um, sorry for your loss. Do you, um, want to talk about it?¡±
Juosiutik shook her head and she immediately moved to grab the healing herbs and the mortar and pestle.
¡°No.¡±
Belissar nodded and said no more as Juosiutik put the herbs into the mortar. He caught little flashes of mana as she started to grind them up.
¡°Dumping mana directly into the ingredient while grinding is about the simplest way to go about it, but in this case it will work. These herbs you grow are very receptive to mana, and from what I¡¯ve seen so far the mana easily resonates with their healing properties. They¡¯re very easy to work with. Normally, you need to be bit more careful about how you do this. In this case, though, I can just imbue them directly. I¡¯m mashing them up in the process to help with the next stage.¡±
Belissar smiled slightly at that. He already knew his Tower could do amazing things, and the more he learned the more incredible its feats became. Apparently, that also extended to potion-making. Once Juosiutik was finished mashing, she filled the pot with some water and poured the mash in, followed by the fire radish shavings.
¡°Normally, I¡¯d have to be more careful about this. I¡¯d have to add the fire radish first and watch for a precise moment in the boiling process to add the other ingredients to ensure they aren¡¯t exposed to the fire mana for either too long or too short, and that the temperature doesn¡¯t end up affecting the mundane properties either. But...¡±
She furrowed her brow at the mixture.
¡°These herbs are not fair. Their healing properties don¡¯t go away even if I boil them from the start. I''ve boiled them down to nothing and they still worked. And as long as there¡¯s not so much Fire mana that they get entirely overwhelmed, I can expose them to it as long as I like without them losing the healing effect either.¡±
The water began to bubble even without further input. Juosiutik motioned as Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°As you can see, even the mana I imbued into the herbs is enough to activate the fire radish. Which is, again, why I¡¯d normally have to be really careful about when, how, and in what order I added all this. But you can at least see that the mana in one ingredient can clearly impact the mana in the other, and if you¡¯re using ingredients that are harder to work with, you have to pay attention to that sort of thing.¡±
Belissar nodded as he stared at the pot. Juosiutik mixed it a bit until the liquid began to turn greenish-blue. She then took out a small, empty water pouch and a cloth. She stuffed a the cloth a bit into the water pouch¡¯s opening and then held it to Belissar
¡°Could you hold this open for me? Make sure to keep the cloth over the entrance¡±
Belissar nodded and did as she said. She then grabbed the pot and carefully poured it into the water pouch. The cloth caught the debris from the herbs and the fire radish. Once she was done she put down the pot, took the pouch from Belissar and tied it shut.
¡°Let it sit for about a hour and there you have it. A functional healing potion, a minor one at least. The fire mana can cause or exacerbate fevers so it can be helpful for some light illnesses, but should be avoided if the patient already has a fever.¡±
Belissar nodded in a daze. They...made a potion? One of those magical elixirs? Just like that?
Well, maybe not just like that. There was a lot of information involved and doing it wrong could potentially set things on fire. Apparently, the Tower Lords hadn¡¯t lied entirely about that part. But still, the process was far more...normal than Belissar had anticipated. He even thought he might be able to do something like that himself...assuming he knew what not to do to avoid setting it on fire.
And speaking of which, Juosiutik nodded at him.
¡°How about you give it a try?¡±
Chapter 60 - ...Please Bee Careful
Belissar nodded. Honestly, the process didn¡¯t seem that different from mead-making besides the mana and the burning roots. Under Juosiutik¡¯s watch, he started mashing up some healing herbs and pouring his mana into it.
¡°Um, is it supposed to be glowing?¡±
Juosiutik frowned.
¡°No, let me see.¡±
She picked up the bowl. The herbs were glowing...or rather, glistening in the sunlight. If she looked closely, she could see a viscous, golden liquid leaking out of them. She narrowed her eyes.
¡°Why exactly did you put honey into the mix?¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Huh?¡±
Juosiutik shoved the bowl in front of his face.
¡°You heard me, honey got into the bowl somehow and I definitely didn¡¯t put it there. Don¡¯t you remember what I said about this being a careful process? Adding random ingredients is a recipe for disaster!¡±
Belissar held up his head and shook his head.
¡°I-I didn¡¯t, I swear!¡±
Juosiutik was about to object again when she heard buzzing. A group of soldier bees flew down in between the two, while the rest began forming an encirclement around her. Belissar quickly began waving.
¡°Ah, no! It¡¯s all right, she wasn¡¯t going to hurt me...¡±
Belissar suddenly narrowed his eyes and glanced at her.
¡°You, um, weren¡¯t going to hurt me, right?¡±
Juosiutik shook her head with all her might. Belissar turned back to the bees and nodded.
¡°Ok then, yep, it¡¯s alright.¡±
The soldier bees swayed a bit in the air but slowly backed off again. Belissar rubbed the back of his head.
¡°Sorry about that.¡±
Juosiutik shook her head.
¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. I know I get a bit...passionate about this stuff. There¡¯s, um, a lot of people in the tribe who don¡¯t get why I make a big fuss about ¡®minor¡¯ details in the process so I may have overreacted.¡±
She took a deep breath.
¡°Still, it is an issue to add a new ingredient without warning. If you know how the honey got there, could you tell me?¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin, then suddenly smacked the bottom of his fist into his palm.
¡°I think I got it. Um, this is what happens when I move my mana outside of my body...¡±
Belissar held out his hand and willed his mana to leave. It once again formed into a honeycomb pattern made of light and then converted into honey. Juosiutik¡¯s eyes went as wide as they could go.
¡°You...can make honey? Mana honey, even?¡±
Belissar slowly nodded. Juosiutik stared at him for moment before she suddenly began mashing the herbs in the bowl as hard as she could.
¡°That¡¯s amazing! You have an endless source of an ingredient that I believe has incredible potential! Honey already has incredible medicinal and preservation properties, so what would happen if we imbued it with mana and then mixed it with other ingredients? I think this could become a revolution in potion making! At the very least, it should dramatically increase the life-span of a given potion, and I believe it has to improve the medicinal effectiveness as well! Look, even now the mixture is soaking up my mana like a sponge! I don¡¯t know for sure but I believe the mana in the honey and the herbs are resonating with each other. Now, let¡¯s see what kind of potion awaits!¡±
Belissar was left glancing about as Juosiutik sprung into motion, barely able to keep up as she spoke as fast as she could. The knife flashed as she quickly shaved a bit of fire radish. She barely avoided spilling the water as she dumped it into the pot. She had barely dropped the fire radish in when she poured the mixture.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The pot immediately burst into a column of fire.
Juosiutik¡¯s smile slowly faded and her eyes started to grow wide.
¡°Um, oops?¡±
Chief Rohsuak watched as her people cleared a bit of the forest around their camp. They cleared the branches and stripped the bark off the trees before carrying the processed log in front of her. She smiled and laid her hand upon it.
She channeled just a bit of her mana and the log began to heat up. Steam began to rise from the top and bottom as the water burned off in response to her Fire mana.
This was the technique that allowed her people to continue woodworking and fueling fires as they traveled underground. Chief Rohsuak could dry wood even in a damp cave with no sunlight, using roots instead of branches or trunks. Though, the process was not an easy one. Too little mana and the process would take too long, risking burning the wood from long exposure to the Fire attribute. Too much and the whole thing would burst into flames. And the amount necessary was different for each piece of wood, as each had different properties and carried different amounts of water. There was a person or two who could produce Fire mana in the tribe besides her, but she was the only one with the Blessing of Fire as well as the experience needed to fine tune her mana with the requisite precision. She had tried to teach the others but It was very slow going without the Blessing of Fire, maybe even impossible. At the very least, it would be years if not decades before any of them reached that level.
It had been a legitimate concern. Chief Rohsuak wasn¡¯t the youngest, so the tribe should not depend on things only she could do for their survival. But, fortunately, they had found their home before then. They could dry wood for fire-making and wood-working the normal way now, her method had dropped from crucial to merely convenient.
So, Chief Rohsuak used her abilities for the first round of lumber, giving her people immediate access to dry wood. With that, they could begin building homes for the first time since before she became chief. Once the basics were set up, she could take a step back and wean them off of her powers.
And, perhaps more importantly, they could now trade construction-ready wood to any other parties who may require such materials. She started to grin at that thought before shaking her head. This process had been a joint effort by her people, therefore the rewards of this trade must be for the community. And since she already had some honey of her own, she definitely could not justify taking any from the community¡¯s share.
She figured she better start rationing her personal store...
Juosiutik was staring at the ground.
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Belissar waved his hands about.
¡°No, um, it¡¯s...not really ok but, um, no one got hurt so no harm done?¡±
Juosiutik didn¡¯t move.
¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°It¡¯s, um, fine...since nothing else caught fire this time, at least...¡±
Juosiutik still didn¡¯t budge.
¡°The chief keeps telling me I need to calm down. But I never learn. I absolutely should have expected that mana honey would resonate with fire radish. That should have been obvious. But no. I went and acted stupid. After lecturing you on the complexities and dangers of potion-making.¡±
Belissar heaved a sigh and shook his head. But, well, this seemed to be a thing for the girl and he didn¡¯t know what else to say to her, so he figured he¡¯d just let her recover on her own.
There had been a big commotion when the fire broke out, but fortunately it was contained within the pot. Still, if the flowers started catching fire the whole Flower Meadow may have burned quickly, so it was quite concerning. Belissar...may not have been so understanding if the Flower Meadow hives were threatened by such a mistake. And speaking of the bees, he again had to reassure them that Juosiutik was not intending to harm him...after which they began looking for shades, having associated him lighting fires with incoming purifications.
It got Belissar thinking. Fire had been his ally for now, but would that always be the case? A brush fire could race across an open field like the Flower Meadow with surprising speed, so even a small fire could quickly burn the whole thing down. In that regard, Belissar had been a bit careless with his fire pit plans and it had been extremely fortunate he had never tripped while carrying a torch.
It would be a good idea to think about digging a fire ditch or something, at least around the hives, the Memorial, and the Shrine of Bees. He or the bees might drop a torch, the bear people might do something with fire accidentally...or otherwise, or a shade might show up with black flames or something like that. It was a vulnerability he should prepare for...particularly since his Tower lacked water sources at the moment.
But all that thought also brought something else to mind. Belissar turned to Juosiutik.
¡°Hey, you wouldn¡¯t happen to have extras of that fire radish, would you?¡±
Juosiutik stopped mumbling to herself for a moment.
¡°Huh? Um, well, yes, but they¡¯re kind of important. It¡¯s hard to start fires underground, you know?¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°But, um, aren¡¯t you moving into the purified area? So, you aren¡¯t living underground anymore?¡±
Juosiutik looked at him for a moment before tilting her own head.
¡°That¡¯s, um, right?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°In that case, I''d like to trade for some.¡±
Juosiutik crossed her arms and nodded.
¡°Well...I¡¯d need to check with the chief but...what did you have in mind?¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin.
¡°How about a tray of mana honey...wait where are you going?!¡±
Juosiutik ran from the Tower immediately, calling for the chief. Belissar shook his head. Well, it would be a good thing to get it done as soon as possible. If he had access to these fire radishes that would apparently burst into violent flames on contact with mana honey, then he wouldn¡¯t need to start fires at all. He could just drop a few shavings into a pit trap and watch them light up. That would minimize the risk of accidentally burning the Flower Meadow down until he could get some safety measures in place.
There was just one problem.
Belissar crossed his arms as he looked at the pot and other materials still spread out.
¡°Um, should I just watch this stuff until she gets back?¡±
POBee 60.1 - Bee and Thunder
The wounded soldier stood at the entrance to the Memorial Beehouse. She danced a salute as a squad of workers from her queen arrived, carrying with them precious honey. The wounded soldier then danced directions and the workers dispersed. Other wounded soldiers stood at various points around the Memorial. Some crawled on or around the Beehouse, ensuring it was clear of debris and rot. Others kept watch on top of the pillars. The wounded soldier kept track of them and directed the workers to her injured comrades, ensuring each of them ate their fill before she, too, partook in the gift from her queen. Some of them had been reticent to use their hive¡¯s resources as soldiers who could no longer fly with the army, as she had once been. So, she had simply refused to eat until they did. They were still reluctant but, given the King¡¯s interest in her and her contributions to the latest battle, none of them were willing to threaten her health by sacrificing their own. They had all settled into an uneasy compromise, where they allowed the workers to instruct them how much they would eat.
The workers fed them more than any of them were comfortable with, but that was the price they paid for arguing.
And now, with that task dealt with, the wounded soldier turned to her own personal quest. When she had first received a pair of lightning wings in place of her missing half, she had been ecstatic. She danced and she danced as she thought that now, finally, she could return to her comrades in the skies. She could once again join the fight to defend the hive from the very start, not only in desperate final stands.
Unfortunately, reality was not so kind.
The lightning may have taken the shape of wings, but it did not perform their function. She could move them like her old wings but they did not move the air around her. They did not generate lift and they could not bear her weight. She was still trapped on the ground.
Her disappointment had been immeasurable.
But she was a bee and it would take more than a bit of crushing despair to keep her from whatever work she could perform. She continued to experiment with the lightning wings and the lightning itself, which continued to flow through her body. And soon, she came up with another idea. Something else she could do with these wings that might allow her to further contribute to the hive.
She recalled what the King had done to save her life, how he had moved the mana beyond his body. As a monster bee, she already had an instinctual ability to manipulate her mana. She could concentrate it in her wings for a burst of speed, in her chitin for improved resilience, or most commonly in her stinger for greater damage. But all of these uses had ultimately been within her own body, she had never manipulated the mana outside of herself as the King had.
Until now, that was. Now, her mana was automatically flowing outside of her body in a way. It was generating the lightning that now took the place of her missing wings. Now, that mana had not truly left her body in a sense. It was trying to take the place of a missing part, it remained connected to the flows of mana within the rest of her body and it acted, for all intents and purposes, as if it were within the missing part. And yet...it was, in fact, outside of her body, yet still under her control.
She thought that maybe, just maybe, she might be able to do something with that. She would never presume that she might match the wisdom and power of the King, but to follow his example was only natural. She remembered, very viscerally, what the enemy had done with the power of lightning. If she could replicate even a small fraction of that with the lightning coursing through her, then perhaps she would not need to fly to rejoin the fight.
She tried once again to take control of the lightning. The lightning in the wing resisted her, holding to its shape even more strongly than the mana in the rest of her body so she tried with the lightning inside her body instead. Like with her mana before her injury, she had some ability to move and concentrate it on different parts. And yet, it largely refused to leave her body. She could eject it through her stinger, but that simply infused her venom with the mana. It was not the external manipulation the King had displayed.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
But with the other wounded soldiers now helping her maintain the Memorial, she now had time aplenty. So she tried. And she tried. She tried and tried again and again. She tried all sorts of different ways to manipulate the mana and the lightning. She could already move the lightning wing as easily as her original wing so she knew there HAD to be a way to do this!
And eventually, her persistence paid off.
She thought back to when she had to take control of the shade¡¯s lightning in her body and used that as a basis. She rubbed her legs and wings and hairs together to generate tiny lightnings, and then reached out with her mana and her lightning wings to try and exert some control over them. She found with the lightning wings it was far, far easier to generate them than before, she could even do just by adjusting the amount of mana flowing through the wings. Soon, she was able to make tiny lightnings appear and dance between her normal wings and her lightning wings at will.
But this was still just the normal movement of the lightnings, so she went further. She tried to pass mana into the generated lightnings and retain control of them. This ended up being fairly easy to do, as she could have her mana hitch a ride with the lightnings. With the lightning wings she already had a circuit of mana and lightnings flowing through her body, and eventually she was able to join the mana leaving one wing to the other. She successfully formed a new flow of her body¡¯s mana that, if briefly, moved outside of her.
And then came the hard part. She tried to actually adjust this flow consciously. As of now, it was just another automatic flow, a part of her body that was not part of her body. If she wanted to do anything more than light up a dark room with it, she needed it to do more. And today, she made another attempt to do just that.
She could redirect the mana when it first left her body but that simply caused it to sputter out in another direction, unable to complete the path. So, she tried another angle. She tried manipulating the lightning wings while the flow was in process. She slowly moved the crackling wings, also adjusting the mana within them. And the flow of mana and lightning between her wings stretched out, ever so slightly changing its path to reach its new destination.
She repeated the process, paying extra attention to the movement of her mana as it traveled along the adjusted path. Then she repeated it again, and again, and again. Finally, she gave it a try herself. She returned her lightning wings and the mana flowing through them to their original position, but tried to make the mana flow along the adjusted path herself.
She tried...and failed. So, she tried again, and failed again. Over and over she tried. Over and over she failed. But she kept at it. And if there was one thing she had too much of these days, it was time.
So, eventually, she succeeded. The flow of mana elongated and curved ever so slightly. She had manipulated a flow of mana outside of her body.
She couldn¡¯t believe it at first so she tried again...and succeeded again. She did it a third time. And then a fourth. She started to push a bit, make the curve a bit more apparent so she could be really sure she was actually changing it. And it moved according to her will.
She paused for a moment, and then burst out dancing, drawing the attention of the other wounded soldiers around her.
She had done it. She had taken a step. A tiny step, to be sure, but a step. She knew now that it was possible. That if she kept at it, she could actually succeed at this. She could actually do something with this lightning.
She could be of greater use to the hive than she presently was. She could justify at least some of the attention the King had lavished upon her.
Perhaps, one day, she could even rejoin the fight.
She doubled her efforts. Now that she had determined a way to manipulate the mana, her progress accelerated. She pushed to see how far she could elongate and curve the flow, moving it a bit further with each attempt. Soon, she made it complete a full loop before flowing back into her wings. And that meant...she could begin forming shapes with it, like the King had.
It would take time, but she had plenty of that and would spare none of it. For now, rejoining her sisters in battle was no longer just a dream. And her wounded comrades around her watched her with great interest...
Chapter 61 - A Fier-Bee Trade!
An embarrassed Juosiutik returned a bit later, shuffling into the Tower as she realized she had left Belissar and all of her gear behind without a word. But she also returned with a small clay pot with a bunch of fire radishes.
¡°Um, hi. S-Sorry about that, I, um, got a bit excited. I-I got permission from the chief, though! I can trade this for some of the honey!¡±
Belissar smiled and was about to agree when he had a thought and tilted his head.
¡°Wait, I thought Chief Rohsuak said you didn¡¯t have anything worth trading for my stuff?¡±
Juosiutik nodded.
¡°She mentioned that and, well, she¡¯s right. Fire radishes are useful for starting fires and a bit of potion making, but that¡¯s pretty much it. You, um, definitely can¡¯t eat them and now that we have access to firewood we won¡¯t need them as much. Mana flowers are way more useful and can do all sorts of things in the right hands. And mana honey...well I¡¯ve never dealt with it before but if you can eat it safely that alone would make it incredible. It¡¯s practically a potion on its own, and who knows what we might be able to do with it. But, um, if you¡¯re ok with it and really want the fire radishes, maybe it¡¯s ok? If you want, you could count it as part of the payment for the teaching?¡±
Belissar blinked, and then started to rub his chin. This was...weird. He¡¯d always had people telling him how crappy his stuff was and how it was barely worth what they were giving him in exchange. He still wasn''t used to people telling him his stuff was too valuable, so he didn¡¯t really know how to address the situation. Eventually he shrugged.
Well, they weren¡¯t going to deceive him by telling him his stuff was too valuable, right? Besides, he already knew the fire radishes would be useful and he had mana honey trays galore thanks to the Apiary, so as far as he was concerned it was a valuable trade. Heck, he still had another room slot so he could always add a second Apiary if he felt he needed more.
So, he nodded his head.
¡°Um, as long as there¡¯s at least five or more, I¡¯m fine with that. Is one honey tray enough?¡±
Juosiutik nearly leapt at him.
¡°YES!¡±
Belissar took a step back.
¡°Um, right, well, I¡¯ll go get that, then.¡±
Juosiutik nodded as fast as she could.
¡°I¡¯ll be waiting!¡±
Belissar went back to his stockpile in the Apiary and came back to make the exchange. Juosiutik nearly ran out of the Tower again before Belissar reminded her of her stuff on the ground. She, with a flushed face, rushed to pack it all back up before running out again. Belissar shrugged.
¡°Guess the lesson¡¯s over for today?¡±
Instead, he looked inside the pot, where a dozen fire radishes rested. He picked one up and smiled.
Absorb Flame Radish Root? Samples 0/10
He frowned a bit. The message had appeared as he had hoped, though the sample number was twice as big as he thought. But he shrugged.
¡°Thank goodness she gave me a dozen...¡±
He went ahead and absorbed the necessary number.
Flame Radish Root absorbed.
Sufficient samples gathered. Flame Radish now available.
Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary*. (*=Resource Node only)
Belissar blinked and then began to smile. He had been steeling himself for the fire radish...or flame radish, apparently, to not be available in any of his rooms like all those cave plants. It was something the bear people found underground, right, so surely it would have needed a similar environment. At the very least, he didn¡¯t think something fire related would go with flowers or fruit trees.
But apparently it did. He guessed the rest of the flame radish must grow above ground and make flowers? He shrugged again.
¡°Guess we¡¯ll find out!¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Not only were the fire roots useful in and of themselves, but if they had flowers too...then that meant his bees could gather from them as well! All in all, he didn¡¯t really know what Chief Rohsuak was talking about. In his opinion, this was an excellent trade!
But first, he figured he should carefully store the pot with the remaining two fire radishes somewhere nice, safe, non-flammable, and far away from any mana honey...
Belissar ended up putting the pot in the Apiary campfire pit. It was surrounded by dirt and far from any hives, so it was the safest place for something that could combust. He figured, as well, that he wouldn¡¯t need to start fires there specifically, both due to having flame radishes now as well as the fact that the Apiary was now far away from where the fires would be needed.
And just in time, as the cooldown on the minor purification was just coming to an end. Belissar had informed the bees of the fast cooldown yesterday and the soldier bee army was already getting ready. Belissar considered using the flame radishes now. He grabbed his knife and took out one the remaining radishes, cutting off a small piece. He then walked to the nearest fire pit that was set up with honey and kindling and tossed the piece inside...and ran away the moment he did.
But, contrary to his expectations, there was not a gigantic spout of flame from the pit, just a bit of smoke that gradually increased. He started creeping towards it before remembering his Tower sight and took a look from a safe distance.
The flame radish piece had caught fire and was lighting the rest of the pit¡¯s fuel, but not as dramatically as Juosiutik¡¯s pot. Belissar rubbed his chin at that.
Maybe it was because the honey in the potion had come directly from his mana? Or maybe it was the age of the mana honey, this pit had been set up a while ago. Did mana honey lose its mana overtime? That...was actually something he should figure out.
In any case, he had confirmed the flame radish would light the pits about as well as a torch, though not as dramatically as he had expected. He considered trying it out sometime...but he wasn¡¯t sure if it was safest for the bees to carry. It seemed safe enough for him to handle, but maybe he should make some sort of bag for them to carry it instead? That would take time though. He shrugged and figured he would use the regular method today, and experiment when he had more time.
There had already been one accidental fire today, after all, and he had recently become aware of just how flammable his Tower might be...
The First of the Second lined up her forces, utilizing the same formation as the Firstborn had the day before. She was swaying in the air, moving this way and that. One part of the reserve formation seemed a little low, so she ordered them to gain altitude. Another part was too far forward, so she pulled them back. But then they flew too far back and she had to send them forward again. She spent the next half hour making constant minor adjustments to the formation.
She couldn¡¯t help it. This was her first time facing a foe directly and she had not been confident in taking command in the first place. And now, there was no more time to prepare.
The enemy had arrived.
She trembled in the air. The enemy appeared far larger and more vicious than she remembered. But she gave the command. She knew that her army and the armies of her fellow queens had dealt with such foes before, and with ease. It was only she who was unprepared for this.
Despite her misgivings, her soldiers immediately leapt into action, executing her plan. A squad of her bees dove down and stung the shade, catching its attention, and then slowly flew away from it. It chased after them and then fell right into the first pit trap.
She had kept things simple and proceeded with one of the older plans. She did not feel ready to command the battle directly as the Firstborn had. Her hive, and all the hives of the Flower Meadow, had taken casualties recently. They had recovered, but it had taken a notable expenditure of their honey reserves to do so, and the First of the Second had thought they were supposed to be stockpiling for a new generation of queens. As such, she felt that casualties today would be unacceptable, and so she would not risk them on experimental commands unless she was fully confident in success. And, due to her own unpreparedness, she was not.
Fortunately, though, the plans of the King were proven and effective. The shade was trapped in the pit. She gave the command to the soldier bees from the Apiary that were carrying one of the King¡¯s fire sticks and they made the run. Their aim was true and the pit went up in flames, taking the shade with it.
The queen nearly fell from the sky in relief as she realized the battle was one, and her day of command was finally over.
Relief that had now faded, as she slowly flew towards her hive. The celebrations had been...nice. She would admit she enjoyed the praise of the Firstborn as she was extolled for her innovations in command. But now came the consequences of the day. Now, she had to see what had become of her hive in her absence. She steeled herself and stepped inside.
She found her workers gathered into sections, with a single worker at the head of each. The single workers motioned and then the whole hive saluted as one. She nearly took a step back.
The workers then began to report. The efficiency drop had not been nearly as bad as she feared, and this had been due to the aid of the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers. They had explained to her hive a system by which the workers could carry on their duties in their queen¡¯s absence with minimal loss in efficiency...one that closely resembled the system she herself had implemented for the army. It was quite simple, in retrospect. Simply tasking a few of the workers with identifying inefficiencies and keeping things running would result in only the loss of those worker¡¯s efforts, instead of wider issues that would impact the hive as a whole.
Her workers then stood still before her, their antenna drooping as they awaited her verdict. And she danced...her approval. In fact, she could not be more proud of them. They had done for her hive what she had done for the army, and done so without the need for her to instruct it. They had kept the hive running and avoided what she feared. They had done what she would have wanted them to, all on their own.
The workers began to dance happily...and the First of the Second could not help but join them. She had feared today would be a day of disaster...but thanks to both her efforts and those of her workers, it had become a day of triumph.
Chapter 62 - Apolo-Bees
The next day Chief Rohsuak arrived with a large group of the bear folk, including Juosiutik. The young potion-maker was standing next to the chief and staring at the ground with a frown on her face. Belissar wasn¡¯t paying attention to that though, but rather to the other bear folk carrying stacks of lumber.
¡°What...is this?¡±
Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile.
¡°Dry wood for construction, as you requested, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened and he motioned towards the wood. Chief Rohsuak nodded and he walked over to the nearest plank. He touched it with his hand.
It was completely dry.
¡°How is this possible?¡±
Chief Rohsuak smirked slightly and raised a finger. A small lick of fire appeared on top of it.
¡°A god¡¯s blessing has many uses.¡±
Belissar just nodded blankly. Chief Rohsuak then motioned.
¡°Do you have somewhere you want us to put this?¡±
Belissar started a bit and then started rubbing his chin. At first he was going to say anywhere was fine¡but then he thought of carrying all that wood across the room by himself. And, well, she was asking him where to put it.
¡°Oh, um, further in, by the end of this room, if it¡¯s not too much trouble, please.¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s expression turned serious.
¡°In that case, could we request your assistance with the shades? We will be vulnerable while carrying the wood.¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Oh, um, that makes sense. Hang on a second.¡±
He turned to Niobee flying behind him and the soldier bees watching over him.
¡°Could you gather the others and ask them if they can help guard the bear people?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
He turned back to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Ok, they¡¯re on their way.¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled at him.
¡°Thank you. Now, since we have some time.¡±
She motioned to Juosiutik, who flinched and then took a step forward.
¡°Um, I¡¯m sorry, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Um, what for?¡±
Juosiutik¡¯s face scrunched up.
¡°For, um, almost setting you and your Den on fire¡and, um, being a bit rude¡and, um, getting a bit excited and running off¡twice¡¡±
Belissar felt¡itchy, for lack of a better word. She was¡apologizing to him? He had no idea how to respond to that, he hadn¡¯t heard an apology since¡
¡°I¡¯m¡sorry, Belissar. Please¡live on¡be happy¡¡±
¡a long time. He shook his head and tried to calm his beating heart, glancing away from the bear people.
¡°It¡¯s, um, fine. Just¡be careful with the fire, please.¡±
Juosiutik nodded slowly.
¡°Um¡do you want to continue the lessons? I, um, understand if not. I¡¯ll, uh¡¡±
The words caught on her throat but Chief Rohsuak put a firm hand on her shoulder. Juosiutik sighed and continued, her face twisting in anguish.
¡°I¡¯ll¡return¡the honey¡if so.¡±
Belissar shook his head, just wanting this conversation to be over already.
¡°It¡¯s fine. I still want to learn about potions.¡±
Juosiutik¡¯s eyes widened and then she broke out into a bright smile. Chief Rohsuak shook her head and chuckled. And then, fortunately, the full soldier bee army arrived, with Niobee leading one of the Flower Meadow queens to Belissar. Belissar quickly turned to them and smiled as the queen danced a salute to him. Right on time!Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
¡°We¡¯ll need to protect them from the remnants¡um, little shades that will appear around them. Can you do that?¡±
The queen and the soldiers saluted as one and then began assembling around the bear people. The bear people eyed them warily but Chief Rohsuak just waved them off. Soon, the group set off.
Another mini-shade appeared¡and was immediately set upon by a dozen soldier bees. It barely had time to cry out in pain when the soldier bees retreated and another dozen took their place, plunging their stingers deep into the shade. With the second wave the shade fell to the ground and burst into mist.
The lumber carriers slowed down as they stared at the spectacle. The hunters guarding them were gaping with their jaws dropped. Even Juosiutik couldn¡¯t tear her eyes from it.
Chief Rohsuak glanced at Metsaitti. They both smirked and shook their heads. If their people were impressed by this much, then it truly had been too long since they had challenged a Sacred Den.
Their period of sojourn had been no pleasant journey, and everyone in her tribe had seen their share of hardship. But in many ways, they were still like cubs. They had been so focused on their own experiences that they were surprised by anything different. Like the Sacred Den Master.
Chief Rohsuak nodded to herself. This experience was good for her people. She knew that the Den Master did not present the most imposing figure, and that many of her people had been deceived by his timid demeanor. He simply did not act with the same confidence most of them possessed on account of the dangers they had faced and overcome, which led them to assume he had not experienced anything like they had...or that he lacked the capabilities they did. But regardless of how timid or harmless he seemed, he was still a Sacred Den Master.
So, it was quite a shock for them to watch him command the soldier bee army. The bees were an impressive sight even just hovering around, but that was nothing compared to watching them in action. The soldier bees were gigantic for bees, but they were ultimately still small, and Chief Rohsuak figured most of her people probably didn¡¯t think much of them individually. That was no longer the case. They attacked instantly and without fear or hesitation, they flew at surprising speeds the less experienced among the group had trouble keeping track of, and their stingers stabbed as deep as any spear tip. They tore apart shades in mere seconds. Shades that the hunters trained by Metsaitti had to approach with caution. And the bees were barely using a fraction of their numbers. No doubt everyone here could do the math of how many bees were flying overhead versus how many hunters they had to protect themselves¡
Chief Rohsuak imagined that everyone here would now understand the need to treat the Sacred Den Master with respect.
Which was why she insisted that Juosiutik apologize and offer to return the honey she had received. She knew Juosiutik got carried away when it came to potion-making, but even she was aghast when she heard how the first lesson had gone. The Sacred Den Master was not another arrogant young hunter who didn¡¯t take Juosiutik¡¯s instructions seriously. So, to hear what sort of tone Juosiutik had initially taken with him had been a shock for the chief. And then to hear that she had gone and set another potion mix on fire right in the Sacred Den¡and then that she had run off and left him behind¡
She put her hand on Juosiutik¡¯s shoulder and whispered into her ear.
¡°Understand, now?¡±
Juosiutik slowly nodded and paled slightly as she watched another shade vanish under a swarm of black and yellow. Chief Rohsuak nodded in approval. The good news was that they had confirmed the Sacred Den Master to be of generally good-nature, as he was not at all angry. In fact, he seemed entirely confused that there was any reason for him to be angry at all. But that didn¡¯t mean Chief Rohsuak could let up on Juosiutik, or any of her tribe. The last thing she wanted was for them to get overly comfortable, and then to cross a line they didn¡¯t realize the Sacred Den Master had. Even this timid and cooperative Sacred Den Master could bring ruin upon them if he so chose and nobody save Chief Rohsuak herself had a chance of stopping it.
Chief Rohsuak watched the bees more closely. She watched as they moved not as individuals, but in small groups. How they each moved in coordination, staying out of each other¡¯s way as they rotated in and out of the fight. How the big bee at the center of the swarm would dance and then the entire force would shift immediately.
¡to be honest, she was not certain she would be able to face this swarm alone, not even with her mighty blessing. Maybe if she was in her prime, but at this point she wasn¡¯t getting any younger. As of now¡she had the power to destroy a swarm if it came at her all at once¡but these bees seemed smarter than that. Intelligent, organized even. If they spread out and coordinated to come at her a few at a time¡well her endurance wasn¡¯t what it used to be.
She simply thanked the gods they had found a forgiving and non-aggressive Sacred Den Master, and resolved to keep her people as respectful as his power deserved.
But, the surprise wasn¡¯t over. Gasps rang out among the group as they neared the wall of trees at the end of the room. There was a second shrine identical to the one by the entrance. Next to the shrine was some sort of monument, with engraved pillars surrounding a beehouse. But that was not what her people were focusing on.
No, they were exclaiming at the row of hives and the countless bees streaming to and from them. As well as the patches of flowers they were flying to. Juosiutik cried out.
¡°Chief! That¡¯s¡that¡¯s¡¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°Mana flowers.¡±
It was not just the one or two flowers Metsaitti¡¯s group had encountered. It was an entire patch of them, their joint glow apparent even in the light of the sun. And they were absolutely surrounded by bees, with long lines of workers extending out from each flower, each waiting their turn.
Juosiutik was twitching and kept glancing between the flowers and the soldier bees above, smiling and frowning in turn. Chief Rohsuak chuckled. This trip was proving more and more useful. Her people could now see both the honey and the sting this Sacred Den possessed.
¡°Um, if you could just leave the wood over there, that would be good.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded and instructed her people as the Den Master asked. He then turned to her and Juosiutik.
¡°Um, maybe you could give me some time before the next lessons? I want to get started on this¡and, um, maybe also prepare a safe spot for the lessons.¡±
Juosiutik jumped and quickly began nodding.
¡°Yes! Whatever you want!¡±
The Den Master looked confused but ended up nodding.
¡°Um, thanks.¡±
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin and nodded to herself as she watched the exchange. She felt more and more that they had a unique opportunity with this Den Master here¡so long as they remembered to respect him. And after today, she hoped they would do just that.
Chapter 63 - A Hot and Bee-utiful New Flower!
Belissar had the bear folk put the wood near the Flower Meadow queens. He then went and got some trays of mana honey to give in exchange. Chief Rohsuak wanted to refuse but Belissar convinced her to take enough to share with the laborers. After that, he and the soldier bees escorted them back out of the Tower, and then he finally made his way to the end of the Flower Meadow where the wood pile now waited.
Well, it took a bit longer than Belissar hoped, but the bear people and their awkward conversations were finally gone. And that meant, he could get started on his projects! He had a nice stockpile of fully dry wood now, so he could make a higher quality home than he had first expected.
But first things came first, he wanted to dig a ditch around the hives, the Shrine of Bees, and the Memorial to ensure they wouldn¡¯t be at risk if the Flower Meadow ever caught on fire. He would also dig another, circular ditch nearby to create a safe place to plant some flame radishes. He didn¡¯t know if they would be as flammable as their roots were but he figured it would be best not to take the chance.
He then, of course, realized that he should have asked if the bear people had any shovels or digging tools. They came from an underground tunnel, so they had to, right? That would be a lot easier than trying to dig by hand, or with the knives, saw, and axe he had available¡
But at the same time, Belissar didn¡¯t want to go run off after them immediately after they had left. Plus¡he was just calming down from the first conversation.
Ultimately, Belissar decided he would leave that until tomorrow and see what he could do with what he had now. He also figured he should see if the Tower had anything he could use to help with the process.
And it turned out it did, now that he managed to remember it. He could clear small areas of the Flower Meadow and the Apiary of flowers, which was how he prepared the campfire sites in the first place. And if he thought about it, the flame radishes didn¡¯t specifically need a ditch in the ground, they just needed an area clear of anything flammable. So, Belissar went ahead and set a small area near the other Flower Meadow resource patches where flowers wouldn¡¯t go.
It was one thing to watch the Tower magically grow plants, but it disturbed Belissar slightly to watch them now disappear, receding back as if they were growing in reverse. But he shook his head and continued on with his task.
Available Resource Plants for Flower Meadow:
- Basic Healing Herbs (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Basic Poisonous Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Basic Textile Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)
- Flame Radish (Mana Upkeep: 10 per node)
Belissar paused at that. That was...quite expensive. The most expensive resource plant to date. The same price as a monster bee queen spawner after the Blessing of Bees discount. The full amount of extra mana he could gain from a minor purification. More expensive than the actual room.
But then he shrugged and selected it anyways. He had the extra mana to afford it, the flame roots would be useful, and new flowers could mean new honeys, new bees, or even new plants depending on if it worked with Cross-Pollination. He was curious as to why it was more expensive than the mana flower, given what Juosiutik told him about their relative value, but he didn¡¯t know enough to guess so he moved on.
A short, ground-level plant popped out of the ground. Four-petaled flowers grew out of it that transitioned from white at their center to bright red at the edges, with a yellowish-orange center. Belissar slowly and carefully approached the new plant. He could feel a slight amount of heat radiating off of it, just enough to warm the area slightly. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the plant, feeling the mana of the Tower flowing through it.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
But ultimately neither the new plants nor the area around it caught fire, even with the Tower¡¯s mana flowing all around it. It seemed like it would be fine...
Belissar took a deep breath and then turned to the bees that were starting to investigate.
¡°Um, be careful with this one. It might catch fire, especially if it touches mana honey or has mana pass through it. It, um, might also be dangerous to drink. Juosiutik said humans...or bear people can¡¯t eat it, I¡¯m not sure if that applies to bees too.¡±
The worker bees danced salutes and began to dance to pass his message to their newly arriving sisters. Some of them began to fly back to relay the message to their hives. Belissar took another deep breath.
Well, he didn¡¯t know how these plants would interact with his bees, but he figured they would know best. They could drink nectar from the poisonous flowers without any problem, so maybe it would be the same here? He couldn¡¯t help but worry, but he trusted the bees to know flowers better than he.
¡°Niobee will check!¡±
It turned out there was a bee particularly sensitive to his worries who flew straight towards the flower.
¡°Hey, wait...¡±
But Niobee moved faster than him and hovered over one of the flowers. She extended her probiscis and drank some nectar from it. Belissar frowned...but he remembered that Niobee could apparently return from death so if any bee was going to test the possibly flammable flowers she was the best. Even though Belissar absolutely did NOT want to see her get hurt.
And so he paced and sweated as Niobee drank. He gulped as she slowly flew back over.
¡°Well...are you ok?¡±
Niobee started dancing slowly.
¡°Nectar is hot...but ok! Not hurt!¡±
Belissar released his breath as the worker bees slowly began to approach the new flowers. He watched them as they, too, landed on the flowers and began to drink nectar. Each of them paused as they first tasted the nectar, but then they continued on with no apparently ill effect. When the first round of workers took off and flew back towards their hives, Belissar finally tore his eyes away and started to move. By all accounts, it seemed safe, and at this point was out of his hands. So, he decided to prepare another of these flowers for the Apiary as well...
The First of the Fifth could not help but dance as she heard the reports. The King had prepared an entirely new type of flower specifically for her and had even gone out of his way to advise her workers on its unique properties!
She knew now she was on the right path. The implementation of the King¡¯s new gathering method was going...slowly. Or more specifically, the implementation had occurred immediately, but had not produced any results as of yet. As she had predicted, the blending of different nectar sources was not improving the quality of the honey and was making quality control more difficult, she could not as of yet see an advantage of her prior methods.
Regardless, she would never question the wisdom of the King, so she had decided to be patient. The King himself had informed her of this method so there had to be a reason behind it. And the King was larger, grander, and more than any bee, so she knew it was possible he was looking at a timeframe beyond what she did.
Still, it was encouraging to receive such a boon from the King in the meantime, a clear sign that he was still pleased with her. It gave her confidence that she was not wrong in her implementation of his will, even if it had not produced results as of yet. It also gave confirmation that she was correct to choose this aspect to focus on and let her daughter handle the new room and its new plants.
Speaking of which, she wondered how her daughter was doing. Now that she thought of it, she had not checked in with her in a while. It had taken most of her focus preparing the surplus healing honey for the latest battle. She did still plan to check on her daughter but she heard the Fourth of the Seventh was assisting and so focused her efforts on her task. And now her daughter had moved away and they had not had contact. Since the Fourth of the Seventh was presumably still setting up her own hive after the move, her workers were not yet revisiting the Apiary, so all news outside of the Apiary was slow in coming these days.
But that was fine. The First of the Fifth assumed her daughter would alert her if there were any crises that needed to be addressed, so she assumed no news was good news. The Fourth of the Seventh would surely reestablish contact in time, and alert her if there was anything she needed to know. And beyond that...well, the First of the Fifth was not concerned with any of the bees further than the Fourth of the Seventh, those who had put the King himself in danger. It was only natural that they had been moved further from his abode, so the First of the Fifth would follow suit and have nothing to do with them.
So, no, there was nothing going on out there that she needed to concern herself with. She would wait patiently for the Fourth of the Seventh to inform her about her daughter¡¯s progress and focus on her task. She knew that the new gathering method would surely pay off in time, and now she had a new flower to focus on, new resources with which to propel herself further and further. Surely all was going her way...
POBee 63.1 - The Kings Rewards
The Daughter of the First of the Fifth laid the last egg her current mana would permit. She gave her workers some space to tend to the new egg. Now that she needed to wait for her mana to return, she took a moment to observe her hive. Or rather, their hive.
As the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers offered to assist her with building her hive in the first place, she had worked up her courage and proposed to build one joint hive. Since they were working together anyways, it didn¡¯t make sense to do the same job twice, she thought. And, on a more selfish note, she thought that if their hives were joined together she would have more opportunities to repay the Fourth of the Seventh for all she had done.
She recalled trembling as she had approached the Fourth of the Seventh with her unthinkable idea. What queen would share a hive with a bee other than her children? There were bees that did that¡the cuckoo bees. The evil scourges that refused to produce anything of value and stole the work of others. She had prepared a full dance routine to explain her reasoning, and how her intentions were purely to improve the efficiency of both their hives. How she would never, under any circumstances, even think of exploiting the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s efforts, and how she fully intended to contribute back in excess of what she had received.
But, when she first asked the question, the Fourth of the Seventh cut her off and said¡
¡°Ok!¡±
And now they were working together. She and her mighty savior. In a grove filled with mana flowers and protected by vast chasms, built specifically for them by the King himself. A clear sign of his favor, one that would surely please her mother greatly once she was ready to report on their progress. And that the Daughter admitted made her feel quite happy in and of itself.
She watched as her workers returned with nectar brimming with mana¡including workers from the generation she feared she would lose. Instead, they were now the most numerous and energetic of her laborers yet.
And it was all thanks to the Fourth of the Seventh.
Speaking of which, one of the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers now approached her. The one who had approached her from the start and coordinated their hives efforts. The Daughter and the worker greeted one another. And then¡the worker paused. She seemed hesitant to start her next dance. The Daughter crawled forward and gently brushed antenna against the worker. Their mana and pheromones had clashed at first, but at this point the hives had started to acclimate to one another. They knew they did not belong to each other, and yet they were not strangers or rivals. So, the worker relaxed and slowly began to dance.
¡°Other Queen¡have request. Hives stabilizing, move complete. Queen had plan before move, wanted to use soldiers and copy King. Can let her start again? Might have less workers, honey from us¡¡±
The Daughter froze¡and then immediately began to dance. She was surprised by the request, but she once she realized what was being asked, she did not spend even a single moment thinking about it.
¡°Yes! Of course! My hive, growing well. Don¡¯t need extra help. Can give help instead. Will give help!¡±
The moment she could begin repaying her savior had arrived sooner than she had ever imagined. The worker began a dance of gratitude and apology, and then the worker and the queen of two hives began to plan their future honey production and expenditures¡
The Firstborn stood in her hive, watching a large, waxed-over cell. So far, her plan had been a success. Her own command had managed to handle a shade even while keeping the majority of the army in reserve. The First of the Second had pioneered a new command structure for the army and introduced them all to the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s organization for hive management in a queen¡¯s absence, both of which eased the obstacles to her idea. The next queen to take command thus settled in well, familiarizing herself with the situation even faster than either she or the First of the Second had. The Firstborn now had faith their army would be far more flexible and adaptive to the next unforeseen challenge.
But this was only the beginning. They had grown more flexible and adaptive, but they had not grown stronger. That¡was about to change.
A small hole opened up from within the cell, two mandibles piercing through the wax cover. Medicinal workers moved to assist and began pulling open the wax. Soon, the cover had opened large enough for the cell¡¯s occupant to crawl out.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
A new mad honey soldier emerged. She appeared a bit smaller than normal save for her abdomen, and she lacked a stinger entirely, with a small nozzle taking its place. She shook herself, buzzed her wings, and then turned to the Firstborn, dancing her salute. The Firstborn brushed her antenna and then instructed her to join the army. The Firstborn then turned to the next two cells as their occupants also began to break through.
The first soldier bee sprayers had arrived. A brand-new addition to the army created by the King himself. An addition that would not only improve the army they had but would introduce an entirely new element to it.
The Firstborn wanted nothing more than to follow the sprayer out into the field and see her in action. To how strong their army would now become.
But she didn¡¯t. Instead, she left the soldier cells and began laying more worker eggs. She organized her hive into sections with different roles and appointed individual workers as the leaders of these sections, in accordance with the First of the Second and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s methods. She double checked the routes of the foragers, the processors, and the brood tenders to resolve any traffic jams, unbalanced allocations of workers, or any other such inefficiencies.
She had her turn in command, and now it was her duty to manage her hive. In fact, she needed to put in even greater efforts so that her hive would continue to grow when she took command once again. The more efficiently her hive ran, the more sprayers they could introduce. Seeing the sprayers in action and determining how they would fit into the army was the job of the queen in command today.
That was what it meant to be the hive of hives. Each had their role, each had their duty, and all must work equally diligently whatever that role may be. The Firstborn would strive no less at laying eggs and managing the efforts of her workers than she did at commanding soldiers and fighting shades. The army was counting on her to do both with equal fervor.
And¡now that the King¡¯s battle had been won and the first sprayers had started to evolve¡it was time to revisit raising new queens and expanding the army overall. The King also had created new lands and new flowers, all of which needed new workers to gather from. So, she would need much honey in the near future, and many more workers to gather it¡
The First of the Fifth¡¯s workers moved in coordinated groups, one of which split into three separate squads. The first two squads visited the mana flower patch and the healing herb patch respectively, gathering the first and the freshest of the nectar for the pure honey batches. The third squad visited both flower patches in turn, blending the nectar and pollen together for the mixed batches.
And this time¡as they flew from the mana flowers and landed on the healing herbs, some of the initial pollen they had gathered was lost. This was intentional, even, in accordance with the new instincts they had received. They rubbed their wings and legs together, scraping a bit of the pollen off and even adjusting the tiny-lightnings on their bodies so that the pollen wouldn¡¯t stick as well. And then they flew off to return their resources to their queen and hive.
The pollen from the mana flower pulsed faintly with a subtle glow from the mana still contained within it. This glow then entered into the center of the flower, which began to close. The flower quickly wilted¡and a faintly glowing seed dropped from its head into the patch.
The next day, the First of the Fifth¡¯s workers would pause as they arrived at the healing herb patch. A new flower had appeared, reminiscent of the other healing herbs, but glowing with a soft, blue-green light¡
The First of the Fifth was beside herself, dancing about in a rapid, meaningless dance over the cells filled with the latest batch of nectar¡something that was entirely new.
This¡was beyond anything she had ever imagined. The instincts granted to her by the King were not for the sake of producing excellent honey, which explained why she couldn¡¯t bring the quality of the blended batches up to standard. No¡they were for something else. Something so much more.
An entirely new flower had grown from her workers¡¯ efforts. She tasted the nectar herself. It started in a similar state as finished healing herb honey, infused with mana that resonated with and elevated the medicinal compounds within. But it went even further than her bees did, the mana not only elevated but adjusted those compounds at a fundamental level, granting them new and greater effects than could be achieved in a mundane plant.
This nectar could be processed into healing herb honey through basic concentration and evaporation, with no need for her workers to imbue it with their mana at all.
And if they did so anyways, running through the process with the maximum effort and precision the First of the Fifth always strove to achieve? This could be the First of the Fifth¡¯s greatest achievement yet.
She and the King had now collaborated not merely to produce new honeys from new flowers¡they had changed the very landscape itself and brought to life a new and powerful flower never before scene in his lands. He and her hive, working together, had done this.
And what¡¯s more¡who was to say this would be the last such achievement? There were the poison flowers, and the new flowers that radiated heat. There were those useless flowers in the Flower Meadow, though the First of the Fifth didn¡¯t see much hope there. And there was an entirely new room filled with fruiting trees. What other flowers could result if her workers continued to pass between them?
The First of the Fifth¡¯s mind raced as she considered how to prioritize her efforts. She would need to have the mixed foragers passing between as many different flowers as they could. At the same time, she now had multiple new flowers to produce honey from, that she would then need to refine and iterate upon until it reached a quality suitable to serve the King. She just had so much to do.
It was at this moment that she received word that contact had been reestablished with the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s and her daughter¡¯s workers¡
POBee 63.2 - Failure
Despite all that she currently had to do, the First of the Fifth found herself standing at the front of her hive. Dancing in front of her were several workers from her daughter, giving her a report on recent affairs. The first of which had the First of the Fifth confused, confused to the point that she was now here to hear and clarify the report in person.
The start of the report had gone well, beyond the First of the Fifth¡¯s wildest expectations. Not only had her daughter successfully made the move, the King himself had built a perfect place for her to construct her new hive, well-defended and stocked to the brim with resources. The King was directly supporting her efforts. It took a while before the First of the Fifth was cognizant enough to receive the rest of the report. Which only made the next piece of news all the more confusing.
¡°My daughter¡formed joint hive? With Fourth of Seventh?¡±
The workers danced the affirmative. The First of the Fifth did not consider for a moment if they had told the truth, for anything else was unthinkable. Besides, these workers, the children of her own child, were still partially under the effects of her ability to command her own offspring. They replied to her questions as honestly and thoroughly as her own workers would. So, there was no mistake in the report itself.
¡°¡why?¡±
Try as she might, the First of the Fifth couldn¡¯t see any rationale for this turn of events. Coordinating and cooperating with the Fourth of the Seventh was one thing. Forming a joint hive with her was something else entirely. That was a measure that could be taken¡but only ever by related queens. Mixing workers and broods and honey with an unrelated queen could only produce inefficiency and dilute her offspring¡¯s achievements. How would her daughter possibly achieve the rigorous quality control to produce acceptably good honey if she wasn¡¯t even in command of all the workers in the hive? The First of the Fifth knew the Fourth of the Seventh had been surprisingly cooperative and subservient, but she could not believe that extended as far as the Fourth of the Seventh subordinating her own hive to her daughter, a bee far younger and smaller than she. Nor could she imagine her own flesh and blood subordinating herself to the Fourth of the Seventh, one of the least of the Apiary queens. So¡how had these events come about?
And as mentioned before, since these workers were partially under her ability to command her offspring, they answered truthfully and in detail.
¡°Running out of honey, not enough to move and raise next generation. Fourth of Seventh offered help. Workers worked together, built hive together for better efficiency.¡±
The First of the Fifth froze solid.
Her daughter¡had run out of honey? How was that possible?
The First of the Fifth thought back to her daughter and all that she knew of her affairs. And¡she started to tremble. She had had her daughter operate on the edge of sustainability in order to achieve maximally rapid growth¡because she herself would provide the extra resources to ensure her daughter¡¯s hive did not collapse. She wanted her daughter to grow greater than the other Apiary hives, after all, which would take even greater efforts since she did not possess one of the King¡¯s magical palaces.
And then¡she had withdrawn her resources in order to support the King¡¯s battle. And¡she had not commanded her daughter to act any differently as a result. So¡if like any of her other offspring¡her daughter had continued to execute her commands without question¡she would have continued to operate at the absolute limits of her honey production, possibly beyond. So¡she would not have had any reserves when the First of the Fifth commanded her to move. And if she tried to move immediately, without those reserves¡
The First of the Fifth¡¯s wings began to buzz and she began to pace about rapidly. This¡this was a disaster of her own making. She had not paid sufficient attention to her own daughter, treating her like just another worker. And because of that, she had placed her daughter in a desperate situation where the child had no choice but to accept aid from another, unrelated queen in order to fulfill her commands. The First of the Fifth had spread her attention too thin, and her daughter had suffered as a result. When she thought about what her daughter would have been forced to do had it not been for the Fourth of the Seventh¡
A joint hive with an unrelated queen was the best outcome of all this, even if it were the scenario where her daughter was now subordinated to the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s rule. In the worst case, her own daughter¡¯s hive may have collapsed. She may have been responsible for the first failure among all the hives of the King that resulted purely from their own mistakes, without even the interference of an external invader.Stolen novel; please report.
But for the First of the Fifth, the worst was yet to come.
The report continued. The workers described the current situation of the joint hives and the new room they found themselves in. The First of the Fifth could hardly pay attention, but at the very least the joint hive was now doing well. No thanks to her, but at least her daughter was not starving.
She thought that was the end of it but the workers had more to report. The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers had also reestablished contact with the Flower Meadow and had passed on news from there, as they had done before. So, for the first time since the King¡¯s battle, the First of the Fifth received news of the Flower Meadow.
She froze even her anxious dance as the meaning of the workers¡¯ dances before her reached her mind.
¡°King¡building palace¡for Flower Meadow?¡±
The workers danced the affirmative.
¡°¡consulted with First of the First on it?¡±
The workers again danced the affirmative.
¡°Received new flowers? Still commanding army?¡±
The workers danced the affirmative once more. The First of the Fifth turned around and walked back into her hive in complete silence. The First of the First, who in her opinion no longer deserved any honor for being born first, had failed egregiously, and put the King himself at risk. She deserved no less than exile, it was only the King¡¯s boundless grace that she was permitted to endure. But it was clear that she had lost any favor she had with the King, evidenced by the fact that he had pushed her away from his abode, separating them with an entirely new room. And it went without saying that she could not be trusted to command his defenses any longer. The First of the Fifth had even been prepared for the King to ask her to arrange things in the First of the First¡¯s stead, but if not her then someone else. Such was the natural outcome for a failure, one who had lost the King¡¯s favor. Or so the First of the Fifth had believed.
But she could not have been more wrong.
The King had not cast the First of the First out, nor had he replaced her. No¡he had treated her with greater favor than before she had failed! He continued to trust her with the defense. He granted her new resources and a new type of bee with which to fight. And now¡he intended to construct for her a palace, which had previously been an honor restricted to the Fallen Dynasty and the Apiary queens alone. And not only that¡he had consulted with the Flower Meadow queens on the palace. He had taken their meager opinions and desires into account. He had not done that much even for the First of the Fifth. Measured by the rewards alone¡he would be showing greater favor to the First of the First than to the First of the Fifth.
It made absolutely no sense. There was no way she could justify it in a manner she could understand or accept. How could the First of the First possibly have gained that much favor after such an egregious and critical failure? How could she have surpassed the First of the Fifth by placing the King himself in harm¡¯s way? Why did the King lavish rewards upon her so?
The First of the Fifth could not help but let the doubts creep into her mind. What if¡these rewards were not a sign of the King¡¯s favor? But if that were true¡then none of the First of the Fifth¡¯s own rewards could be considered a sign of it either. Which might mean she had misread the King¡¯s actions and intentions entirely. Forget knowing him better than all, she might not know him at all.
Previously, she might have been able to put such doubts aside, confident in her own achievements and her own observations of the King. But now? His treatment of the First of the First was conclusive proof that his thoughts were different from hers, for they were completely opposite of anything she would have ever expected. And worse¡she could no longer claim to be the greatest of queens. Her failures with her own daughter had revealed that her own plans and methods were flawed. She, the queen producing the most and greatest honey of all, had nearly driven her own offspring to starvation. She had failed in her area of expertise, her primary task and the one she considered most important. A failure on par with the First of the First¡¯s own...or worse, since no external force played any part in it.
And then¡it got worse. She had a thought. If the King¡¯s boons were not a reward for his favor¡then what was their purpose? The First of the First had received them after a failure. In that case¡was it not possible that the King was not rewarding the best of his bees¡but trying to bring those who were failing up to standard? The First of the First¡¯s case would indicate so. And then there was her daughter¡who had received a perfect location from the hive from the King¡when she had been so desperate that she had to join with another queen. The evidence only grew.
And if that were true¡then what of all the boons granted to the First of the Fifth? What if it were not a sign she was the most favored¡but the very opposite? A sign that she had never been trusted like the First of the First had been?
The next thing she knew, she was flying through the air. Away from her hive, away from her daughter¡¯s workers, away from¡everything.
Niobee flew in front of Belissar and began to dance.
¡°King, need to do something! Is ok? Will be back soon!¡±
Belissar tilted his head but nodded immediately.
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine. See you soon.¡±
¡°Thanks! Will be back soon!¡±
And with that, Niobee flew off into the Tower¡
POBee 63.3 - The Truly Favored
The First of the Fifth flew and she flew. Her workers flew after her, but she commanded them to leave her alone. She flew and she flew even as her mind raced.
What¡should she do? How could she find the answer to these questions, these doubts?
And how could she go on if they were true? If she were not the most favored¡but the least? If she were completely wrong about the King and knew nothing of him at all?
She flew and she flew until she reached the end of the Apiary, where the Shrine was. She could go no further from here, and her wings ached. She slowly landed on the ground and began walking around in circles.
What should she do?!
It was then that a shadow passed over her. A large bee landed in front of her. The First of the Fifth nearly stumbled over herself as she tried to dance.
¡°No! I-I told you to leave me alone!¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t tell me, though?¡±
The First of the Fifth took a closer look and then suddenly took a step back. She was not dancing to one of her own workers or soldiers.
¡°T-The Conduit¡¡±
The Conduit danced before her.
¡°First of Fifth ok?¡±
The First of the Fifth froze and nearly flew off again. But then, she paused. The Conduit was her greatest rival, or so she once thought. The only other bee who could possibly claim to know the King as well as she did, or to be as favored as she was. She, therefore, minimized her interactions with the Conduit, for she did not wish to reveal her hand.
But now?
Now¡she realized if there was any bee that knew the mind of the King¡if there was any bee who could answer her questions and doubts¡it was the Conduit. She reached out to the only hope she had left. She lowered her head as she slowly began to dance.
¡°Conduit¡does the King favor us?¡±
The Conduit began a hesitant dance.
¡°Um, yes?¡±
The weight began to lift from the First of the Fifth¡¯s wings but she couldn¡¯t rest yet. She did not allow herself to hope just yet.
¡°T-Then¡are we the most favored?¡±
The Conduit rubbed her antenna and then began to dance.
¡°Most? Like, more than others?¡±
The First of the Fifth could barely bring herself to confirm.
¡°Y-Yes.¡±
¡°Um, no?¡±
The First of the Fifth collapsed on the ground, more confused than ever. And then she got up and began to dance. She had to figure out what was going on.
¡°Conduit¡why does King give rewards? Why did he give us palaces? Why is he giving First of¡the Firstborn a palace? Why did he help my daughter? Why¡¡±
She paused before asking why he rewarded her. This time, the Conduit began her dance with no hesitation.
¡°Easy! King loves bees!¡±
The First of the Fifth paused again. She repeated the Conduit¡¯s dance far more slowly.
¡°King¡loves bees?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The Conduit began an animated dance.
¡°King loved bees before was king! Made hives for old queen! Safe and warm! Protected us from bears! Saved me from spider! And not just old queen! Also helped other bees! King loves all bees!¡±
The First of the Fifth fixed her eyes upon the Conduit.
¡°King loves¡all bees?¡±
The Conduit continued.
¡°Yes! Even evil hives that wanted old queen¡¯s flowers! That¡¯s why Queen of All Bees likes! That¡¯s why Niobee likes!¡±
The First of the Fifth fell still as she pondered the Conduit¡¯s words. Only after a few silent minutes did she begin to dance.
¡°So¡.King¡loves bees?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
Thus began a quick exchange of dances.
¡°All bees?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°All as much as each other?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°Even Firstborn¡after she failed?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°Even¡me?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
The First of the Fifth fell still again. So¡she had been wrong after all. The King did not favor her above all others. His gifts to her were not, in fact, a sign of his special favor for her.
But¡she hadn¡¯t been entirely wrong. The King did not hand out assistance to her because she was the least favored either. The King gave her gifts because¡he loved her? So¡she was favored, just not in the way she imagined and not any more than the others. Rather¡the King favored them all, and gave them gifts because of that. In that manner, the gifts were a sign of his favor.
¡°King¡doesn¡¯t favor best or most productive bees? King¡favors all bees?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
The First of the Fifth thought back upon the King. She saw him raising up huge patches of the most valuable of flowers by his home.
¡°Go ahead, I made it for you all.¡±
She recalled him after the great battle. His first thought was not to celebrate with honey, or to chastise the First of the First for her failures. No, what he had done was race to a wounded soldier at the end of her life, one who had already been crippled and useless. He gave of his own mana to save her life, she who should have had no value to her hive whatsoever. Who had already fulfilled her purpose and could do no more.
She recalled the moment she had been born. She knew nothing at the time save that she had been born to serve the King and protect his home. She flew to him to pay her respects.
At the time he had been inspecting a magical palace. A palace that would magically boost the productivity of any hive that dwelt within, propelling them to guaranteed greatness. For a newly born queen, such a hive was little more than a dream. She could not help but feel drawn to it, even though it surely must have been reserved for only the mightiest of his servants. So, she tried to put it out of her mind as she greeted her master.
¡°What do you think? I¡¯m sorry they aren¡¯t the nicest but...do you want to use them?¡±
She had frozen in that moment. His first words to her¡and he had offered that dream of a palace out of hand. She quickly saluted and flew into the hive, for it couldn¡¯t have been real. But it was. The palace, for all its wonders, was empty¡and the King has just gifted it to her. She would not need to construct her own hive from scratch, gathering her own nectar and pollen to construct the cells in which to lay her very first eggs. No, she was starting with a hive that would already have been the envy of even a successful queen. And one that was the closest to the King¡¯s own abode.
She had no doubts in that moment that the King favored her over all others, a conviction that only grew as it turned out the King was not satisfied with even that wonder of a palace and had built her a new one with his own hands. But now that she looked back upon it¡how foolish had she been? How could she, a newly born queen without a worker to her name, have earned the favor of the King? She had barely finished her very first salute when he offered the palace to her.
If she had been right about the King¡then he would not have offered such a palace to her at all. Even if she was right about the existing queens being out of favor, surely he would have had her generation construct their own hives, and then rewarded the palaces only to the most productive of them?
But he had not done that. No, she must have received that palace¡simply because the King loved all bees, her newly born self included. He had loved her before she had done anything worth his favor¡and it had been that act of love that drove her to become favored in the first place.
She thought back to other interactions with the King. He praised the other bees as much as she. He gifted the same flowers to the Flower Meadow and the Apiary and in the same quantities. And he thanked and praised her most not when she gave honey to him, but when she gave honey to the other bees.
The Conduit was right. The King did not favor one bee¡he loved all bees. The First of the Fifth was not the most favored, but she was favored. All the pieces fell into place now. The First of the Fifth could not claim to be happy¡but at least the confusion and the doubts had cleared. She had completely misread the King, but now, at least, she had what she hoped was a relatively accurate understanding of him.
She turned to the Conduit. The bee that was once her greatest rival. The bee that had now come and cleared her doubts. She slowly began to dance.
¡°¡thank you. I¡need to think. But¡will be ok now. I think.¡±
¡°Ok! Will go back to King now! Let Niobee know if need help!¡±
And with that, the Conduit immediately flew off and the First of the Fifth watched her. The Conduit did not spare another moment on her, not even to point out the First of the Fifth¡¯s mistakes or the Conduit¡¯s own superior understanding of the King, but rather immediately flew to be at his side. She truly was devoted.
The First of the Fifth looked up at the Shrine of the Godden, the Queen of All Bees. A soft light filled the statue. She slowly took the air and made the journey back towards her hive.
She had a lot to think about.
Chapter 64 - O-Bee-ous Outcomes!
The First of the Fifth gradually began to speed up as she flew back to her hive. Once she arrived, her workers swarmed around her. A thousand dances asked if she was ok, and what had happened as nearly all her hive now gathered around her.
Soon, she began to dance. Her workers gave her room so that they all could watch.
¡°We¡are not most favored hive.¡±
Thousands of wings began to buzz as the workers processed her shocking statement, but the First of the Fifth continued.
¡°But not because we failed. King¡loves all bees. King favors all bees. Good hive or bad hive doesn¡¯t matter. He favors all.¡±
The workers fell silent. All eyes fixed upon her, waiting for their queen. For she had decided what to do.
¡°So¡we will still be best hive! We will work hardest, make most and best honey! We will help King most! And we will be most loving! We will help other bees most too!¡±
Yes, the First of the Fifth had decided. She apparently could not earn the King¡¯s favor by putting herself forward and above the others. So, instead, she would grow closer to the King in another way. She would follow after his example and become his ideal bee! She, too, would love all bees, she would love them the most! She would be the most loving queen! And then she would be the queen closest to the King, practically his shadow! Maybe he¡¯d even love her more for it!
She had once again found the path to his favor!
And so, the First of the Fifth returned to work. She reorganized the foragers and the honey makers, for she still would not compromise on the quality of her offerings to the King. But¡she also arranged for something new. A portion of her workers would be sent to each of the hives of the Apiary, as well as to her daughter. She would visit and learn more about each of the other queens around her. Never again would she let her daughter starve because of her own ignorance. Nor would she allow any of the King¡¯s bees to remain neglected, not anymore.
The Apiary queens would be quite confused at the sudden visitors¡
The First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Third Spawner, the first of her line, watched as squads of new soldiers gathered up in the air. It was her turn to command and at first, she intended to follow in the Firstborn and the First of the Second¡¯s example. But, as the King would have it, it was the army itself that would change today. A brand-new type of soldier had appeared, and now it would be her job to integrate them into the army. For now, she wanted to see what they could do, so she gathered them into their own squad and had them join the training. They weren¡¯t much different than other soldiers during the normal maneuvers, they were a bit faster but otherwise acted like any other. But now would come the key moment to determining their use.
It was their turn in the attack rotation, and they dove down towards the bee acting as a target. But, curiously, they curled up and pointed their abdomens forward far earlier than the other soldiers, while they were still a ways away from the target.
And then¡streams of liquid began to spray out of their abdomens, quickly spreading out into cones of toxins that reached about a dozen soldier bee-lengths away. The target bee quickly flew back and away from the sudden assault.
The First of the Third stared at the liquid as it splattered on the ground. She knew from her instincts what these soldiers were capable of, but now she saw it in action for the first time. Her mind began to race. So, these soldiers could sting from a distance. She quickly began to dance to one of her soldiers.
¡°That range¡same size as invader tail?¡±
The soldier replied.Stolen story; please report.
¡°No, longer.¡±
¡°So¡invader can¡¯t reach?¡±
The soldier paused for a moment before dancing.
¡°Claws, teeth, tail, no. Mist, yes.¡±
The First of the Third pondered what this would mean as a second squad of sprayers started an attack run¡
After getting the flame radishes set up, Belissar then clear a ring of dirt around the Flower Meadow hives, Shrine, and Memorial. He would still need to dig a ditch for defensive purposes, but clearing the intended ditch path of flowers would both make it easier to do so later, as well as provide some protection against a sudden brush fire.
At this point though, the cooldown for minor purifications was coming to a close. With the shorter cooldown, the timing was moving forward each day, and was currently ready just around midday. For a brief moment, Belissar wondered if he should keep doing them whenever they were ready, or if he should stick to one a day at a common time. But for now, he shrugged and made his way over to where the soldier bee army was training. There was no point in delaying if they were ready.
The queen in charge of the army flew down and saluted to him. He nodded back.
¡°Ready for a minor purification?¡±
The queen immediately danced her confirmation. Belissar nodded again.
¡°Ok, I¡¯ll prepare and then start it up as soon as we¡¯re both ready, then.¡±
Belissar made a quick trip back to the Apiary while the soldier bee army redeployed to the Tower entrance. There, he reached into the fire radish pot he left at the campsite. He carefully cut off a small piece of one of the radishes. He paused for a moment before turning to Niobee, flying around him as normal.
¡°Hey Niobee, could you help me test something? It, um, might hurt.¡±
¡°Yes! Not problem!¡±
Belissar nodded and took a deep breath before holding out the fire radish piece.
¡°Can you, um, try to pick this up? Be careful not to let any mana or honey touch it, or it might catch fire. And let me know right away if it hurts.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Niobee flew over. She wrapped her hind legs around the fire radish sliver, using the hairs of her pollen baskets to help hold it in place. She then took off, hovering in the air.
¡°Can carry! Not hurt!¡±
Belissar exhaled his breath and nodded.
¡°Ok, good. Could you gather the Apiary soldiers, then? I¡¯d like to show them this.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
A short while later, Belissar was standing in the Orchard, just in front of the entrance to the Flower Meadow. The Apiary soldiers hovered around him, one of them carrying a fire radish sliver. The soldier bee army, meanwhile, was assembled at the entrance to the Tower.
¡°Ok, here we go.¡±
Belissar triggered the minor purification and once again a small wolf-shade coalesced at the entrance. A squad of bees dove down towards it¡but pulled up long before they reached it. Belissar tilted his head at this, but soon discovered why. The squad was composed of sprayers, and they unleashed their toxic attack. The shade was coated in the venom, and then began to roar. It jumped and pounced and swung its tail, but the sprayers were far away and only needed to fly a little higher to remain entirely out of its reach. They didn¡¯t even need to break away after their attack.
They apparently needed a bit of time before they could attack again, but a second squad of sprayers took their place and attacked as well. The shade jumped out of the way, however, and most of the toxic liquids splashed against the ground. The shade took a deep breath and then retaliated with its own black mist attack.
However, the sprayers were mostly evolved from former soldiers and so already knew what to do. They dispersed with practiced efficiency, and with the additional distance between them and the breath attack it was all too easy for them to evade. The black mist dissipated into the air without touching a single bee.
The first squad was then ready again. This time, one bee attacked on its own, causing the shade to dodge. The other bees of the squad then sprayed the shade once it was in motion and couldn¡¯t adjust its course. It roared as it was again doused in toxins.
The second squad attempted this as well. This time, the shade didn¡¯t dodge the first attack, so the others went off course. It still took one attack¡¯s worth in the process, however.
At this point, though, the shade began to wobble. It had been doused with over a dozen soldier bee¡¯s worth of venom at this point, and many of the sprayers evolved from mad honey soldiers and their venom had the same intoxicating effects. The shade stumbled and fell onto the ground, and so could not evade any more of the attacks.
It did not take long before the shade dispersed entirely.
All hostiles defeated. Purification successful.
Belissar blinked. That was easy. Well, to be fair, the regular soldier bees could handle a minor purification shade like that in the same way, but in this case the bees never even gave the shade a chance to attack them. He turned to the Apiary soldier bee.
¡°Um, sorry, looks like we¡¯re not going to use that after all. Maybe next time?¡±
The soldier bees just saluted and then Belissar retrieved the flame radish slivers. As he did, he started to wonder.
Fire radishes that could set the pits ablaze far more easily than a torch. Sprayers that could take down a shade from a distance. And the bees themselves seemed better and better at this. Maybe it was time to consider the minor+ purifications?
POBee 64.1 - Am-Bee-tions
Back in the bear people¡¯s camp, Juosiutik was currently staring at a bubbling pot, hung over a normal fire this time. Since the mana honey had a¡potent reaction with fire radish, she was processing this potion without it. She stirred the mixture and gently swirled her own mana into it.
¡°Hm¡from what I can tell, it¡¯s resonating well.¡±
She narrowed her eyes at it.
¡°Too well.¡±
She was currently testing the mana honey in some of her recipes to determine its exact effects. In this case, the healing herbs from the Sacred Den were a bit too forgiving in maintaining their properties, so she was using other ingredients gathered on their sojourns.
And yet¡the infusion of mana into the potion and the resonance of the compounds within was going about as well as it would if she had used those healing herbs. The mana honey was resonating with it all and helping smooth out clashes in the ingredients.
Juosiutik frowned. She would have to wait for the potion to settle and a good opportunity to actually test its effects but from what she could tell¡this would likely end up one of her strongest potions yet. Despite the fact that it required less than half the steps and efforts of those she had made before.
It was incredibly exciting, but for some reason also kind of irritating¡
In the Apiary, the Second Queen of the First Dynasty of the Sixth Spawner, the first of her line, stared at the workers just outside of her palace.
¡°The First of the Fifth¡is letting me access a new flower?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
She stared at them for a moment longer before conducting a slow, guarded dance.
¡°¡why?¡±
The worker bees repeated a dance from when they first greeted her.
¡°Queen says Second of Sixth not making enough honey, not good enough honey. Needs better nectar.¡±
The Second of the Sixth put aside the insult, such was par for course for the arrogant First of the Fifth. More aggravating was that the First of the Fifth was within her rights to say so. Her hive did, in fact, produce the most and best quality honey, so few queens could argue should the First of the Fifth disparage their output. Still, the Second of the Sixth also knew that such words were beyond the point. The First of the Fifth cared little for the operation of other hives beyond her own, so that was not the ultimate point of all this.
¡°¡what does First of Fifth want?¡±
Yes, the only reason the First of the Fifth addressed the other queens was when she needed something for her own plans. Unfortunately, she also controlled the most valuable of the Apiary¡¯s resources, so the Second of the Sixth would have to at least entertain the idea. Even the First of the Fifth¡¯s scraps could be highly profitable to the other queens, even one of those fortunate enough to dwell in one of the King¡¯s magical palaces like the Second of the Sixth. She herself had obtained access to the medicinal flowers by raising a drone when the First of the Fifth wanted to raise a new queen, so she figured it was something like that.
¡°Nothing!¡±
So, she was taken aback when the workers replied. She spun around and brushed her antenna, then fluttered her wings.
¡°Nothing?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
The Second of the Sixth paused before she realized what was going on. This, too, had happened before. The First of the Fifth had once given free access to a flower patch to the Fourth of the Seventh, one of the younger queens who didn¡¯t have a magical palace of her own. That flower patch, upon investigation, had turned out to be located all the way in the Flower Meadow, and was rumored to be of relatively low quality. So, the Second of the Sixth realized the First of the Fifth¡¯s intent. She must have identified the new flower as lower quality and was now ¡°gifting¡± it to another queen in order to offload it without relinquishing her claim to all new resources. The Second of the Sixth, however, would not be so easily deceived.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Well, it was also true that the new flowers had benefited the Fourth of the Seventh in the end, as evidenced by her growth and her ability to move her hive and claim a new room, so the Second of the Sixth couldn¡¯t reject the offer out of hand.
¡°¡thanks. Will send workers to check, see if hive needs new flowers. If not, can give to others.¡±
¡°Ok, will let queen know. New flower in medicinal flower patch. Is glowing.¡±
With that the First of the Fifth¡¯s workers departed. The Second of the Sixth instructed her foragers to check out this new flower and report to her before foraging was arranged. Whatever the First of the Fifth¡¯s intentions with this, she would be ready.
It turned out, though, when the workers reported and brought her a small sample of the new flower¡¯s nectar, that she was not ready after all¡
The Fourth of the Seventh zipped through the air, led by her scouts and flanked by her soldiers. She was going to the Flower Meadow! Herself! And beyond one of the King¡¯s big post-battle banquets!
When her workers had told her to go, she couldn¡¯t believe it. They¡were letting their queen leave the hive? For a long trip to another room? But it turned out the First of the Fifth¡¯s Daughter had offered to look after their joint hive in the meantime. The Fourth of the Seventh had spent a full fifteen minutes on a gratitude dance before her workers stopped her.
The First of the Fifth¡¯s Daughter was a wonderful queen! Maybe even her favorite!
She soon entered the Flower Meadow and took in the sights. Wide open skies and a vast sea of flowers opened up before her. She simply paused and took in the sight for a minute before one of her soldiers started nudging her. She danced a quick hello to the wounded soldiers by the Memorial. One of them was even playing with lightning! She would have to have her workers ask her about it later!
She then made her way past the Flower Meadow hives and towards the patches they gathered from. There, she saw a curious sight. One of the Flower Meadow queens was outside of her hive, flying around with the soldier bee army. She remembered her workers mentioning that!
The queen paused when she saw the Fourth of the Seventh and flew over.
¡°First of the Third, is my turn to command army today. Should go back to hive.¡±
¡°Fourth of the Seventh! Hi! Wow, Flower Meadow queens command army?¡±
The First of the Third paused for a moment.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh? From Apiary, right? What doing here?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh spun happily in the air.
¡°Gathering flowers!¡±
The First of the Third paused again before starting a slow dance.
¡°Gathering¡flowers? But¡Fourth of the Seventh is queen. What about hive?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh sped up even more.
¡°First of the Fifth¡¯s Daughter helping!¡±
The First of the Third was no less confused at the answer.
¡°First of the Fifth¡¯s Daughter? But¡what about First of the Fifth¡¯s Daughter¡¯s hive?¡±
¡°Same hive! We share, built together!¡±
The First of the Third fell completely still, nearly dropping from the air as her wings stopped for a moment. Seeing that the conversation had concluded, the Fourth of the Seventh bade her farewell and continued on with her quest. Soon, she arrived. And, for the first time, she saw the flowers that had provided her hive with much nectar. They had five bright blue petals with yellow centers, and sat a top of long, thin stalks. A few of them were glowing slightly.
¡°Ok! Let¡¯s try grab flowers!¡±
Her soldiers saluted and flew with her to the flowers. The Fourth of the Seventh knew the King gathered whole plants, flowers, stalks, and all, and so was attempting to follow suit. Her scouts said he just pulled them right out of the ground, but his might was far beyond that of any bee¡¯s so the Fourth of the Seventh didn¡¯t know if that would work for her, but she¡¯d do her best to figure it out!
The scouts also said the King gathered the glowing ones and left the others alone, so the Fourth of the Seventh figured that was how he knew which ones were fully grown. So, she and her soldiers flew around one of the glowing stalks. They all flew towards the stalk and wrapped their legs around it as best they could.
¡°Ok, together!¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh then pulled with all her might, and her soldiers with her. They beat their wings as fast as they would go.
And then instantly flew out into the sky and started careening out of control. The entire plant had come right out of the ground with hardly any effort at all. They ended up crashing into the ground.
¡°Wow, was really easy!¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh danced at their success, before she and her soldiers picked up the plant off the ground and began carrying it back to their hive. She could finally begin following after the King¡¯s footsteps!
Later, when the day came to a close and the Flower Meadow queens gathered to review the army command, the First of the Third shared some shocking news on how the Fourth of the Seventh and the First of the Fifth¡¯s daughter ran their hive¡
POBee 64.2 - Bee-coming the Hive of Hives
The Firstborn flew to the Memorial, the first to arrive as the queens of the Flower Meadow gathered at the end of the day. They had agreed to confer with one another once each day so that the queen in command of the army could report to the others on what she had done and any changes she had made, as well as to confirm would be in charge next. Soon, they all had arrived and formed a circle with the queen in command for the day, the First of the Third, in the center. She began to dance¡
The First of the Third¡¯s report resulted in buzzing wings and twitching antenna. The Firstborn herself couldn¡¯t help rise in the air a bit. The sprayers had performed remarkably well in their first battle. The shade had hardly a chance to retaliate as they took it down and not once was a single bee in any real danger.
The Firstborn¡¯s mind wandered a bit. Would these sprayers have changed the outcome of the battle against the flying enemy? It certainly seemed possible. The shade¡¯s overwhelming speed may have been less of a hurdle to the sprayers, who could still have landed attacks even if they couldn¡¯t catch up to it. Bees attacking from a distance also would have had more time to evade when it turned to assault them or when it unleashed its lightning attack.
On the other hand, the sprayers did not seem faster than the shade had been, so if they had all been deployed forward and the shade got past them the outcome may have ended the same regardless. The shade may have taken a toxic spray or two, but would that have been enough to bring it down? It may have been weakened, but the Firstborn imagined it would still have come down to her and the wounded soldier in that case.
Still, she had not yet seen the sprayers in action so she could not say for sure. The point was that they should not neglect their current efforts just because they had a new type of soldier. The sprayers would do their job and do it well. It was the queen¡¯s role to put them in a position to succeed.
But she put her wonderings aside, for the First of the Third indicated she had more to say.
¡°Also, met Fourth of Seventh, here in Flower Meadow¡¡±
That alone stopped all dancing and pondering and brought every queen¡¯s attention back to her, the Firstborn¡¯s included. The only time queens had moved between the rooms were major battles, the King¡¯s banquets, or when the First of the Fifth came to coordinate with her. So, the Firstborn knew that this news must be important.
But even she did not anticipate the First of the Third¡¯s next dance.
¡°Has new way of organizing hive. Formed joint hive with First of the Fifth¡¯s Daughter. First of the Fifth¡¯s Daughter watched joint hive while Fourth of Seventh visited Flower Meadow.¡±
The Firstborn dropped a bit as her wings paused for a second. The Fourth of the Seventh¡had formed a joint hive with another queen?
The Firstborn started to tremble. What an incredible idea. An incredible, amazing, and simple idea. While she and others talked about the hive of hives, the Fourth of the Seventh and the First of the Fifth¡¯s Daughter had gone and built one. Not just as an idea, but as a practical reality.
And what¡¯s more, no queen in the Flower Meadow missed the implication for their current efforts. The First of the Second, in particular, began a slow dance¡
¡°That¡seems efficient. Two queens in one hive, if one queen leaves, other still commands. Workers not left on their own, still get half of eggs laid.¡±
The Firstborn danced in agreement. It was, of course, something she had noticed after her day of command. Her hive had dropped in efficiency and honey production for that particular day. The next day, the First of the Second had reported a countermeasure, also developed by the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive, but this would go beyond even that. With a second queen, the drop in efficiency from one queen being absent would be minimal.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
So¡the idea would be remarkably beneficial to the Flower Meadow queens, whose command of the army took them away from their hives on a regular basis.
Well, the others who had not commanded yet seemed a bit uncomfortable at the idea, judging by the way they slowly swayed and spun about, but the Firstborn knew they would realize the benefits once they had their turn. Still, this would be a difficult idea to put into practice in the short term. None of them had built their hives with two queens in mind, so moving in together would be a process. Likewise, there was the question of which hives to expand and which hives to abandon. Forcing one queen to double her efforts and another queen to abandon hers was not a good way to go about it.
But the Firstborn had an idea that might be, again inspired by the Fourth of the Seventh and that would pair nicely with their existing plans. She flew forward a bit, signaling her desire to take the floor. The other queens danced their asset and the Firstborn flew to the center.
¡°Fourth of Seventh didn¡¯t join existing hive but took new queen under wing. How about¡expand hives while raising new queens, then keep new queens in hives? We help set up, they help take care of hive when we lead army.¡±
The Flower Meadow queens were already planning to expand their numbers, but were finding it difficult to justify the expense. New queens would need to migrate out, find suitable location, construct their hives, fill out their worker ranks, and absorb the requisite mana to grow. Then, and only then, could they begin to contribute soldiers to the army. With the King¡¯s battle and the casualties that resulted, the weakness and flaws that battle revealed, and then the new soldier types to raise and integrate into the army, it was hard to set aside resources that would not boost the strength of the army for such a long time. The queens could help speed up the process by donating workers and honey but that, too, would be a drain on their immediate resources for a future payoff. It was something none of them felt like they could afford.
But the Fourth of the Seventh had revealed a simple solution. What if the new queens didn¡¯t have to migrate, scout locations, and build new hives? What if the Flower Meadow queens didn¡¯t have to wait for their children to match their growth before they could begin contributing to the fight? If they formed joint hives from the start, the new queens could start laying workers right away. They would immediately begin contributing to the joint hives, for even a small addition of extra workers would allow the older queens to devote more resources to soldiers. And, of course, there was the aforementioned benefit of having someone around to watch over the hive when it was a queen¡¯s turn to command the army.
The expense was far easier to justify if the new queens would boost their hives directly and from the start. The new queens would also grow more quickly since they would receive resources directly from their mothers and so wouldn¡¯t need to keep as careful a balance as an early hive normally would. And once they had grown¡well, the Flower Meadow would then have twice as many queens that could raise soldiers and take command.
And, perhaps most of all, it would turn the hive of hives ideal into a reality. They would not merely pursue the King¡¯s vision, but they would each live it.
The rest of the queens paused and slowly began to dance as they considered the Firstborn¡¯s words.
¡°Joint hive¡but if with daughter then¡¡±
¡°¡could work. Would still need bigger hive, though.¡±
¡°King is building palace, though? Will need new hive anyways?¡±
¡°That¡¯s¡right. If that case¡can do?¡±
The Firstborn danced once more.
¡°Then, in agreement? Start gathering honey for new queens?¡±
One by one, each of the queens danced their answer. The First of the Second went first and immediately agreed. The First of the Third followed and then each of the queens confirmed their agreement. From there, each of the queens began to report the status of their hives and honey stockpiles. They estimated how long it would take for each queen to be ready for a daughter, and discussed how they might share resources to balance out the process.
As the Firstborn watched the dances and danced in turn, she could not help but feel her wings beat faster. Here it was, queens of different lines and unrelated lineages working together. Sharing honey instead of fighting for flowers. Acting as one to build something greater than any of them could achieve alone. And all based on the example of two queens from another room entirely.
Individually, she might have failed utterly. But¡this was exactly the sort of thing she needed to overcome her own limitations. She was not alone. She did not need to overcome her challenges on her own. Within the King¡¯s realm, no bee did.
The hive of hives was taking shape in more ways than one.
Chapter 65 - Next Challenge to Bee-t
When the next day began, Belissar made his way to the new flame radish node in the Apiary. As with other resource plant nodes, a few of the flowers were glowing slightly. He pulled on these and the whole plant came out, including a brand new, fully grown flame radish at the bottom. He very carefully took one of these over to the Shrine of Bees and, as he had and continued to do with all the products he gathered, placed the radish within the wax chest, watching very carefully for any sign of flames.
¡°Thank you again, for everything. I hope you like it.¡±
The statue and chest glowed with light. When the light faded and Belissar opened up the chest, the flame radish was gone. He exhaled his breath; the offering had gone well and with no unintentional fires.
With that, he continued on his day. He gathered the remaining flame radishes and stored them in the pot he left in the Apiary¡¯s campfire pit. He then gathered and offered some healing herbs, mana flowers, and honey trays before storing the remainder. He didn¡¯t gather every resource in his Tower every day, but more medicine was always good to have, the mana flowers were supposedly very useful and valuable, and the Apiary bees were happy whenever he accepted honey from them, so he always gathered those three at the very least.
After that, Belissar considered his next move. The minor purification cooldown finished in the morning today, so he could start one right away if he wanted. But he did not. Instead, he walked over to the Flower Meadow. He found the soldier bee army had already started their training, with one of the queens leading them. She came and saluted to him.
¡°Good morning! Um...¡±
He took a minute to figure out how to word his question.
¡°If two of the normal wolf-shades attacked, how would it go?¡±
The queen immediately began to dance, indicating that the army would bring it down. Belissar rubbed his chin.
¡°And...how many bees would we lose?¡±
The queen paused for a moment before she turned around and began a dance faced away from Belissar. A few of the soldiers flew to her and saluted, then began their own dances. She then turned back to him.
¡°A few at most, none is possible.¡±
Belissar nodded at that.
¡°Got it. In that case...I¡¯m going to delay the purification until the late afternoon, the time we were originally doing it. But...it¡¯s going to be a minor+, so a bit stronger than normal. Last time it was two of the wolf-shades...but, um, I think we might want to be ready for a surprise, just in case. Just letting you know so you have time to prepare.¡±
The queen and the soldiers behind her immediately began salute dances. Then they flew off into the air. A wave of dances passed through the soldier bee army and then the training resumed at a notably faster pace. Belissar took a deep breath.
He was relatively sure that the bees would be able to handle it. They had handled a minor+ purification before and had grown stronger since then. But the Tower had surprised them before with occasionally deadly results, so Belissar couldn¡¯t help but worry anytime they were trying something different.
But he forced his fears down as he watched the queen dance and the air and the soldier bees zip around in response. His bees were working as hard as they could to ensure such losses did not occur. What sort of dungeon master and beekeeper would he be if he didn¡¯t trust in their efforts?
And, ultimately, he wanted to take the next step if they could handle it. The new expansion brought with it an Orchard that enticed the bees enough to move their entire hives there, sprayers who could bring down a wolf-shade with impunity, and cross-pollination that...well, he wasn¡¯t sure if that had resulted in anything yet. He put checking the different flowers and resource nodes on his to-do list. The point was, though, that they gained many new options when they took on more dangerous purifications than the minor ones, new options that in turn helped them face those challenges more easily.
He had recently become aware of some new needs, in fact. He would have liked to practice making potions as per the recipe Juosiutik showed him, but he currently lacked a water source and suitable containers for both processing and storing liquids. He could potentially make some basic pots and bowls out of wood, or could probably trade with the bear people for some, but he figured water was something he might want a Tower option for. Not least of all because of the potential flammability of his Tower, a river cutting through the Flower Meadow, for example, would go a long way in easing his concerns.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
But, well, with a grand total of three minor purifications thus far, his total mana was only at three-hundred and thirty at the moment, not nearly enough to consider another expansion purification even if he felt confident in facing another shade of that caliber. Likewise, while his DP was growing nicely, he was still a ways off from affording any of the options in the DP store. Taking on a bit more challenge as the bees were able would open up new options that much sooner.
With the plan for the day set, Belissar then turned his mind to his other tasks. First of all, he spent some time practicing his magic. Chief Rohsuak had said the best way for him to learn at this point was for him to use it, so it wouldn¡¯t do to slack. Well, right now all he could really do was make honey. He made another little honeycomb pattern out of mana and watched the honey pool in his hand. He furrowed his brow then held up his hand.
¡°Niobee, want some honey? I, um, didn¡¯t think about what to do with it before I made it.¡±
She flew in front of him and began to dance slowly.
¡°King...giving honey? Honey he made?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yep.¡±
Niobee paused, swaying about in the air for a moment before she suddenly started zipping.
¡°King...can make honey! And hives! And bees! King is best king! Definitely not useless drone! Niobee knew!¡±
Belissar started chuckling and smiled at her.
¡°Well...I guess I can, in a way. So, do you want some? I already made it so I¡¯d appreciate it if you could help me with it.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Belissar¡¯s grin grew as Niobee hovered in front of his hand and drank up the pool of honey in his hand. If it made Niobee this happy, then even this small bit of magic was something incredible.
After Niobee had drank her fill, Belissar got to work on the Flower Meadow beehouse. He sawed the dry wood provided by the bear people into appropriately sized planks and cut grooves into them that would fit together. He then started laying out a foundation for the house, slotting the grooves together.
It...was a bit slow going. Belissar was no stranger to lifting heavy objects, but handling large pieces of wood like that alone was a bit much. Still, he was determined to see it through, however hard it was or however long it took. His bees deserved no less.
And before he knew it, it was about time for the purification. He put the last log into place and then rubbed his arms and back. But the day was wearing on and he needed to at least gather a flame radish, so he had to stop here. He heaved a sigh.
He really hoped it would go well today...
The First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Fourth Spawner, the first of her line, flew through the ranks of her soldiers. She flew to the very front of the army, where her hive gathered at the entrance of the King¡¯s realm. Where the invader would soon arrive. She danced as her soldiers saluted.
¡°Everything ready?¡±
The designated leader soldier replied.
¡°Everything ready, queen! Ready to fight!¡±
¡°Good.¡±
She looked at the entrance for a while longer, the place that would soon become a battlefield. She slowly began to back up, keeping her eyes on the entrance for as long as she could before turning around and flying to take her place at the head of the reserved force.
Long had the First of the Fourth had her soldiers report of their deeds. Long had she watched them train against imaginary foes. Long had she listened to the stories told by the Conduit of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner and their courageous, if doomed, final stand. Long had she stood on the very top of her hive, straining her eyes to catch even the smallest glimpse of the battles in progress.
Sometimes, she wished she could join the army as it flew to the fight. But she knew her place. If not for her and her fellow queens, there would not be an army, so she did the next best thing and raised the mightiest soldiers she could.
She had burned with rage when their army was nearly defeated.
But...she would admit that she had been ecstatic when the Firstborn proposed how to prevent such a thing from happening again. She, along with the other queens of the Flower Meadow, would now have the chance to lead from the front, like the courageous queens of the First Dynasty on their final stand. She patiently waited her turn, but she could hardly stand still these last three days as she watched the other queens fly with the army, and listened to them recount tales of the battle in question.
And now, it was her turn. And her patience had granted her an unexpected reward. Today, on the day of her command, the King had acknowledged their growing might. He would once again entrust them with a battle of greater proportions, send them against a mightier foe than the daily invader. She would be the first to test her might in such a battle.
It was with reluctance that she returned to the reserved force. She thought briefly of leading from the very front, with the soldiers of her own hive. But she knew better. Her wings were not as fast as a soldiers nor her stinger as long and sharp. To get any closer would be to needlessly place herself at risk. It was also her duty to command the army as whole, which meant she needed to be in a place where she could see the battle as a whole.
But that was fine. She would be watching the battle with her own eyes. She would be responsible to face the enemy directly and bring them down. The fate of all hives and the trust of the king hung upon her, and she would not let them down.
¡°Everybody ready?¡±
The voice of the King resounded through her very being and she could have only one response. She danced the salute.
The time had come.
POBee 65.1 - The Bird and the Bees
¡°Ok, here we go.¡±
The King gave his command. The First of the Fourth felt the entire world shift at his word. It filled her with heat and power, spurring her to action. And she knew why, as she felt a cold chill creeping along.
This was it. She fixed her eyes upon the entrance, not looking away for even a second.
Something dark began to coalesce around the Tower¡¯s entrance...above the ground. The First of the Fourth began dancing immediately, sending her meaning along her mana to her children at the front.
¡°Air attack!¡±
The King had warned her to be ready for anything and the First of the Fourth had taken his words to heart. His wisdom was clear as the enemy immediately defied their expectations. But the soldiers and queens both had learned the lessons of their defeat well. They knew now it was possible for an enemy to appear higher up. The soldiers trained and drilled for that exact occurrence and with the First of the Fourth¡¯s quick command immediately reorganized for an aerial foe. Some squads moved closer to the ground to cover that angle, while a group of sprayers moved into range above the incoming invader. The rest of the soldiers began to move as well. No longer did they hover in place, holding a static formation around the enemy. Instead, they began to zig zag through the air in constant movement, with random stops and dives and turns to prevent an enemy from tracking their trajectory. They would not wait for the enemy to strike but begin their evasion before the attack approached.
A moment later, a screech rang through the First of the Fourth¡¯s body, far louder than she had anticipated from the stories. Her body trembled as her eyes beheld the enemy. A bird, much like the one who had broken through their army, now flapped in the air. It was far smaller than the original had been, comparable to the difference between the daily wolf-shades and the very first. But the First of the Fourth would not let its size fool her. She knew that this was a foe that could quickly escape her grasp if she made a single mistake.
She would not let it have the chance.
The moment the shade appeared, the sprayers launched their attack, coating the bird in toxins. The shade screeched at them and flapped its wings, but the sprayers had already melted back into the swirling mass of bees in constant motion and the shade lost track of them. A second sprayer squad jumped out of the mass and launched their attack as well. The shade attempted to dodge and got out of the immediate path of the attack, though some of the toxin still impacted it as the sprays spread out.
The shade then shot into the formation of bees all around it, its sharp beak opened wide. But it had many targets to keep track of and the bees only had one. The bees it had aimed for had already adjusted their course. The bees heading towards it, on the other hand, spun around and thrust their stingers forward, plunging into the shade¡¯s back. The shade screeched and snapped at them, but they had already retreated back. It flapped its wing and surged towards them but they had dropped down and evaded once more.
The battle continued in that fashion. The shade would fly forward, but the bees¡¯ random and shifting motions kept it from overtaking them with its speed. It seemed as though their plan would work.
But the First of the Fourth kept her eyes on the shade and noticed a problem. The shade kept flying in the same direction, and the bees had to keep shifting their formation to keep it contained. But the bees were still ultimately slower than the shade and flew even slower on account of their evasive maneuvers. The number of bees around and ahead of the shade was actually growing lighter as the other side of the formation fell behind. She ordered the ones in the back to abandon random evasion and prioritize speed, but it would still take time for them to catch up.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
And then came a mistake.
Lightning began to crackle around the shade. The First of the Fourth and her soldiers were on the lookout for that and immediately evaded. A small cone of lightning erupted from the shade¡¯s beak and struck nothing but air. However, the formation around the shade had already grown light from its movement, so the sudden evasion left a clear gap. The shade¡¯s glowing red eyes narrowed and it flapped its wings, rushing towards that gap.
The bees reacted immediately. A squad of soldiers dove towards it while a squad of nearby sprayers unleashed their attack. But the two squads had not coordinated and the soldiers passed right in front of the sprayers. They were doused by the toxic spray, which thus did not hit the shade. The soldiers themselves had a bit of resistance to the toxins and so weren¡¯t in immediate danger, but the sudden spray through them off course and drenched their wings, slowing their flight. As a result, neither the soldiers nor the spray reached the shade before it had escaped the formation entirely.
Once again, the shade was free and clear to head towards the hives and the King waiting beyond.
Or was it?
As the shade flew forward, another hive¡¯s worth of soldiers took up positions ahead of it. The shade veered to the side but a second hive was already moving there. It stopped and flew straight up, but it could see a third hive already climbing and now turning to dive towards it. Yet another hive plugged the other flank while the soldiers it had escaped came up from behind.
The First of the Fourth was not about to let their army fail in the same way as before. Even as the first formation had started to thin out, she ordered the reserved forces to move. She built the same containment only on a much larger scale, forming new containment formations in every direction the shade could go. It would not move without a new containment wrapping around it.
The First of the Fourth had to admit she had questioned the Firstborn¡¯s organization of the army. If their army had proven too weak to bring the enemy down before it could escape, how would making the force actually fighting weaker help things? But now she could see the benefit. With the majority of the army not engaged in the fight, she was free to move out as she pleased, and so could set a trap for the shade when it escaped the first formation.
The shade glanced around but found no gaps to exploit. It began to gather its lightning again but the First of the Fourth moved first. She ordered the sprayer squads forward and had them attack. Toxins sprayed onto the shade from all directions. She held her soldiers in reserve for now, wary of the sprayers hitting their own side. But it was working out. If the shade remained still, the sprayers would continue to bombard it. If it tried to break through, the soldiers would move to meet it.
It turned out that would not be necessary.
The shade squawked but its voice was weak now. Lightning crackled across it but never gathered into another blow. The toxins and stings it had already received were taking hold even as the sprayers laid on more and more. It began to wobble...then to dip...and soon its wings were not beating fast enough to keep it aloft. It plunged towards the ground.
The bees below cleared out of its path while dealing it additional stings along the way, but that was unnecessary. The shade was no longer attempting to attack them. Black mist began to disperse off of it and it vanished into a fading cloud even before it hit the ground.
The First of the Fourth stared for a moment until she heard the King¡¯s mighty voice.
¡°Looks like you got it, great job everyone!¡±
She stood still and then burst into a dance, flying about as fast as she could.
That...was amazing! Her first battle and they had come out on top! The very enemy that had defeated them had now been laid low, without once laying its beak upon even a single bee! She had faced the dangers that the First Dynasty had flown against and come out on top.
Well, not exactly. She had been there for the second purification and saw the shade that had brought destruction to the First Dynasty. This shade could fly and move fast, but it did not match the sheer power that first enemy brought, nor did it match its larger version that had defeated them. But still, her first battle had been a victory and the army proved it could contain a flying invader.
It was a good start. And if the First of the Fourth had anything to say about it, it would only be the beginning.
Chapter 66 - Home Bee-vamping
Belissar¡¯s breath caught in his lungs as he saw another bird-shade appear. After what the previous one had done, he had NOT expected it to count as a minor+ purification.
Fortunately, the bees, however, had prepared for such an event and reacted well. The shade was immediately sprayed with toxins on appearance and quickly surrounding by a formation of constantly moving bees. It was then that Belissar noticed the shade was significantly smaller than the first one had been and its lightning attack was a lot more limited. He had another fright when the shade broke away from the bees, but it was then surrounded by a formation many times the size of the first.
His eyes widened as he watched the bird-shade vanish into mist. His eyes went even wider as realized that not a single bee had fallen in the process. He soon broke out into a wide grin.
¡°Yes!¡±
His bees had grown remarkably in the handful of days since that first battle. And, perhaps even more relieving, he had managed to correctly assess their growth and their readiness for a greater challenge. Even though he personally had not expected a small bird-shade, the bees had no trouble handling the situation.
And, of course, with victory came rewards.
Minor+ Purification completed! Please select a reward* (*One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees):
- +75 DP
- +15 Max Mana
- Beehive (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee, Resource, Monster Nest)
Belissar¡¯s grin grew. For once, he didn¡¯t need to wait until after the celebration to make his choices. He knew exactly what he was going to pick this time.
Beehive selected.
Beehive variation unlocked: Belissar¡¯s Beehouse.
Belissar nodded in satisfaction. He would have insisted on upgrading the beehives anyways, so he was pleased to learn the Tower could build his versions right away. And now, all his bees could receive the honey production and brood growth benefits of the Apiary¡¯s beehouses. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t the water source he had been thinking about, or something as dramatic as new bee types, but anything that made his bees happy was an ideal choice for Belissar.
Plus¡there was the fact that such a feature came from a minor+ purification which he could perform every day and that his bees proved they could handle. Who knows what other options might be available from those rewards?
In any case, he was satisfied for now and it was time to bring out the honey for a victory celebration¡
***
The next day, Belissar stepped out of the Apiary farmhouse. He intended to get started placing beehives for each of his queens but there was a bit of math to do first, which meant have some dirt he could drawn numbers on to keep track of it all. Which he now did. There had been nine Apiary beehouses compared to thirty-two queens, four each from eight spawners, so there were quite a few who had gone without. He then took a look at the new feature¡
Beehive
Mana Upkeep: 5 (2 due to Blessing of Bees)
Base Production Rate: 1 honeycomb per 24 hours
Slight boost to monster bee growth rate
Available Variations: Belissar¡¯s Beehouse (100 DP per hive, 25 if manually constructed)
That gave Belissar pause. He checked the information on the Apiary.
Apiary
Type: Bee, Resource, Settlement
Innate Features: Beehives
Mana upkeep: 10 (5 due to Blessing of Bees)
Description: A farm dedicated to beekeeping. Comes with beehive nodes that produce honeycomb. If Bee type monsters are available, may settle in beehives for a slight boost in brood growth and beehive productivity.
He had a room free so he could potentially add a second Apiary as an alternative, so he was trying to figure out which would be better. So, an Apiary cost five mana for him and provided nine beehives without any additional cost¡save the DP required to upgrade them but that was the same regardless. Making the beehives one by one, on the other hand, would require eighteen mana for the same number. There was a pretty clear mana advantage to using the Apiary.
On the other hand, placing a second Apiary would use up another room slot, his last available one, in fact. Room limits could be increased but the option to do so seemed quite a bit more rare than options to increase mana, so it might be better to spend the extra mana instead? Instead of an Apiary, he could add a second Flower Meadow or Orchard. Notably, the Apiary had enough flowers to support its beehouses and then some, but it still had less than the other two rooms, and he had already confirmed that some flower types the others had weren¡¯t available in the Apiary. So, if he added one of the other rooms and added beehives himself, he might be able to support more queens than a dedicated Apiary would.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
There were other possibilities too. He could add a Flower Meadow or Orchard to the very front of the dungeon that he wouldn¡¯t add any beehives to. That would give the soldier bee army a place to fight that didn¡¯t have any hives in harm¡¯s way¡and would also give a place for the bear people to gather from that wouldn¡¯t disrupt his bees. He was a bit loathe to add stuff that wasn¡¯t for his bees, but he had noticed them crossing rooms on their foraging trips, so the bees could still gather from the room even if their hives weren¡¯t located there.
And, of course, there was always the possibility of acquiring new room types somehow. Belissar checked and found it was possible to remove a room after the fact¡the problem being that if any of his bees set up hives in a given room he was not willing to rip up their home. So if he placed another Apiary, it was there to stay. Any new rooms would then have to wait for more room slots¡
All in all, there were too many possibilities for Belissar to handle and his eyes were starting to spin. So, he decided he would just add the beehives one by one. He¡¯d have to do that anyways for the Flower Meadow and Orchard queens and he could always just expand his mana reserves with the daily purifications. So he¡¯d just do it this way for now and keep the last room free in case he needed it for something else.
Beehive (1 mana due to Blessing of Bees and Apiary discount)
Belissar stared at the message for a moment and then slapped his forehead. Of course. Of course, the beehives would also be cheaper to place in the Apiary. He didn¡¯t even need a second Apiary to get a discount on the hives, it seemed. Which, if he had thought to check, could have averted a lot of this thinking and decision-making.
He sighed, shook his head, and then got to work. He shifted to his Tower sight and a transparent beehive appeared in the Apiary. He moved it towards the nearest queen without a beehouse¡and then paused. He realized that if he just put the beehive next to the colony, the queen would have to move and rebuild all of her comb. He wondered if there was anything he could do¡
Just to checked, he tried moving the beehive over the existing nest¡and the transparent image didn¡¯t turn red. Instead, it seemed to wrap around the nest.
Belissar mentally nodded to himself. It was good that he checked first. Well, he hesitated slightly as he worried whether this would impact the bees and their larvae inside¡but when he had upgraded the occupied beehives into his beehouses the colony hadn¡¯t been negatively impacted, so he figured it shouldn¡¯t hurt them. And so, he went ahead and confirmed the new feature¡
***
The Third Queen of the First Dynasty of the Sixth Spawner, the first of her line, fluttered her wings as she checked over the latest batch of honey. It was coming along nicely. Sure, it wasn¡¯t nearly as good as the First of the Fifths, or any of the other nine Apiary queens who were born before her, but she could say that it was her best.
She had been born just a few minutes too late to receive one of the magic palaces, and so she had been relegated to the outskirts. She had to build her hive by her own hand, and her workers had to imbue the nectar of mundane flowers by themselves. They, therefore, couldn¡¯t produce honey in the kind of quantities and quality that the other queens could and her hive couldn¡¯t grow anywhere near as quickly. Soldiers, if she had been inclined to raise any, were just a dream, and she was still of a similar size to her workers at the moment.
It was a humble, but good and honest living. She may not have done much in comparison to her peers, but everything she had was achieved by her own efforts, and those of her children. She took pride in it, that was the truth.
Still¡there was some small part of her whispering on the edge of her mind. It asked¡what if she had been born but a few minutes earlier? What if she had been one of the favored queens who received magic palaces and flowers brimming with mana? What if her hive produced honey in such quantities that they could offer tribute to the King on a daily basis, receiving constant visits from him as a result?
What if it had been her?
But she put such things aside. Such was her lot in life and all she could do was make the best with what she had. Maybe, one day, the King might see her efforts and¡
She buzzed her wings and shook herself. Such thoughts did not aid in her work and there was work aplenty for her to do. So, she tried to put her wondering aside and get back to it.
But at that moment, something changed. The air began to thrum with mana, causing all of her workers to pause. Her antenna twitched as she reacted to the swirls of power flowing all around her. The very walls of her hive began to glow, growing too bright for her to make out anything.
Then, slowly, the light began to die down. And the Third of the Sixth froze solid once she could see again.
Her hive was gone, or at least the hive she had before. Thick wooden walls like the trunk of gigantic tree replaced the exterior of her hive, granting her powerful protection against the outside world. And, most of all, she could feel rivers of mana flowing through the walls and even the air itself. The mana flowed into her honeycomb, imbuing the nectar stored there as her workers might otherwise have needed to. The mana wrapped around her eggs and larvae and they drank it up, accelerating their growth. The mana even condensed down in empty cells and honey began to spontaneously drip from the walls.
Her mind couldn¡¯t process what had occurred. Her workers began to dance around her as they requested instructions.
And then, she felt the tremors as something huge approached her hive. She slowly turned around and crawled towards the entrance as a shadow fell over it. She peeked outside and confirmed the unthinkable suspicion that crept into her mind.
There, standing outside of what was once her hive, was the King.
¡°Hey there. Sorry for doing this without warning you, but it helps you. These hives aren¡¯t the best but I¡¯ll build you a new one soon, so hopefully this is ok for now.¡±
The Third of the Sixth began to tremble. The King¡had gifted her a magic palace? Was going to make it even better later because he wasn¡¯t satisfied with it?
Her mind went blank as she began to dance. She had no idea what she said to the King. But what she remembered was this.
The King had seen her. Had acknowledged her. Had gifted her with the same blessings the others had received. Now she could grow as powerful and productive as them. Now she could make vast quantities of excellent honey like them. Now she could offer tribute to the King without worry or shame.
And she would do just that.
Chapter 67 - The Sincerest Form of Flatter-Bee
From there, Belissar visited each of the Apiary queens without beehouses one by one, figuring after the first one he should give them a heads-up before transforming their hives. He could help but grin as he remembered all of their happy dances. He may not have been happy with the basic beehive, but it seemed the queens absolutely were.
He was giving them the basics for now, as the upgrade to his version would be much cheaper if he did it himself. Plus¡he liked the idea of building the beehouses by his own hand, and now that he had access to dry wood he could improve upon the design currently in use. That would have to wait though, as he wanted to keep working on the Flower Meadow beehouse first.
Speaking of which, he wondered what he was going to do for them, since he was building a much different beehouse than the usual. He hoped that he would get another potential upgrade for the beehives when he finished, but he couldn¡¯t be sure. Well, if it came to it, he could always build a normal beehouse inside of the rooms of the bigger one, so he¡¯d continue on as planned and see what happened.
Though, that brought him to the next question. He turned his attention to the Orchard queens¡and found they had joined their hive together into one big hive. Multiple queens in a single hive¡Belissar had seen it once or twice but it was rare and never lasted long. But well, the monster bee queens proved far more adaptive than his old bees had been, so he guessed they had figured something out.
The problem was that the beehive was currently turning red on moving over the hives. Maybe because they were too big? Or maybe because the hives were currently built in the branches of the groves, high above the ground? Belissar wasn¡¯t sure.
He returned from his Tower sight to his body and rubbed his chin. It looked like he¡¯d have to figure something out for them as well. Maybe if he build a bigger beehouse in the trees? Well, he¡¯d set that as his next project after finishing the Flower Meadow beehouse.
Speaking of which, with the new beehives placed, it was time to resume work on that. He walked down to the Orchard and through to the Flower Meadow and did just that. He had the basic foundation set up, so now it was time to begin working on the frame.
Eventually, he got some grooves cut in an appropriate beam. He struggled to stand it upright and slot it into the corresponding groove on a floor beam. He took a step back, but was ready to stabilize it if it fell.
The beam remained upright, but it seemed a little unstable for his liking. He frowned and looked at the groove. It fit together, but the cut wasn¡¯t a perfect fit since he had to be able to slot them in. He crossed his arms and thought.
If he had some nails¡but he didn¡¯t. The bear people had some metal implements but Chief Rohsuak said they didn¡¯t have any nails when he asked and that it would be some time before they started making any. If he had some glue, clay, or mortar maybe he could stabilize it a bit more¡
He then glanced over at the beehives¡and remembered when Niobee had used some wax to reinforce his first rickety frames. He then stared at his hand.
¡°I wonder¡I can make honey, right? What about wax?¡±
He crouched down and held his hand towards the groove. He stirred up his mana and formed the honeycomb pattern in the air¡and then honey dripped onto the wood. He frowned.
This time he tried again, and really focused on wax. He imagined the mana solidifying into wax instead, thought of bees building their comb. A mana pattern began to form once more, but this one was different. Whereas the normal pattern featured bright lines in a hexagonal shape that filled in by a dimmer glow, this time only the hexagonal lines formed, creating an empty honeycomb pattern. It then condensed down into a glowing ball of light that covered a bit of the space between the two pieces of wood.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Belissar grunted. His head started to pound and his arm start to burn, but he kept at it. Soon, the light died down. Belissar grinned.
In its place was a piece of wax. He tried to push on it with a finger and found it was now sealed to both pieces of wood. He then took a deep breath and attempted to repeat the process. It took a lot of pain and focus but he then extended the wax by another piece. And another. And then another. He was sweating and had a massive headache, but with each attempt the pain grew just a little less.
¡°Niobee help!¡±
Niobee then landed on him and he could feel the warm flow of mana pass through his body from her. He grinned.
¡°Thanks, let¡¯s work together?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
The two then kept at it until a seal formed over the intersection of the two beams and the upright beam was acceptably stable.
***
The wounded soldier, once again, attempting to form her lightning magic into an actual shape. Her progress had slowed after her initial successes, unfortunately. She could now curve the stream into a loop¡but bending it any further cause it to break, looped parts interfering with each other and causing the whole thing to disperse.
She could tell at this point that the method wasn¡¯t working and a little loop of lightning was a far cry from the massive waves the enemy had used. At the same time, though, she wasn¡¯t sure what else she could try. If she just needed more practice with this method she¡¯d practice as much as she needed to, but if she had hit the limit then she needed to try something else. Even mundane bees adapted that much.
It was then that the King arrived in the Flower Meadow. The wounded soldier dropped her practice to dance her salute as he passed by. He then began his work on the grand palace he was building for the Flower Meadow queens near the Memorial. She watched him for a bit before returning to her own efforts.
It was later in the day when she felt the pull of the mana of the realm. She turned to face the direction of its flow. She saw there the King kneeling by a large pillar of wood. The Conduit was dancing on his back and pulling the mana all around her into the King. The King then formed a honeycomb pattern out of mana before wax appeared out of thin air.
The soldier had seen the honeycomb pattern before, it was what she was attempting to mimic in the first place. Instead, she focused on the Conduit and her movements.
Her wings buzzed. She had an idea.
She stirred up her mana and began beating her wings, the lightning wings included. She formed another arc of lightning between her physical wings and her lightning ones. She then rose to her feet¡and started to dance.
If the mana would not leave her body to form a pattern, then why not use her body to form the pattern? Instead of trying to curve and twist the arc of lightning, she tried to extend it, leaving a trail behind her as she danced. She danced in a little hexagon before arriving back at her start. The trail vanished quickly, however, and so had faded by the time she arrived.
So, she tried again. She danced faster. She beat her wings harder, increasing the intensity of the lightning arc between them and causing the trail to remain just a bit longer. She pushed the arc further, extending the trail by just a bit more.
She danced and danced, speeding up as fast as she could go and then willed herself to go even faster. She pushed the lighting arc as far as it could go, and beat her wings to build up as much lightning as she possibly could. The lightning crackled and lit up her surroundings as she zipped about.
And then, finally, the trail extended far enough and lasted long enough that she could catch it, and connected it back to the original arc between her wings.
The lightning crackled and began to glow even brighter. She stepped away¡and found that the lighting remained, crackling in the shape of the hexagon she had danced. The crackling grew louder and the light brighter as the little hexagon began to shrink down until it formed a brightly little speck of light. The wounded soldier couldn¡¯t tear her eyes away even though it began to hurt.
And then, the light receded. There, on the surface of the Memorial Beehouse, was a tiny drop of honey. A faint bit of tiny-lightning zipped across its surface. The wounded soldier looked at it before breaking out into a dance of celebration.
She had done it. She, a crippled soldier, had made honey, a feat no soldier should have been capable of. And she had done so by replicating the very magic of the King himself.
A tiny drop of honey wasn¡¯t exactly a lot, but it was a step. A small, but successful step. And now that she knew the path to take, the wounded soldier could begin stepping again and again until, one day, she could contribute to the hive as she once had.
And one by one, wounded soldiers around the Memorial came to see what was happening, and joined her in the celebratory dance¡
POBee 67.1 - A Queens Debts
The First of the Fifth flew through the air, flanked the handful of soldiers she had. She beat her wings as fast as she could, willing herself to go faster. Every moment she was out of her hive was a moment she could not guarantee the absolute quality of her honey. She might now know that top tier honey was not a path to the King¡¯s favor¡but she still could fathom offering anything less than her best to him.
But this trip was necessary. And it was something the First of the Fifth needed to do herself. She had left her instructions as best she could and then set off. She just finished flying through the Apiary and through the empty rooms now separating it from the rest of the King¡¯s domain.
Soon she arrived at the Orchard. The sight of it caused her to slow for just a second. Towering trees rose above her, their canopies filled to the brim with massive fruits and colorful flowers. A land of great abundance. The First of the Fifth wondered would could be made with the nectar of such plants. How much water did it possess, what was its sugar and mana content, did it possess any distinct flavors or compounds with magical resonance?
But she set these thoughts out of her mind and continued on her way forward. That was not the purpose of this trip.
Eventually she reached the end of the room and turned to the side. There she saw a grove of tightly packed trees, so close their branches and canopies crossed together into one. She sensed more than saw the mana of the defensive chasms surrounding the trees, revealing the defenses the King had placed to protect them. She saw streams of bees flying to and from the grove, gathering nectar from the fruit trees beyond. Some of them noticed her approach and flew back towards their home, no doubt to inform their queen of her arrival.
Soon, she arrived. She found a patch of glowing mana flowers at the center of the grove, where a single column of sunlight pierced through a small hole in the canopy above. The hive itself was not on the ground, but high up in the canopy, built upon the intersection of the grove¡¯s branches. The First of the Fifth climbed until she arrived at the entrance. Her daughter stood there waiting, along with the Fourth of the Seventh. Her daughter danced a salute.
¡°Queen mother, welcome to home.¡±
The slight twitch of her antenna and her wings indicated her nerves. The First of the Fifth, therefore, wasted no time with her task and began her dance. Her body tried to slow down but she forced herself to go through with it.
¡°Daughter¡I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Her daughter ceased all movement, so she continued.
¡°Didn¡¯t pay attention to you, put you in dangerous situation with foolish commands. My fault.¡±
Her daughter stood still a moment longer before bursting into movement. She jerked and tripped over her steps in her haste.
¡°N-No, only wished to fulfill queen mother¡¯s command! Just¡not as good as queen mother¡¡±
The First of the Fifth stepped forward and touched her daughter¡¯s antenna with her own, stopping the young queen¡¯s frantic dancing.
¡°Queen¡¯s job to keep track of hive, ensure workers work hard, but don¡¯t damage selves. Queen¡¯s fault if they do. I didn¡¯t keep track before giving new command. Daughter managed to succeed anyways. Daughter did excellent work, struggles were because of commands. Very happy with success.¡±
Her daughter swayed about.
¡°Queen mother¡¡±
The First of the Fifth took a step back and began a steady dance, holding herself to complete each step in turn, and without any staggering or hesitation.
¡°That is why rescinding old commands. New command is this: grow hive as daughter sees fit. Daughter did well, overcame problems I created. Daughter is wise enough to build own hive.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Her daughter ceased all motion once again. The First of the Fifth then turned to the other queen.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh, I thank you for helping daughter.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh danced about.
¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡±
The First of the Fifth then continued.
¡°Will not forget. Wish to give something in return. Fourth of Seventh wants anything? Will give.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh paused.
¡°No need? Already got lots from First of Fifth?¡±
But the First of the Fifth did not waver.
¡°I insist. Want to help.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh paused, then began slowly walking around in a circle. After a few rotations, her eyes came to rest on the First of the Fifth¡¯s retinue. She then began to beat her wings and dance about.
¡°Oh! Soldiers can start visiting again? Want to talk more!¡±
The First of the Fifth paused. This time, her dance did waver.
¡°You¡want soldiers to come? Eat your honey, use your time?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
The First of the Fifth fell still. This¡was not the request she was anticipating. She was prepared to donate honey, grant access to flowers, or even offer the assistance of her workers. All the things she might have asked for had another queen owed her a debt. But instead, the Fourth of the Seventh was asking her¡for the opportunity to feed her soldiers? The thing the First of the Fifth had taken from her as payment in the past?
The Fourth of the Seventh started to slow down as the First of the Fifth remained still.
¡°Is¡not ok?¡±
The First of the Fifth finally resumed her movement.
¡°Is ok but¡want to ask. Why?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh slowly danced her response.
¡°Soldiers helped King. Trying to learn how, want to ask about soldiers¡¯ work.¡±
The First of the Fifth wings began to buzz. Now that made more sense, the Fourth of the Seventh had apparently found value in the soldiers¡¯ visits that the First of the Fifth had not considered. She turned to look at her soldiers. Their antenna began to twitch under her gaze.
She realized that this¡was appropriate. Had it been beforehand, she might have assumed this was a ploy to usurp one of her own plans out from under her and gain the favor of the King. But the Fourth of the Seventh had assisted her daughter unprompted. Even if the Fourth of the Seventh had ulterior motives in doing so, whatever debt she might have gained over the First of the Fifth and her daughter would still have paled in comparison to her daughter¡¯s hive collapsing out of her own mistakes. And¡with her new knowledge of the King¡the First of the Fifth somehow didn¡¯t believe that the Fourth of the Seventh had considered all that.
So, this was a chance for her to both repay a debt, as well as to follow in the example of the King. Besides, with the new room separating the Apiary from the Flower Meadow, only the Fourth of the Seventh was in any position to do anything with the flowers the King had worked with. The First of the Fifth began to dance her command.
¡°Soldiers, stay with Fourth of the Seventh. Help her, consider her as queen until I give new command. Do whatever she asks.¡±
The soldiers paused, glanced at each other, and then slowly gave their salutes. Meanwhile, the Fourth of the Seventh began rapidly spinning about. The First of the Fifth could barely make out a dance from the motions.
¡°This is amazing! Incredible! Thanks so much!¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s antenna twitched as she paused. Her dance was a bit unsteady.
¡°¡you¡¯re welcome? If that is all, will take my leave. Daughter, don¡¯t hesitate if need help. That¡¯s command, ask if need help.¡±
Her daughter saluted and then the First of the Fifth flew off. She considered the interactions as she made her way back home.
There was always a chance the Fourth of the Seventh was putting on an act¡but the First of the Fifth didn¡¯t believe so. The Fourth of the Seventh had made no moves or accomplishments of note before the First of the Fifth had reached out to her. The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers were always deferential when encountering her own and the Fourth of the Seventh herself seemed subservient in their few direct interactions. That was why the First of the Fifth had chosen her when dumping the poor quality flowers from the Flower Meadow.
Previously, the First of the Fifth took the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s enthusiasm for the idea as a sign of her desperation. A queen with no hope of gaining any favor grasping at any slim chance for relevance, regardless of whatever disadvantageous conditions were attached to it. But now¡not the First of the Fifth couldn¡¯t wonder if she had misread the Fourth of the Seventh as well. Was it possible that the Fourth of the Seventh just never considered favor to begin with? That she had acted as she did¡because she had been legitimately happy to give and receive? That she had just¡chosen to help the First of the Fifth¡¯s daughter for no particular benefit at all? That she had just helped the bees around her as the King had?
Was it possible that this queen, who had barely had an opportunity to even see the King previously, better understood the King than she had? Was closer to the King than she?
It bore consideration. For if it were true, then the First of the Fifth would have an example to take note of. She may have been mistaken before but now she intended to be the closest to the King¡¯s ideals as she could be¡and closer than any other if she had anything to say about it.
In addition, the latest interactions had her feeling¡strange. She was not sure why, or even what exactly it was that she felt. But¡she didn¡¯t think she necessarily disliked it¡
Chapter 68 - Proper-Bee Rights
The day wore on and soon it was time for the next purification. Belissar once again prepared the fire radish slivers while the soldier bee army gathered by the entrance, this time positioned high in case of an aerial opponent. Belissar took a deep breath.
¡°Ok, here we go.¡±
Minor+ purification attempt commencing.
He triggered the purification and once again the Hunger coalesced. However, this time it did not gather midair, but on the ground. The Hunger split in two and two small wolf-shades appeared as in the first minor+ purification. Belissar frowned.
The minor purifications had always been the same, but apparently the minor+ purifications could change from day by day. And now, for only the second time ever, his bees faced more than one opponent.
The bees quickly reoriented themselves, a second sprayer squad diving to join the first as they started their attack. Both shades roared as they were greeted with toxic sprays coating their entire bodies. They retaliated with two breath attacks but the sprayers had already retreated. A third and fourth squad began their approach, the shades noticed and broke off into a run. The sprayers broke off but two squads of regular soldier bees dove in from the sides. The two shades moved closer together and swung their tails to either side, warding off the soldier¡¯s attack.
But then, one of the shades yelped and vanished, falling into the first Pit Trap where it was doused by the Mad Honey Sticky Trap. The other shade stopped and turned to look inside the pit. The third and fourth sprayer squads then pulled up and assaulted it.
The shade yelped and launched another breath attack, but caught nothing. It glanced around at all the bees surrounding it. Then, just like the first time they faced two shades, the second shade jumped down into the pit to regroup with the other and take shelter from the bees.
But unlike the first time this happened, Belissar and his bees were prepared. The Apiary soldier bees were already on their way, grasping fire radish slivers with their hind legs, ready to handle the very situation that prompted their training. They flew over the pit, just high enough to avoid any breath attacks, and released their slivers with practiced precision.
The slivers fell into the pit. Smoke and then small flames grew from them as they reacted with the mana honey.
Soon, a roaring fire filled the pit and black smoke climbed into the air. Smoke mixed with dissipating black mist.
All hostiles defeated. Purification successful.
Belissar crossed his arms and nodded as he thought back to the first battle against two opponents. He cracked a small smirk.
¡°That was for the soldiers.¡±
Minor+ Purification completed! Please select a reward:
- +75 DP
- +15 Max Mana
- Hidden Wax Cell (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Trap)
This choice was fairly easy. Hidden Wax Cells appeared again¡but Belissar didn¡¯t currently see the need for them. His bees didn¡¯t really hide much and he was going to try and get a shovel from the bear people, so he could make something similar if he felt the bees needed it. So, he went ahead and grabbed the extra mana, bring his current total up to three-hundred and thirty-five. He nodded at that, his reserves were growing nicely, which was good given he was gaining more and more things to spend it on.
And with that, the only thing left to do was the celebrate the victory. Belissar made his way over to the Apiary to grab some honey trays¡and was greeted with a surprise. He saw one of the Apiary queens leading their workers, carrying honey towards the Orchard and the Flower Meadow. He thought they only did that in special circumstances, maybe a minor+ purification counted? He smiled and nodded at the queen as she caught sight of him and then moved to gather some honey trays from his own stockpile¡
The next morning, Belissar was in the Flower Meadow working on the beehouse when he noticed the bear people arrive at his dungeon once more. Metsaitti and his hunters were there, along with Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik. He finished up the beam he was working on, and then walked over to the Apiary and grabbed the fire radish pot before making his way over. The soldier bees, including the queen that was with them, broke off their training and accompanied him as usual.
As Belissar approached the entrance, the bear people noticed him. Metsaitti inclined his head.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
¡°Good morning, Sacred Den Master.¡±
The other hunters glanced at once another and followed suit.
¡°Oh, um, hi.¡±
Belissar waited to see what they wanted but they said no more and moved into the Flower Meadow. Belissar blinked, shrugged, and then turned to Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik.
¡°Good morning, Sacred Den Master.¡±
¡°G-Good morning.¡±
Belissar waved his hand.
¡°Hi. Did you need something?¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
¡°Only to see if you wished to resume the potion lessons anytime soon.¡±
Juosiutik nodded at that. Belissar thought to himself.
¡°Hm, that would be fine as long as I can keep working on my project. Maybe in the mornings?¡±
Juosiutik nodded repeatedly.
¡°Yes, please!¡±
Chief Rohsuak chuckled. Belissar turned to her.
¡°I, uh, also have a request? Do you have any shovels or other digging tools? I¡¯d like to make a trade if so.¡±
Chief Rohsuak hummed and rubbed her chin.
¡°We do. Did you have something in mind?¡±
Belissar nodded and put the fire radish pot in front of them.
¡°I got some more fire radishes from the Tower, so would that work?¡±
Juosiutik raised an eyebrow.
¡°You¡¯re trading them back?¡±
Then she froze.
¡°Wait¡did you say¡more fire radishes?¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Um, yes?¡±
Juosiutik began leaning towards him.
¡°As in¡you grew these in your Sacred Den? Like the healing herbs the hunters gather?¡±
Belissar blinked.
¡°Um, yes?¡±
Juosiutik began stepping towards him before Chief Rohsuak placed a hand on her shoulder.
¡°As in, you grew new ones in the few days since I gave them to you?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yes?¡±
Juosiutik inhaled a large breath¡until Chief Rohsuak tightened her grip and Juosiutik let it go.
¡°Ok¡um, may I see one of the new fire radishes?¡±
Belissar nodded and pulled one out of the pot, handing it over to her. Juosiutik looked over it with a furrowed brow. Chief Rohsuak also looked over her shoulder at it.
¡°It¡appears entirely healthy from what I can tell but¡chief?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°Yes, I can feel the fire mana within. This one should be more potent than average.¡±
Juosiutik slowly turned her gaze back to Belissar. Something in her eye made him take a step back subconsciously.
¡°So¡if we give you plants¡you can grow more of them?¡±
Belissar gulped.
¡°Um, it depends? But if the plant will grow in one of the rooms I have, then yes?¡±
Juosiutik tensed and tried to step forward but Chief Rohsuak¡¯s grip was firm and Juosiutik turned back to look at her. The chief just had her eyebrow raised. Juosiutik turned back to Belissar and lowered her head.
¡°Sacred Den Master, if I give you whatever plants I have, would you be willing to share with me? Maybe grow them by the front or by the healing herbs so the hunters can gather some?¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°Oh, that would be great! And, sure, that sounds fair? Um, I should mention that the Tower needs to absorb a certain amount before it can grow them¡and again, I, can¡¯t guarantee that any particular plant will grow in the rooms I have right now.¡±
Juosiutik looked up to him, her eyes narrowed.
¡°How many do you need?¡±
Belissar gulped and took another step back.
¡°Um, it depends. It changes for each plant and how whole the pieces so I, um, won¡¯t know until I hold the specific plant.¡±
Juosiutik began to tremble. She took a deep breath and turned back to Chief Rohsuak, pleading with her eyes.
¡°Chief¡¡±
Chief Rohsuak chuckled and shook her head.
¡°The Sacred Den Master has already agreed.¡±
Chief Rohsuak had barely eased her grip when Juosiutik vanished, sprinting out of the Tower and back towards the bear people¡¯s camp. Chief Rohsuak sighed, though with a smile still on her face as she turned to Belissar.
¡°Thank you for your patience, Sacred Den Master. I know Juosiutik can get a bit¡passionate.¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°It¡¯s fine¡as long as she doesn¡¯t set the Tower on fire. And, um, this deal is pretty good for me.¡±
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin.
¡°I see, in that case, would you be open to extending the deal to other plants besides Juosiutik¡¯s herbs? Something more mundane, like food or wood?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Sure, that¡¯d be great. Anything with flowers, especially.¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled and nodded back.
¡°Wonderful, I¡¯ll see to it then. Would one third of harvested material suffice as tribute?¡±
Belissar blinked.
¡°Tribute?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°We will be imposing upon your den for resources, it is only natural to offer some back, is it not?¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Um, I thought that was in exchange for giving me the stuff in the first place?¡±
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin.
¡°Perhaps but that¡¯s a one time thing. We would like to continue gathering into the future if you are willing, so a more permanent compensation would be natural, right?¡±
Belissar frowned.
¡°Is that so? But, it¡¯s the Tower growing it, right?¡±
The only thing he knew of tribute was that the Tower Lords had demanded it of him and his village. He had done a good job putting them out of his mind recently, so he didn¡¯t particularly like the reminder.
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
¡°It is your Sacred Den, and you are the one growing the plants, by our request even. You should receive your portion from each harvest of your own land.¡±
Belissar furrowed his brow.
¡°That¡¯s¡right?¡±
He guessed that was true. It wasn''t like before, where the Tower Lords were taking stuff from land outside the Tower. Instead, they were coming into the Tower to gather stuff from it. And he was the master of this Tower and he did use up some of his total mana on the resource nodes. So, if he was going to share, he guessed it did make sense to get something back for it. Especially since the plants would be placed further away from the hives, making it harder for the bees to gather from. The bear people would even be taking away some of the flowers that bees could otherwise gather from¡that would grow back on a daily basis but the point still stood! When Belissar thought of it that way¡
He narrowed his eyes and nodded quickly.
¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. One third seems like a lot, though. How about one tenth for me and you give one tenth to the God of Bees? And you still can¡¯t hurt the bees when you gather, ok? If you have anything you can give them too, then please share.¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew.
¡°Very well, one tenth to you, one tenth to the God of Bees, and offerings to the bees themselves as well as care not to disrupt them. Is that acceptable?¡±
Belissar nodded and Chief Rohsuak continued.
¡°Good, then I will make the arrangements. Thank you, Sacred Den Master.¡±
POBee 68.1 - To Infinity...and Bee-yond!
The Second Queen of the First Dynasty of the Second Spawner, the first of her line, was about to take her turn at command when she caught sight of the King. The Conduit then came to her.
¡°King greeting others, come watch?¡±
The Second of the Second danced her salute and gave orders to the army. They formed up around her as she flew over the King.
She did not like the outsiders. They were from the beyond, where death and destruction came from. They were not born of the King, nor did they follow after his commands. They could not be trusted.
And worse, something about them rubbed the Second of the Second the wrong way. Their appearance set her on guard, stirring up instincts inherited from her mundane ancestors. They warned her of snouts and claws that could shatter the walls of hives, and of fur so thick stingers couldn¡¯t pierce it. A monster so large and powerful an entire colony would be helpless before it as it consumed their winter stores and their young.
Fortunately, the King¡¯s hives were not so weak, and these outsiders not so strong¡for the most part. They were not as large as her instinctual warnings seemed to imply, and they had numerous gaps in their fur that could be targeted. Even if they hadn¡¯t had those weak spots, the King¡¯s hives were defended by soldiers far larger than any mundane bee¡and with equally large stingers. There was the one who could apparently create flames as large as the King¡¯s fire chasms who would be a threat, but the Second of the Second believed the army could bring her down with acceptable losses if they needed to.
Still, she treated them with wariness, particularly as the King began to speak with them. There was one who was particularly aggressive towards him, and it was only the King¡¯s command that stayed the army¡¯s hand. She did not know why the King exposed himself to such dangerous beings. They could not even speak! The sounds from their mouth lacked the warm mana of the King and so could not convey any sort of meaning.
The King, though, seemed to understand such things, so great was his wisdom and insight. So, as always, the Second of the Second deferred to him, and kept an eye out for danger. She could, however, at least understand the King¡¯s responses, and so gathered that some sort of conversation was occurring.
¡°Sure, that¡¯d be great. Anything with flowers, especially.¡±
The Second of the Second flew a bit closer. From what she could gather, the conversation had turned to some sort of exchange¡involving flowers? She thought back for a moment. The reports of the soldiers on the aggressive one had mentioned that at one point the King had traded an entire tray of honey for a rock with a hole in it that apparently held plants of some sort. Around the same time as that report, the King had raised a new type of flower.
Suddenly, she understood. These outsiders¡could provide new flowers? That would explain why the King was willing to expose himself to their threat. And it made sense, it had been in the beyond where her scouts and those of her fellow Flower Meadow queens located mana flowers, which the King subsequently spread throughout his domain.
Then, the Second of the Second froze. She realized¡they had made a mistake. And she would need to report it as soon as possible. Fortunately, the outsiders soon left and the King returned to the new palace he was building, so the Second of the Second was able to return to the hives. She immediately called for a meeting of the queens.
Every queen of the Flower Meadow, the Firstborn included, stood completely still after the Second of the Second¡¯s emergency report. In the Firstborn¡¯s opinion, the Second of the Second had been right to call them. They had made a massive oversight.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
In the early days of the Second Dynasty, before the first soldier was born, the Flower Meadow queens had sent scouts and foragers to the beyond. The resources of the Flower Meadow had been growing thin at that point and they needed more if they wished to raise an army. It was then that they discovered the mana flowers. That, in hindsight, may have been the most important achievement they had ever made.
And yet, after such a massive success, they had stopped their scouting, almost entirely.
Once the King spread mana flowers throughout his domain, the queens had an abundance of riches right in their immediate surroundings. They could support their entire army on the bounty of those flowers alone, much less the additional flowers the King also raised after that. They, therefore, turned all of their attention to the growth of their hives and the army. All their workers were pulled back and focused on the highest priority flowers.
Expeditions to the beyond were no longer necessary, and no longer worth the risk.
A handful of scouts still held the perimeter of the King¡¯s domain, and kept an eye on the outsiders at the King¡¯s behest, but beyond that the Flower Meadow queens had largely stopped operating in the beyond. They certainly weren¡¯t foraging from the flowers there, nor where they searching for any more.
But, if what the Second of the Second reported was correct, that had been a mistake. There were still more riches to be discovered in the beyond. The King had raised a new flower, one that also contained potent mana within its nectar, due to his dealings with the outsiders. A flower that they had brought from the beyond.
And, because they had stopped their own scouting of the beyond, the King had been forced to act on his own. He had to expose himself to the threat of the outsiders because the Flower Meadow hives had failed in this duty.
That could not be permitted to continue.
And yet, none of the Flower Meadow queens made a move to dance, looking at one another in silence. The Firstborn knew they were all doing the same calculations as she¡and would all come to the same conclusion. The Flower Meadow queens had to continue to strengthen their army, raising more soldiers and the new sprayers in anticipation of the greater challenges the King now permitted them to face. They had to prepare to move their hives once the King had finished his grand construction. And they had stock up enough mana-rich honey to raise queens and drones for their own expansion plan. Foraging missions to the beyond had stopped because they were far less efficient than trips to the local mana flowers. Any workers they devoted to scouting would have to be written off in terms of honey production. Sending soldiers, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t as efficient. Their senses weren¡¯t as attuned to flowers as the workers and they had trouble gathering nectar as well. Their search wouldn¡¯t be as thorough or effective. Not to mention that any soldiers sent would have less time to train compared to their peers.
The conclusion was that something would have to give if they wanted to resume this duty, and the duty needed to be resumed. But they did not know which of their tasks they could afford to pause. The army was their primary purpose and necessary for the protection and growth of the hive of hives. The King himself was building their new home and they would not waste his efforts by being unprepared for its completion. The expansion plan had already been delayed several times at this point and the sooner they started it, the more time the new queens would have to grow. It was urgent that they follow through on it as soon as they could.
So¡what should they do?
It was at that moment that they had a visitor.
¡°Hi! What queens doing?¡±
The Firstborn and her peers turned to see another queen flying into the Flower Meadow. The Fourth of the Seventh had stopped by once again, making her own foraging trip to the flower patch with her workers and soldiers. The other queens turned to the Firstborn, so she took it on herself to respond.
¡°Meeting. Have¡problem.¡±
¡°Problem? What problem? Can help?¡±
The Firstborn considered that. She wasn¡¯t sure if the Fourth of the Seventh could help¡but the hive of hives extended beyond just the Flower Meadow, so she figured she might as well let the Fourth of the Seventh know what was going on. The Fourth of the Seventh had already provided several other solutions to issues they had faced, after all.
¡°Well¡¡±
She had barely finished explaining the situation when the Fourth of the Seventh suddenly burst into a high-speed dance.
¡°I¡¯LL DO IT! LET ME DO IT! WILL SEND WORKERS RIGHT AWAY!¡±
The Firstborn and the other Flower Meadow queens were stunned into motionlessness at the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s sudden assault. Eventually, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s soldiers pulled her away and back to the Orchard. The Flower Meadow queens glanced around at one another until the Firstborn began an unsteady dance.
¡°Guess¡Fourth of Seventh will handle for now?¡±
Chapter 69 - Bee-hold the Sacred Den!
Belissar did a little bit more work on the Flower Meadow beehouse while he waited and soon, the bear people returned. Juosiutik rushed into the Tower¡at least, Belissar thought it was her. She had so many bags hanging off of her that he could barely see her save for her head. After that came Chief Rohsuak and a couple of other bear people Belissar didn¡¯t recognize, each carrying a bag of some sort. Belissar made his way over, the bees following him as usual.
Juosiutik¡¯s eyes lit up as she saw him approach.
¡°There you are! Let¡¯s get started!¡±
Chief Rohsuak chuckled and shook her head.
¡°Juosiutik, I know you¡¯re excited, but perhaps we should let Leijaliuk go first?¡±
Juosiutik frowned and sat down silently, not taking her eyes off of Belissar. Chief Rohsuak shook her head and then stepped forward with another one of the bear people, who seemed to be a middle-aged woman.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master. May I introduce Leijaliuk?¡±
Leijaliuk bowed her head.
¡°I am honored to meet you, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar nodded back.
¡°Um, nice to meet you.¡±
She raised her head. Chief Rohsuak smiled.
¡°Leijaliuk here is in charge of our food stores. She¡¯s here to show you what food crops we have.¡±
Leijaliuk nodded and motioned to the other bear folk, who placed their bags on the ground and opened them up. Belissar glanced inside and saw an abundance of mushrooms, roots, and tubers, along with some seeds, nuts, and grains.
¡°At this point, most of our stockpiles were what we could gather underground, do you have any good locations for that?¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°Not yet, sorry. I have those cave carrots and stuff you first brought, but I can¡¯t grow them just yet.¡±
Leijaliuk raised an eyebrow slightly at the yet but otherwise nodded her head.
¡°I see. In that case, we do still have some seeds from our time on the surface. I am not certain of their viability, however, and we do not have many of them left. If you are not confident you can grow them, it may be wiser for us to try and plant them first.¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin and then reached out his hand.
¡°Could I try to hold them, please?¡±
Leijaliuk nodded and took some of the seeds, handing them over to him.
Absorb Rye seed? Current samples: 0/30
Absorb Oat seed? Current samples: 0/30
Absorb Cloudberry seed? Current samples: 0/30
Absorb Sweetvetch seed? Current samples: 0/30
Belissar hummed.
¡°Um, so I need thirty of these to even try.¡±
Leijaliuk furrowed her brow.
¡°I see. The grains are one thing but for the berry plants that¡¯s just about our entire remaining stock. How certain are you that they will grow?¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin as he thought about it. Rye and oats didn¡¯t make big flowers and he couldn¡¯t recall seeing any bees visiting them. That would count against them being available in the Flower Meadow, and the Orchard was mostly trees only. Cloudberries and sweetvetch were not something he recognized by name, so he wasn¡¯t sure.
¡°These cloudberries and sweetvetch¡what kind of plants are they? Would they be flowers similar to the ones in this field? Do they need any special conditions to grow?¡±
Leijaliuk slowly nodded.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
¡°Yes, they are flowering plants. They come from colder climates than this field seems.¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it will work then. Maybe I can try with one and then see about the other?¡±
Leijaliuk frowned and turned to Chief Rohsuak, who shrugged.
¡°We¡¯re pretty far south, I doubt they¡¯ll grow well here anyways.¡±
Leijaliuk took a deep breath as she turned back to Belissar.
¡°Ok.¡±
She rummaged through the bag, gathering up and counting out the cloudberry seeds and handing them to Belissar. Belissar took the first one and absorbed it. The bear people all paused and stared at his hand as the seed was covered in glowing light and then vanished. Juosiutik and Leijaliuk were staring particularly intently.
Cloudberry seed absorbed. Current samples: 1/30
Belissar gulped at all the eyes on him.
¡°Um, I¡¯ll need some more.¡±
Leijaliuk shook her head.
¡°Right.¡±
She continued handing him the cloudberry seeds until he had absorbed the needed thirty. Belissar held his breath as the message appeared before his eyes.
Cloudberry seed absorbed.
Sufficient samples gathered. Cloudberry now available.
Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.
Belissar exhaled his breath and then smiled.
¡°Looks like it worked.¡±
Leijaliuk raised an eyebrow.
¡°Truly? Could you show me, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±
Belissar nodded and brought up the relevant menu.
Available Resource Plants for Flower Meadow:
- Basic Healing Herbs (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Basic Poisonous Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Basic Textile Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Cloudberry Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)
- Flame Radish (Mana Upkeep: 10 per node)
He could apparently also add cloudberries as a general flower type across the field, though that did cost one mana unlike the other mundane flowers. In this case, however, he decided to stick with resource nodes since the point was to let the bear people gather them. On that vein, he went ahead and formed a node right by the entrance, where it would be easy to access.
A small patch of the ground began to glow and the bear peoples¡¯ eyes widened. Their surprise only grew as new shoots pushed out of the ground and grew to full sized plants in seconds. White, five-petaled flowers budded, bloomed, and then the tips of the petals turned red as berries of the same color formed in their centers. Leijaliuk slowly turned to Belissar with her eyes as wide as they could go.
¡°¡these flowers¡will they grow berries as quickly as that every time?¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°Um, not that fast. But you see those ones that are glowing slightly? Those should regrow every day.¡±
Leijaliuk stared, started to tremble, and then immediately crouched down and grabbed the bag, practically pushing it into Belissar¡¯s hands.
¡°Please try with all the rest, ok? And can you make more patches like this? If we can gather that many every day¡we¡¯ll never have to worry about going hungry ever again.¡±
Chief Rohsuak sighed and stepped forward, pulling Leijaliuk back by the shoulders.
¡°Calm down, Leijaliuk. The bees are about to attack you.¡±
Leijaliuk glanced back at Chief Rohsuak, then up into the air where the soldier bees had started to gather around her.
¡°Oh, um, sorry about that.¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head and turned to Juosiutik.
¡°That¡¯s what you look like, by the way.¡±
Juosiutik also averted her gaze. Chief Rohsuak sighed and then chuckled.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sacred Den Master. Please have some patience with us, your Sacred Den is quite incredible.¡±
Belissar nodded as he thought back to the first time he had seen the Tower do these things.
¡°Well¡I can understand that.¡±
Leijaliuk then, under Chief Rohsuak¡¯s strict gaze, calmly handed the other seeds to Belissar. In the end, sweetvetch was also compatible with the Flower Meadow and the Apiary. Rye and oats, as Belissar predicted, were not. Leijaliuk had a few other seeds but none in sufficient quantity, save for the subterranean plants that Belissar already knew wouldn¡¯t work out.
Belissar added a sweetvetch patch and then rubbed his chin.
¡°How about a healing herb patch? I think I could move the one you gather from closer?¡±
Leijaliuk nodded.
¡°Anything you have would be much appreciated.¡±
Belissar tried to move the healing herb patch and had no issues doing so. He then moved the patch by the entrance, and then rubbed his chin again.
¡°Then¡how about flax? I have that too. It, um, comes unprocessed so you¡¯d have to deal with that yourself.¡±
Leijaliuk¡¯s eyes widened and bit and then she began nodding quickly.
¡°Ah, yes! That would be really helpful!¡±
Belissar nodded and created another textile flower node too.
¡°Oh, there are apple and wood trees too, but they don¡¯t work in this room. There¡¯s another room further in, past the other Shrine of Bees you delivered the wood to. It should be fine if you gather those too, just don¡¯t disturb the bees there.¡±
Leijaliuk¡¯s eyes started to sparkle, but then she frowned and turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°That would also help but we would have to challenge the Sacred Den to reach it, right?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°This is excellent for now and we currently don¡¯t lack wood. If we need something like that and the Den Master agrees, we could arrange a group with escorts.¡±
Belissar nodded back.
¡°Yep, as long as you don¡¯t disturb the bees.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded. Leijaliuk took the other bear people back with her, intending to drop off the leftover seeds and then arrange a first foraging trip. Meanwhile, Juosiutik was staring at Chief Rohsuak with all her might, pleading with her eyes. Chief Rohsuak sighed and nodded her head.
¡°Yes, Juosiutik, it¡¯s your turn. Just pay attention to the Den Master and try not to make him uncomfortable, ok?¡±
Belissar decided not to mention he was already uncomfortable. After all, he was acquiring new flowers for his bees, and that was worth any discomfort.
He still couldn¡¯t help a slight shiver as he watched Juosiutik approach with a wide grin on her face and a dangerous glint in her eyes.
Chapter 70 - Friend-Bee Exchanges
Juosiutik waddled over to Belissar and then plopped down on the ground, offloading her bags. She immediately began to rummage through one.
¡°So, to confirm based on what you said to Leijaliuk, you¡¯re currently limited to flowering plants and trees, right? Any possibility that will change?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yeah, I can get more rooms eventually but¡it¡¯ll take a while.¡±
Juosiutik stopped and rubbed her chin.
¡°Hm, I see. That does limit us a bit but we should still have a good spread. Let¡¯s see, how about this?¡±
Juosiutik removed a seed from one of her bags and handed it over to Belissar. He dutifully took it and read the message.
Absorb Sleepy Chamomile seed? Current samples: 0/50
¡°Hm, I¡¯d need fifty of those.¡±
Juosiutik frowned.
¡°I saved up some for when we had a chance to plant surface plants again, but not sure I have that many¡¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin before his eyes widened slightly.
¡°Ah, you know it doesn¡¯t need to be seeds right? From what I¡¯ve seen, it actually takes less if you have the full plant.¡±
Juosiutik nodded and pulled out a dried chamomile flower.
¡°Here, what about this?¡±
Absorb Sleepy Chamomile? Current samples: 0/5
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yes, I¡¯d only need five of those.¡±
Juosiutik crossed her arms and hummed.
¡°How about a combination? Could you use both seeds and plants?¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Um¡I¡¯m not sure.¡±
Juosiutik rubbed her chin.
¡°Hm¡why don¡¯t you try with that plant and then check again?¡±
Belissar nodded and absorbed the Sleepy Chamomile. He then looked at the seed and checked its information.
Absorb Sleepy Chamomile seed? Current samples: 10/50
His eyes widened a bit.
¡°Ah, yeah, that worked. Looks like that counted as ten seeds.¡±
Juosiutik began to grin.
¡°We should be able to make this work then. Here.¡±
She handed to him two more dried sleepy chamomile flowers and a handful of seeds. Belissar absorbed them all as they came. Juosiutik stared at him and held her breath.
Sleepy Chamomile seed absorbed.
Sufficient samples gathered. Sleepy Chamomile now available.
Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.
Belissar smiled.
¡°It worked.¡±
Juosiutik let out a shout, her ears waggling about as she pumped her fists.
¡°YES!¡±
She then suddenly piped down and glanced around at the bees.
¡°Um, sorry. It¡¯s just¡we¡¯ve been scrounging and scraping for a while now. Having a consistent source of ingredients is going to do wonders for our stockpiles. And it¡¯ll let me experiment more, get my skills up to par.¡±
Belissar smiled and shook his head.
¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s exciting for me too.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
He held out his hand and Niobee, flying around him as always, came and landed on it.
¡°New flowers makes the bees happy. They can make new types of honey with it, or even new types of bees altogether. It¡¯s pretty exciting for me too.¡±
Juosiutik froze and went completely silent. She slowly turned her head to look at Belissar.
¡°Did you say¡new types of honey?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yes.¡±
Juosiutik began to lean in before she caught herself and shook her head.
¡°Later. Tell me more about that later, ok? For now, let¡¯s continue.¡±
Belissar grinned and nodded.
Gelatinous Heather seed absorbed.
Sufficient samples gathered. Gelatinous Flower now available.
Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.
Snakebane seed absorbed.
Sufficient samples gathered. Snakebane now available.
Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.
Burrowing Stonecrop absorbed.
Sufficient samples gathered. Burrowing Stonecrop now available.
No current applications.
Juosiutik had been excited when she packed but it turned out most of her current stockpile was subterranean in nature, or else too limited to risk Belissar not being able to grow it. They tried a flower she found underground anyways but agreed to hold off on the rest when it turned out Belissar couldn¡¯t make a node for it in any of his current rooms. Still, Juosiutik was practically squealing as the nodes for the new plants appeared.
At that point, Leijaliuk returned with a bunch more bear people.
¡°Sacred Den Master, could I request a few more nodes? Perhaps two more sweetvetch, one more cloudberry, and one more flax?¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin and checked over his mana.
Mana: 61/335
He crossed his arms. His mana was starting to dip a bit low¡and he also needed to replicate all these nodes in the Flower Meadow and Apiary for his bees. On the other hand, he wasn¡¯t using the mana for anything else right this second and could get more from the purifications.
¡°I¡think that should work, but you¡¯ll need to wait for any more.¡±
Leijaliuk smiled.
¡°Wonderful, thank you, Sacred Den Master. You¡¯ve no idea how much this will help us.¡±
Belissar thought back to his days before the Tower, especially the times he was living on his own. He remembered stumbling across a patch of berry bushes on a particularly tight year. He imagined someone suddenly giving him some more.
¡°¡I think I might, though.¡±
With that, the bear folk got to work picking the food and flax. With the near automatic harvesting of the resource nodes, they were done almost immediately. Most of them gathered to Leijaliuk who took stock of the haul, while Juosiutik commandeered a few others to help her with the more medicinal plants. Soon, Leijaliuk had split the harvest into three piles, one large and two small. She then walked back over to him.
¡°Here you are, Sacred Den Master. Please let us know if this is sufficient.¡±
Belissar turned and looked at the pile, with several sweet vetch roots and a pile of berries, along with several flax flowers. He rubbed his chin.
He received more honey each day than he could consume by far. If that weren¡¯t enough, he had an entire orchard of apple trees. He had plenty to eat even before considering that the Tower magic meant he didn¡¯t even need to. As for the flax flowers¡well, Belissar had more of those than he ever wanted to deal with.
So, he wondered what exactly he would do with this stuff. It made sense to get some payment for letting them gather it, but he still had to do something with it all at the end of the day. He could try to give it to the bees, he guessed, but he wasn¡¯t sure what they would do with uprooted flowers or berries. He thought he remembered seeing bees land on a dropped fruit at one point, but it was rare enough he struggled to recall exactly.
It used to be highly rare for Belissar to have more than he knew what to do with, so he didn¡¯t have great ideas. If he was in the village, he could have tried to trade it at least¡
Belissar suddenly realized that he was being dumb and knew right away what he should do.
¡°¡actually, that¡¯s a bit much for me. I already have a bunch of flax and food. So, um, would it be possible to trade this for something else? I could use some pots, or some finished cloth.¡±
Leijaliuk nodded.
¡°That should be possible. Very well, is it alright if I bring some items tomorrow then?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yeah, that works.¡±
After that, Juosiutik also finished her gathering and separated her haul into piles as well. This time, Belissar accepted the pile, figuring he could use that stuff once Juosiutik taught him a bit more about potions. Juosiutik and Leijaliuk then arranged for the bear folk to carry the piles for the God of Bees to her shrine, placing it all in the chest. They both knelt in front of the statue, all the gatherers kneeling behind them. Juosiutik and Leijaliuk both whispered in words Belissar still couldn¡¯t hear.
The Shrine of Bees began to glow. Belissar suddenly stumbled back.
¡°Wha¡?¡±
A moment later, the bear people rose to their feet. Leijaliuk and Juosiutik walked over to him.
¡°Sacred Den Master, is something the matter?¡±
Belissar took a moment to acknowledge them, then shook his head.
¡°Ah, no, it¡¯s¡fine. Yes, it¡¯s fine.¡±
Leijaliuk and Juosiutik glanced at once another before turning back to him.
¡°If you say so. Thank you again for your generosity, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Juosiutik nodded her head repeatedly.
¡°Yes, thank you! Um, would you mind if we delay the lessons for now? I¡¯d like to get all this home and organized.¡±
Belissar nodded with a distant look in his eyes.
¡°Ah, yeah, that¡¯s fine.¡±
With that, the bear people gathered up their shares and departed the Tower, leaving Belissar alone. Alone to again look at the message that had distracted him.
Gained 84 DP.
He got eighty-four DP, more even than Metsaitti¡¯s hunters, just from that offering? Something that took less than an hour of time?
And they were even going to share the bounty with him. He was also receiving an abundance of food, flax, and herbs without lifting a finger. He could then trade the fruits of the bear people¡¯s gathering back to them for more stuff.
Suddenly, all the mana he spent on those resource nodes didn¡¯t seem so expensive after all. Belissar even wondered if he should move the Orchard entrance closer to the main exit so the bear people could gather apples and wood too.
He even cracked a small smile. He had been¡apprehensive, to say the least, about the bear people when they first arrived. But at this point, well, they didn¡¯t seem so bad. He was even starting to like having them around.
Chapter 71 - Bees Together Strong
¡°Chief, we found something. Partiokinik figured we should ask you to check it out.¡±
Chief Rohsuak raised an eyebrow at the scout¡¯s report. The clan had more hunters than just Metsaitti and the group he took into the Sacred Den. However, most of the hunters were currently guarding the camp, keeping an eye on the Underway entrance, or else scouting out their new home. Metsaitti took only the youngest bunch, those with the greatest potential for growth¡and whose absence would hinder the clan least. It seems that now, those scouts had found something.
She slowly rose to her feet and nodded.
¡°Lead the way.¡±
And so she made her way through the forest, along a small trail the hunters had cut. It was slow going; the hunters had cut as little as they could to minimize signs of their presence, so she constantly had to push branches out of her way. She could feel scratches accumulating here and there.
And yet¡she was all smiles. Few remained who remembered it but Chief Rohsuak was not always one for calm leadership from behind. It was rare that she had the opportunity to leave her duties and brave the unknown. Though, a dull ache in her knees reminded her of why she generally restrained herself.
Still, for all the little aches and pains she couldn¡¯t help but beam as she came out into a small clearing where crumbling stone ruins stood. She could still feel the thrum of mana lurking within the humble walls. She dropped her smile and turned to the hunters.
¡°You were wise to call me, this place is magic. Please, do not approach or touch anything.¡±
The hunters nodded and spread out to keep watch. Chief Rohsuak slowly made her way towards the ruins, stretching her senses to keep track of the mana. Her caution mostly seemed unnecessary as she made it to the ruins¡¯ walls without incident. The mana, while apparent, was quite faint, and she couldn¡¯t detect any particular pattern to its flow.
She heaved a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. Memories came to her unbidden. In the days of her youth, her clan possessed great wisdom. Masters of the mystic arts who were far more attuned to the flows of mana than she, or keepers of lore that might connect what she saw to ancient tales. She was neither. She was really only good at fighting and surviving.
And because of that, she was all they had left.
In the end, Chief Rohsuak couldn¡¯t glean any insights into the ruins. She had seen similar ruins and similar markings to those that had nearly faded, but she had no means by which to decipher them. All she could say was that these ruins covered quite the area, and the fact that most of them still held some mana was a testament to skill in the mystic arts. Whatever people had built them once lived across the entirety of her clan¡¯s journey and could weave extremely enduring enchantments. But in most of the ruins, including these, those enchantments had faded long past use or recognition. Those that weren¡¯t¡tended to be dangerous.
She walked back to the hunters. They looked at her expectantly, but she shook her head.
¡°Nothing of note, though we should still be cautious about the mana. Keep an eye on this place but do not approach. Let¡¯s let sleeping bears lie.¡±
The next day Belissar made some trades with the bear people, giving up his portion of the harvest for some leather and pottery. Juosiutik apologized and asked to delay the lessons, as she wanted to see how her recipes would work with the dungeon ingredients before teaching them to him. Belissar agreed to that since it would let him focus on the beehouses.
And so, the week went on. Belissar continued working on the Flower Meadow beehouse. He was making steady progress on the frame when he realized he had a problem.
How exactly was he going to make the roof?
It was a bit of an oversight. Putting aside the question of getting the beams up to the top, he would also need to manipulate the beams to slot them into the grooves he carved, since he didn¡¯t have nails or anything similar. He might be able to build some sort of stair case that he could drag a beam up, but then lifting that beam by himself for the slotting would be¡difficult.
He was frowning and rubbing his chin when Niobee started to dance in front of him.
¡°King, ok?¡±
Belissar grunted.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just trying to figure out how to lift this stuff up there.¡±
Niobee paused before dancing.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
¡°Bees help?¡±
Belissar smiled and reached out to brush her head.
¡°Thanks for the offer, but this might be a bit heavy for you.¡±
Niobee shook a bit at his touch¡and then suddenly flew off. Belissar tilted his head at that.
¡°Was it something I said? Or should I not have touched her head why she was flying?¡±
It turned out it was none of those things. Belissar heard the buzzing before he saw it. The entire soldier bee army was now flying towards him, with Niobee at the lead.
¡°King! Bees help! If all help, can lift?¡±
Belissar stared with eyes wide open.
¡°Oh. Um, maybe?¡±
Belissar walked over to one of the intended roof beams. He crouched down and lifted one side of it off the ground.
¡°Ok, can you girls come and see if you can lift it?¡±
The soldiers bee army saluted as one and then swarmed over him. Countless soldier bees hovered next to the beam, hooking their hind legs under the bottom. Once assembled, they all began beating their wings as one. Belissar kept a hold on the beam to keep it from falling¡but he needn¡¯t have worried. The beam began to lift out of his hands.
¡°Nice, let me get the other side.¡±
He lifted the other end off the ground so the bees could get a grip on the entire beam and level it out. Soon, they were lifting it into the air. Belissar stared at the sight for a moment.
¡°That¡is amazing.¡±
He shook his head and then walked over to the frame, where two vertical beams stood upright.
¡°Ok, can you girls bring it over here? We need to bring it to the top of these two.¡±
The bees did as asked. It took a bit of finagling to get the beam into the grooves, but the smaller bees were even more capable of small adjustments than a person would be, and so they got it in.
Belissar then realized he would still need to get up there to add the stabilizing wax. He knew he could ask the bees for help with that too but as far as he knew he would need worker bees rather than soldiers for that task. Asking the soldier bees cut down on their training, but that wasn¡¯t too worrying since they could handle purifications no problem. Asking the worker bees, on the other hand, would cut down on honey production for the hives, so Belissar wanted to avoid that if possible.
As such, he was about to start building a staircase or a ladder when he suddenly had an idea. He got the beams up there with the help of his bees, perhaps like a dungeon master might. So¡perhaps there were other ways his dungeon master abilities might help here? In fact, he realized there was a very easy way they could do so.
He switched to Tower sight and located one of his trees, selecting it. He moved the transparent image right next to the beehouse in progress and confirmed. He watched as light began to cover the tree and then move to the new location. A moment later, the tree was now standing in front of him¡and right next to the newly installed beams.
He grabbed onto the branches and within moments found himself next to the beams, close enough to work his magic. He smiled to himself.
Being a dungeon master wasn¡¯t half bad, at times.
All hostiles defeated. Purification successful.
Belissar smiled. Another day, another victory without sacrifice. Between the sprayers and the bees¡¯ growing skill, minor+ purifications were handled with ease. The purifications were now swapping between single birds or double wolves at random but nothing else at the moment, and the bees had perfected their strategies for each case.
And, of course, a week of successful purifications meant a week of rewards.
Minor+ Purification completed! Please select a reward:
- +75 DP
- +15 Max Mana
- Small Pond (Rarity: Common, Type: Water)
Belissar¡¯s smile widened at that. Today bore unexpected fruit. For the first time of all the options he had seen, something water related was offered. Belissar went ahead and selected the option.
It was a bit more expensive than the usual feature at five mana, but he could add one to any of his rooms. But that was not a problem considering the Tower¡¯s current state:
Dungeon Status:
Floors: 1 (Rooms: 2/2), 2 (Rooms: 1/2)
Mana: 79/395
DP: 1695
Available Monster Types: Monster Bee Queen, Monster Bee Soldier, Monster Bee Sprayer
Available Room Types: Flower Meadow, Apiary, Orchard
Available Room Features: Pit Trap, Sticky Honey Trap, Basic Resource Plants, Beehive, Bee Memorial (Limit Reached)
Dungeon Perks: Bee Breeder, Cross-Pollination, Monster Bee Soldier Strength Boost (Minimal), Monster Bee Soldier Speed Boost (Minimal), Monster Bee Worker Speed Boost (Miminal+), Monster Bee Queen Mana Boost (Minimal+)
Core Corruption: 0%
Dungeon Master: Belissar
Dungeon Conduit: Niobee
Patron: God of Bees
Blessing: Blessing of Bees
Current Missions: Help ten challengers receive full blessings, House all bees
His mana had taken a significant dip due to all the new plant nodes. He had made several of the new plants plus two flax nodes for the bears, then one of each new plant node for both the Flower Meadow and the Apiary queens to gather from. But with daily minor+ purifications offering fifteen mana each, he had been able to recover a bit. He did spend two of the rewards on particularly enticing boosts for his bees, but he was still in a good spot with an additional sixty total mana.
Belissar went ahead and added one to each of his rooms, one by the Flower Meadow beehouse, one by the Orchard grove, and one by the Apiary farmhouse. The Flower Meadow and Orchard ponds were set up for fighting fires near the hives.
The Apiary farmhouse, on the other hand, was set up for easy access from the farmhouse. Belissar now had access to water, and he had acquired water-tight pottery from the bear people. That meant he could now practice that basic potion Juosiutik had taught him.
And¡more than that¡Belissar could attempt to resume his mead-making. And with all the ingredients available in the Tower, he had countless potential recipes he could try.
He grinned as wide as he could.
Chapter 72 - Bee-wildering Progress
After the victory celebrations, Belissar went to check out the nearest pond. It was¡well, a pond. It was only about as long as he was tall and would come up his ankles, maybe even as deep as his knee at the most. There were no particular plants or features, the crystal clear water let him see the empty rock at the bottom.
It was a bit of water and that¡¯s it. But, at the end of the day, that was all Belissar needed it to be. He knelt down and cupped a bit into his hand, then took a sip. His first drink of water since becoming a dungeon master. It was cool and refreshing.
He then returned to the Apiary farmhouse for the night. He sat back in one of the chairs, for he had something he wanted to think about before he went to bed.
DP: 1695
When reviewing the Tower¡¯s status, he noticed his DP had grown substantially. He knew that he was receiving way more DP than before thanks to both the bear people¡¯s gathering group and their hunting group, but only now did he realize just how much he had received. He reopened the DP store for the first time since it first appeared.
DP Shop
- Extra Room Feature Choice (Cost: 1000 DP)
- Extra Monster Choice (Cost: 3000 DP)
- Extra Room Choice (Cost: 3000 DP)
- Extra Perk Choice (Cost: 10000 DP)
- Additional Room Slot (Cost: 5000 DP)
- Boost Maximum Mana (Cost: 5000 DP)
His eyes widened as he compared the numbers. When he had first seen it, his DP income had been all of one per day. Even the cheapest option would take him years to afford. So, he had basically written off the entire thing as too expensive to ever afford and largely forgotten about it.
Now? Now he could already afford a new room feature choice, and he was well on his way to the others. He could buy something right now if he wanted to.
So, it was time to consider if he wanted to, and what he should aim for. A room feature now, or one of the other options later? He asked himself what, if any room features he needed.
In the end, though, he couldn¡¯t think of anything specific. As luck would have it, he had already gotten a water source just today, which was the main feature he wanted. He could think of other things that could be useful: more plants for the bees, more traps for better defense, maybe something to help the bear people and get even more DP. Yet, he couldn¡¯t think of a specific thing that he needed right now, and since the choices seemed random he had no idea if the feature in question would be something he wanted in any case.
So, he considered the other choices. More monster options was always a good thing. The sprayers had been incredible, dealing with shades while minimizing the risk to his bees. He had also already seen plenty of options that would be useful. He could get digger bees if they ever showed up again. Carpenter or mason bees might help him with his current construction projects. Monster bee captains would make the army even stronger than it was. Plus, who knew what other options were out there?
New perks were a bit more expensive, and thus far the effect of perks seemed a bit more subtle compared to new monsters or features. But, it made his Tower and his bees stronger, and didn¡¯t require him to spend any more mana to do so. Likewise, he could expand his room limit and get more rooms to work with. He could make an Orchard just for the bear people, maybe even an Apiary if he was willing to let them interact directly with the bee colonies. He still hesitated on that, but the bear people had respected his bees thus far so maybe it wouldn¡¯t be a terrible idea. Plus, a second farmhouse might provide a good place for lessons with Juosiutik.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
But, ultimately, Belissar determined which option he would want right now. New room types would be the most helpful, he thought. He still had a fourth room slot he hadn¡¯t used, and he had a bunch of plants unlocked that he didn¡¯t have a suitable place to grow. If Dirt Tunnels appeared again, for example, he could probably grow all those cave plants he had¡not to mention that Juosiutik had a bunch more she could share in that case as well. And even if Dirt Tunnels or another underground option wasn¡¯t available, new room types meant more plant options from Basic Resource Plants, so it wouldn¡¯t be a loss either way.
He had already received new features from the minor+ purifications and new plants from the bear people. He also figured that new types of bees might show up from all those new plants, so he might also get some new monster types as well. He didn¡¯t really know what perks would show up, and he could expand his mana just from the daily purifications. As such, a new room typed seemed like the best option he could pick.
Well, he would have to wait a bit longer before he could afford it and who knows? Maybe he¡¯d get a room option from one of the purifications before then. In any case, Belissar had a plan for his growing DP, so he said goodnight to Niobee and then went to sleep.
It turned out Belissar¡¯s thoughts would be correct. Belissar awoke and was making his rounds through the Apiary beehouses when he came to one of the new ones. The queen was waiting out at the front and began to dance rapidly as he approached. Next to her stood a worker bee. A worker bee with red and black stripes.
Belissar grinned. He had a feeling he knew what was going on.
¡°Good morning. You want to show me something?¡±
The queen danced her salute and then the worker bee flew up towards Belissar.
Burning Monster Bee Worker
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal+
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal+
Special: Minor
Notable Skills: Burning Poison Sting, Heat Resistance, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring
Description: A monster bee worker raised on honey infused with Fire attribute mana. Both its body and its venom run hot. Stings will burn and may cause fever. Can produce fire and heat-resistant wax, a necessity for its Fire-mana infused honey.
Belissar nodded. As he expected, one of the queens had raised a new bee type from the flame radishes.
¡°Good work. If you can, try to raise some more of these, we could use them.¡±
The queen froze, standing completely still for a moment before she burst out into as rapid a salute dance as she could. Belissar chuckled.
¡°Well, there¡¯s no rush, so don¡¯t overdo it, ok?¡±
She saluted once more before rushing into her beehouse, the burning worker following after her. Belissar shook his head. He was a tad worried she might get carried away now that he had asked something directly, but it was true that he could use those bees. Flame resistant wax would be a godsend given all of the building materials currently available in the Tower were flammable. These burning worker bees could very much resolved that concern and reinforce the firebreaks he was planning. If there were enough of the burning worker bees, then brush fires would no longer represent an existential threat to the Flower Meadow.
And that was only the first of the new plants he had received. Belissar couldn¡¯t help but whistle a tune as he continued on with his morning.
***
With the help of the soldier bees, construction on the new beehouse accelerated dramatically. The soldiers working together could lift a beam faster than Belissar could. In addition, after lifting one beam the soldiers would rotate out for another group, allowing the work to continue while the first group rested. Within a day, they had already finished the framework.
Belissar was now sawing planks for the floors, walls, and roof. The bees did attempt to help with that task but the small handle on the saw made it hard for the bees to get sufficient leverage. Belissar had some ideas on that but he didn¡¯t have the resources nor skills to make a metal saw. Perhaps he should ask the bear people about it, they had to have gotten their metal tools and weapons from somewhere, after all.
But for now, Belissar didn¡¯t mind. He wanted to do this for the bees, so it would defy the point if the bees took care of every part of the task. The bees also could lift the planks without too much trouble, so began laying the floor even as Belissar worked on the planks.
Belissar halted the work and reviewed their progress as they approached the purification cooldown. It wouldn¡¯t do for the soldier bees to go into a fight tired, after all. His eyes widened a bit as he saw the frame with part of the floor taking shape. At this rate¡they¡¯d be done much sooner than he anticipated. Belissar grinned.
Everything seemed to be going very well.
Side Story 72.1 - Consequences
Ruckanos stumbled out of the Tower, wincing as pain shot through every inch of his body. His lord father had been ruling for several lifetimes before Ruckanos had ever been born. In that time, he had learned precisely how much damage a human body could take and survive. Knowledge that had been applied to him most thoroughly.
A Tower Guard behind him shoved his back, sending a fresh wave of pain surging through him.
¡°Come on, move it!¡±
Ruckanos knew better than to glower or retort to the man¡¯s barking. Once upon a time, even the mightiest of the Tower Guard would grovel at his feet. Now, they would not intervene if even the lowliest peasant insulted him.
And Ruckanos knew why. Oh, he had been very thoroughly and repeatedly instructed as to exactly what he had done. Firstly, his frivolous, unnecessary, and preemptive celebrations had cost him his Tower. The knowledge that he had lost his chance at the power, authority, wealth, long life, and blessing of the gods that were all within his grasp was terrible enough. He had then been very much made aware that he had cost his lord father an extra seat at the Conclave, on top of all the humiliation and loss of clout that came with this egregious failure. He was even informed that the High Council itself was getting involved. He learned that was true when a Censor arrived at his father¡¯s Tower and interrogated him.
And he had been informed, in no uncertain terms, that all his current pain was a mercy compared to what he deserved.
The power a Tower of the Gods could offer had to be utilized responsibly. If it were not, there was no guarantee that the wrath of the gods would not once again fall upon the world. And if humanity failed once again even after receiving the blessing of the Towers, would the gods then deign to show mercy? A Tower that had not been bound and placed by the augurs was therefore out of the Censors¡¯ reach. It could not be brought into the Conclave. It could not be monitored. It could not be dealt with should the worst come to past. Nobody now knew where it had gone¡or who was now in charge of it.
Ruckanos had done nothing less but created an existential threat to all of humanity that the Tower Lords could do nothing about at present.
And to top it all off¡his lord father was surprisingly upset about his handling of the rabble. Apparently, putting the rabble to the sword was not what his lord father meant when he was instructed to handle it personally. Relocation was far less wasteful and drew less attention. And¡it turned out that the small little village Ruckanos saw no value in was the source of that new mead that had become his lord father¡¯s favorite recently. His lord father was just about to search out whoever was responsible and induct them into his Tower Servants, to run his personal apiary.
Ruckanos didn¡¯t think it possible, but his lord father grew even more displeased when he had discovered exactly which village Ruckanos had burned, and when he had learned there were no survivors. Even the bees of the local apiary had abandoned their hives, so he could not even take possession of them, much less recruit their keeper.
With all of this in mind, Ruckanos expected nothing but death. A slow, excruciating death that took as long as his lord father and the High Council deemed justified.
So, it was something of a surprise that he was now being led outside of the Tower. The pair of guards behind him pushed him through the keep that surrounded his lord father¡¯s Tower. He was led down a cramped stairwell and brought to¡a bathroom? Ruckanos couldn¡¯t help but blink as servants stripped him of the rags upon his body and washed him up. A healer came and cast his magic, restoring just enough of Ruckanos¡¯s injuries that they would not impact his function.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Not so much that every movement wouldn¡¯t ache, however.
Ruckanos gulped, but decided it was worth risking a question.
¡°W-What¡¯s going on?¡±
¡°Quiet.¡±
Well, he wasn¡¯t struck for daring to open his mouth, so he¡¯d consider that an improvement. His questions only grew, however, when he was brought to the armory. He was equipped with some armor, a traveling cloak, a lance, and a sword, all lightly enchanted. Trash compared to the treasures he had once received, but items that were still powerful, functional, and the envy of all lesser soldiers. Gear that a Tower Guard would still find acceptable.
He was then led to a large, open courtyard at the center of the keep. He froze and blinked until the Tower Guard behind him shoved him once again.
There was the captain of his former personal guards, as well as all the Tower Guards that once served him. The augur that had accompanied them to the village was present as well.
Behind them, a squadron of wyverns was lying on the ground. Wyvern-tenders were brushing and feeding them as servants packed the large saddle backs tied to them. An official stepped forward and opened a scroll.
¡°By the decree of the High Council, a Grand Subjugation has been declared. The High Council calls upon all of the Tower Lords to join in this grand mission, to seek out and strike down the enemies of the gods wherever they may lurk, and to bring the lost to safety and blessing.¡±
A Tower Guard standing next to the official nodded and stepped forward.
¡°The lord of the Starami Tower commits to this effort his own son, Ruckanos, who will lead his contribution to this endeavor.¡±
Ruckanos¡¯s heart fell. All his questions had now been answered. The Tower Lords were aware that not every Tower that existed belonged to the Conclave. Single towers, pockets of towers, even entire nations had been located over time as the Hunger was driven back. Whenever they had appeared, they had brought into the Conclave¡or dealt with.
But it was not enough to simply wait for them to appear as the borders of the Conclave slowly expanded. Who knew what a malign individual could do with a Tower of the Gods in places unseen? Neither the Conclave, the High Council, or the Censors could let such a situation stand. The grace of the gods may depend upon it.
And so came the Grand Subjugations. Each Tower Lord would contribute a portion of their forces to strike out into the unknown. They would soar above the Hunger in the skies or take to the Underway below and search the world for rogue towers. Those rulers of Towers that were merely misguided would be corrected. Those rulers of Towers with evil intent, including the subhumans, were to be subjugated at all costs.
Now that a Tower had been specifically lost, it was only natural a Grand Subjugation would be arranged.
The thing was¡ninety-nine percent of all forces sent out on a Grand Subjugation would never be seen again. Neither flying high nor crawling below were surefire ways to evade the Hunger. Flying and digging shades would assault them enroute¡and worst things could occur as the concentration of the Hunger rose. Even if they survived the Hunger¡¯s active attempts to consume them, there was no guarantee they would find a safe place to land when their mounts grew exhausted. And even if they found a place to land, there was no guarantee they would find any supplies before what they carried with them ran out.
And even if all that didn¡¯t kill them, at the end of the journey they would find a Tower Lord who did not acknowledge the authority of the Conclave.
Ruckanos understood their intentions all too well. He, and everyone who had been with him that day, were being sent to die. Thanks to his failure, every Tower Lord would now send people to die, but he knew he would be the only Tower Lord¡¯s child in the first wave, the one least likely to succeed and most likely to perish. The wayward Tower had to be relocated, no matter how many lives would be lost in the process. His lord father and the High Council intended for his to be the first.
Ruckanos walked silently towards the wyverns. The former captain of his guard saluted, though his eyes held no life. The augur had a frown on his face. Ruckanos gave them a nod as he mounted his wyvern.
¡°As my lord father and the High Council commands.¡±
But as the wyverns started to take off, a small fire sparked in the depths of Ruckanos¡¯s heart. He realized that, even though he was being sent into certain death, he had gained a small chance. He was no longer doomed to die in the depths of his lord father¡¯s Tower, or at the hands of a Censor. No, he had a chance. A small, miniscule chance, but one that at least existed.
If he managed to survive¡
If he managed to pass over the Hunger¡
If he managed to find a rogue Tower¡
And if he managed to bring it to heel¡
Ruckanos¡¯s eyes narrowed. He was about to face the most difficult and perilous task of his life¡but maybe, just maybe, his story wasn¡¯t over yet.
POBear 72.2 - Double, Bubble, Bear and Trouble
Back in the bear people¡¯s camp, Juosiutik watched as the pot just outside her tent bubbled. Others of the clan passed her by, but most knew better than to interrupt her mid-brew. She focused in, stretching out with what little mana she had herself to try that of the potion as it bubbled and swirled. She frowned.
A true potion-maker would be able to follow the flow of mana throughout the entire process, and even predict how it would develop. She¡they would have been able to make micro-adjustments at the very start so that the whole thing would coalesce at the end, even through a chaotic middle. Juosiutik, on the other hand, did not have the mana reserves to keep such a close and detailed eye. She barely had enough to infuse the potion and kick off the process. Nor did she have the knowledge of what changes she needed to make, what sort of chaotic flow was actually good and what sort of seemingly smooth flow would ruin the entire mix. It was one reason why so many of her experiments went up in flames.
But there was nothing for it. Only a handful of records were left behind when the¡last potion-maker passed, so there was no choice but to figure it out through trial and error. A process made much more difficult by the clan¡¯s lack of resources. It had neither the mana-infused food stuffs that would have boosted the growth of her own reserves, nor the extra potion ingredients for her to make more than the occasional attempt.
That was beginning to change, however. The God of Bees had given her slight blessings, boosting her mana reserves just a bit. In addition, Juosiutik now had a consistent source of high-quality ingredients. She could now afford to waste a few on failed experiments. And she also had a powerful source of mana that appeared capable of infusing any combination of ingredients she had tried.
Her thoughts turned to the Sacred Den and its master for a moment. He was small and strangely furless. She thought that might have been just part of who he was but he had a small patch on the top of his head, so it clearly wasn¡¯t impossible for him to grow any. She originally was going to investigate his condition but Chief Rohsuak had told her no, so she would let it lie. Maybe he was sensitive about it?
It would make sense. The Sacred Den Master was incredibly timid. He reminded her more of Noigakkuq, the runt of the clan, than of a leader like Chief Rohsuak. That wasn¡¯t all bad, though. Juosiutik didn¡¯t mind Noigakkuq¡¯s company when the other girl was willing to speak with her. She, and the Sacred Den Master, were both far less likely to ignore her warnings and tip over a brew in progress. There was a reason Tyhgak wasn¡¯t allowed near her pot anymore.
Still, Juosiutik couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of the Sacred Den Master. The man commanded an entire army that could wipe out most of the clan. He possessed riches beyond imagining, and even Juosiutik¡¯s limited senses could tell his personal mana reserves were nothing to scoff at either. So, why then was he so timid? If she had that much power at her disposal¡well, she probably would be marching back towards¡in any case, it was strange that someone with that much power would not be waving it about.
But Juosiutik was taken out of her thoughts as she felt the bubbling mana begin to settle down. She leaned over the pot and began to stir it with a ladle. The mana remained settled even with her disruption, letting her know the mixture was now stable. She allowed herself a small smile.
Yet another successful brew. At this point, she was beginning to understand some of the properties of the mana honey. The magical, ridiculous properties that defied her understanding of potion ingredients. Mana honey was greedy. It wanted to absorb more mana and harmonize it with its own, taking on its properties. It shared its own mana in the process, creating a current of mana exchanging characteristics between different ingredients. It was an excellent binding agent that could tie clashing ingredients together, using itself as the medium. And the mana it already possessed would kick-start any such process, taking the burden off of Juosiutik.
In some ways, it wasn¡¯t fair. It wasn¡¯t fair that honey was a better potion-maker than she was. But that was fine, because she had the honey now, and felt confident enough in her understanding of it to try something.
She emptied the pot and stored its contents. She had to wait for it to cool down before she washed it thoroughly, then she went back into her tent and began rummaging through her bags until she found the ingredients she was looking for. She filled the pot with water once again. This time, though, she build a small fire underneath it rather than using flame radish. This was a difficult and complicated brew, so she couldn¡¯t afford to use flame radish for heating. Just one of many reasons she hadn¡¯t been able to attempt this.
Another major reason was ingredients. Sleepy chamomile and quickblossom were supposedly abundant in their old home, but Juosiutik had never seen it. All she had left of them were a couple of dried flowers and a handful of seeds. For the quickblossom, she didn¡¯t even have enough for the Sacred Den to absorb, she would have to try and grow some of the seeds once she was sure they weren¡¯t going to move again. So, she could not afford to waste what little she had left on failed attempts.
And that was a problem, because this brew was not only complicated, it didn¡¯t even make sense. Sleepy chamomile and quickblossom had opposite effects, such that mixing them together canceled the other out and left the drinker with nothing but a stomachache. And yet¡the previous potion-maker had been able to blend them together. Somehow, they were able to manage the clash and the chaos such a mixture would create and bring a stable product out of it all. A miracle drink that was unparalleled in its ability to relieve fatigue, restoring and relaxing the body while simultaneously energizing it.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Juosiutik, for the life of her, couldn''t figure out how it would ever be possible. And without access to new ingredients, the small reserves she had would not be enough for her meagre skills to work it out.
But no longer. The Sacred Den could now provide her with as much sleepy chamomile as she needed. From what little she recalled, the mix required far more sleepy chamomile than quickblossom, so that went a long way towards making an attempt possible. Still, that alone would not justify using up the last few dried quickblossom flowers. But, she had received something else that would.
Mana honey. That mystical, unfair binding agent. Juosiutik had tested it recently with as many ingredients as she could spare and as far as she could tell, it would work even with ingredients that were supposed to clash. So, Juosiutik might not be able to get the opposite ingredients to work together, but now, she might not have to. Mana honey might be able to do that for her.
She was confident enough in it that it was worth an attempt.
She checked her ingredients and her tools. She double and then triple checked them. She took her spear and jabbed it into the ground, topping it with a small wolf-mole skull. The agreed upon sign within the clan that she was not to be disturbed.
She took a deep breath as the water began to heat up. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she held the pouch containing the quickblossom.
¡°Ok¡here goes¡¡±
She placed it down and then dumped a whole armful of sleepy chamomile into the pot. She sent a small jolt of her mana into the water to begin the process, and then began stirring the mix. She danced around the pot, stirring in random patterns. A circle here, then a circle the other way, then a figure eight, then back and forth. She believed the goal was to prevent the sleepy chamomile from settling while its mana activated.
She then tossed in a sweetvetch and some cloudberries, ingredients that had also come from her homeland. She vaguely remembered such things being added to the mix, though she wasn¡¯t sure why. She did feel the mana react slightly.
She then took another deep breath. The sleepy chamomile mana was now leaking into the water. If she didn¡¯t act now, it would settle and turn into a basic sleepy chamomile tea. It was now or never.
She narrowed her eyes and picked up her pouch, and a piece of mana honeycomb she had broken off the tray. She took a dried quickblossom flower from the pouch and rubbed it on the honeycomb, coating it in the honey. Then she dropped both into the mix.
The mix began to bubble and boil over as the ingredients reacted. Juosiutik began to stir furiously, spreading the quickblossom mana throughout the pot. She could feel the mana roiling, she could see whisps of steam and small sparks emit from the pot. She wanted to send her mana into the mix, try to sooth over the growing storm.
But she resisted. She had no idea what this mix was supposed to look like at this stage, so intervening haphazardly would be a mistake. Instead, she felt for the mana of the honey comb and focused on that. She sent what little mana she had through her ladle to the piece of honeycomb and tried to carry it on into the mix as she stirred. Her entire plan here was to trust in the properties of the mana honey, so that is what she focused her interventions on. She then hoped against hope, and even prayed to the gods, that the mana honey would do what she thought it would.
For what seemed like an eternity Juosiutik stirred the mixture. Her heart pounded harder and harder as the mix grew ever more chaotic. She was frowning as a particularly large spark nearly singed her hand. Her face began to fall.
If this kept up, she would need to abandon the mixture and run. The possibility of it spontaneously combusting was now too high to ignore.
But right as she was about to call it, something changed. Something in the mana shifted and then the mana flows began to rapidly disperse. The sparks and the bubbling died down almost immediately. Juosiutik¡¯s eyes widened and she leaned over the pot. She gulped.
¡°Did it¡fail?¡±
Had the mixture collapsed and dispersed all of its mana? She had to force herself to move and take a scoop with her ladle. She trembled as she reached out into the liquid¡
And then she froze. The liquid was still filled to the brim with mana.
She began to stir the pot and her eyes went wider. The whole pot was still full of mana. Settled mana that did not react further to her disruptions.
The mix was stable.
She took another scoop and lifted it with a trembling hand. She blew on it until it was just barely cool enough not to burn her and took a sip. Her trembling grew and her eyes filled with tears. She spoke in barely a whisper.
¡°¡I did it¡Mom, I did it¡¡±
She stood completely still for a moment as her mind processed it. Then she thrust her hands up into the sky.
¡°I DID IT!¡±
Juosiutik filled two water pouches with the potion and then took off running as fast as she could. Her heart soared as she smashed through branches, ignoring them as she sprinted towards the Sacred Den. She burst passed a surprised Metsaitti and his hunters, ignoring their calls to her as she rushed into the Sacred Den.
She didn¡¯t stop until she came to the Shrine of Bees. She then skidded and fell to her hands and knees, giggling as she did.
¡°I did it. Thanks to you, I did it.¡±
She began to tear up again and wiped at her eyes.
¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you, both you and your Sacred Den Master. Thanks to you, I revived my mom¡¯s recipe. I¡I¡maybe I can become a potion-maker like her after all.¡±
She slowly rose to her feet and brushed the dirt off her. Then she took one of the pouches and placed it into the Shrine¡¯s chest. She then fell to her knees.
¡°Thank you. I can¡¯t thank you enough. Without your blessing and the Sacred Den¡¯s honey, I couldn¡¯t have done this. So, please, if it pleases you, please be the first to accept this.¡±
Even as Juosiutik spoke, the chest and the Shrine of Bees began to glow, far brighter than before. It grew so bright Juosiutik had to shield her eyes.
When it died down, Juosiutik gasped. In the center of her vision hung a string of words, floating in the air.
The God of Bees offers you her full blessing. If you wish to accept, please select one of the following blessings:
- Blessing of the Alchemist
- Blessing of the Mystic
- Blessing of the Healer
- Blessing of the Honey Herbalist
Juosiutik¡¯s mouth fell wide open.
Chapter 73 - Blessing Bees-ness
Belissar had just dismissed the soldier bees to prepare for the daily purification when Juosiutik suddenly burst into the Tower. Belissar raised an eyebrow.
¡°Huh, wonder what she¡¯s doing here? It¡¯s kind of late, isn¡¯t it?¡±
Then, she began to repeatedly thank the Goddess of Bees and put something in the Shrine of Bees¡¯ chest. Well, Belissar certainly didn¡¯t disprove of that, but he still wondered why she was doing it now, and why she seemed¡frantic? Excited? He wasn¡¯t sure.
At least until a moment later, that was.
A challenger has been fully blessed.
Gained 20 DP.
A challenger has selected a blessing unique to your patron.
Gained additional 10 DP.
Belissar gasped and focused back on Juosiutik. She was kneeling before the Shrine of Bees, which was glowing, and had tears streaming down her face. She was repeatedly saying something though as usual Belissar couldn¡¯t hear her speak at the Shrine.
Belissar crossed his arms. On the one hand, he really wanted to ask her what had happened. On the other hand¡she didn¡¯t seem in the best of shapes so she might not want to talk? Belissar groaned a bit¡and then decided he would at least approach. If she didn¡¯t want to talk she didn¡¯t want to talk, but if she were willing he would very much like to know how she received a full blessing. This was the very first progress that had been made on that particular mission, so any information on how he could assist would be extremely helpful. He started to make his way over, with Niobee and the soldiers following along.
Juosiutik was just starting to gather herself and rise to her feet as Belissar approached. She rubbed her eyes as he walked forward.
¡°Um, hi. Sorry to bother you.¡±
She quickly spun around. Her eyes widened slightly.
¡°Sacred Den Master¡¡±
Belissar was about to respond when she suddenly jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him.
¡°Thank you! Thank you so much! It¡¯s all thanks to you!¡±
Belissar, of course, began to panic as he was wrapped in furry arms by a bear woman quite a bit taller than himself.
¡°Huh? Um, what?¡±
Niobee flew in front of Juosiutik¡¯s face while the soldier bees began to surround her and extend their stingers. Juosiutik gasped and let go of him, then backed away with her hands raised.
¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean any offense.¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°No, it¡¯s¡fine. Um, I¡¯m fine everyone, please don¡¯t hurt her.¡±
Niobee turned sideways to keep an eye on Juosiutik as she danced.
¡°King sure? Not attacked?¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°No, not attacked. It¡¯s a human¡err, human is what I call myself but what about you?¡±
Juosiutik nodded.
¡°Human, huh? For us, we call ourselves the karnuq.¡±
¡°Right, it¡¯s a human and karnuq thing, I think? Hugs are a sign of affection for you, right? Actually, why did you hug me?¡±
Juosiutik flushed and looked away.
¡°Ah, yes. And I got a bit¡excited.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Then her face brightened and she held up a water pouch.
¡°Because of this! Check this out, Sacred Den Master!¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Um, what is it?¡±
Juosiutik beamed.
¡°It¡¯s my mother¡¯s old recipe! It¡¯s a potion that simultaneously relaxes, restores, and energizes your body! You can use it to restore fatigue, to stave off exhaustion, to help the body fight off illness, all sorts of things!¡±
She looked at the pouch. Her eyes began to tear up slightly.
¡°My mother¡passed before she could teach me. The recipe was too hard for me to figure out, and I barely had any of the ingredients left. But with the mana honey you gave me and the sleepy chamomile you¡¯re growing, I was able to recreate it. It¡¯s all thanks to you and the God of Bees.¡±
She extended her arms and held out the pouch to him.
¡°Please, accept this. I wanted to give you two the first batch.¡±
Belissar¡¯s face fell a bit as Juosiutik spoke and felt his chest grow tight. Something from her late mother, huh? He slowly reached out and took the pouch. He took a deep breath as he considered what to say.
¡°¡thank you. I¡¯ll treasure it.¡±
Juosiutik smiled, nodded, and then wiped her eyes. Belissar waited for a bit before beginning to speak again.
¡°By the way, I saw you got a full blessing from the God of Bees?¡±
Juosiutik beamed once again.
¡°Yes! I offered some to the God of Bees and then she gave me her blessing! I¡¯m a honey herbalist now!¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Honey herbalist?¡±
Juosiutik nodded.
¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, it¡¯s one of the God of Bees¡¯ unique blessings. Chief Rohsuak told us that could happen but that we should only expect the regular ones, so I was surprised! I didn¡¯t even expect to get blessed today! But look, watch this!¡±
She held out her hand. Mana condensed and grew visible, forming into a familiar hexagonal pattern made of golden light. Honey began to drip from the pattern into Juosiutik¡¯s hand.
¡°I can make honey now, too! And I¡¯m getting all sorts of ideas on what I can do with it! This is going to be amazing! I can finally become a real potion-maker!¡±
Belissar was still trying to keep up with the rapid-fire conversation, but eventually caught up and nodded with a smile.
¡°Ah, congratulations.¡±
Juosiutik beamed once more.
¡°Thanks!¡±
Eventually, Juosiutik said her goodbye and left the dungeon, walking at a normal pace for once. Belissar stood watching the Tower entrance and rubbing his chin. Niobee flew in front of him.
¡°King, ok?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Well, I think I sort of get the blessing thing? Maybe it¡¯s something like the bear people...or karnuq...have to accomplish something? Or was it because she used mana honey¡or ingredients from the Tower? Well¡I guess I don¡¯t get it after all, but I have an idea of how to help, at least. I think if we help them make and achieve things, maybe that will help with the blessing mission?¡±
Niobee swayed in the air for a bit before beginning a slow dance.
¡°King should be careful. Stay safe.¡±
Belissar smiled at her.
¡°Thanks, I will. But¡I don¡¯t think we have to worry about them. At least not Juosiutik, anyhow.¡±
¡°Ok¡if King says so.¡±
With that, Belissar and the bees returned to preparing for the next purification. Belissar considered how he could help the bear people, or rather, the karnuq more. He, perhaps, had already done so by giving them access to food, flax, and herbs, but maybe there was something more he could do? Right now there were a handful of things in his Tower that the karnuq didn¡¯t have access to. The apple trees and wood tree resource nodes of the Orchard, the mana flower and flame radish nodes, and then, of course, the beehives themselves and the honeycomb they produced. Belissar still wasn¡¯t comfortable exposing his bees¡¯ homes to the karnuq and wasn¡¯t about to make a beehive the bees couldn¡¯t use, so honeycomb would still have to go through him, but the others bore thinking about. He, of course, could make mana flower or flame radish nodes right on the spot. As for the Orchard¡at the moment he would have to escort them there because of the remnants. Unless he could do something about that¡?
He waited for a moment but sadly, no new messages from the Tower appeared. It did not seem he would be able to control remnants outright, at least for now. He had seen a rest zone feature that would block them, which wouldn¡¯t make sense to choose if he could just stop them at will, he supposed.
So yes, he would have to escort the karnuq through the Flower Meadow if he wanted to give them access to the Orchard. Although¡he did have an extra room slot open. Couldn¡¯t he make another Orchard and place the door to it right by the entrance? Remnants didn¡¯t appear by the Shrine of Bees or a small area around it, so it would be safe, right? Though, that would only get the karnuq to the Orchard. If they then spread out to gather apples, wouldn¡¯t Remnants start appearing in the Orchard? Belissar might need to guard them anyways in that case.
He put that option aside for now and considered the other options. Flame radishes were a bit expensive and something the karnuq both already had access to and didn¡¯t necessarily need anymore, so that probably wasn¡¯t worth it unless they specifically requested it. On the other hand, mana flowers were something they very much wanted and had no opportunity to receive.
That is, if Belissar was willing to devote a patch of the bees¡¯ most favorite flower to the karnuq¡¯s use. He didn¡¯t want to make something like that that the bees wouldn¡¯t have full access to, but he did have a mission to help the challengers get blessings from the God of Bees herself.
Belissar groaned a bit before deciding to compromise. He made four new patches of mana flowers, one in the karnuq¡¯s gathering zone, one by the Flower Meadow hives, one in the Orchard bee grove, and one in the Apiary. That way, he could be sure his bees had mana flowers to spare before he offered any to the karnuq.
It was a notable hit to his remaining mana, but that¡¯s what the mana was for, in any case.
Belissar decided to be satisfied with that for now, as the purification cooldown was just about ready.
Chapter 74 - Happ-Bee Celebrations
Juosiutik returned to the camp to find Chief Rohsuak waiting for her, as her mad dash had not gone unnoticed. The chief had her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, flanked with hunters she was about to send out to ensure the girl¡¯s safety. Juosiutik looked away sheepishly.
¡°Well, I trust you have a good reason for running off like that?¡±
Juosiutik flushed but couldn¡¯t help but break out into a smile.
¡°Let me show you!¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head and dismissed the hunters. Juosiutik then led the chief over to her tent. Chief Rohsuak noticed the pot and walked over to it. Her eyes widened as she detected a familiar scent.
¡°Is this¡?¡±
Juosiutik nodded.
¡°It is. I did it.¡±
Chief Rohsuak turned to her and gave the girl a warm smile. She walked up to Juosiutik and pulled her into a hug.
¡°Congratulations.¡±
Juosiutik¡¯s eyes moistened again but she shook her head and returned the embrace, then broke out and stepped back.
¡°Thanks, but that¡¯s not all. I¡rushed out because I wanted to offer the remade potion to the God of Bees and the Sacred Den Master who helped me figure it out and well¡¡±
Juosiutik held out her hand and formed the honeycomb pattern once again.
¡°The God of Bees approved.¡±
Chief Rohsuak blinked a bit before making a wide grin.
¡°It seems further congratulations are in order, champion.¡±
Juosiutik¡¯s face lit up.
That night, the karnuq held a grand celebration. For the first time since their sojourns began, one of their own had been blessed by the gods, worthy of becoming a champion capable of great deeds. Tyhgak was upset someone had beaten him to the punch. Juosiutik gloating to him did not help.
And in the midst of it all, one young karnuq woman hung at the edge of the celebrations. She was small, for a karnuq, about the same height as the Sacred Den Master. She slouched as she sat on a log at the edge of the camp, sitting alone as she sipped from her mug.
¡°Sacred Dens and champions, huh?¡±
Her eyes fell upon Juosiutik lifting a mug up into the air and cheering, the rest of the clan cheering and laughing as well. Her eyes narrowed and she slowly turned her head in the direction of the Sacred Den. She began to clench her mug tight¡
Belissar triggered another minor+ purification that night, another pair of wolf-shades. The bees once again handled it without issue, and Belissar gained yet another fifteen mana. During the celebration, he took a sip of the potion Juosiutik gave him. He smiled.
The sweetness of honey blended nicely with the tang of berries, and the whole mixture filled him with the pleasant warm of mana. He felt his muscles relax and the tension leave his shoulders, even as a surge of energy raced through his chest. It was evening after a long day of work and yet he felt as if he had just awoken after a good night¡¯s rest.
He felt so good that when he laid down that night to sleep, it refused to come over him. He stared at the ceiling for about half an hour before shrugging and getting up. With his Tower sight he could see in the dark as well as the day, so he took his newfound energy and began sawing more planks for the beehouse construction. He worked late into the night before finally feeling fatigued enough to rest.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
The next morning he awoke later than usual. He looked over at the potion pouch and nodded. He would use it carefully from now on.
Once he got up, he made his way over to the Tower entrance, intending to greet the karnuq gatherers. He arrived shortly after they did¡and as he expected, he found Juosiutik standing completely still, her eyes fixed on the new mana flower patch next to her other herbs.
Juosiutik¡¯s head slowly creaked up to look at him.
¡°Sacred Den Master, is this?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°The God of Bees has approved of you so I figured I¡¯d lend a hand too. Feel free to take from this patch, just leave any others in the Tower for the bees, ok?¡±
Juosiutik nodded as rapidly as she could.
¡°Yes! Of course! Thank you so much, Sacred Den Master!¡±
Belissar chuckled and then spoke with Leijaliuk to exchange his portion of yesterday¡¯s harvest for some goods. Today the karnuq brought some more dried wood, which they agreed upon as the default payment unless Belissar had any special requests. Dried wood meant more supplies for current and future beehive construction, and it would keep much better than extraneous food would, so Belissar figured that was the best thing to stockpile at present.
Belissar then returned to the beehouse and nodded at the soldier bee army following him.
¡°Shall we get to work then?¡±
He chuckled as he was greeted with hundreds of salutes, and then they all got to work. The beehouse was taking shape very quickly, even faster than before. Planks for the walls, roofs, and floors were much thinner and lighter than the beams for the frameworks, so the bees could lift them with ease, and there were hundreds of bees to do the job. They were limited only by the speed at which Belissar could saw appropriate planks¡and thanks to last night¡¯s little potion situation, they started the day with a stockpile already done.
In fact, they worked so quickly that the work was done by the end of the day. Belissar just stood, staring in silence for a while at the completed building before him. A long wooden cabin now stretched across the edge of the Flower Meadow. It¡¯s right end was open, forming an entranceway for the door to the Orchard, with the Shrine of Bees and the Memorial just to the right of that. It¡¯s left side then stretched out towards the Flower Meadow hives. The front was a solid wooden wall with a number of small windows just under the roof for the bees to come and go. The only ground level entrance was in the center of the back side, which Belissar closed off with a flap made of cloth. Inside, the structure was mostly open, though with lighter beams forming built-in frames that the bees could use to support their honeycomb. These frames were topped by a lighter roof with regular gaps, forming an area where soldiers could gather before flying out the windows on the front, as well as providing some cover for the frames from anything coming through those windows. Belissar had initially planned to further separate the interior with walls and additional cloth flaps¡but to his surprise the queens indicated that wasn¡¯t necessary.
And as Belissar put up the last cloth flap, the Shrine of Bees began to glow¡followed by the entire beehouse. Soon the whole thing lit up with golden light and Belissar was forced to shield his eyes. Words appeared before his eyes.
New feature detected. New feature unlocked.
Bee Barracks now available!
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. He now felt the thrum of mana flowing through the wooden walls of the structure. He gently walked up and placed a hand on it.
Bee Barracks
Mana Upkeep: 10 (5 due to Blessing of Bees)
Current Occupants: None
Slight boost to monster bee growth rate, medium boost to combat monster bee growth rate, slight boost to coordination for bees housed within. Houses multiple colonies.
Belissar stepped back in a daze, and then began to grin. It seemed the Tower and the God of Bees liked his work. But, of course, even they were not the ultimate judges.
He turned to find the soldier bee army waiting behind him. Their queens had come out of their hives and now flew ahead of their army as well. Belissar smiled at them.
¡°Well, what do you think?¡±
A slight gust blew into Belissar¡¯s face as the bees danced hundreds of ¡°amazing, incredible!¡± aerial motions all at once. He chuckled and then stepped to the side.
¡°In that case, enjoy!¡±
The bees all saluted as one and then burst into motion. The soldiers flew back towards their hives as the queens gathered in a circle and began to dance to one another. Soon, swarms of workers were flying into the barracks, the queens directing them to specific frames which they immediately began filling with honeycomb. Belissar watched in awe as the mana of the barracks began to stir, speeding up the construction. In fact¡if his eyes weren¡¯t deceiving him, the wax structures were growing faster than the bees themselves could build them. He guessed that was why this thing costed mana. And it made sense. The beehives could make honey without any bees at all, so wax alone was a given.
Above all, the bees were flying more rapidly and dancing more excitedly than Belissar had seen in a while. That alone made him beyond proud of what they had built here. He turned to Niobee.
¡°I¡¯m going to skip the purification for the night and let them get settled. Can you let them know if they ask about it?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Niobee flew off to join the other bees. Meanwhile, Belissar quietly excused himself and made his way back to the Apiary farmhouse, humming a tune as he walked.
POBee 74.1 - Grand Plans Fulfilled
The Firstborn hovered in the air as she again looked upon the towering fortress spread out before her. Legions upon legions of her and her fellow queen¡¯s offspring flew in and out of the grand gate, a couple of soldiers holding open the great weaves to ease their passage.
The King¡was truly incredible. And generous beyond all imagining.
They had walls that even a soldier could not pierce. They had entrances taller than any foe they could use to launch their assaults. They had areas to gather and organize their forces before they ever left the hive.
The fortress was even magical, like the palaces of the Apiary were said to be. Mana flowed through the walls, it touched every bee that entered, and it assisted their efforts to rebuild their hives. And as they moved their young brood in, the Firstborn felt the mana flow into them as well, helping to nourish them and stimulate their growth. If her predictions were correct¡they could maintain a larger army than they had before without even expanding their foraging efforts.
But even that was not what the Firstborn focused upon now. The thing that held her gaze were the grand pillars upon which to build their combs. The same pillars that the Conduit once told her about when she was a young queen. The same pillars the King had built for the First Dynasty, upon which they built their civilization. In fact, the Conduit claimed these pillars were far larger and sturdier than those.
The Firstborn began to tremble. They had done it. They had returned to the time before the First Invasion. They had fully avenged the fall of the First Dynasty. The King could now turn his attention to grand constructions and civilization and leave the bloody work of war to them.
The Firstborn allowed herself a single moment to bask in the glory of the fortress once more before she returned to work. There was much to do, and her hive needed her to direct their efforts. Their cooperation with the King had revealed the potential of the soldiers for more than simple combat. Even now, workers chewed off entire sections of honeycomb in her old hive, which a single soldier could carry all at once. The soldiers carried these portions of her old hive to the pillars that were designated for her, where workers forming new wax would integrate them into the new constructions. The King had declared that there would be no invasion today in order to give them a chance to move and the Flower Meadow queens intended to fulfill his will. Therefore, the whole soldier bee army was deployed to support the effort. And with hundreds of soldiers each of which could carry many cells all at once, the work was proceeding beyond expectations. What they thought would be the work of days could now be accomplished in mere hours.
And then, the queens of the Flower Meadow would take full advantage of their new home. The extra mana and space and the ease of cooperation would accelerate their efforts, while the new flowers grown by the King would sustain their expansion.
The Firstborn and her fellow queens had succeeded. They had built an army that proved victorious where the First Dynasty had fallen. They had grown enough that the King had begun to trust them, and turned his attention back to his initial plans.
And that would only be the beginning. This she promised.
The Second of the Sixth stood still in her hive, staring at the glistening, slight glowing, blue and green honey in front of her. She¡was unsure of herself.
She had been extremely wary when the First of the Fifth offered her access to a brand new flower¡and her suspicion only grew as scout reports and nectar samples came in. The flower was like one of the healing herbs¡but contained noticeably more mana like the mana flowers. It produced nectar on par with processed healing herb honey which was then elevated even further by her workers. It¡¯s productivity far outstripped that of a regular healing herb flower as well. And there were no downsides that the Second of the Sixth¡¯s workers had noticed. It was not difficult to gather from, limited in quantity, or lower in quality. It was, by all metrics, an excellent flower and a great boon to her hive.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
It was beyond suspicious.
The Second of the Sixth just knew the First of the Fifth must have had some sort of goal with this. The schemer who had maneuvered into uncontested control of the Apiary and all of its resources would not have simply given up a treasure of this caliber. No, she must have had some sort of plan, some sort of catch. And yet, for the life of her the Second of the Sixth could not figure out what it was. She could not see how the First of the Fifth would benefit from this.
And that was why she was suspicious. The First of the Fifth was crafty and powerful, that much all the Apiary queens had to acknowledge. There was absolutely every possibility that she saw something the rest of them did not. That meant that the lack of an apparent motive was the most dangerous situation of all.
It was why all of them were wary when the King doubled the number of mana flowers in the Apiary just yesterday. The First of the Fifth again did something that none of them had anticipated. She gathered them up and assigned each and every one of them a mana flower. Every hive now had exclusive access to its own mana flower, with the rest to be shared communally.
They had wanted to refuse as they could not determine what the First of the Fifth¡¯s game was. However, the Second of the Sixth had to admit that the First of the Fifth was truly good at what she did. She made them an offer none of them could refuse, whatever her angle ultimately was. All of them begrudgingly agreed to her terms. All of them stewed in worry as their hives began to grow, wondering when the First of the Fifth¡¯s final designs would be revealed.
And that was why the Second of the Sixth now hesitated.
She thought long and hard on how best to leverage the new flower the First of the Fifth had dared to ¡°grant¡± to her. It¡¯s nectar was rich and powerful¡but it was ultimately a single flower. No matter how productive, it would be difficult to support any sort of mass endeavor with it. She first wanted to offer it to the King¡but filling an entire tray off the nectar of one flower would take a long, long time. She thought about raising new workers on it¡.but that, too, would have only resulted in a handful of new workers. Not enough to make any sort of dramatic difference for her hive. Not enough to surpass anything that the First of the Fifth had already accomplished.
No, none of that felt like a sufficient use of this treasured resource she had acquired. And she knew why.
Her instincts whispered to her of something else she could do. The nutrition, quality, and mana concentration of the new honey was just right for a use that to her knowledge even the First of the Fifth had not attempted. She had recently gathered sufficient quantity to make the attempt. She could try it right now. And if she succeeded¡not just her honey or her workers but her entire hive would be transformed. They would become something different, something altogether new in the King¡¯s realm. She would achieve something even the First of the Fifth had not.
And that was why she hesitated.
Surely the First of the Fifth would have noticed the potential in this flower? Surely the First of the Fifth must have realized the implications? The Second of the Sixth hated to admit it but the First of the Fifth did produce the finest honey of all the queens. It would be foolish of her to believe the First of the Fifth would not have understood what she did.
So, why then would the First of the Fifth permit this to happen? Why would she allow the Second of the Sixth to achieve something she had not? Was there something the Second of the Sixth was missing about this? A reason the First of the Fifth had not embarked upon this path?
Was this the result the First of the Fifth was hoping for? Was the Second of the Sixth playing into her hands? Would she seal her fate if she took the next step?
She did not know. She couldn¡¯t know. She thought and she thought and she thought some more. She discussed it with her scouts. She discussed it, if in necessarily vague terms, with the other queens. But in the end, none of them could see the First of the Fifth¡¯s purpose in this. None of them could see any angles or schemes.
So, she came to her decision. She gave the order to her workers and they began to surround a cell larger than any they had ever built before, filling it to the brim with the new honey.
And then, she herself climbed in, curling up to fit her large body in. The workers immediately began to cover the cell over as the Second of the Sixth circulated her mana, resonating it with the honey all around her.
She would take the plunge, and do what she thought best. To forgo this opportunity was to forgo her best chance at becoming something more than just another Apiary queen. It was to forgo her hive¡¯s best opportunity at greatness. And if this was what the First of the Fifth wanted, if there was some scheme that would seal the Second of the Sixth¡¯s fate, she would just have to admit she had been beaten. It would be no different than it had been before, and no different than if she rejected the opportunity entirely.
She continued to circulate her mana and began to drink of the honey as the wax shut out the light¡
Chapter 75 - Bee-viewing the Numbers
A young karnuq woman, the one smaller than the rest, waited in her tent, her things packed into a bag. She waited until the sun set and night fell, when most of the rest of the clan had already gone to sleep. There was only a waning moon out tonight, just enough light to avoid complete darkness, but dark enough to restrict even a karnuq hunter¡¯s sight.
Well, she probably needn¡¯t have bothered. Most of the clan wouldn¡¯t care where she went or what she did. She grit her teeth at that thought. She figured most of them wouldn¡¯t care if she disappeared entirely.
But for just this night, that was convenient for her. She was able to slip past the night watch without any fuss and made her way to her destination, a small clearing near their camp, where the tunnel to the Underway opened up. She looked around until she found the night lookout, yawning as he leaned on a tree.
The chief would have had his hide for negligence in this duty. For the girl, however, it was perfect. She waited for him to drift off. She then took a deep breath and left the cover of the forest, creeping across the clearing as fast as she was willing to risk. Her heart pounded louder and louder the further she got¡but eventually she hit the dirt and was soon making her way below ground.
She allowed herself to smile. She made it.
And now all she had to do was traverse the Underway. Alone. Where shades or creatures just as bad prowled, who could threaten even a fully grown karnuq hunter. Much less a runt who hadn¡¯t even been taught as much as how to thrust a spear.
But she had made her decision. And so, with one final check of her belongings, she set off into the deep¡
The next morning, Belissar made his way around the Apiary, gathering honeycomb and checking in with the queens. As he continued on his way, he found one queen waiting for him outside. And he didn¡¯t need to ask why, for his jaw dropped as soon as he saw her.
Her color had changed from yellow to greenish blue. He focused on her and words appeared before his eyes.
Medicinal Monster Bee Queen
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minor
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Above Average
Notable Skills: Herbal Shot, Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring
Description: A monster bee queen raised or evolved on medicinal mana honey. Lays medicinal variant offspring by default.
She watched him as he read through the description. He then turned to her with wide eyes.
¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing. So, you can raise all medicinal bees now?¡±
She paused and then slowly danced the affirmative. Belissar smiled.
¡°That¡¯s great, congratulations.¡±
She froze, and then broke out into a happy dance. Belissar grinned and chuckled. This was a significant development, to be sure. So far, only a handful of worker or soldier bees of the specialized types seemed to appear in the different colonies. But now, there seemed to be at least one hive that would be mostly comprised of medicinal bees. Belissar figured he¡¯d be getting a lot more medicinal honey, which could be crucial if the bee army took significant casualties later.
Additionally, if more queens could specialize like that, it¡¯d open a lot of options. An army of pure maddening soldier bees? A hive of the new burning bees who could easily make fireproof wax constructs? Plus, who knew what might result from the new flowers they had received from the karnuq?
All in all, a great way to start the day!
After the karnuq finished their gathering, Belissar noticed Juosiutik still hanging around. He hadn¡¯t planned on speaking with them today, not seeing a particular need to, but since she wasn¡¯t leaving he figured he should ask. He walked over to the entrance.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
¡°Hi, did you need something?¡±
Juosiutik turned to him and nodded.
¡°Ah, there you are, Sacred Den Master! I wanted to ask if you wanted to resume potion lessons?¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin a bit and then nodded.
¡°Sure. It¡¯s actually a good time.¡±
With the bee barracks completed, all he had left were replacing the new Apiary beehives with his own beehouses, and then figuring something out for the two queens in the Orchard. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what he was going to do for them yet, so he was planning to tackle the Apiary first. But since he already knew how to build those beehouses and they were much smaller to begin with, he wouldn¡¯t need as much time or focus to finish he job. So, if he wanted to continue on the potion-making, now would be a good time.
Juosiutik smiled.
¡°Great! I do need to figure out some ideal recipes considering the ingredients you made for us, and I also need to figure out how my blessing works. But I figured since you also can do the magic honey thing, I could try to do so with you? You could see the process of working out a potion recipe and your blessing will probably work for it too.¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Ah, that makes sense, I think? Um, hang on just a second.¡±
It had slipped Belissar¡¯s mind a bit to make a safe potion area for these lessons, so he went ahead and did so now. He cleared an area of flowers near the entrance, turning it back into bare dirt. Just in case, he also moved the pond he had made from end of the Flower Meadow to the entrance. Belissar then turned back to Juosiutik.
¡°Ok, this should be a safe place for the potions¡um, are you ok?¡±
He found Juosiutik staring with wide eyes. She suddenly gulped and shook her head.
¡°Fine, fine, Sacred Den Master, sir. Um, should I set up here, then?¡±
Belissar nodded. Juosiutik then slowly walked to the center of the dirt area and opened up her bag. She laid down a large cloth and began removing some ingredients and tools, glancing at Belissar and at the pond every now and again.
¡°Right, um, would you like to begin?¡±
Belissar spent the morning helping Juosiutik experiment with some recipes, listening intently as she explained about flows of mana and such. It was still a bit esoteric to him and Juosiutik herself was still figuring out those exact recipes, but she explained this was just how her experimentation went. They agreed to keep that up on a regular basis. Belissar then started sawing some wood for beehouse construction until time came around for another minor+ purification. Another bird shade appeared this time but again, the bees handled it without issue. Belissar added another fifteen mana.
Mana: 74/425
The night, after celebrating the victory, Belissar paused as he reviewed his mana. He had passed the four hundred mark. On a hunch, he thought about expanding again.
Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.
His hunch was correct; he had gathered enough mana to attempt to expand once again. He crossed his arms and began to hum. The question was, should he?
On the one hand, the last expansion had been remarkably beneficial. A brand new room for his bees to live in, a new soldier bee type that could kill shades without risk to itself, and a new floor worth of rooms to fill in. He had started to see glowing mana-flower like versions of the healing herbs and poison flowers, so apparently Cross-Pollination was also working. And beyond that, the ability to conduct daily minor+ purifications had increased the rewards he was receiving each day, accelerating his Tower¡¯s growth. So, who knew what another expansion on that level would bring him?
Additionally, his defenses had also improved. The soldier bee army was stronger and better at handling shades than ever before. The sprayers brought an entirely new dimension to the army, the flame radishes allowed for much more efficient use of the Pit Traps, and the bees themselves had fully adjusted to aerial opponents that flew faster than them. The barracks was also completed, and while it did not yet have all the defenses Belissar planned for it, it did provide a final ambush spot if a shade managed to break away from the army this time.
On the other hand, was it worth the risk to attempt it right now? The last purification had nearly gone badly and there was no guarantee the next shade would be anything they had prepared for. In fact, at this point, Belissar was anticipating it would be something other than what they had prepared for. How could he be certain that any of their improvements would suffice against something they couldn¡¯t predict?
Additionally, the Flower Meadow queens had just moved into the barracks, while there were only two queens in the Orchard. It might be worth letting the former get settled and the latter expand a bit more before trying anything big? Plus, there were new flowers that the bees were still sampling. For all he knew, they might have a new bee type ready if he just waited.
He also was getting a lot more DP from the karnuq now. In fact¡
DP: 1995
He was just a bit over a week away from being able to afford a new room or monster choice. Something that might provide a notable advantage against whatever shade the Hunger threw at them next. Even if it didn¡¯t¡it provided another way his Tower could grow without taking the risk.
So, what should he do?
This time, though, Belissar answered that very quickly. When in doubt, ask the bees. He turned and found Niobee resting on the farmhouse table in front of him.
¡°Hey, Niobee?¡±
She perked up and rose to her feet.
¡°Yes, King?¡±
Belissar opened his mouth, then paused for a second as he thought about how to word his question before continuing.
¡°How are the Flower Meadow queens doing? How are they settling into their new home?¡±
Niobee began dancing rapidly.
¡°Great! Queens love! Were planning to expand, King¡¯s big hive perfect!¡±
Belissar smiled, and then rubbed his chin.
¡°Planning to expand?¡±
¡°Yes! New queens, bigger hives!¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Got it, thanks Niobee.¡±
¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡±
Belissar nodded again, this time to himself. That settled it. If the Flower Meadow queens had plans of their own, Belissar didn¡¯t want to disrupt. He knew if he asked them about another big purification, they¡¯d likely drop whatever they were doing to prepare. So, he would wait this time. He¡¯d let the Flower Meadow queens finish their plans before asking. In the meantime, he would get a new option from the DP store and give the bees a chance to work with the new flowers. And then, once the Flower Meadow queens were settled and he had set up whatever the new option would be, he¡¯d think about tackling another expansion.
And so, Belissar made his choice, and then headed off to bed.
Chapter 76 - Bee Supportive?
Belissar made his way over to the entrance after finishing his morning routine and helped Juosiutik experiment with her potions. She was having him generate mana honey, both for the sake of the recipe, but also to help him learn to mix his mana into the potions so he could keep track of what was going on inside.
Then, after the lessons concluded, Belissar was began work on another beehouse. With dry, construction ready wood it didn¡¯t take him long to finish.
Upgrade Apiary Beehive to Belissar¡¯s Beehouse? Cost: 25 DP
DP: 2093
Metsaitti and his hunter group were still fighting remnants, but he already got some DP from the gathering group. He did want to conserve his DP for the DP store purchase, but twenty-five DP was fairly affordable. It was less than he was getting each day in any case and the bees were worth it.
The queen of the beehive in question was already at the entrance of the hive, watching as he put the final touches on the beehouse. Belissar glanced over at her.
¡°Ready?¡±
She danced her salute and Belissar confirmed the purchase. The beehouse and beehive both began to glow until the beehouse disappeared and the beehive molded into shape. The queen began a happy gratitude dance.
Then the Apiary lit up as all the beehouses he had formerly built began to glow and reshaped themselves, replacing the rough cut wet wood with more precisely sawed and dry planks. Belissar grinned at that.
One down, five more to go and then the two Orchard queens, and he¡¯d have housed every queen in the Tower. Then he just had to wait for the challengers to get blessed. Juosiutik was one thing, and he figured the other non-combatant karnuq were working on their offerings as well. He wondered though if there was anything he could do to help the fighting group?
He¡wasn¡¯t sure. Would helping them fight help them get blessed? Didn¡¯t the God of Bees want something they did themselves for the blessing¡so wouldn¡¯t it actually hurt if he helped them with the fight?
Belissar eventually shrugged. He didn¡¯t know what he didn¡¯t know. But¡some of the karnuq seemed to know a thing or two about Towers. He figured he¡¯d ask Metsaitti or something on the way out if there was anything he could do.
And so, Belissar returned to working on beehouses while waiting for Metsaitti¡¯s group to finish up for the day.
Belissar waited by the entrance as Metsaitti¡¯s group made their way back. They seemed surprised to see him but Metsaitti approached and lowered his head.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master. May we help you?¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°I¡¯m, um, here to ask you the same thing. Is there anything I can do to help with the blessings?¡±
The young hunters¡¯ eyes widened and they glanced around at each other. Metsaitti paused for a moment before making a small smile.
¡°Directly, no. A challenger must be judged on their own merits. Assistance is not forbidden but will delay their progress.¡±
Belissar frowned at that, but Metsaitti continued.
¡°Indirectly, the greater the feats and achievements the greater the reward. If we have your permission to explore deeper and face greater challenges, that would help. Additionally, if you can come up with challenges of your own where we can earn some rewards from your Tower, that will also assist.¡±
Belissar crossed his arms, but nodded.
¡°I see. What sort of challenges and rewards?¡±
Metsaitti shrugged.
¡°That is up to you, every Sacred Den is different in that regard. Some require feats of strength or endurance. Others use mazes and traps to test agility and speed. Some use puzzles to test wits. Others prefer mystical tests. Still others have challengers face their defenders directly.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
Belissar immediately narrowed his eyes.
¡°No hurting the bees.¡±
Metsaitti raised his hands and shook his head.
¡°It is only an example, and not all fights result in death. The point is there is no one way to do it. I have observed that most Sacred Dens have challenges inspired by their patron god.¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°I see. And the rewards?¡±
Metsaitti rubbed his chin.
¡°Those, again, are as varied as the Sacred Dens and the challenges, but mostly consist of mana-infused objects. If I could make a suggestion, the mana flowers and mana honeycomb you possess wouldn¡¯t be out of place in any other Sacred Den¡¯s challenges.¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°I see. I¡¯ll, um, think about it.¡±
Metsaitti nodded back.
¡°Thank you for considering us, Sacred Den Master. If you do decide to make a challenge, we would be honored to face it.¡±
Metsaitti turned around and the other hunters also inclined their heads, thanking Belissar. Belissar¡still wasn¡¯t used to being thanked like that, so didn¡¯t say anything. The group prayed at the Shrine of Bees and then departed the Tower shortly afterwards.
Belissar rubbed his chin and hummed. So, challenges, huh? Mana flowers¡were a bit out of the bag at this point, given he had made a patch for the karnuq to gather from for free. But mana honeycomb, on the other hand?
Belissar began to nod. He did have more of that than he could ever use himself, and he¡¯d only be receiving more as he gave the queens beehives and beehouses. He could even make extra beehives, seeing as they could produce honey without occupants, and the queens could always raise more children to fill them later on. At the same time, he didn¡¯t want the karnuq just taking the labor of his bees for free.
But¡if they had to face some sort of challenge to acquire the honeycomb? If they had to do at least something to earn it? That might be a different story, then.
Though, that meant Belissar actually thinking of such a challenge. Mazes? Puzzles? Feats of strength? Belissar didn¡¯t have much idea of what any of that would look like.
He ended up glancing up at the Shrine of Bees. Metsaitti did say something about being inspired by the patron god. So¡something bee related? What would be a good bee-related challenge?
Belissar ended up having a lot to think about that day.
Juosiutik was finishing up a brew back at the karnuq camp, and just cleaning up her tools when someone approached. Juosiutik looked up with a frown but then her face softened.
¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Noigakkuq. How may I help you?¡±
A small karnuq woman, Noigakkuq, walked up to her and started helping her clean her tools. She was one of the few people Juosiutik trusted to help her, or even approach her, while she was making potions. Noigakkuq nodded as she helped.
¡°Do you have anything to help someone stay up?¡±
Juosiutik blinked.
¡°Um, I do but¡what exactly do you need it for, Noigakkuq?¡±
Noigakkuq shrugged.
¡°To stay up.¡±
Juosiutik frowned.
¡°You aren¡¯t doing anything dangerous, are you?¡±
Noigakkuq turned and looked her right in the eyes.
¡°Everything is dangerous for me, remember?¡±
Juosiutik frowned, and then sighed. She went into her tent and found her mother¡¯s potion, pouring a small portion into a small water pouch. She then walked back outside and handed it to Noigakkuq.
¡°Here.¡±
Noigakkuq took it and nodded.
¡°Thanks.¡±
The two worked in silence until Juosiutik was all packed up for the night. Juosiutik frowned once more as Noigakkuq turned to leave.
¡°Noigakkuq¡just, be careful, alright?¡±
Noigakkuq did not respond as she walked off.
When the sun had set and night had fully arrived, Noigakkuq once again snuck out of the camp. The night was dark and the sentry watching the tunnel to the Underway was dozing off once more, so she was able to reach her destination without issue.
She took a deep breath and began. She took a sip of the potion Juosiutik had given her, then reached into her pouch to pull out a knife and a faintly glowing crystal. She channeled what little mana she possessed into it, causing it to glow much brighter and light up the dirt walls. She then descended into the deep.
Last night she had looked around but couldn¡¯t find anything. Try as she might, the fatigue had gotten to her. The shadows had blurred together, and she couldn¡¯t pick out any scents from the smell of dirt and roots all around her. Willpower could only do so much to make up for her body¡¯s weakness.
And if there was anything her body possessed in abundance, it was weakness. The rest of the clan had made sure she was fully aware of that.
So, against her wishes, she had to approach Juosiutik and, fortunately, the other girl delivered. Noigakkuq felt her body relax and her fatigue fade away. She felt a surge of energy and her senses sharpened. The blurring shadows now turned into rocks and roots. The blend of smells now separated out. She could smell a cave carrot here, a tree root over there, and more. She could feel the humidity rise as she made her way down towards the underground river her clan had followed here.
And above all, she could smell the mana.
Mana had a smell, at least as far as she was concerned. She was aware that mana didn¡¯t really interact with the senses like physical objects did¡but the chief had told her that everyone interacted with mana differently. Some could see it, some could feel it, she apparently could smell it. So, she learned to ignore the others who laughed at her ¡°delusions¡± and followed her nose.
They learned to stop laughing so much when she found a cave full of glowing crystals. And that was why she, the runt of her generation, had not been abandoned on their dangerous journeys, despite being considered incapable of fighting. She had been just useful enough to be worth protecting.
But that had changed. There was a Sacred Den now full of all sorts of magical treasures¡none of which required her nose to find. Oh, she had asked to be part of the group but she had been denied. It was too dangerous, they had said.
So now, she would take matters into her own hands. Before the clan decided they had no further use for her. No reason to keep protecting and babying her, as they put it.
Noigakkuq sniffed the air, and then set off into the deep¡
Chapter 77 - Sneaky Bee-livery
All hostiles defeated. Purification successful.
Minor+ Purification completed! Please select a reward:
- +75 DP
- +15 Max Mana
- Monster Bee Sprayer Resistance Boost (Minimal+)
The bees finished up the day¡¯s purification with ease. Belissar then considered the rewards. Normally he¡¯d just default to more mana unless there was an especially enticing perk or feature, since at this point he already had enough mana for the next expansion purification. More mana was always helpful and he¡¯d get a head start on the expansion after the next one, but it also felt a bit¡unnecessary.
So, he took a moment to consider the other options. Seventy-five DP would help him reach his DP shop goal sooner¡but it was less than what the karnuq were giving him at this point, so was it really worth a full purification reward? On the other hand, a boost for his bees was always welcome. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what resistance did¡
Resistance: Governs the entity¡¯s ability to resist magic, negative statuses, and non-physical effects.
That was helpful. So, resistance was like defense, but for magic? Well, that decided it then.
Monster Bee Sprayer Resistance Boost (Minimal+) selected.
Monster Bee Sprayers receive a slight boost to Resistance!
So far, the most dangerous attacks to his bees were magical. Well, he wasn¡¯t entirely sure about that, but he assumed that the bird-shade¡¯s lightning and the wolf-shade¡¯s mist were some sort of magical attack. It was absolutely worth a reward choice to shore up his bees¡¯ defenses against such dangers.
And more generally, Belissar figured he¡¯d focus on perks and features while he waited, unless he specifically needed more mana. It was a good opportunity to boost the strength of his bees in preparation for the fight to come.
With that settled, Belissar celebrated the bees¡¯ victory and then made his way back to the Apiary farmhouse. Before anything else, he took one of the jars he had received from the karnuq and took it out to the pond, filling it partially. He then made his way back into the farmhouse and walked over to the big jars holding the extra honeycomb trays he had accumulated from the Apiary bees¡¯ daily production. He poured the honey from one of the trays into the jar, then swirled it about to mix it up.
Yes, it was time to get started on the mead-making again. For now though, he was keeping it basic with just mana honey and water. Since the honey was notably different from what he was used to, he wanted to get a baseline before he iterated on any of his previous recipes.
Now that that was done, he thought a bit on possible challenges for the karnuq before heading off to bed¡
Belissar awoke just before the break of dawn. He had not awoken naturally, but rather by a pressure upon his mind. The Tower¡¯s mana flowed into him, waking him up fully as he focused upon the pressure. He quickly determined the cause: someone had entered the dungeon in the wee hours of the morning. His tower sight turned to the entrance¡
A small karnuq crept into the entrance. They were covered in dirt and mud and Belissar couldn¡¯t make out their features very well, but he knew that this wasn¡¯t a karnuq he knew. This karnuq was smaller than any he had ever seen so far, barely taller than him¡possibly even the same height or less.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
He narrowed his eyes. He had no idea what they were doing here at this time of day, and without any of their fellows. And that set him on edge. Still, the karnuq as a whole hadn¡¯t done anything to harm him, the bees, or the Tower thus far, so he only kept watch for now.
The karnuq held some sort of glowing crystal, lighting up their immediate surroundings. They crept around until they found the Shrine of Bees. Their eyes narrowed and Belissar frowned.
They stepped over to the Shrine¡and then opened the wax chest. They reached into a pouch tied to their waist and pulled something out, placing it inside. They stared up at the Shrine of Bees and said something that, once again, Belissar couldn¡¯t hear. The Shrine of Bees and the chest glowed lightly in response.
Challenger blessed.
Gained 10 DP.
Tribute received. Your patron grants you this portion:
- Ground Mana Flower x1
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. He was no longer suspicious of the karnuq¡¯s intentions. Well, that wasn¡¯t necessarily true, as it was still suspicious that they were creeping around at night and alone, but he was at least no longer suspicious of what they were doing in his Tower. The God of Bees seemed to approve and to be honest, if they were bringing him new mana flowers, then he didn¡¯t particularly care what they were up to.
The karnuq¡¯s eyes widened and they looked down at their hands. They started to giggle, their laughter growing until they were full on cackling. They spoke and this time, Belissar¡¯s tower senses worked. They spoke with a high-pitched, feminine voice. So, a girl, most likely?
¡°We have a deal then. Wait for me, Sacred Den and your god. Promise me your power and there¡¯s more where that came from.¡±
Belissar watched as the karnuq left, still giggling as she crept away. He then shrugged and got up. If she was secretly bringing him ground mana flowers¡then he could only wish her luck!
The day was about to begin and with the Tower magic he was fully rested, so he decided to start on his day. He had spent a while thinking of different challenges he could make and, after sleeping on it, he thought he had an idea.
He took a tray of mana honeycomb and walked off towards the Flower Meadow. He soon arrived at his destination, off to the center of one of the side walls away from either entrance or the Bee Barracks. There, he placed the honeycomb down out in the open.
He then surrounded the honeycomb with Pit Traps.
Well, it was a simple idea, but bees flew to get their honey, right? So, if he surrounded some honey with Pit Traps, it would be hard for normal people to get it unless they could fly like bees, right?
¡the idea sounded better last night, before Belissar had actually implemented it. But he shrugged and left it there. He guessed he¡¯d at least see if it worked as a ¡®challenge¡¯ and if not he¡¯d adjust it later.
He then paused and rubbed his chin. The challenge did give him an idea, though. His bee magic so far let him make honey like a bee and make wax like a bee. Presumably, it would do bee-ish things in general.
So¡wouldn¡¯t it be possible to fly like a bee using his magic?
Belissar stirred up his mana and sent it out of his body, thinking about bee wings and buzzing about in the air. A honeycomb pattern of light began to form around his back¡but it quickly began to slow down before finishing even a single hexagon. Belissar began to grunt and groan as the mana grew harder and harder to move.
Then, suddenly, he gasped and lurched forward. The mana suddenly stopped flowing out of his body. The light shuddered and then dispersed in a bright flash of light. He fell to the ground, his face covered in sweat and his head pounding.
¡°Ugh, ok, guess wings are too hard for now.¡±
It seemed he wouldn¡¯t be joining the bees in the skies anytime soon. A moment later, Niobee came rushing over to him with medicinal bees in tow. And since the sun was only beginning to rise, Belissar decided to take a moment before resuming the rest of his day¡
Belissar spent the next day learning potions with Juosiutik, building another beehouse, and watching the next purification. He got a minimum+ Vitality boost for his soldier bees this time.
He went to bed, but woke up before the sun rose. He apparently could just¡decide how long to sleep and the Tower mana would wake him up. That was incredibly convenient. He then gathered together some healing herb mana honey and mad mana honey and turned his attention towards the entrance.
He thought about it and realized he could help the sneaky karnuq. She was giving him a treasure considered priceless by both the karnuq and his bees, so it would absolutely be appropriate to give her some mana honey in exchange, or so he thought. He wasn¡¯t sure what she was doing or where she was getting the flowers, but he figured healing herb honey would always be valuable for its medicinal properties. Mad mana honey, on the other hand, could help if she was doing something dangerous. She said something about power and that was just about the strongest weapon he had that he could share, in any case.
So, he made his way to the Flower Meadow and then waited. And waited. And waited¡
Eventually the sun rose and Belissar frowned. He guessed she wasn¡¯t coming tonight, then? Belissar shrugged and took the honeycomb back. The flowers were supposed to be rare, after all, so maybe it would take her a bit to find one? He guessed he would just have to wait until the next time she came by, then¡
POBee 77.1 - The New-Bees
The Firstborn crawled through her section of the fortress. The Flower Meadow queens had finished moving their hives a while ago and had fully settled in. Everywhere the Firstborn looked, worker bees from many hives crawled, hovered, and buzzed about with their countless tasks. Foragers brought in new nectar, medicinal bees tended the brood, and she even saw a group of scouts dancing with workers from the Fourth of the Seventh, passing on their knowledge of the beyond. And, of course, workers beat their wings across trays full of honey of different types. The slightly golden glow of mana honey, the bluish-green tone of healing herb honey, the purple of the mad honey, and a few more. There was a small section devoted to the red honey from the flame radishes, though that honey seemed to generate its own heat. They could only keep a small amount of it to prevent it from growing dangerously hot, threatening to melt its wax containers, or worse.
The honey from the newest flowers were currently mixed together. The Flower Meadow queens were aware that not every flower type could raise a unique type of bee. They were also aware that the Apiary queens would certainly categorize and experiment with each of the new flowers and determine which ones could. So, they decided to wait, and focus on maximum honey production instead. They were the hive of hives, honey was the Apiary¡¯s specialty, battle was theirs.
Besides, right now, they needed the extra nutrition.
The Firstborn saw and greeted the Second Second of the First as they both crawled over the top of their trays before she moved down to her destination. In the center of one of the trays was a particularly large cell, currently covered in wax, as well as countless smaller ones. The wax cover on the biggest one was just starting to split. Then, two mandibles pierced through, and the medicinal workers got to work. They helped pull apart the wax cover so the cell¡¯s occupant could crawl out.
The Firstborn¡¯s First Daughter, a princess ready for her nuptial flight. She crawled out of the cell and then the workers poured over her, helping clean her off as she beat and dried her wings. Once she was clean, the Firstborn approached her. Her daughter turned to face her and then began a salute, indicating she was ready to go.
But the Firstborn had other ideas. She gently brushed the young queen¡¯s antennae with her own before stepping back and beginning her dance.
¡°Go, wait for drones. Then, return here.¡±
Her daughter looked up to her before beginning a slow and unsteady dance.
¡°Return?¡±
The Firstborn confirmed and then danced for the new princess to follow her. The two climbed up to the top of the frame. The princess began looking around every which way as the full barracks now spread out before her. She flinched and backed away as a worker with a different mana signature flew past, but the Firstborn touched antennae once more.
¡°We building hive of hives as King demonstrated. Many queens work together, many hives work as one. You also return and join hive. Have space, will help you set up. No need to do it alone.¡±
The new princess still swayed about and recoiled a bit every time another hive¡¯s workers flew past her, but she still saluted.
¡°As queen mother commands. Will return.¡±
The Firstborn brushed her antennae once more and then stepped away. Two of her workers then landed nearby and stood next to the young princess. The young one turned to face her mother again, who simply danced a confirmation. The young princess thanked her and then began to fly, with the two workers escorting her for comfort¡¯s sake.
She was followed by the princesses from the other queens. A moment later, the drones began to hatch as well.
After a while, the Firstborn¡¯s daughter returned, now a queen ready to build a hive.
¡°Queen mother, have returned.¡±
The Firstborn came out to greet her and danced for her to follow. She led the new queen into her frames, where a new nursery had been prepared. A couple of medicinal workers were crawling over it, checking the wax cells for hygiene.
¡°Here, can start laying brood here. My workers will tend, bring honey, so don¡¯t worry and lay as many as you can.¡±
The Firstborn¡¯s daughter stood completely still before slowly, ever so slowly starting to dance.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
¡°Is that¡alright? Sharing wax, honey, and workers?¡±
The Firstborn immediately danced her confirmation.
¡°We hive of hives, remember? All help each other. I help now, you help later, ok?¡±
Her daughter still swayed a bit, but managed to dance her salute.
¡°As queen mother commands.¡±
The young queen stepped forward towards one of the cells, finding it full of honey already. She went ahead and laid one of her eggs. The medicinal workers then crawled over and began to check the egg with their mana. The young queen watched them for a bit before shaking herself and starting to lay more. The Firstborn walked over, brushed her antennae one more time.
¡°Will find you later, ok?¡±
After her daughter confirmed, the Firstborn set off to resume her own work.
***
Later that day, the Firstborn came back to her daughter¡¯s tray, as stated. A good number of the cells now held eggs. Her daughter was currently resting and replenishing her mana with the honey provided to her. She got up when she saw her mother and started to salute but the Firstborn began dancing first.
¡°Come with me, something you must see.¡±
The Firstborn led her daughter up to the top of the hive. There, they found all the other Flower Meadow queens, each leading their own daughter as well. Her daughter glanced around at them until a loud buzzing drew her attention.
Soldier bees flew through the upper entrances and landed before each of the young queens.
¡°Get on.¡±
At the Firstborn¡¯s command, her daughter crawled on the back of the larger soldier. The Firstborn then took off with her soldier following along. All the queens thus made their way across the Flower Meadow towards the entrance. Her daughter stared at the sight before her.
¡°What¡is this?¡±
¡°The army.¡±
The young queens all froze as they saw the massive numbers of soldier bees flying through the air. And then, they began to shiver.
¡°Queen mother¡there¡¯s something¡¡±
The Firstborn confirmed.
¡°Yes, the invader approaches. Watch closely.¡±
Her daughter backed up a bit on the soldier carrying her but looked to the direction the Firstborn indicated.
There, at the entrance of the hive, two wolf-shades appeared. Her daughter recoiled and began to beat her wings, instinctually wanting to flee. But the Firstborn remained still and had commanded her to watch, so she remained.
She ceased all movement as she watched the soldier bee army set upon the shades and eliminate them in minutes, without the loss of a single bee. The Firstborn flew in front of her.
¡°This is the hive of hives, and this is our duty.¡±
Her daughter danced her acknowledgement in a bit of a daze.
After that, the Flower Meadow queens gathered and introduced each other to their daughters. And so, a new generation was inducted into the hive of hives.
The Fourth of the Seventh, her lead worker, and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter stood at the entrance of their joint hive to the Orchard. In front of them where thirty-two workers arranged into squads of four. The lead worker began her dance.
¡°One squad in each direction. Preliminary scouting, only check flowers if in abundance or if possess mana. One scout memorize terrain, other three watch for danger. Turn back when sun begins to fall. Understand?¡±
The worker bees all danced their salutes. The lead worker saluted as well and then turned to face the queens. The First of the Fifth¡¯s daughter turned to the Fourth of the Seventh, so the Fourth of the Seventh started to dance.
¡°Go! See the beyond!¡±
And with that, the workers began to beat their wings and flew away from the hive. As they left, the Fourth of the Seventh turned to both her lead worker and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter.
¡°Thank you both! Couldn¡¯t have done without you!¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter immediately started a rapid dance.
¡°Of course! Will always help Fourth of the Seventh, with anything!¡±
The lead worker paused for a moment. She¡could not bring herself to state she would help with anything, knowing what her queen truly wanted. And that killed her, given an unrelated queen was offering to do just that. Her loyalty and her instincts warred with one another as she tried to determine what she would dance.
¡°As the queen commands.¡±
She settled on that, for it was true. If the queen commanded her, she would follow through, whatever it was. Previously, her instincts might have prevented her from following a command that might doom the hive¡but with the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter¡¯s cooperation, their hive would now always have a queen present, so there was far more leeway. So now, she could follow her queen with no reservations.
Besides, in the end she trusted her queen. She knew the queen would not harm the hive. And her trust was proven as the Fourth of the Seventh danced happily.
¡°Thanks! Let¡¯s get to work then?¡±
The worker and the other queen saluted and then all three returned to their hive.
As for the scout group, after leaving the hive they beelined straight for the Flower Meadow, and then flew straight towards the Tower¡¯s entrance. Soon, they passed out into the unknown.
They paused for but a moment as they saw the world beyond the King¡¯s domain for the very first time. The sun beat down on them, flowers spread out before them, and trees rose in the distance.
But this was an area the Flower Meadow hives had already scouted, so the workers quickly set to their task. As they had arranged, they split up with one squad of scouts flying off in different, evenly spaced directions, using both the sun and their ability to sense the tiny-lightnings all around them to stay on course. They flew out above the land, racing forward until they reached the limits of the Flower Meadow¡¯s scout reports, just past the ruins and the karnuq camp for the scouts that flew in those directions.
And once there, they slowed down. They began a more thorough search, with one bee making note of the terrain while the others kept an eye out for anything unexpected.
And so, the scouting of the Beyond resumed¡
Chapter 78 - Appro-Bee-ating the Honey
Two more days came and went. Belissar got a minimum+ strength boost for his soldiers, as well as Hidden Wax Cells. He didn¡¯t particularly have use for them yet but figured he would take them just in case.
Additionally, there were some developments among his bees. The Flower Meadow queens had successfully reproduced, a new generation of queens had joined the Bee Barracks. They would need time before they could contribute any soldiers, but Belissar was already noticing more and more workers in the Flower Meadow, so it seemed to be going well.
Additionally, some of the Apiary queens were waiting for him when he visited this morning. He found some new honey types when he gathered the trays for the day.
Sleepy Mana Honeycomb Tray
- Description: A tray of honeycomb containing sleepy mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of flowers with sedative properties, this honey has relaxing and, in high dosages, sedative effects.
Gelatinous Mana Honeycomb Tray
- Description: A tray of honeycomb containing gelatinous mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of flowers with gelatinous properties, this honey is thicker and retains a semi-solid state unless distrurbed.
Antidote Mana Honeycomb Tray
- Description: A tray of honeycomb containing antidote mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of flowers with restorative properties, this honey can counteract the effects of numerous toxins, including weak mana-based ones.
The bees had successfully made new honey types from the new herbs Juosiutik gave him, which he had somewhat anticipated. However, there was an additional type that he did not expect to find.
Antifreeze Mana Honeycomb Tray
- Description: A tray of honeycomb containing antifreeze mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of flowers from cold climates, this honey maintains its temperature well, and helps the bees that ingest it to do so also.
Apparently, the cloudberries and sweetvetch plants contained some special properties of their own. Which was quite the happy surprise for Belissar.
He offered the first trays of each new type to the Shrine of Bees, then figured he would bring some to Juosiutik in the future. And, if the past was anything to go on, there would soon be some new bee types based on these honeys. He was excited to see them.
It did make him wonder about something, however. He had already seen burning worker bees¡but had not received a tray of any sort of burning honey. He took a look inside the hive with his tower sight and found a small patch of red honey. If he had to guess¡it seemed like the bees were only making a small amount of honey from the flame radishes, just enough to raise some workers on it. Definitely not enough to fill an entire tray. Belissar thought about why that might be¡and then remembered the description of the burning worker bees. Particularly, the part about how their fireproof wax was necessary to store their honey.
The hive in question was not, in fact, made of fireproof wax. So, it was likely the case the bees were being careful with the honey in question.
In any case, his bees were growing well, he was about halfway done making beehouses for the rest of the Apiary queens, and the new flowers were coming into play. The one thing that wasn¡¯t going as well was the small karnuq¡¯s secret deliveries. Belissar had woken up early each day to try and meet her¡but she hadn¡¯t appeared yet.
He was currently standing by the Shrine of Bees in the dark hours of the early morning. At this point, he was wondering whether it was worth waking up and waiting each day for her. On the other hand, though, it didn¡¯t seem to be negatively impacting him physically. He didn¡¯t really feel anymore tired or sleepy than normal. Tower magic sure was convenient for that.
And, tonight, his diligence was rewarded. The gates of the Tower slowly opened and in came the karnuq, covered in dirty and carrying the glowing stone. She froze as she saw Belissar, standing by the Shrine.
¡°¡Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar raised his hand and waved.
¡°Ah, yeah, that¡¯s me. Hi there.¡±
The karnuq did not respond. They both stood there in silence for a bit until the karnuq raised an eyebrow.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
¡°Um, can I help you?¡±
Belissar flushed a bit.
¡°Oh, sorry. No, um, you¡¯re already helping me. So, I figured I¡¯d help you.¡±
The karnuq narrowed her eyes.
¡°Help¡me? What do you mean?¡±
Belissar held out two trays of honey.
¡°Here. The top one is healing herb mana honey, it will help if you get wounded. The bottom is mad mana honey. It¡¯s, um, a bit poisonous. It causes intoxication¡and supposedly paralysis if you eat too much?¡±
The karnuq frowned and did not move, leaving Belissar holding out the trays. He was about to apologize and take them back when she finally spoke.
¡°¡why are you giving this to me?¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Um, because you gave ground mana flowers to me?¡±
The karnuq¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°So¡it¡¯s because I did something for you? You¡¯re giving this to me because of what I did?¡±
¡°Um, yes?¡±
The karnuq¡¯s eyes narrowed again. But she reached out and took hold of the trays.
¡°In that case, I accept. Thank you, Sacred Den Master.¡±
She took out her bag and found some empty pouches inside. She broke the trays into smaller pieces, stacked them up, and placed them inside the pouches before storing them all in her bag. She then turned to Belissar.
¡°If you don¡¯t mind¡can I pray to your patron now?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Oh, yes. That was all I wanted to talk to you about, anyways.¡±
The karnuq eyed him for a moment before nodding.
¡°I see. Thanks, then.¡±
With that, she turned to the Shrine of Bees and placed another flower in the chest, praying in words Belissar couldn¡¯t hear.
Challenger blessed.
Gained 10 DP.
Tribute received. Your patron grants you this portion:
- Ground Mana Flower x1
The karnuq then sighed.
¡°Not enough, yet, huh? In that case¡¡±
She rose to her feet. She turned and faced Belissar again, looking him in the eyes. He nearly took a step back from the intensity of her gaze.
¡°I¡¯ll be back again, once I find another.¡±
Belissar blinked a bit, but then began to smile.
¡°I look forward to it.¡±
The karnuq¡¯s eyes widened. She stood there blinking for a bit herself before she shook her head and turned around, leaving without another word.
Belissar, did, in fact, look forward to her return. Combined with the ground flowers offered by the other karnuq earlier, he was now at four of the needed five samples. One more, and he might have a new mana flower for his bees.
With that done, he returned to the Apiary to get a bit more sleep before the sun rose.
***
Metsaitti¡¯s group was exploring the Flower Meadow once again. Another shade appeared and this time Metsaitti said nothing, stepping back. The two spear wielders charged forward while the archers drew their bows. The archers released with perfect timing, such that the arrows landed just as the shade was about to move. The shade yelped¡and was thus distracted as the other two karnuq lunged forward. One spear stabbed through its torso while the other struck its head, and then the shade vanished. Metsaitti nodded as he watched.
Three of the hunters turned to each other and grinned, but one of the archers had his eyes fixed forward.
¡°Hey, does anyone else see that?¡±
The other karnuq turned to look. The spearwoman gasped.
¡°Is that?¡±
The other spearman, Tyhgak, smiled.
¡°That¡¯s the mana honey, right?¡±
A large piece of honeycomb was just lying there on the grass, without a monster bee in sight. Metsaitti nodded but said little else. Tyhgak happily stepped forward before skidding to a halt.
¡°Wait just a minute¡¡±
He began poking the ground ahead of him with his spear while slowly creeping forward. Suddenly, his spear shot poked right through the ground¡which vanished to reveal a pit trap. Metsaitti made a slight smile. The boy was learning after all. As was the Sacred Den Master.
Tyhgak and the other spearwoman nodded at each other and both began circling the pit trap in either direction. As soon as they reached the end of the pit trap, they found another on either side. And then another pair.
The honeycomb was completely surrounded by pit traps, such that there was no way to reach it on foot. Metsaitti chuckled.
¡°It looks like we found our first challenge from the Sacred Den Master.¡±
Tyhgak frowned.
¡°How are we supposed to get it, then?¡±
Metsaitti shrugged.
¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re supposed to figure out.¡±
Tyhgak rubbed his chin, then suddenly smiled and turned to Metsaitti.
¡°Can¡¯t you just jump over the pits?¡±
Metsaitti shrugged again.
¡°I can, if you don¡¯t want any of the honey, that is.¡±
Tyhgak frowned again. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He and the other karnuq grouped up and Tyhgak turned to the spearwoman.
¡°Can you make the jump?¡±
She just stared at him.
¡°No, no I can¡¯t.¡±
¡°What if we give you a boost?¡±
She sighed.
¡°How am I supposed to get back afterwards?¡±
Tyhgak frowned again.
¡°Oh, right. Um, what if you take a rope with you?¡±
¡°Did you bring any rope?¡±
¡°Um, no?¡±
¡°Did anyone?¡±
The archers shook their heads. Metsaitti couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as he listened in. He remembered his first Sacred Den challenge. These kids didn¡¯t know how easy they had it, this Sacred Den Master was far less violent and cruel than some others he had known.
In the end though, the group concluded they didn¡¯t have the tools. They hung their heads as they turned away from the honeycomb. Metsaitti raised an eyebrow.
¡°Giving up?¡±
The spearwoman sighed.
¡°What other choice do we have?¡±
Metsaitti shrugged as the group hung their heads. Then he ran towards the pits and leapt across, just making it to the other side. He opened his bag, grabbed an empty pouch of sufficient size, then wrapped up and stored the honeycomb. He then leapt back over. The young hunters were staring at him. Tyhgak began to smile.
¡°Metsaitti¡¡±
Metsaitti gave him a grin.
¡°Oh, this is for me. You¡¯ll have to get your own.¡±
The hunters all groaned.
¡°Come on, that¡¯s not fair!¡±
Metsaitti dropped his grin.
¡°And that¡¯s the lesson. You need to be prepared to encounter the unexpected. If you are not ready to take advantage of an opportunity, you will lose it. And if you are not ready to handle a threat¡¡±
Metsaitti let them finish the sentence as he walked off. He nearly stopped as he licked a bit of the honey off his finger.
He decided was all too pleased to teach the next generation this important lesson.
POBear 78.1 - Bear-y Scary Tunnels
Noiggakuq once again arrived at the Underway. It was the third night since she met the Sacred Den Master, but she had had no further luck in finding another ground mana flower. The first two had been easy to find, located right around the immediate vicinity. But she knew from experience that she was unlikely to find anymore unless she ventured out further. This seemed be borne out last night when she combed the area and couldn¡¯t detect even the slightest whiff of concentrated Ground mana.
So, for tonight, she intended to head deeper.
She made her final preparations just inside the tunnel. She took a bite of the healing herb mana honey and a swig of Juosiutik¡¯s potion, then took out her light crystal. She would need to be at maximum alertness if she wanted to make it back.
She then walked down the dirt tunnel until she arrived at the underground river. Here, the dirt gave way to stone, the river carving its way down into the roots of the world. Mushrooms and cave plants grew along its banks, while she could catch a glimpse of the occasional fish in the river itself. Such were the means by which the karnuq had sustained themselves on their travels through the deep.
And such were the signals that Noiggakuq would need to be extra cautious. The proof that she was not alone down here.
She put away her light crystal and then waited for her eyes to adjust. A group of karnuq could afford to use such things, but since she was alone it would only make her a target. Fortunately, the river was not entirely devoid of light. Small flashes of bioluminescence sparkled in the dark as insects, fungi, plants, and fish made their presence known. Small sparks of mana spoke to tiny battles being raged all through the dark as well. It was not enough to see much of anything, but with a karnuq¡¯s vision Noiggakuq could at least watch her step. She would, then, trust in her nose to find anything else she needed to know about.
And so she crept into the dark, sticking to the wall to avoid falling into the river should she trip. Down, down the river she went until, finally, the wall started to curve away from the river, opening up into a much, much wider area. The river she had been following extended into the dark where she could hear the much larger one it fed into. The tunnel expanded to tower high into the air, far higher than even several karnuq. Stalagmites, stalactites, and pillars larger than a karnuq filled the area. Patches of moss created little floating lights while glowing mushrooms clung to the walls and pillars.
She had arrived in the Underway, the true Underway. A series of massive tunnels that crisscrossed underneath the surface of the world. They dove deep enough that the Hunger had not yet taken them all over, allowing for a degree of travel underneath the corrupted surface.
Sometimes. Even down here, there were signs that the Hunger was seeping into the ground. More than once the karnuq had to change courses because they found signs of corruption along their original route. More and more of the tunnels they knew of had become inaccessible over time, some very rapidly. And it was not unheard of to encounter shades in the deep. Noiggakuq would just have to hope that she wouldn¡¯t meet one tonight.
And so she began to travel down the Underway, sticking close to the pillars and stalagmites. Few predators down here relied solely on sight but it was still wise to stick to cover. She continuously sniffed the air, trying to work out the scents of different manas she could smell. Searching for the concentrated Ground mana¡while hoping to detect anything she didn¡¯t want to find.
She stopped and slowly crouched against a pillar. She caught a cool and acrid scent that was tinged with hints of Dark mana. A scent she had been trained to keep an eye out for, as her skill in that regard had saved a hunter more than once.
The scent of a cave panther. A dangerous foe even for a veteran hunter. A death sentence for Noiggakuq, should it set its sights on her while she was alone.
She sat completely still, not making a single sound or vibration. She had taken steps before this trip to eliminate her own scent as well, so, hopefully, the cave panther wouldn¡¯t be able to detect her. She stayed there for what felt like an eternity, breathing as softly as she could.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
But then, finally, the scent started to recede. The cave panther was moving away.
She remained still for a while longer, until she was absolutely sure she could detect no trace of the scent. Then, she slowly began to creep forward, hugging the wall of the tunnel. By all wisdom, she should have turned back now.
But Noiggakuq would not.
By all wisdom, she shouldn¡¯t be here at all. She was small. She was weak. She couldn¡¯t fight. She couldn¡¯t survive on her own. Until she started to sniff mana, she was nothing but a drain on the clan.
She had heard the conversations between the adults when their supplies ran low.
She was sick and tired of it. And now, now she had the opportunity to gain some power of her own. To ensure that she could survive, that she could decide her own fate. That she would not be left at the mercy of those who thought of her as a burden.
And to do that, she would have to brave the dark, and all the dangers it held. She would have to defy wisdom and do what even a veteran hunter would not.
So, she pressed on.
And then, finally, she caught a whiff of Ground mana. The combination of earthy and metallic scents that existed all around her, but concentrated such that it no longer faded into the background of other scents. She nearly broke out into a run, but she caught herself. She forced herself to continue creeping, sniffing rapidly to search for any scents other than the Ground mana. But she found nothing, so she continued her slow advance.
She found a small tunnel in the wall she was following and slowly made her way inside. The tunnel was only a bit taller than the average karnuq, and began to turn back from stone to dirt. Even smaller tunnels veered off to the sides, setting her on edge, but the scent continued down the main one so on she went.
And then, finally, she found it. She was overwhelmed by the scent of Ground mana as she stepped into a small cave at the end of the tunnel. There, sitting in a patch of dirt, was a Ground mana flower. Its petals were as brown as its stem and glowed with a faint, brown light. The Ground mana sat heavy on her, pushing her down towards the ground but surrounding her with warmth, making her want to roll into the dirt. She couldn¡¯t help but grin as she walked over to the flower and crouched down. She gently dug into the dirt and then gathered the flower up, roots and all. She grinned and laughed a bit as she held the flower in her hands, before placing it into her bag.
Now, she could finally¡
But before she could finish her thought, the ground exploded. Something heavy struck her back, and she heard loud snarling.
Noiggakuq fell to the ground, reaching for the knife at her side. She swung wildly, having no idea what she was even swinging at. But, she managed to strike something as she heard a yelp, then whatever it was backed off her. She quickly clambered away and scrambled to her feet, facing her assailant. She frowned and narrowed her eyes.
A wolf-mole shook its head, pawing at the scratch on its face her wild swings had inflicted. It was a low, heavy creature with the massive claws of a mole in front, but a long, snarling snout filled with teeth. And, worst of all, it smelt heavily of Ground mana, its scent having been masked by the Ground mana flower she had found. That was why she hadn¡¯t any idea it was here.
And now, it was standing between her and the only exit.
Noiggakuq had no illusions as to what would happen next. Her little knife could annoy the creature, but there was no chance she could kill it. Likewise, now that it was on-guard, there was little chance she could get past the battering claws or the snapping jaws. Her only hope was to escape, but the predator filled the tunnel. The wolf-mole watched her knife warily, but it made no move to retreat. It would not give her the chance to leave.
She was trapped. She grit her teeth.
But then, she had a thought. She slowly reached into her bag with her free hand, keeping her eyes and knife in the direction of the wolf-mole, and reached around until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small package wrapped in cloth and then tossed it at the wolf-mole. The wolf-mole scurried back to avoid the package, which landed on the ground. It then started to sniff¡
The moment it did it paused, and then crawled to the package, sniffing it heavily. It pawed at it with a set of claws, scraping off some of the cloth. Noiggakuq sniffed the air and smiled. Fortunately, she had grabbed the right one.
¡°Go ahead, monster. Eat your fill.¡±
The wolf-mole did just that, gobbling up the piece of honeycomb she had broken off and packaged, scarfing down the mana-rich food with gusto. Unfortunately, that did not sate its hunger, and it turned to Noiggakuq once more. It growled and slowly crawled forward. Noiggakuq frowned and backed up, but then her back hit the wall.
And then the wolf-mole paused again. It suddenly began to whine and paw at its nose. Its eyes twitched every which way, and then it shuddered. Then, it plopped down on the ground and made no further movements, though its eyes continued glancing around.
Noiggakuq took a deep breath. It was now or never.
Then she ran straight at the monster. It made no move to attack her. She leapt over it, onto its back, and still it did not respond. It couldn¡¯t.
And so she slid off its back and then ran down the tunnel as fast as she could.
POBear 78.2 - A Bear-y Satisfying Day
Noigakkuq ran out of the tunnel as fast as she could. But, the moment she stepped out into the Underway proper, she was assaulted by a heavy, acrid scent. Her eyes widened as two glowing eyes lit up the darkness, and then a dark shape pounced right towards her. She didn¡¯t even have time to scream.
But just before her end arrived, something shot past her face. She heard metal stab into flesh and the roar of a cave panther before someone grabbed her hand.
¡°Come on!¡±
She was pulled away into a run before she could process what was happening. They passed by a glowing mushroom which gave her a glimpse of the figure pulling on her arm.
¡°Metsaitti?!¡±
He just shook his head.
¡°Later!¡±
Noigakkuq swallowed her words and focused on running. Once she did, Metsaitti let go of her arm and fell back behind her, holding his spear at the ready as they retreated up the Underway¡
Ultimately, though, the two made it back to the smaller river tunnel without issue. They kept on until they were back out above ground. Noigakkuq bent over, resting her hands on her knees while she panted for breath. When she had finally recovered enough to speak¡
¡°Why¡are you here?¡±
Metsaitti raised an eyebrow as he gave her a knowing smile.
¡°That¡¯s what I should ask you. As for myself¡I¡¯ve been tailing you since the first night.¡±
Noigakkuq¡¯s jaw dropped and Metsaitti chuckled.
¡°You¡¯re good at sneaking, Noigakkuq, but did you really think we¡¯d leave the entrance to the Underway that unguarded?¡±
Noigakkuq frowned. Metsaitti sighed, then walked over and patted her on the shoulder.
¡°I know the others can be dumb at times. But your contributions have not gone unnoticed. I¡¯d hate to lose you.¡±
Noigakkuq furrowed her brow.
¡°Then why let me go? And why not let me come with you to the Sacred Den?¡±
Metsaitti sighed again.
¡°I already told you, didn¡¯t I? We needed you by the camp until we scouted the area.¡±
Noigakkuq crossed her arms.
¡°That¡¯s just an excuse, isn¡¯t it?¡±
Metsaitti frowned.
¡°It was not. To be honest¡if I had the choice, I would have stopped you. Your ability to sniff mana is crucial to keeping the camp safe while we don¡¯t fully know the area. But the chief insisted we give you this chance, since you were not willing to wait.¡±
Noigakkuq froze.
¡°¡the chief did?¡±
Metsaitti made a small grin.
¡°She did. I guess the Blazing Berserker knows a thing or two about sneaking out into danger.¡±
He then chuckled and shook his head.
¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to go that deep, however. So answer me this, did you find what you were looking for?¡±
Noigakkuq was silent, but slowly nodded as Metsaitti stared at her. Once she did he nodded back.
¡°Good. I hope that¡¯s enough, then, but if you do need to go that deep again, you need to take hunters with you, understand?¡±
Noigakkuq frowned but did not object. Metsaitti sighed and then turned towards the camp.
¡°In that case, let¡¯s get some sleep. You can come with us to the Sacred Den tomorrow to offer up whatever it is you found.¡±
Noigakkuq stood still, staring at Metsaitti. Metsaitti noticed she wasn¡¯t following and turned to her.
¡°Is something the matter?¡±
¡°You¡¯re¡letting me keep it?¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Metsaitti nodded.
¡°Whatever it is, you found it. As far as I¡¯m concerned, it¡¯s yours. Now, if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to get some sleep.¡±
With that, he left. Noigakkuq stared at him for a moment longer before clutching her bag tight, and then followed after him. She¡knew that Chief Rohsuak respected her, even if the others didn¡¯t, but she was the chief. She couldn¡¯t spend much time with any one karnuq, nor favor one over the others. But¡to find out she was valued to the extent that Metsaitti would come after her¡
She shook her head. In any case, she had what she needed, though this was apparently the last one she would acquire with her own power. She could only hope it would be enough.
The next morning, as Metsaitti¡¯s hunters and the gathering team were preparing to head to the Sacred Den, Noigakkuq joined them. Tyhgak¡¯s eyes widened when he saw her, and then averted his gaze.
¡°Um, why is she here?¡±
Noigakkuq narrowed her eyes at him.
¡°And what is that supposed to mean?¡±
Tyhgak gulped.
¡°Um, n-nothing, it¡¯s just¡¡±
The spearwoman sighed and elbowed him in the gut.
¡°Tyhgak, shut up.¡±
Tyhgak decided to listen but kept stealing glances at Noigakkuq, who did her best to ignore everyone around her. She walked over to Juosiutik instead.
¡°Noigakkuq? I thought you normally stayed with the camp? Are you going to come help with the gathering?¡±
Noigakkuq shook her head.
¡°You¡¯ll see, maybe.¡±
Juosiutik tilted her head at that but said no more. With that, the group made their way to the Sacred Den. Most of the karnuq began their daily gathering, but Noigakkuq separated from them and made her way to the Shrine of Bees. She ignored the gazes of Juosiutik and Metsaitti¡¯s hunters on her back as she reached into her bag. She took out the Ground mana flower and placed it inside the chest, without letting anyone else see. She then looked up at the Shrine of Bees.
¡°Please¡I¡¯ve done as you asked. Please give me your power¡¡±
But even as she spoke the words, the Shrine of Bees began to glow far brighter than Noigakkuq had ever seen it before. She could vaguely hear gasping behind her but she wasn¡¯t paying attention to them. As the light died down, her eyes went wide.
The God of Bees offers her full blessing. If you wish to accept, please select one of the following blessings:
- Blessing of the Forager
- Blessing of the Scout
- Blessing of the Geomancer
- Blessing of the Bee-ssassin
She stood there completely still, just staring at the words for a moment. Then she began to grin. Then she began to laugh. Soon she was full on cackling.
She turned around to face the rest of her people. All the karnuq were staring at her with eyes opened wide. Tyhgak was glancing around every which way.
¡°What¡is this? What¡¯s going on? What happened to her?¡±
Metsaitti just made a small smile and nodded at her. Juosiutik, on the other hand, came up to her smiling.
¡°Congratulations, Noigakkuq. Or should I say, champion?¡±
Noigakkuq grinned back.
¡°Yes, yes you should.¡±
Tyhgak jumped at that.
¡°Wait¡seriously? Noigakkuq got a¡seriously?!¡±
Noigakkuq turned and narrowed her eyes with a grin still on her face.
¡°Better step it up, all of you. You¡¯re falling behind me now.¡±
Tyhgak¡¯s jaw dropped at that.
But the surprises weren¡¯t over yet. All the karnuq turned as they heard the buzzing, and saw the Sacred Den Master approach with his army. He walked up to Noigakkuq, holding two trays of honeycomb in his hands.
¡°Looks like you got a blessing, um, congratulations?¡±
She flashed a grin at him.
¡°Thank you, Sacred Den Master. Is that¡?¡±
The Sacred Den Master nodded and handed the trays over to her.
¡°Thanks again. And it looks like I have enough to make those now. They¡¯re, um, a bit expensive, so I can¡¯t make one for you here, but I can share some with you if that works?¡±
Noigakkuq blinked and then grinned again.
¡°Yes, that will be fine.¡±
The Sacred Den Master nodded and then turned to Juosiutik.
¡°I¡¯ll wait until the gathering¡¯s done, then?¡±
¡°O-Ok.¡±
Tyhgak then exclaimed.
¡°Just what is going on?!¡±
Noigakkuq was all smiles as the gathering team walked back to the camp. Everyone kept staring at her whenever they thought she wasn¡¯t looking but, for once, she didn¡¯t mind. In fact, for once, she basked in the attention.
After all, the second champion in the clan was not one of the hunters, nor one of the craftsmen. It was her, the little runt that was good for nothing but her nose. Not only that, but now everyone was wondering what sort of relationship she had with the Sacred Den Master¡and what exactly he was planning to give her later. In a single morning, she had gone from the most expendable member of the clan to one of the greatest.
And, best of all, she now had the power to ensure that would remain the case. She grinned as she stirred up her mana, just enjoying the feeling of it flowing through her body. Now, no one would ever look down on her. Now, they''d regret begrudging her presence.
When the camp came into view, she saw Chief Rohsuak waiting there, motioning to her. She separated from the group and walked over to the chief with a grin. Chief Rohsuak smiled warmly at her.
¡°I take it we have a new champion?¡±
Noigakkuq¡¯s grin grew.
¡°We do.¡±
Chief Rohsuak reached out and patted her shoulder.
¡°Congratulations, and well done. We¡¯ll have to arrange a celebration tonight, then.¡±
Noigakkuq couldn¡¯t help but giggle. She couldn¡¯t wait to rub it in everyone¡¯s faces¡
But then she felt the chief¡¯s grip on her shoulder tighten.
¡°However, you are aware how dangerous and reckless your actions were, correct? Going into the Underway alone, much less when you have not been trained as a warrior. And are you aware of what sort of consequences it would have had for yourself and the clan had you failed? I¡¯ve told you before the important role you plan, have I not?¡±
Noigakkuq¡¯s smile faded.
¡°R-Right¡I¡¯m sorry.¡±
The chief was still smiling but for some reason Noigakkuq did not feel reassured.
¡°There¡¯s no need to apologize. It was our failing not to train you. But, now that you are one of our champions, that is a task of the utmost importance. I will personally ensure you will be fully prepared before the next time you leave the camp.¡±
It was strange. Personal training by Chief Rohsuak, presumably in the art of combat, was exactly what Noigakkuq wanted for most of her life. And yet, now that it was finally happening, she could not help but feel a chill go down her spine.
POBee 78.3 - For the Love of Bees
The karnuq were making a bit of commotion around the small one after she prayed at the Shrine of Bees and Belissar gave her more honey, but he ignored them. He was busy reviewing all the latest messages once more.
A challenger has been fully blessed.
Gained 20 DP.
A challenger has selected a blessing unique to your patron.
Gained additional 10 DP.
Tribute received. Your patron grants you this portion:
- Ground Mana Flower x1
Ground Mana Flower absorbed.
Sufficient samples gathered. Ground Mana Flower now available.
Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary, Orchard*. (*=Resource Node only)
He couldn¡¯t help but grin, and even laugh a bit. Another challenger had been fully blessed, granting him a nice haul of DP as well as progress on that particular mission. But all that paled in comparison to the treasure said challenger had brought him in the process. Mana flowers were his bees¡¯ favorite and now he had a new type. Better yet, it specifically mentioned Ground mana, the same time that featured in the digger bee descriptions. Maybe, with this, he wouldn¡¯t have to pick that option in the future, for his bees might come up with a similar bee type all their own.
Belissar immediately went to add a few¡
Available Resource Plants for Flower Meadow:
-Ground Mana Flower (10 per node, 20 due to unsuitable environment)
He went completely still, just staring in silence at the message for a while. Then he checked the Apiary and the Orchard¡and found the same numbers for them as well.
Twenty mana. The price of a monster bee queen spawner before he had the Blessing of Bees. Scratching out some math in the dirt revealed that one ground mana flower node could pay for four of the regular mana flower nodes.
That was¡a tad bit expensive. A ground mana flower node would represent the single most expensive thing in his dungeon.
But, after only a brief moment of hesitation, Belissar concluded it was worth the cost. He went ahead and added one ground mana flower node to each of his three rooms.
Mana: 24/440
And in one fell swoop, he was nearly out of available mana. He was right to tell the karnuq he couldn¡¯t make one for them just yet. He technically had enough mana to afford one more, but only barely. And, if he did so, he would not have enough mana to add a new room once he could afford one from the DP shop, which was only a few days away at this point. Plus, whatever resource plants, traps, or monster spawners he might want to add to said room.
But enough of that. His bees now had a brand new flower. Belissar set his tower sight on the different nodes and grinned, waiting to see how they would react¡
The First of the Fifth was currently pacing around in a circle.
This was fine. She heard the news of the might fortress the King had built for the Flower Meadow queens and received the news with¡joy. Yes. Joy. Nothing else.
Because, of course, the King loved all bees. So, it only made sense for him to ensure all bees had a home. To collaborate with the queens like he hadn¡¯t done for any of the Apiary queens¡and to spend weeks lovingly working on the designs and the construction¡and to collaborate with the hives that they could work by his side¡then transforming the whole thing into a magical construction on par¡or perhaps even greater¡than the magical palace she had received.
Yes, this was fine. The King loved all bees, so she would too. Therefore, she would celebrate the boon the others had received. Yes. This was just a sign of the King¡¯s favor for all bees, and therefore his favor for her as well. See, afterwards, he went and upgraded the Apiary hives! Her palace¡¯s walls were now made of dry and precisely cut wood, far less vulnerable to rot and decay! She was still part of the bees the King loved!The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
And she was becoming like him too! Like the King, she had also lavished great gifts upon the bees. She gave every queen their own mana flower to support their growth! The flowers with nectar so hot it nearly burned? She let another queen gather that and gain favor with the new workers raised on it! The brand new flower that resulted from the cross-pollinating gathering she tasked her workers with? She gave that to the Second of the Sixth, who had subsequently did something never before seen, and changed herself with it!
Yes, this was fine.
Well, the last one was. The Second of the Sixth transforming herself was certainly impressive¡but in hindsight, the First of the Fifth would never have done so herself. The Second of the Sixth could now raise medicinal workers and produce healing herb honey off of the nectar of any flower, no longer requiring specialized nectars to produce specialized products. But there was a downside to that. It meant that any honey the Second of the Sixth produced became medicinal, regardless of what flower the nectar came from. So, in other words, she was now incapable of producing any other type. That would have been an altogether unacceptable situation for the First of the Fifth, as it would shut down all of her attempts to experiment with, categorize, and improve her various honey types.
Still, the First of the Fifth could now see the benefits of her new approach. She would never have taken the path the Second of the Sixth had, but it was good that someone had. Had she kept the mana-infused healing herb for herself, all that would have resulted was a slightly improved healing herb honey. But now, instead, the First of the Fifth would not have to worry about mass-producing healing herb honey the next time a major battle came around. The Second of the Sixth could do so with far greater ease than any other queen, leaving the First of the Fifth free to focus on her preferred quality of honey.
And most of all, the King was greatly pleased with the Second of the Sixth¡¯s transformation. Thus, why the First of the Fifth donated a similar flower that appeared in the poison flower patch to yet another queen, not even sampling its nectar for herself.
This was fine. The First of the Fifth continued to repeat that to herself as she paced around endlessly.
That is, until she felt the stirrings of mana shifting through the entire realm. It was a subtle thing, further away from her senses than normal. As if it were traveling beneath the ground instead of through the air.
The First of the Fifth perked up and crawled outside. What she found¡was not nearly as subtle as she first thought. A patch of the ground near the prime gathering area was glowing bright.
Which meant she was about to receive new flowers.
But even the First of the Fifth was not prepared for what appeared when the glow faded. A third patch of mana flowers now appeared¡but this one was entirely different from the other two. Instead of the blue and clear glow of the regular flowers, these ones were pure brown from stem to petal, blending in with the dirt beneath them. Their stems and leaves hung low while their roots spread wide, clinging tight to the ground. And whereas the other mana flowers left their mana drift through the air in aimless puffs of mist, these ones directed their mana down. She see the sparkle of mana traveling through their roots and into the dirt around them, solidifying and strengthening it.
This¡this was something altogether different. Not the base mana flowers, which held mana but little else, doing little with it besides accumulation. Not the specialized but mundane flowers that produced interesting but normal compounds. No, this was more akin to the flame radish flowers, gathering and transforming mana into a new form that could act upon the world all by itself¡but to a far greater degree than even those.
The First of the Fifth was halfway to organizing foragers and guards to stake her claim on the new flower when she paused. And then she began to tremble.
The King¡loved¡all bees. Which meant he made this for¡
She slowly, ever so slowly, forced herself to begin dancing.
¡°¡forget previous order. Go to Apiary queens, tell to gather by new flower.¡±
The workers seemed confused but moved to carry out her command. The First of the Fifth then turned to the new flower patch and stared at it, trembling the entire time.
Yes¡this was¡fine¡
The Second of the Sixth couldn¡¯t help but buzz her wings loud as she flew over to the gathering area¡and saw the brand-new flowers.
There it was. The First of the Fifth¡¯s plot had finally been revealed. This new patch of flowers was more unique and powerful than any the Second of the Sixth had ever seen¡and it was just the latest of a whole slew of new flower types, on top of the number of mana flowers doubling. There were so many new flowers, in fact, that no one hive was large enough to monopolize them all. Not even the First of the Fifth''s.
So, what had she done? She had parceled out the existing flowers one by one, pretending she was being charitable so that each hive would be pacified. And now, once the greatest prize of all appeared, she would swoop in and snatch it all for herself.
And all the other Apiary queens, having accepted the previous favors, would be entirely unable to complain. Including the Second of the Sixth. It was beyond frustrating¡but she had been played.
The First of the Fifth slowly flew over to the new patch and pointed to one of the flowers.
¡°This one, mine.¡±
The Second of the Sixth buzzed her wings again. Yes, she knew! They all knew that! Was the First of the Fifth not satisfied in merely staking her claim?! Did she want to go through and claim every last flower, one by one, just to rub it in?! Did she¡
The First of the Fifth then, even more slowly, flew to the next flower. She trembled as she danced.
¡°This one, First of the Sixth¡¯s.¡±
The Second of the Sixth froze, as did all the other Apiary queens.
¡°This one, First of the Seventh¡¯s.¡±
The Second of the Sixth slowly descended to the ground and landed on a flower, remaining completely still as the First of the Fifth continued. One by one, she called out each queen, assigning them a flower.
¡°This one, Second of the Sixth¡¯s.¡±
Including her.
Just what¡was going on?
POBear 78.4 - Bear this in Mind
Tyhgak walked with Metsaitti and the others into the Sacred Den for yet another hunting trip. Tyhgak, however, was strangely silent. The others were giving him looks but he didn¡¯t notice, lost in his thoughts as he was. He had much to think about lately.
When Tyhgak first saw the Sacred Den¡he couldn¡¯t say he was impressed. The older generations had told him all sorts of stories about Sacred Dens. Some were labyrinths of death meant to push their challengers to the limit. Others were the bastions of mighty armies, led by imperious warlords who demanded submission.
This one opened with a field of flowers.
Sure, a pit trap could be dangerous but it was a far cry from the magical bombs and invisible blades he had heard stories of. And the bees? There were a lot of them and they were big for bees, but they were just bees. They didn¡¯t come close to the monsters Metsaitti and Chief Rohsuak had taken down. Most of the hunters had taken down something worse during their journeys through the Underway.
And the Sacred Den Master? He was a sickly young runt, barely older than Tyghak if at all. He was even smaller than Noiggakuq, and most of the fur had fallen off of his body, if it had even grown in the first place! Now Tyghak knew that the strength of a person did not indicate their value, but he also wasn¡¯t going to feel threatened by someone like that. And if even Tyghak could take him, then he wouldn¡¯t last five seconds against Metsaitti, much less the chief, the Blazing Berserker herself.
So, he didn¡¯t understand why the chief and Metsaitti were bending over backwards to be all submissive to the Sacred Den Master. He had heard of the daring raids they had led on the tigerfolk and the lizardmen and assumed that it was his time to follow in their footsteps. And this Sacred Den¡well it seemed like land for the taking!
¡ok, Tyhgak wouldn¡¯t go that far. Sacred Dens were connected to the gods and attacking one was a huge taboo. But still, Tyhgak thought they should at least be negotiating more confidently when they held the clear advantage. Like the mana flowers! Those things were super valuable! He knew after Juosiutik and the Chief had tore him a new one when he knocked over a pot with one inside it back in the day! He figured they¡¯d be pretty happy if he brought one back!
But no, he had to stay away because of a couple of bees. They had plenty of flowers all over, what was the harm of taking one?
At least, that is what he once thought. Then he saw the bees in actual combat.
Despite standing under the sun in a bright field in the middle of the day, Tyghak felt a chill settle on his fur, and had to fight back a shiver. The shade in front of him was tiny, barely coming up his ankles, and yet still his body wished to recoil away from it.
He still remembered his first trip to the Sacred Den, and his first time fighting a shade. His body had been trembling, he barely kept a hold on his spear. His thrusts were hesitant and poorly aimed, barely scraping into the shades. If Metsaitti hadn¡¯t been there, the shade would have been free to pounce right on him. But he couldn¡¯t have helped it. The Hunger was more than just another monster. It was, well, a hunger. When he looked at a shade, when he felt the Hunger nearby, he knew, deep down inside, that he was prey. That the Hunger would not merely rip apart his flesh, but that it would consume him on a deeper level. It would take all that was inside of him, all that made him who he was, and devour it, to be replaced by more of the Hunger itself. He looked into even the tiniest shade and saw the death and destruction of all that he was.
And then he watched the bees rip those shades apart, plunging directly into its body without any hesitation. And he watched the Sacred Den Master escort them through the fields. He walked with no hesitation, no fear of the shades appearing around them. He casually pointed out the shades to his bees as they appeared. He acted and spoke with the confidence of one who knew he was not at risk, fully trusting that his bees, his soldiers, would eliminate the shades at his command.
Tyhgak understood, then. The Sacred Den Master was far more powerful than he appeared, and underneath his timid and frightened demeanor lurked courage and confidence. The kind of courage and confidence that could only have come from facing true danger and emerging victorious. The kind of courage and confidence Tyhgak hoped he would have, but wasn¡¯t yet sure that he would. He turned pale when he thought of what might have happened if they had raided the Sacred Den like he once thought of, or even if the Sacred Den Master had been more inclined to violence. Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti could probably have survived¡but the rest of them wouldn¡¯t have.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
But, fortunately for everyone involved, the Sacred Den Master was not that sort of person. He was a gentle soul, one who did not lord his power over others, and who treated people weaker than him with respect. At first, Tyhgak thought that was just because he seemed frightened of everyone, but he had recently changed his mind.
And that was because the clan now had two champions, and neither of them had been warriors.
It was a surprise that Juosiutik had beaten them to the punch without fighting a single shade, but it wasn¡¯t that surprising in the end. Juosiutik had a drive and a fire that matched the heart of any warrior and let nothing stand in the way of her potion-making¡something that Tyhgak had found himself on the receiving end of. If anyone could earn a god¡¯s blessing without fighting, it was her. Still, though, she apparently had the cooperation of the Sacred Den Master, who seemed to take her instruction without complaint despite the obvious difference in their power. And she had, from those interactions, received treasures from him that Tyhgak and the others had so far been unable to earn with their might.
But the real kicker was just yesterday. When they found out that Noiggakuq had been cooperating with the Sacred Den Master in secret¡and was the second karnuq to be blessed as a result.
Everyone in the clan knew that Noiggakuq was to be protected. Something that Noiggakuq herself was unhappy about but what could they do? A cave panther wouldn¡¯t care about her wishes and would absolutely take advantage of her smaller size and weaker arms. She was physically the least likely to survive danger.
Others in the clan even spoke of her as a burden. Tyhgak knew she was not, even before she revealed her ability to sniff mana, but he also knew she couldn¡¯t be exposed to danger. He, ah, may have even promised to protect her¡though he, um, hadn¡¯t managed to actually convey that to her.
But then, Noiggakuq had suddenly gone and become a champion. She had gone and done something unbelievably dangerous¡and the Sacred Den Master had rewarded her for it.
And she had seemed happier than Tyhgak had ever seen her. That¡made him think about a lot of things. He may have valued Noiggakuq more than the others¡but he had still thought of her as weak. The Sacred Den Master apparently did not¡and then she had gone and proven what she was capable of. And now she had the blessing of a god and wouldn¡¯t need anyone else¡¯s protection any longer.
Tyhgak¡¯s silent pondering continued even as they finished their hunt and started to return to the camp. When he arrived, he decided upon something. He made his way to the chief¡
Chief Rohsuak lifted an eyebrow.
¡°A hunt in the Underway?¡±
Tyhgak nodded his head. Chief Rohsuak crossed her arms.
¡°What brought this on?¡±
Tyhgak couldn¡¯t help but fidget under her gaze.
¡°It¡¯s, um, for the Sacred Den Master.¡±
Chief Rohsuak frowned.
¡°The Sacred Den Master? Tyhgak, be honest with me. Are you envious of Noiggakuq¡¯s deeds? Are you growing impatient that you have not been blessed?¡±
Tyhgak lifted his hands and quickly shook his head.
¡°Ah, it¡¯s not that.¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes narrowed on him, making him gulp.
¡°Then what is it?¡±
Tyhgak trembled a bit but took a deep breath.
¡°It¡¯s¡an apology.¡±
Chief Rohsuak tilted her head.
¡°An apology?¡±
Tyhgak nodded.
¡°I, um, was pretty rude to the Sacred Den Master, talking about taking his flowers from his bees and stuff. But¡he¡¯s a good man who didn¡¯t deserve that. He¡¯s strong, he¡¯s treated us well, and he even helped Noiggakuq¡when we wouldn¡¯t. So, um, I wanted to apologize, and maybe do something for him.¡±
Chief Rohsuak stared at him for a moment before her face softened.
¡°I see.¡±
She hummed and rubbed her chin.
¡°Noiggakuq found a cave panther and a wolf-mole den too close to the entrance for comfort. I had intended to organize an expedition to scout the Underway and identify the dangers in our surroundings. If Metsaitti approves, I will consider including you in the group.¡±
Tyhgak started to smile when Chief Rohsuak frowned and glared at him once again.
¡°Be aware, though, that, even if you are allowed to join, getting something for your own purposes, including to give to the Sacred Den Master, will come third to the expedition and your own survival.¡±
Tyhgak nodded, still smiling.
¡°Yes! I promise!¡±
Chief Rohsuak sighed, but slowly nodded.
¡°I will speak with Metsaitti then. Be aware that I will defer to his decision on if you are ready, and will not listen to any complaints on it, understood?¡±
Tyghak nodded again. That was fair, he still couldn¡¯t compare to Metsaitti as a hunter, but they had been hunting in the Sacred Den for a while now. He could only hope he had proved himself in that time¡
Chapter 79 - The Bee-sired Outcome
Belissar fell into the rhythm for the next few days. He made potions with Juosiutik, received wood from the karnuq gatherers, watched his bees swarm over the new mana flowers, and continued monitoring purifications. No new names were added to the memorial, and several new perks and features were added to the Tower¡¯s status, and all was well.
He had received a Monster Bee Sprayer Speed Boost, a Monster Bee Soldier Mana Boost, and a Worker Bee Vitality Boost, all minimum+. He didn''t get any new features, but he didn¡¯t need any right this moment so that was fine.
He also had started work on the Orchard beehouse. At first, he tried to create a beehive up in the trees to see if he could, but the transparent image remained red, so he guessed he couldn¡¯t stick it among the branches. He could have just built one on the ground, or even built a new Bee Barracks since the two queens shared a joint hive, but that would somewhat defeat the purpose of the grove he made for them.
So, he was currently working on something else. He found he could adjust individual branches on the trees, albeit slightly, so he did his best to flatten them out and join them together. Then, he started building a flat platform out of sawed logs up in the branches, hoping if he made something flat and stable he¡¯d be able to put a beehive feature up there.
He requested some assistance from the Flower Meadow soldier bees once again, since there was little chance he could lift these planks up into the grove¡¯s canopy. However, he refused to let the entire army help him, both since the Flower Meadow queens were helping their children get set up, and because he was planning an expansion purification soon and did not want the army to neglect their training. They did not agree at first, but Belissar eventually ordered them to continue training, taking only a small group, the minimum number of soldier bees that could lift the planks. It was slow going since they had to rest after each plank but Belissar didn¡¯t mind. He absolutely preferred to take his time on this than to leave the army unprepared for the coming fight.
But now, it was time for something new. Because, now that the karnuq had finished their gathering and hunting, his DP finally crossed the limit.
DP: 3110
He could finally afford a new room. He opened up the DP shop and selected new room choice.
Extra room choice purchased. One room choice now available.
Please select a room:
- Swamp (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Water, Field)
- Farm (Rarity: Common, Type: Resource, Settlement)
- Dirt Tunnels (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Labyrinth)
Belissar smiled, and only hesitated for a brief moment. Swamps didn¡¯t sound particularly appealing, but that was only if he considered it as a human. As a dungeon master, on the other hand? Wet mud and surprisingly deep water to drag down a shade and prevent it from moving quickly? Novel and aquatic plants that could offer new flowers for his bees? That could offer significant potential for his Tower¡¯s defenses. A farm, on the other hand, needed little explanation. More food would be great for the karnuq, who had already provided him with grain plants to grow in it, and new crops could mean new flowers for the bees.
But his choice was already made.
Dirt Tunnels are now available.
It just made sense right now. He had subterranean plant types from the karnuq, and they even had some more they hadn¡¯t offered since he had nowhere to put them. He had Ground mana flowers, which would hopefully be cheaper in an underground room and that would hopefully result in new bee types that could make use of the new area and the new flowers. And, while the bees could certainly handle flying shades at this point, an underground area would make it all the more difficult for those types of opponents¡provided his bees could actually operate in such a place. Farms, while helpful to the karnuq, just couldn¡¯t provide much for his bees that he didn¡¯t already have with Flower Meadows and Orchards. A swamp could, but it was an option he didn¡¯t have anything prepared for. It was not appealing enough to delay taking Dirt Tunnels any longer.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Plus, he had learned his lesson with the digger bees. Dirt Tunnels may have showed up every time so far, but if he didn¡¯t take them now there was no guarantee they¡¯d continue to appear.
And then, his smile dropped. Because now that he had a new room came the hard part: deciding where to actually put it. For the sake of the defense, it would make the most sense to put it first, forcing the shades to pass through it before they could reach the Bee Barracks or any other hives. And if it were still just him and his bees, that¡¯s probably what he would have done. However, he now had to consider the karnuq¡and all those resource nodes he had created for them at the front of the Flower Meadow. They¡¯d all be much harder to reach if Belissar put an entire additional room between hem and the entrance. The karnuq still hadn¡¯t made a trip to the Orchard, after all.
So then, put it somewhere behind the Flower Meadow? Putting in between the Flower Meadow and the Orchard¡was not a good idea. The Orchard bees made regular trips to the Flower Meadow, and were even sending scouts outside of the Tower¡which reminded Belissar he probably should check out the newly purified area at some point. Maybe he could ask the karnuq for help with that? Or, he could just wait for his bees¡¯ scouts since they were already searching¡
Belissar shook his head as he was getting distracted. The point was that adding a room¡¯s worth of distance to the Orchard bees¡¯ trips would disrupt their current efforts. The same would apply to putting it behind the Orchard, as the Orchard bees also regularly travelled to the Apiary.
So, maybe he should put it after the Apiary, or even off to the side of one room? But if he did that, then the room wouldn¡¯t contribute to defense at all. If it were behind the Apiary, then a shade that reached it would have already passed through all the bees and their hives, at which point Belissar would already have lost. A room that was off to the side might just be ignored entirely.
Belissar groaned. If only there was a way to keep it out of his bees and the karnuq¡¯s ways while also having it in the way of any shades¡
Belissar paused and his eyes widened. Maybe¡there was a way to do just that? He switched over to his Tower sight, not viewing a single room but sending his sight higher until he could see all three rooms, like when he tried to place a new one. And then, just to see if he could, he thought about moving the Orchard. The Orchard turned transparent and he could move it around. He tried moving it in front of the Flower Meadow¡and it moved just find, with the Flower Meadow moving back to take its former position. He didn¡¯t confirm anything and let the Orchard move back.
But, he had succeeded. It was, in fact, possible to move the rooms after he had placed them. In other words¡it would be possible to place the Dirt Tunnels conveniently off to the side during normal times, but then move it in front of the entrance before purifications. Or, at least during big purifications, since it might be disruptive to rearrange the Tower twice every day.
With that knowledge, Belissar moved to place a new Dirt Tunnels room, relieved in the knowledge that the decision wouldn¡¯t be permanent. Since he didn¡¯t want to move the Orchard up a floor, he decided to place it off to the side of the Apiary. When he moved to place the Dirt Tunnels¡¯ entrance, however, he had a surprise.
In addition to the usual entrances on the side of the walls, he found he could place an entrance directly on the Apiary¡¯s floor, in which case the Dirt Tunnels appeared stacked underneath the Apiary. But still counted as on floor 2, somehow? He decided not to question it and experimented more with the door instead. He wondered if he could make a tunnel to the Dirt Tunnels that would then pop elsewhere in the Apiary? He found that he could as a second entrance appeared. He could make several entrances and exits, even.
Well, that was interesting, but Belissar wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to use it, so he just made one entrance near the door to the first floor and left it at that. Now, he had to adjust the room itself. He found a twisting maze of different tunnels, splitting off into both dead ends, circular turns, or connecting back to other paths. Some even sloped up or down instead of turning side to side, making multiple floors within the room itself. Belissar could now adjust those tunnels as he saw fit.
But, well, Belissar hadn¡¯t exactly designed an underground maze before, and so left it as it came and confirmed the placement of the room. He felt the mana of the Tower surge as a brand new room came into being. He returned to his normal sight, then turned to Niobee with a smile.
¡°Shall we go check it out?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Chapter 80 - Bee-ficient Arrangement
Belissar stood just inside the entrance to the new room. Sunlight trickled in from the entrance, illuminating a dirt tunnel about ten feet across. A Shrine of Bees stood in a small alcove off to the side, perhaps a tad shorter than before to fit within the more cramped space. Besides that, there was dirt on the ground, dirt on the walls, and dirt on the roof¡and nothing else in the few feet he could see. Beyond the initial slope down from the Apiary was¡pitch-black darkness.
Belissar turned to Niobee.
¡°Um, can you see inside?¡±
¡°Can!¡±
Belissar blinked at that.
¡°You can? You can see in the dark?¡±
Niobee paused before beginning a slower dance.
¡°Not with eyes. But can feel!¡±
¡°Ah.¡±
Belissar began to nod. He had figured out at this point that Niobee had a pretty deep connection to the Tower, so it only made sense she could also use the Tower sight, and see beyond what her own eyes could. He, too, could use his Tower sight and view the Dirt Tunnels as if in the light of the sun¡but that somewhat defeated the purpose of coming here in person. Although¡from what he could see, there was nothing but dirt. As the name and description stated.
Now that he was here, he, ah, wasn¡¯t entirely sure what else he expected.
He ended up shrugging.
¡°Well, since we can¡¯t see much ourselves anyways, might as well get to work.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
He chuckled a bit at Niobee zooming around him before considering what to do next. Obviously, the Dirt Tunnels were due for both traps and resource plants, but there was just a slight problem with that¡
Mana: 19/440
He had been allocating quite a lot of his mana with all the new flowers the karnuq had brought him, ending with the Ground mana flowers that were oh so expensive. He also had not been expanding his mana reserves with the daily purifications while he waited for the expansion purification. So¡his available mana was quite low. He wouldn¡¯t even be able to afford another Ground mana flower node if they were as expensive as the other rooms, though he was very much hoping they wouldn¡¯t be. On top of that, there were the cave carrots, the cave potatoes, the burrowing stonecrop, plus whatever else the karnuq might have now if the Dirt Tunnels was suitable to grow them all. And, of course, he would need traps if he wanted to use the room for defense. Nineteen mana¡was probably not enough for all of that.
Belissar decided to at least check the numbers, though.
Available Resource Plants for Dirt Tunnels:
- Basic Medicinal Mushrooms (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Basic Poisonous Mushrooms (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Cave Carrot (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Cave Potato (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Burrowing Stonecrop (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)
- Ground Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 10 per node, 5 due to suitable environment)
Belissar blinked at the longer list than he expected. So, basic medicinal and poisonous mushrooms? Maybe that was supposed to be the underground equivalent of the healing herbs and poisonous flowers? Well, that was nice, though as far as he was aware mushrooms didn¡¯t really make flowers so maybe not. Though, he did recall seeing bees land on some he saw in the forest, so maybe there was something they could gather from it?The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
On the other hand, he was at least happy to have confirmation that all those plants the karnuq had given him would, in fact, grow in the Dirt Tunnels. And, most of all, that Ground mana flowers were not only not as expensive, but significantly cheaper in the Dirt Tunnels. The same upkeep as a normal mana flower, even. If only he could move the Ground mana flowers from the other rooms to here¡
Belissar suddenly realized that he could. He walked out of the Dirt Tunnels entrance and over to the flower patches of the Apiary, where countless bees were flying to and from the new Ground mana flowers. They all stopped as they saw him approach.
¡°Um, sorry, could you give me a second? I¡¯m going to move these slightly, but they should come right back, ok?¡±
The bees all saluted and backed away from the Ground mana flower patch. Belissar then reclaimed it, watching as glowing light covered over the flowers and then melted back into the ground, leaving an empty patch of dirt as if nothing had ever existed.
Belissar then swapped to his Tower sight and thought about adding a new Dirt Tunnel entrance, opening up a hole right where the Ground mana flower patch had been. He then put a new Ground mana flower node right by that entrance, illuminated by the sun and visible from above, then returned to his normal sight. He looked around at the bees and nodded.
¡°Thanks for waiting, you can go back to gathering now.¡±
The bees saluted and then dove into the new hole in the ground. Fortunately, there was enough sunlight for them to work with, so they resumed gathering from the new Ground mana flowers same as before. Belissar nodded with a smile as he checked his mana.
Mana: 34/440
Success. He had reclaimed a significant proportion of his mana while still leaving the Apiary bees with access to the new flower. He briefly considered whether he could that for the Flower Meadow and Orchard patches as well¡but they were a bit too far away from the Dirt Tunnels, as the bees would need to fly at least the full length of the Orchard to reach it. But that was fine, as he probably had enough mana to work with now.
He went ahead and added one of each of the Dirt Tunnel resource nodes. He found he couldn¡¯t actually place them directly in the sunlight streaming from above, so he placed them to the sides of the room, where they would be shaded from the light but still visible enough for the bees to see them. He even added the two mushrooms for good measure, just to see if there was anything the bees could do with them.
Mana: 19/440
When he was done, he found he was back where he started. It seemed all those resource nodes cost exactly the same amount he had saved by moving the Ground mana flowers, so that was convenient. And that gave him a decent amount of mana left for traps, seeing as both the Pit Traps and the Sticky Honey Traps only costed one mana¡or would they? Belissar frowned as he recalled the Sticky Honey Traps were as cheap as they were because the bees were refilling them with their own honey. But these traps would be located deep inside the tunnels where the bees would have trouble reaching. He would have to consider how much the Sticky Honey traps would cost if the bees couldn¡¯t reach them.
In the end, Belissar shrugged and added two Sticky Honey Traps and a single Pit Trap by the original entrance. He put one Sticky Honey Trap in the roof, and the other in the Pit Trap itself. He figured he¡¯d wait to add anything deeper in until his bees had a way to actually reach it.
Mana: 12/440
He¡¯d get a bit of his mana back once the bees started filling the Sticky Honey Traps themselves, but even then his mana was almost depleted. He¡¯d done all he wanted to for the Dirt Tunnels at the moment, though that could change if the Ground mana flowers resulted in a subterranean bee of some sort¡or if he wanted to make nodes in the Dirt Tunnels for the karnuq to gather from, not to mention if they gave him new plants as a result. Still, at this point it was worth considering whether he should go back to expanding his mana from the daily purifications. The only question was¡should he attempt the expansion purification before or after that?
On the one hand, everything he had been waiting for was now finished. The Bee Barracks¡¯ main structure was completed and the Flower Meadow queens had finished moving inside. The new queens had been born and now had enough workers to contribute to their hives, though they were not yet large enough to begin laying soldiers. The Dirt Tunnels were ready and could be placed in front of the Flower Meadow as an additional obstacle to any flying shades. The sprayers were fully integrated into the army, new bee types were growing, and some basic anti-fire measures had been taken. And the benefits of a successful expansion had already proven quite dramatic. He had just filled his final room slots, now seemed like an excellent time to acquire new floors and room slots.
On the other hand, there was still value in waiting. With extra time, the new Flower Meadow queens would start producing soldiers and dramatically expand the size of the army. The Bee Barracks main structure was complete, but he could still add defenses to the exterior, such as a perimeter palisade. He also had only the Orchard grove beehouse to design and build before he could complete another mission from the God of Bees. The new bee types would spread if he waited, and who knows how helpful burning soldiers or sprayers might be? And, again, if the Ground mana flowers resulted in a bee type that could operate underground, he could consider using the entirety of the Dirt Tunnels as a battleground instead of just the entrance.
So, what was the right choice? Expand now and gain even more rooms, monsters, and resources, but at the possible cost of losing bees that he might not if he waited? Or take the slow path, letting the bees explore the fullest extent of the resources he now had before exposing them to any more danger, but delaying his Tower¡¯s growth as a result?
But, just then, Belissar noticed something that would delay this decision. Something that made his heart stop and his blood run cold.
Despite a lack of any purification notices, he felt the Hunger creeping along the Tower¡¯s mana once more.
Chapter 81 - Incursion
Belissar immediately focused on the entrance of the Tower¡and found nothing. He frowned and then began to zip around the Tower with his Tower sight, but still he didn¡¯t find anything. The karnuq weren¡¯t present in his Tower at the time so he didn¡¯t think there¡¯d be any remnants, but still he searched. Not finding anything, he began to zoom out his Tower sight, hoping to catch sight of anything out of the ordinary, but as far as he could tell all was normal in his Tower.
And yet, he could still feel the Hunger. His heart began to pound.
¡°Where is it?¡±
Niobee zipped in front of him.
¡°Bees looking!¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Thanks, let me know if they find anything.¡±
He could see his bees stir and start to spread out through the Tower. Without any further options to check the Tower himself, Belissar tried to focus on the feeling in the Tower¡¯s mana. He couldn¡¯t find a shade anywhere in the Tower, but it was definitely touching the Tower¡¯s mana so it had to be somewhere¡
Belissar froze, and then his eyes opened wide. He realized¡that the Tower¡¯s mana was not limited to its own walls.
And that attacks by shades were not unknown in his former, Tower-less life.
He immediately began to look outside the Tower, jumping through the eyes of the scout workers still out there. Most of them were on their way back, but a few were further out. They felt his presence and followed his will, turning around and spreading out. However, there were only a handful of scouts, what one joint hive could spare on exploration, and there was a lot of ground to cover.
And then¡a bad feeling crept into Belissar¡¯s chest. Because as far as he knew, there were only two things in the area a shade might go for. His Tower¡and the karnuq camp. His mind was filled with the image of a big shade-wolf tearing through tents. Of Metsaitti and Chief Rohsuak and the hunters trying to face one, of Juosiutik and the gathers trying to flee.
His blood ran cold.
¡°Move to the karnuq, check the area around them!¡±
The bees closest to the camp flew as fast as they could, flying above them. Fortunately, the camp itself was not under attack yet. Belissar exhaled the breath he was holding, but then looked closer. There was a lot of movement around the camp, and he could see armed hunters gathering at the edge of the camp furthest from his Tower.
¡°There, head that way!¡±
The bees did as asked¡and then he saw it. It was shaped like a massive boar, but with six tusks and eyes and eight legs, and taller than even a karnuq, much less Belissar. It knocked over the trees as it walked, not slowed down in the slightest by the obstacles in its path. And it left a trail of death in its wake, grass, flowers, shrubs, and fallen trees rotting and dying in the oily black mist of the Hunger.
Belissar didn¡¯t even spare another thought before he was moving, running towards the entrance of his Tower.
¡°Niobee, gather the army! We need to move!¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
The army heard Belissar¡¯s intent before Niobee even left his side and began to fly into the air. They spared not a moment in rushing forward, arranging into their squads and formations mid-flight as they rushed towards the Tower entrance.
As for Belissar¡he continued running, even as the bee army flew him by and rushed ahead. Images and memories kept passing through his head of burnt villages and dead flower fields and of standing by the bedside of bodies lying still.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
He could only hope they would make it in time.
Chief Rohsuak frowned as she stood in the forest. Metsaitti directed the hunters as they spread out. She had known that this was a distinct possibility. It had been a risk to set up their camp where they had, the area the young Tower had purified was a bit too small for comfort. Yet, she had hoped that same youth would mean an incursion by the Hunger would be far off, and so was more worried about the Sacred Den Master then about the dangers he warded off. Apparently, she had been wrong on both counts.
But she couldn¡¯t have known that when they first arrived, so there was nothing for it now. The hunters would have to stop it here. If they could not, the survivors would have to flee to the Sacred Den and beg for the master¡¯s protection. She was relatively optimistic he would be receptive, but it would also mean her people becoming entirely dependent upon him. She was not yet certain if that was a wise step to take.
Her people would have to do what they needed to, however. Long-term caution did not trump immediate survival. She put aside her thoughts as Metsaitti walked up to her.
¡°How¡¯s it looking?¡±
Metsaitti frowned.
¡°Will you be able to assist?¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
¡°I have the power to attack but not to control the fires that would result. Burning down the forest would not count as our victory. If you can immobilize it I could concentrate my attack, but if I miss I will not have a second attempt.¡±
Metsaitti¡¯s frown deepened.
¡°I¡am not certain we will able to do that. Not without sacrifice.¡±
Chief Rohsuak narrowed her gaze as she glared out into the trees beyond.
¡°¡we will do what we have to.¡±
Metsaitti slowly nodded and returned to the hunters. The karnuq stood scattered about, with spears and bows mostly carved from the bones of their prey, only a handful still holding the masterfully forged weapons of their forebearers. Chief Rohsuak¡¯s shoulders sagged as she let out a sigh. They were a far cry from the war parties she had followed and then led in her youth.
They felt it before they heard it, the ground rumbling with each step it took. They heard trees crack and fall, and saw the rustling in the canopy. Many of the younger hunters began to fidget and gulp.
¡°Steady.¡±
Metsaitti raised his spear, his voice stopping the hunters from shuffling back. As long as he stood, they would stay and fight. Chief Rohsuak could only hope he would not fall.
It was not pleasant for her to stand behind the lines, instead of in front of them.
And then, the shade burst from the trees, towering over even the karnuq hunters. It paused as it looked around. Then it let out a roar and began to dig into the ground.
¡°Loose!¡±
At Metsaitti¡¯s shout, the karnuq archers let their arrows fly. Their aim was true and the arrows sank deep into the monster.
It hardly seemed to notice.
The shade began to charge, shaking the very world around them as it smashed through the trees. Metsaitti took but one look at its building momentum before he made his call.
¡°Dodge!¡±
The karnuq hunters, prepared to stand their ground, paused at his cry. That moment of hesitation nearly cost their lives as they threw themselves out of the path of the monster. They hit the dirt, unable to launch any counter thrusts as the shade dug into the dirt, leaving huge furrows in the ground as it slid to a stop and prepared to charge once again.
Chief Rohsuak frowned as the monster began a second charge surprisingly quickly. Despite its bulk, it would not remain still long enough for her to target her spell. Worse¡shades were inherently drawn to mana. It would notice once she began to gather hers¡and she was not confident she could finish her attack before it could charge her down. How ironic that the Blazing Berserker would now find herself helpless in a fight, forced to conserve her strength until it was safe to unleash it.
Metsaitti, at least, still had the strength to fight. He stirred up his mana, drawing the shade¡¯s attention away from a group of archers as he strengthened his body and his spear. The shade immediately turned to him and narrowed its eyes. A moment later, it began another charge with a roar.
Metsaitti stood in place, digging his own feet into the dirt. He stood completely still, his eyes fixed upon the monster bearing down on top of him. Then, at the very last second, he pushed off and leapt to the side, moving faster than any normal karnuq could and barely evading the tusks of the beast. He then stomped into the ground and pushed back, thrusting his spear into the monster¡¯s side.
The shade roared as it continued to charge ahead. Metsaitti¡¯s eyes widened as his spear was suddenly yanked forward. He held on and was pulled off his feet as the monster charged forward. But he was forced to let go as he nearly crashed into a tree, tumbling across the ground as the shade skid to another half. It turned to face him once more, eyes blaring red as it adjusted its stance. Metsaitti looked up and grimaced.
Chief Rohsuak grimaced even more. Metsaitti¡¯s spear was one of the better weapons they had left, most of the others would have snapped from such forces. The other karnuq hunters were currently keeping their distance, launching arrows when they could but otherwise staying away. Only Metsaitti had the mana and the abilities to consistently dodge the shade at close range.
This fight was not going well.
Chapter 82 - The Caval-Bee is Here!
Metsaitti tensed as the boar charged towards him. He leapt to the side at the last moment once more and then grabbed onto his spear. He tried to pull it out but was instead pulled along by the boar and couldn¡¯t get good leverage before an approaching tree forced him to let go once more.
Meanwhile, Chief Rohsuak shouted at the other hunters, taking command and ordering them to stop attacking. The problem was that only Metsaitti was fast and experienced enough to consistently dodge the shade¡¯s charges. However, without his weapon it would be hard for him to keep its attention if someone else was harming it.
Still, Metsaitti could not exactly fight unarmed forever. Chief Rohsuak, therefore, began to stir up her mana. Should she miss, she would no longer be capable of contributing to the fight¡and may cause another big problem on top of it, but at this point she had little choice. Someone needed to give Metsaitti a chance to get his weapon back and no one else was capable of the task.
Chief Rohsuak herself was not certain she¡¯d be able to escape the boar¡¯s attention afterwards, but protecting the clan was her duty as chief. She¡¯d just have to trust that Metsaitti would take advantage of the distraction and give her a chance to escape.
But then they heard it. A slight buzzing noise that grew louder with every second. One of the hunters pointed up in the sky.
¡°Look!¡±
Chief Rohsuak took a second to glance up and her eyes widened. A massive, yellow and black cloud was rushing towards them. One that she very much recognized.
The bee army approached.
¡°The Sacred Den Master¡has come to help us?¡±
The hunters around her looked nervous but she raised her hands and calmed them down. The bees soared overhead and then dove down towards the boar just as it was charging towards Metsaitti once more. A squad of soldier bees slammed into its side, their stingers piercing deep. The boar roared in pain and turned to face the new threat, but that group of soldiers had already flown away. A few moments later, another squad stung the shade from the other side. It snarled and spun around to swing its tusks in the other direction, but hit nothing.
The karnuq were left staring at the scene before them. Metsaitti was hanging around nearby, waiting as he watched the bees dive from above. Then, when a squad dove in from the opposite side, he sprinted forward. He grabbed hold of his spear right as the bees stung the shade¡¯s other side and then pulled as the shade spun away towards the bees. Finally, he was able to remove his spear from the shade¡¯s hide and quickly fell back. The rest of the hunters turned to Chief Rohsuak as they watched the bees fly circles around the shade.
¡°Um, should we help them?¡±
Chief Rohsuak lightly shook her head.
¡°Only if you are confident you won¡¯t hit any of our friends. But stay vigilant. That monster could very well charge this way in a rage, we are not out of this yet.¡±
The karnuq gripped their weapons and refocused on the fight.
Belissar rushed through the forest, ignoring the branches scraping at his arms and legs. He was watching the soldier bee army through his Tower sight and so saw them arrive at the karnuq¡¯s camp, exhaling as he saw the camp itself was not yet under attack. He then saw them fly ahead to the actual battlefield. Metsaitti and Chief Rohsuak were there, both unharmed for now, though Metsaitti was facing the shade alone¡and unarmed.
¡°Take it down but be careful, we don¡¯t know what it can do!¡±
Belissar¡¯s words traveled through his mana and he saw the queen in charge of the army dance her salute. The soldier bee army organized into their formations and a moment later the squads began their attack runs. Fortunately, the shade did not appear any faster than the wolf-shades and couldn¡¯t fly like the bird-shades so the soldier bees were able to attack it without incident.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
But Belissar didn¡¯t dare hope that would remain the case, given how every shade thus far had surprised him. So, he kept running until he, too, arrived at the edge of the battlefield. He paused for a moment as he saw the true size of the boar with his own eyes, but then shook his head and shouted.
¡°Chief Rohsuak!¡±
Chief Rohsuak turned towards him, her eyes widening before she gave him a smile.
¡°Sacred Den Master, thank you for coming to our assistance.¡±
Belissar nodded and then got right into it.
¡°Can you tell me what that shade can do? Any special or magical attacks?¡±
Just then he saw the boar take a deep breath, causing him to hold his own. The bees scattered as they trained to do, then the boar roared and charged in the direction of the closest bees. Belissar felt the ground shake under the massive shade¡¯s hooves. His bees, however, were not intimidated, and simply flew out of the way as the shade barreled into the trees.
Chief Rohsuak frowned and rubbed her chin.
¡°I am not sure. We have not seen it use anything but its body to attack. Its body is, as you can see, very powerful and equally tough. I do not know if it possesses any more surprises but I do believe that its focus is on brute strength.¡±
Belissar turned back to watch the battle. On the one hand, the shade was far less agile than the wolf-shades and lacked the whip-like tail, so his bees were having an even easier time dodging the normal. On the hand, this was the largest shade they had ever dealt with. His soldier bees almost looked like regular bees in comparison. If he focused in close, he could see their stingers only barely piercing its hide.
He frowned. On the one hand, if the shade couldn¡¯t effectively attack back then his bees could handle it. On the other hand, it seemed like their attacks weren¡¯t doing a lot either. And with the shade¡¯s sheer bulk, they could keep it surrounded but they couldn¡¯t keep it from moving if it wanted to.
¡°If there are no special attacks, I think we can take it down eventually, but it looks like it¡¯s going to take a while. Did you have a plan to deal with it?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°I have enough mana for one big fire attack, but only one. And with the forest surrounding us, I can¡¯t afford to miss. If you can get it to stop or at least slow down without your bees in the way, then I should be able to finish it off.¡±
Belissar nodded and then relayed as much to the queen in charge, telling her to focus on slowing the shade down. She saluted and began to dance, sending her commands to the rest of the army.
Three squads approached the shade, one from the front and two from behind. The squad in front consisted of sprayers and unleashed their toxins right into the shade¡¯s face, while the other two squads took advantage of the distraction to sting its hind legs. The shade roared and smashed through several trees once again, but the sprayers had never lowered into its range in the first place.
The bees repeated this tactic over and over until the shade wised up and began kicking with its back legs before it charged. The bees managed to dodge the relatively short and thin legs, however, and changed their approach. They began to randomize their assault, sometimes diving from the sides, sometimes behind, and sometimes even from the front. But, with every attack, they made sure the boar charged away from Belissar, moving deeper into the forest.
The shade left a trail of destruction in the forest, but it displayed no means of attacking aerial foes. Belissar held his breath every time the shade paused or took a breath, but ultimately it did nothing but kick and charge. Still, the monster¡¯s bulk was a defense in and of itself and for a long time, Belissar thought the bees¡¯ attacks weren¡¯t actually doing anything.
But, eventually, the shade began to slow down. Its charges were less frequent and ended earlier, while it was breathing heavily and even beginning to sway a bit. Its eyes were swollen shut from all the poison that had been sprayed on them while the bees were intensifying their attack. Belissar turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°It¡¯s starting to slow down now.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°Let¡¯s approach, but let¡¯s stay vigilant. A cornered beast is the most dangerous. Metsaitti, you¡¯re with me. The rest of you stay here.¡±
With that, Chief Rohsuak, Metsaitti, and Belissar followed the trail of destruction until they caught up with the boar. It was just finishing another charge, crashing into a tree. Rather than flattening it, it merely left a massive dent that caused the tree to bend and creak.
Chief Rohsuak nodded and stirred up her mana.
¡°That¡¯ll do. Can you have your bees clear the area around and above the shade?¡±
Belissar nodded and relayed as much. A moment later, the bees took some distance, and specifically moved so that no bee was hovering directly above the monster. Chief Rohsuak held her arms out with her palms facing together. A ball of fire formed between them, growing brighter and hotter until Belissar couldn¡¯t look at it directly. Then, Chief Rohsuak thrust her hands forward and the ball shot straight towards the boar.
The shade was still catching its breath and so didn¡¯t notice the attack approaching until it was too late. It was only just beginning to move when the ball crashed into its side.
And then a pillar of fire shot into the air, engulfing the shade. They heard it roar and squeal but the venom of countless bee stings had taken its toll. The shade rolled a bit on the ground but then fell still.
POBear 82.1 - Setting a Bear-ing
A hostile has been defeated in your purification zone.
Gain 20 DP.
Belissar exhaled his breath as the message crossed his vision. A moment later, the shade¡¯s body dispersed into mist, taking most of the flames with them. He could feel the chill of the Hunger fade as his Tower¡¯s mana flooded the area. Dead grass and flowers left in the shade¡¯s wake began to regrow.
He, Chief Rohsuak, and Metsaitti had to stamp out a few small fires, but in the end the situation had been dealt with. And with not a bee harmed in the process.
¡°Looks like we got it. Did, um¡¡±
Belissar hesitated but swallowed and cleared his voice.
¡°Was anyone hurt? I might be able to help if so.¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled and shook her head.
¡°No, thanks to you we got through unscathed. Which reminds me¡¡±
She glanced at Metsaitti and he nodded. Then they both turned to Belissar and bowed their heads, slamming their right fists into the left side of their chests.
¡°Thank you, Sacred Den Master, for your assistance. You saved many lives today and we will not forget it.¡±
Belissar fidgeted a bit but calmed himself and nodded.
¡°You¡¯re welcome. I¡¯m just glad no one was hurt.¡±
Confirming that all was well, Belissar turned to the soldier bee army. Niobee and the commanding queen were hovering in front of him, waiting for his next command. Belissar smiled at them.
¡°Great work everyone. Let¡¯s go home and celebrate.¡±
The air buzzed as all the bees saluted as one. Belissar couldn¡¯t help but grin. An invasion by the Hunger. A disaster that had destroyed entire villages in the past. Once one of the greatest fears in his life, a calamity he would have been helpless against before.
Now, thanks to his bees, one had been dealt with. And neither a bee nor a karnuq had been hurt in the process. He could not help but be proud of how far his bees had come. And, perhaps, how far he too had come from the helpless peasant he once was.
He made his way home with his head held high and spring in his step.
Chief Rohsuak stood for a moment and watched as the Sacred Den Master left with his army. She rubbed her chin and hummed for a moment before turning to Metsaitti.
¡°What do you think?¡±
Metsaitti smiled and inclined his head.
¡°I will follow your lead. You¡¯ve always been a better leader than I.¡±
Chief Rohsuak rolled her eyes and knocked the top of his head.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t waste my breath if I wanted to hear flattery.¡±
Metsaitti chuckled before turning serious.
¡°Well, he just risked his life for ours. Mine especially, given the situation. I owe him my life¡and I¡¯m guessing possibly yours?¡±
Chief Rohsuak slowly nodded and hummed for a moment more. She then crossed her hands behind her back and straightened her spine, ignoring the pain in her back.
¡°When you return, assemble the family heads. We have much to discuss.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
After the karnuq hunters had been accounted for and returned to their camp, Chief Rohsuak stood before a large gathering. Each family in the clan had sent a representative. Juosiutik and Noigakkuq were there, as well as a number of other young karnuq who represented the oldest, or last, living member of their families. Chief Rohsuak held back a sigh as she saw how many young faces were here.
Of course, the rest of the clan huddled around the outer edges of the gathering, intent on eavesdropping as much as possible. But that was fine. Chief Rohsuak wasn¡¯t trying to be secretive. Officially gathering the family heads was just a way to keep the meeting from getting too chaotic.
After all, she had quite the proposal to make. Evidenced by the current situation, where all the karnuq were staring at her in silence after she had finished.
¡°Chief¡this is¡are you certain? You¡¯re asking us to surrender our freedom, our way of life.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°I am.¡±
The karnuq frowned at this. One of the younger hunters crossed his arms.
¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to stick to ourselves? What if we need to leave again? We¡¯ve made it this far on our own, why do we need to do something like this?¡±
Chief Rohsuak heaved a sigh¡and allowed herself to slump over. She felt an itch in her throat¡and she allowed herself to cough and hack until Juosiutik brought her a drink. She thanked the girl as she drank.
All the karnuq were staring at her, many with their eyes open wide. It was, after all, one of the first signs of her age she had truly permitted them to see. She cleared her throat once more before beginning to speak.
¡°Our people have teetered on the edge of a knife for a while now. We¡¯ve made it through, yes. But¡that will not last forever. We are one mistake, one instance of bad luck, one unfortunate accident away from ruin. And even if our good luck continues¡we cannot continue like this forever. As you can see, my time is dwindling, much sooner than you think. Metsaitti is not getting any younger either and we have no champions as of yet that can match him. What will happen ten years down the line, or twenty? What if Metsaitti is wounded and a shade like the one we faced tonight appears?¡±
She turned and looked the young hunter in the eyes.
¡°Could you stand against something like that alone?¡±
The younger hunter held her gaze for a couple of seconds before glancing away. Chief Rohsuak coughed once more, then took a deep breath and straightened her spine once more, rising to her full height. Even now, she stood above most of her people when she wasn¡¯t hunching over.
¡°We have survived, but we have made no progress. We have only lost more and more on our journey. But now¡now we have a chance to change that, and to grow.¡±
She turned to Leijaliuk.
¡°For the first time since our journey began, we know where tomorrow¡¯s meals will come from.¡±
Leijaliuk nodded and Chief Rohsuak pointed to Juosiutik and Noigakkuq.
¡°We have raised our first new champions since we lost our home, with more on the way.¡±
And then she turned to Metsaitti, who nodded as everyone turned to face him.
¡°And, as of tonight, we have protection from an army whose might exceeds our own.¡±
She turned and looked each member of the meeting in the eye, one by one.
¡°For the first time, our people can grow in strength, abundance, and numbers. But that is only true as long as we remain here. If, for some reason, we are forced to leave, we will lose access to that protection. We will lose access to the first consistent source of food we have had. And our two champions will lose access to the Sacred Den of the patron who has granted them her unique blessings, while no further members of our clan will have an opportunity to receive a blessing at all.¡±
She then smiled at them.
¡°What I propose is that we do what we need to make our current good fortune permanent and ensure that we will continue to grow far into the future, even after all of us here are gone.¡±
The karnuq slowly began to nod, though one of the eldest frowned.
¡°But¡didn¡¯t you say it¡¯s dangerous to trust a Sacred Den Master? Don¡¯t you remember what happened to our fathers and mothers?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°I did. And I do. And that was why we held back. That is why we still live in tents, ready to leave at a moment¡¯s notice. That is why we live on the outskirts where we are still exposed to the Underway and the Hunger.¡±
She made eye contact with him.
¡°But I no longer think that. We gave this Sacred Den Master a chance to show us his true colors and he has. From the time we have arrived here, he has not hesitated to share with us the bounty of his Sacred Den, or the blessings of his patron. And in exchange he only demanded one thing: that we not harm his bees. Tonight, he risked those same bees himself in order to protect us, even though we hadn¡¯t even asked for his help, and then he asked us for nothing in return. This Sacred Den Master has earned my trust.¡±
She turned to Metsaitti who nodded.
¡°Mine as well. I owe him my life for tonight.¡±
A wave of murmuring passed through the karnuq¡which only grew as Noigakkuq stepped forward, tossing a new dagger in her hand.
¡°I¡¯m in favor of it.¡±
Juosiutik nodded and stepped forward as well.
¡°As am I. I would not have reclaimed my mother¡¯s legacy without his help.¡±
Leijaliuk nodded as well.
¡°I do not wish to return to rationing like I once did¡and I imagine none of the rest of you want me to either. We need this Sacred Den, and I am in favor of anything that helps us keep it.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded at those who had spoken and waited for the murmurs to quiet down.
¡°Then, it is time to make a choice about the future of our people. All in favor?¡±
She stood tall as she waited for the responses¡
Side Story 82.2 - The Will of the Gods
Ruckanos diverted course the moment he was out of sight of his lord father¡¯s Tower. Well, he knew his lord father had eyes and ears everywhere in his domain, so it wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d remain unaware. But, Ruckanos had a plan, one that was fully in line with both his mission and his punishment.
And so, they touched down in the charred ruins of the village where this all started.
His guards frowned as he touched down and disembarked. The captain followed and walked up to him.
¡°Commander, may I ask your intentions? Our orders were quite clear.¡±
Ruckanos scowled as the captain dropped the lord title from his name. But he had no time to lose so instead he turned and walked over to one of the other wyverns, the one carrying the oldest member of their group.
¡°Augur, time to earn your trade. Do anything you can to try and trace where my Tower went.¡±
The augur frowned.
¡°Commander, I must warn you that tracing a Tower after its birth is impossible.¡±
Ruckanos narrowed his eyes at the man.
¡°We are about to embark upon a suicide mission. If we want even the slightest chance of survival, we need a direction at the very least. If there was any time to innovate on your trade, it is now, old man. You should be motivated most of all, as I imagine the journey will be hardest on you.¡±
The augur frowned and then sighed, moving to disembark.
¡°I will do what I can, but do not expect a miracle.¡±
Ruckanos scoffed.
¡°At this point, I expect little.¡±
The augur and Ruckanos walked to the field behind a charred apiary, the place they had seen the Tower¡¯s birth, while the captain ordered the rest of the guards to rest for a bit. The augur knelt down, feeling the grass a bit.
¡°¡I believe it was around here, or at least this is as close as we can tell given the passage of time. I will attempt a divination, but that is about all I can do.¡±
Ruckanos heaved a sigh.
¡°Stop blabbering and get to it.¡±
The augur heaved his own sigh and then reached into his robes. He began to carve a circle full of ancient symbols into the dirt and the grass. He then pulled out a bottle full of bright red liquid and placed it in the center before turning to Ruckanos.
¡°Commander, do you have anything you can offer to the gods? Perhaps they will look more favorably upon us if so.¡±
Ruckanos heaved a dramatic sigh this time.
¡°What do you think, augur? Do you think my lord father showered me in riches before sending me off to die? No, I have nothing in my possession that can be spared. I am offering my very life in the service of the gods as well as all of yours, the least they can do is show me where to go.¡±
The augur frowned but turned back to the circle and closed his eyes. He began to speak in a soft whisper and the magic circle glowed with blue light as he filled it with his mana.
But then he gasped, and his eyes shot open. The blue light began to turn into a golden yellow and then the bottle disappeared. The augur began to tremble.
¡°C-Commander¡I¡it¡¯s a miracle.¡±
Ruckanos glared at him.
¡°Out with it. What has happened?¡±
The augur continued to shake as he looked up into the sky.Stolen story; please report.
¡°¡the gods have spoken. I did not recognize the voice but¡I have a heading. The journey¡will be incredibly long, but I know where to go. The gods have smiled upon our mission.¡±
Ruckanos paused for a moment before his face broke out into a grin. So, the gods themselves approved of his mission, huh? Suddenly that tiny spark of hope that rose in his chest now exploded into a roaring inferno. He now knew the location of his lost Tower, one that he knew for a fact would be young, weak, and ruled by some dying peasant. Maybe the gods had already struck the fool down for his transgressions and the Tower would be¡waiting for its rightful ruler. Either way, the chances of surviving¡and more¡had improved dramatically.
And what were terrible odds in the face of the will of the gods? If they themselves were supporting his quest, then what did he have to fear? Or maybe¡maybe he had been chosen for even more than the usual Tower Lord. Maybe this would all be better for him in the end, to reclaim his Tower¡and in a location far beyond the reach of the Conclave and the High Council. He rose to his feet and walked back to the captain.
¡°Captain, we leave immediately. And now, we know where we¡¯re going.¡±
The queen inspected the hive once more. Her antennae drooped as she took stock of their current honey stores.
They weren¡¯t going to make it.
When a rival hive of humans had arrived and burnt down the Hive-Builder¡¯s own colony, she and all the rival queens had been forced to flee. They lost their homes, their brood, and, worst of all in the current situation, their winter stores. They all were forced into a mad scramble to build new hives and gather enough nectar to survive the coming chill.
And that was when the queen made a fatal mistake.
She once had a special worker different from all others. The worker had somehow accumulated enough mana to become something different. Her dances were more complex and precise, while her stings were more powerful and deadly to their enemies without threatening her own life. She lived for many years, far beyond any of her sisters, and any honey she made was of the highest quality, imbued with bits of mana that elevated it beyond the rest. Drinking that honey had caused the queen to accumulate some mana of her own, opening her eyes and mind in ways she still couldn¡¯t fully understand.
The queen had come to rely upon that worker above all others. And so, when the inferno happened and the queen found said worker was missing afterwards, she panicked. She had committed the majority of her workforce to search for that one worker¡and found nothing. So, while the rival queens had managed to rebuild their hives to some semblance of function, she had expended her hive¡¯s dwindling resources on a fruitless chase.
Her hive, built on an exposed tree branch, wasn¡¯t even fully enclosed, and the days were already growing colder. Her honey stockpiles were barely enough to last the next week, much less the frozen months that were coming. If she had found her missing worker, she could imbue the honey with mana to increase its nutrition, allowing them to stretch it out. But she had not, and now the situation was dire.
It was then that she heard a noise. The noise of humans.
Since she had not scouted for good locations, she had set up her hive just beyond the ruins of their old home. Now, she saw humans walking there once more. Humans she recognized.
The very ones who had taken the Hive-Builder and her worker from her.
Her wings buzzed and her hive stopped their work as they looked to her. She began her dance, preparing to fly once more. She planned to take her entire hive on this flight. Perhaps, this was for the best. If her hive had any chance of survival, she would have to let this opportunity slip away. If they were doomed anyways, if they could not possibly survive the winter, then at the very least they would take down the monsters responsible for their plight. She could avenge her worker and the Hive-Builder.
But then, golden light filled her vision. Suddenly, she found herself in a hive beyond all hives, with golden walls of honey and wax stretching out further than her eyes could see in any direction. Worker bees crawled and flew all around her¡and more. Bees of sorts she had never seen passed her by¡and queens worked alongside the workers.
And at the center of it all was a bee. A bee she had never seen and had not known¡and yet instantly recognized, for she had always known her. She stood before the Queen of All Bees. She moved to dance her salute but the Queen of All Bees moved first. The queen froze as she watched the Queen of All Bees dance. When it was over, what could she do but salute?
When her perception returned to her own hive, she found her workers crowding around her, waiting for her to move. But instead, she began to dance once more, issuing new orders. As she planned, the entire hive rose into the air. But unlike she planned, they hovered over her hive first, chewing through the half-built wax. They carried whatever honey and brood they could and then flew off as one.
They kept low to the ground, just barely above the blades of grass and the flowers of the field. They slowed the beating of their wings to the slowest speed that could keep them aloft, minimizing their buzzing. And then¡they ignored the humans, instead making their way towards the giant, winged reptiles that were tied down nearby, hovering over to the largest of the beasts.
They then landed on one of the large bags tied to the reptile¡¯s side, and crawled inside. They crawled their way to the very bottom of the package, where a grand stock of provisions rested. There, they curled up into a ball and began building a small amount of wax, just enough to give them shelter.
Soon, the queen felt the beast stir, and then lift into the air. She could only wonder where the Queen of All Bees was sending her.
And when she would be permitted to have her revenge.
Chapter 83 - Will You Bee Mine?
Belissar sat in the Apiary farmhouse after celebrating the bee army¡¯s latest victory. He rubbed his chin as he let the silence of the night waft over him. Niobee watched him from the table but made no noise, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts. Eventually he nodded and then made a light sigh.
This incident decided things for him, he was going to conduct another expansion purification sooner rather than later. The boar-shade was really easy for his bees to take down without losses¡but that was because it had been outside the Tower. If it had been during a purification? Sure, the boar couldn¡¯t actually hit any of the bees, but its sheer bulk and resilience meant the bees couldn¡¯t actually stop it from moving around, and it lasted a long time before their venom noticeably affected it. If it had been assaulting the Tower, it could have made a break for the Flower Meadow exit and likely would have reached it before the bee army brought it down. It, therefore, could have done major damage to the Bee Barracks, the Orchard, or the Apiary before perishing. It may even have been able to reach the core if it made a straight run for it.
Well, they probably would have been able to lure it into a Pit Trap and the boar seemed to charge whatever attacked it so it probably would have worked out, but that wasn¡¯t the point. The point was that the Hunger continuously changed its approach¡and was not limited to the contained purifications Belissar could conduct at his leisure. The Hunger was at war with his Tower and would do everything in its power to slip past his defenses, both within and outside of purifications. Belissar had, perhaps, gotten a bit too comfortable with the Hunger thanks to the recent string of successful purifications. It was good for him to remember that the Hunger was not a passive threat.
As such, while it didn¡¯t mean that he should rush, it would be wise of him not to neglect his Tower¡¯s growth. More expansion meant more options. New bees, new rooms, new features, and new flowers that could all provide tools to deal with whatever the next shade turned out to be. And more territory purified meant more ground for a shade to cover before it could reach the karnuq or the Tower, should one attack from the outside once more.
Belissar still wanted to do everything he could to put the odds in his bees¡¯ favor and avoid casualties. But, ultimately, he knew he could trust them to get it done. And so, he would.
Now resolved, Belissar headed off to bed. Tomorrow could be a busy day.
The next day, Belissar and Niobee gathered the queens at the Orchard¡¯s Shrine of Bees, as close to a midpoint of the Tower as he could arrange. He took a deep breath as the queens hovered around him, waiting for his words.
¡°I am planning to conduct another expansion purification.¡±
The queens paused, before bursting into salute dances. The Flower Meadow queens affirmed they were ready to fight. The Apiary queens promised donations of honey, particularly the medicinal queen. Belissar smiled a little before continuing.
¡°Thank you all. We won¡¯t do it just yet, though. First thing, I¡¯m going to move the Dirt Tunnels to the front of the Tower after the karnuq finish their gathering for today. It¡¯ll restrict and slow down any shades, especially flying ones, and maybe we¡¯ll even catch one in the traps. But, um, since this is a new thing, I want to give you all the chance to adjust. So, we¡¯ll do the move today and let the army practice fighting at the entrance to the new room, then conduct the purification once they¡¯re ready?¡±
The Flower Meadow queens started a dance indicating they were ready now before the biggest one, the Second First of the First paused and the others followed suit. Slowly, she began to salute, the others with her.
Belissar then turned to the Apiary queens and bowed his head.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, but that does mean the new underground plants will be moving further away for the next day or two. Is that going to hurt your hives?¡±
The Apiary queens seemed to be frozen, as none of them began to dance. Belissar was about to speak up again when, to his surprise, the Second First of the First began to dance once more.
¡°Army can go to Apiary to practice?¡±
Belissar blinked and then his eyes widened.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
¡°That¡¯s¡a good point. Would you mind sending the army to the Apiary today, then?¡±
The Flower Meadow queens all saluted as one. He then turned to the Apiary queens.
¡°Ah, in that case never mind then. We¡¯ll wait until the actual purification to move things, so there shouldn¡¯t be any disruptions.¡±
The Apiary queens began to apologize to him but he shook his head.
¡°No, you all need the honey. But that¡¯s why we¡¯re all here now, to address any issues I missed.¡±
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as all the bees began swarming around him, exclaiming that he was the best and wisest king. He decided not to point out that he was, to his knowledge, the only king and therefore also the worst and most foolish.
¡°Ok, we¡¯ll do that then. Let me know if there are any issues, or if you have any ideas that could help with the upcoming purification.¡±
It was in that moment that the karnuq arrived¡and Belissar tilted his head. Chief Rohsuak had come with the group¡a large group that didn¡¯t match the normal gatherers and hunters. He turned to Niobee.
¡°Um, looks like the karnuq want to talk. So¡guess we¡¯ll go talk to them. Afterwards can you show the army where the entrance to the Dirt Tunnels is?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
¡°Thanks Niobee. Ok then, let¡¯s get to work.¡±
The bees made their most rapid salute dance yet.
Belissar, Niobee, and the soldier bee army made their way over to the entrance. The karnuq, unusually, had not begun either gathering or hunting. Belissar guessed they were waiting for them, which was borne out when they saw him and walked to meet him.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar nodded to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Hello, Chief Rohsuak. Um, did you want to talk?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded, her face unusually serious.
¡°I do. We have a great request of you.¡±
Belissar gulped at her tone.
¡°¡um, what sort of request?¡±
Chief Rohsuak turned back to face the other karnuq and looked each in the eye. One by one, each of them nodded to her. She then turned to face him once more. Belissar nearly stepped back at the intense gazes of so many large bear people, but tried to think about the bees flying above him and so stood his ground. And then¡
Chief Rohsuak and all the karnuq bowed their heads towards him.
¡°Sacred Den Master, if it pleases you, we wish to swear ourselves to your service.¡±
Accept offer of allegiance?
Belissar stared blankly, then blinked repeatedly.
¡°¡um, what?¡±
Fortunately, Chief Rohsuak seemed to anticipate his confusion, as she took him aside to explain in more detail.
¡°Ok, um, first of all, what exactly do you mean by that?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°From what I understand, Sacred Den Masters are able to accept outsiders as their defenders and servants. We would like to become yours, if you would accept us.¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°I¡see. And, um, what exactly would that look like?¡±
Chief Rohsuak extended an open palm towards him.
¡°Whatever you would like it to.¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Huh?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°From what I have seen, every Sacred Den Master¡¯s relationship with their sworn defenders is different, so the exact details would be yours to decide. But, on a most basic level, we are hoping for food, shelter, and protection from external threats. In exchange, we will become your people. We will fight your battles, work your lands, defend your Sacred Den, and follow your commands.¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin, but then suddenly his eyes widened.
¡°You¡¯re¡offering to become my Tower Guard?¡±
Now it was Chief Rohsuak¡¯s turn to rub her chin.
¡°I am not familiar with the term, but if that is what your people call those who serve Sacred Dens then yes, most likely.¡±
Now that gave Belissar pause. He still wanted nothing to do with the Tower Lords or the ways they did things. However, it was also true that he didn¡¯t know how they treated their own Tower Guards, and besides, Chief Rohsuak said their treatment would be up to him so there wasn¡¯t an issue in doing things differently. The question, though, was did he want Tower Guards? And did he want the karnuq to fulfill that role? The Tower itself sent him a message when the karnuq made their request, so apparently there was something more to it than just verbal promises.
But well, if he said aside memories of the Tower Lords¡this was a good thing, right? If the karnuq wanted to help defend the Tower, he could certainly use their help in the next purification. Maybe they could also help him build beehouses or process flax or tasks like that.
But, was this too good to be true? Chief Rohsuak said he¡¯d have to provide them with food and shelter and protection. What exactly did that mean? What exactly would they want from him if accepted? Would they try to swindle him, maybe ask for all that stuff and then make excuses when it came time to fight?
Belissar looked over at Chief Rohsuak, and then beyond her. He saw Metsaitti, Juosiutik, and Noigakkuq among the karnuq who had come along. All of his questions and concerns and anxieties boiled down into one.
Did he trust the karnuq?
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
¡°¡let¡¯s discuss what exactly this will look like for us.¡±
Chief Rohsuak paused for a moment, then broke out into a smile.
¡°Yes, of course.¡±
To Belissar¡¯s own surprise, the answer to his question was yes. The karnuq had treated him well so far, better than any human ever had save for his own parents and the beekeeper. They had listened to his requests, delivered on their promises, and hadn¡¯t done anything to his detriment. And, most of all, they had respected his bees.
He also did not want to see them harmed, as he had recently learned. He was already providing them with food and protection, come to think of it. So, he felt that it was worth the chance, despite his fears.
And so, Belissar and the karnuq began discussing a new relationship with one another¡
Chapter 84 - Bee-come a Defend-Bear
Belissar and Chief Rohsuak then discussed some details.
¡°I see, so you¡¯re planning to expand tomorrow?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yes, it¡¯ll probably be best to wait and see what I have available then.¡±
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin.
¡°I¡¯ll have the clan move just outside the Sacred Den in that case. Will you require assistance with the expansion?¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°Ah¡actually, yes. It¡¯s basically a fight against a big shade, like the little ones that your hunters fight but as big as me. And, um, that spit clouds of death mist or something. Or that can fly and summon lightning.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°I see. If you wish, I can bring our hunters to help?¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°If you¡¯re sure¡the help would be appreciated. I believe my bees can handle it but we¡¯ve been surprised before.¡±
Chief Rohsuak narrowed her gaze.
¡°Yes, we, too, have suffered from the unpredictability of the Hunger. Very well, you will have our support.¡±
Belissar smiled and nodded his head.
¡°Thank you, that¡¯s appreciated.¡±
In more ways than one, in fact. Not only would the karnuq give him a good backup plan if a shade managed to overwhelm or escape his bees, the fact that they were willing to help him fight reassured Belissar that he wasn¡¯t making a mistake with this. They really did intend to make good on their promises and become his Tower Guard.
With that, he and Chief Rohsuak hammered out some other details. Belissar was already providing them with food and supplies, so, to his surprise, there was very little he needed to do that he wasn¡¯t already. Ideally he would prepare a place for them to stay within the Tower, but that would have to wait as Belissar wasn¡¯t sure what rooms he¡¯d want to place after the next expansion. Additionally, there was the issue of Remnant spawning, which Chief Rohsuak was a bit surprised to find Belissar had little control over. He had seen a Rest Zone feature, however, so they both hoped they¡¯d find a way to make it possible.
So, to Belissar¡¯s continued surprise, most of the discussion was on what the karnuq would do for him. Chief Rohsuak basically told him that the tribute they offered him when they gathered stuff from his Tower would now apply to everything they did, seeing as they were his people.
¡°Um, are you sure about that?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°You are offering your protection and we are becoming your people. It is only natural. And, Sacred Den Master, may I offer some advice?¡±
¡°Um, sure?¡±
She looked him in the eyes, causing him to flinch a bit.
¡°It is not wrong for you to seek your own benefit, you know? You have been extremely generous and we trust you to be fair.¡±
She sighed as Belissar frowned. She then placed her finger on her chin and glanced up at the bees hovering above.
¡°How about this? Think of us as part of your bees. You take care of them and they obey you and offer you the fruits of their labors, correct? It is something similar for us.¡±
Belissar paused. For a brief moment, he imagine Chief Rohsuak flying around on a pair of wings, attempting a ¡°King best king!¡± dance.
He couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing. Chief Rohsuak blinked and tilted her head.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
¡°Sacred Den Master?¡±
¡°Heh, it¡¯s¡nothing, haha.¡±
He took a deep breath and then smiled at her.
¡°Well, you¡¯re no bees, but I think I understand what you¡¯re trying to say. I build you a home like I did for them and you help me like they do?¡±
Chief Rohsuak returned his smile.
¡°Exactly.¡±
Eventually, they had hammered out as much detail as they could. Chief Rohsuak took the karnuq back to their camp, intending to move the rest of the clan over to the Tower. Belissar busied himself by accompanying the soldier bee army to the Apiary. They gathered by the first entrance to the Dirt Tunnels, the one built into the walls of the Apiary, and then practiced fighting an enemy emerging from the tunnels. They practiced short dives into the cave, having sprayers attack from outside, and forming different encirclements to stop an enemy from leaving.
As the day wore on, Chief Rohsuak returned to the Tower once more, followed by the entire karnuq clan. Belissar and the soldier bees made their way over. The karnuq all gathered before him, every man, woman, and child. Chief Rohsuak stepped towards him.
¡°We are ready, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar nodded at her.
¡°Me too.¡±
She then smiled.
¡°Just one thing. May I ask for your name, or do you prefer Sacred Den Master?¡±
Belissar flushed as he realized that he had never given any of the karnuq his name.
¡°Oh. Um, I¡¯m Belissar. Err, nice to meet you?¡±
Chief Rohsuak chuckled softly.
¡°Nice to meet you too, Sacred Den Master Belissar.¡±
Fortunately for Belissar, the conversation finished and Chief Rohsuak returned to the karnuq. She then led them in striking their chests with their fists and lowering their heads.
¡°I, Chief Rohsuak the Blazing Berserker, in the witness of the God of Bees, swear myself to the service of Sacred Den Master Belissar. To be his shield and spear, to be his hands and feet, and to ensure that his Sacred Den stands. Let the gods bear witness and hold me to my oath.¡±
The other karnuq all followed suit with their own names. Belissar gulped but tried to repeat their motions. He felt he should at least say something in return.
Accept offer of allegiance?
¡°Um, I, Belissar, master of this dungeon¡in the witness of the God of Bees, accept. I¡promise to do my best to house and protect you all. Um, let the gods bear witness and hold me to my oath?¡±
He turned to face the Shrine of Bees. His eyes widened, along with the karnuqs¡¯, as the Shrine of Bees began to glow bright. He, along with each and every karnuq, were surrounded by a golden glow, which then flashed once and disappeared.
You have gained 132 sworn defenders.
Sworn Defender: An outsider who has sworn to defend a dungeon. Bound not to harm the core or the dungeon master, and to defend it from existential threats. Immediately gains a minor blessing from the dungeon¡¯s patron and may interact with dungeon mana. Remnants will not spawn around a sworn defender unless they specifically intend to be challenged. Do not cost mana to upkeep, but mana may improve the bond with a given sworn defender, unlocking additional interactions with dungeon mana.
Both Belissar and the karnuq were left blinking as the glow receded. The karnuq all began to stare at their hands, and Belissar could now feel them stir up their mana. In fact¡he could now feel them like he did his bees, though the connection was noticeably weaker.
There¡was a lot to take in, for both parties. But Chief Rohsuak kept her wits about her and bowed her head towards Belissar once more with a smile.
¡°Thank you, Sacred Den Master Belissar, for accepting us.¡±
¡°Oh, um, you¡¯re welcome? It feels like I should be thanking you for promising to protect the Tower.¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew.
¡°If all goes well, perhaps we shall both thank each other?¡±
Belissar slowly smiled at that.
¡°That sounds nice.¡±
But the biggest surprise was yet to come. Niobee flew down in front of Belissar and began to dance.
¡°King! Outsiders now King¡¯s workers?¡±
Belissar smiled at her.
¡°Something like that.¡±
She turned to face Chief Rohsuak and began to dance.
¡°Good! Work hard for King!¡±
Chief Rohsuak paused only for a moment before nodding.
¡°Yes, of course.¡±
The rest of the karnuq were not so calm.
¡°¡did that bee just talk?¡±
¡°Um, I didn¡¯t hear anything but I somehow did? What?¡±
¡°Maybe we can hear her dancing? Is that the blessing of the God of Bees?¡±
¡°L-Look, the other bees are dancing, too!¡±
The bees, for their part, were also conversing.
¡°Outsiders¡can dance now? Part of King¡¯s hive?¡±
¡°Part of hive of hives? But¡they¡¯re not bees?¡±
¡°Not bee¡but like King? So, ok?¡±
Niobee flew up before the soldier bees and began her own dance.
¡°Not bees, but belong to King now, so ok! As long as work hard for King, can join hive of hives!¡±
With that, all the soldier bees saluted as one.
¡°Yes, Conduit!¡±
With that, the soldier bees began greeting dances to the karnuq. The karnuq were left with wide eyes as they said hello to the soldier bees. Belissar crossed his arms and nodded at the sight with a smile.
Well, there was a lot going on, but he was very much happy that they could talk to the bees now. And very happy to see them doing so without issue. That was a crucial step if the karnuq were truly going to make their home in his Tower. He was also pleased to hear the bees were ok with this and accepted the new defenders. He¡probably should have spoke with them before accepting the karnuq¡¯s oath. He should probably speak with the queens regularly, in fact.
And in particular, he should probably talk to Niobee and the queens about the karnuq before she started putting them to work, from the sound of things¡
Chapter 85 - Purification can Bee Dirty
It was morning of the next day. Belissar and the soldier bee army gathered by the Tower entrance. Chief Rohsuak soon arrived with Metsaitti and a group of karnuq hunters, and moved to greet Belissar.
¡°Hello Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar nodded at them.
¡°Hello, thank you for coming.¡±
Chief Rohsuak inclined her head.
¡°Of course. Would you mind sharing your plan with us?¡±
Belissar nodded and motioned to the bee army overhead.
¡°The bees have been training for this, so they should be able to handle it. If you don¡¯t mind, could you come with me to the other side of the room? It would help if you could guard that, in case something goes wrong.¡±
Chief Rohsuak saluted in the karnuq fashion and turned to Metsaitti, who commanded the hunters to move out. Belissar turned to the queen leading the army today.
¡°We¡¯ll start soon, good luck and try to stay safe, ok?¡±
The bees all danced their own salute as one, and then Belissar moved to join the karnuq and walk to the other side of the Flower Meadow. The karnuq were glancing around and gripping their weapons, but the Hunger didn¡¯t stir. Chief Rohsuak smiled slightly.
¡°So, it¡¯s true. We really won¡¯t be challenged just for our presence in the Sacred Den.¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Looks that way. That¡¯s really convenient, you should be able to move it once we¡¯re done here.¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew.
¡°So it seems.¡±
With no remnants appearing, the group made their way to the Flower Meadow exit without any issue. The karnuq eyed the Bee Barracks curiously but Metsaitti barked orders at them. They tore their eyes away and began to take up positions by the tunnel through the barracks to the room¡¯s exit. Chief Rohsuak turned to Belissar.
¡°That¡¯s the place you¡¯d like us to guard, correct?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yes, thank you.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded and watched the group arrange themselves. A few moments later, she turned back to Belissar with a serious expression.
¡°We are ready whenever you are, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar nodded and then shifted to his Tower sight. No bees were present in the Dirt Tunnels at his request, so he was able to move it without any concern. He placed it in front of Flower Meadow and removed the second entrance for now, so that the only exit was out into the far side of the Flower Meadow.
Once he confirmed the changes, the Tower¡¯s mana rumbled. The gate in the Flower Meadow shifted into a cave opening into the Dirt tunnels. Meanwhile, the Orchard moved up to the second floor, and the exit of the Flower Meadow now displayed the staircase heading there.
The soldier bee army buzzed their wings and held their positions. Belissar sent them a message.
¡°Everyone ready?¡±
The queen in command saluted. Belissar took a deep breath.
Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.
¡°Ok, here we go.¡±
Expansion purification attempt commencing.
The karnuq jumped and glanced every which way as the Tower¡¯s mana began to surge. Soon the gate in the Dirt Tunnels slammed opened and the Hunger began to coalesce once more. The karnuq shivered as the chill of the Hunger passed through the Tower¡¯s mana. The bees stood at the ready.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Belissar paid them no mind, his sight focused on the entrance as the Hunger began to coalesce. It was down on the ground, so probably not a flying shade¡but then it split into two before the shade began to emerge. Or, in this case, shades.
Two sets of paws dug into the subterranean dirt. Short and rounded feline heads emerged with two pairs of glowing red eyes, one set forward in the normal position, a second set on the sides of the shade¡¯s head. The body was mostly feline, similar to the mountain lions Belissar knew but a bit smaller and far more lithe. Also, with a pair of bug-like wings on their backs. They ended with long and thick tails stretching out behind them.
Expansion purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 2
¡°It¡¯s started!¡±
The karnuq refocused at Belissar¡¯s shout, while in the Dirt Tunnels the shades let out a roar and began to run. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as they crossed the entrance room in an instant.
Fast!
The shades¡¯ feet launched their light forms across the rooms, their wings beating to push them forward. They didn¡¯t fly but they moved so far with each step they were practically gliding. Their long tails extended outward, keeping them stable even as they soared.
And they launched right over the first Pit Trap without even touching it.
They did slow down somewhat as they approached the first turn, but their wings spread out and their tails whipped around, allowing them to reorient themselves with minimal speed loss. They flipped around and began to run along the walls for a bit before straightening out, one taking up a position behind the other as they flew through the tunnels. The Sticky Honey Traps Belissar had placed activated, but the shades were long gone before honey even left the nozzles.
It seemed this time the Hunger didn¡¯t plan to fight the bees at all.
¡°Be careful! There are two ground shades moving super fast! They¡¯re probably planning to run right past you!¡±
The commanding queen saluted and began to give out orders to the army. They tightened their formation around the entrance, forming a near solid wall of chitin around it. Belissar was incredibly grateful for the Dirt Tunnels, as the twisting labyrinth gave the bees a chance to adapt. Still, he was worried. With the bees so tightly packed, a single attack like the wolf-shade¡¯s mist or the bird-shade¡¯s lighting would cause massive damage. But with the sheer speed the shades were currently displaying, he didn¡¯t think there was a good alternative. He would just have to hope these shades didn¡¯t have an attack like that.
The shades rushed through the tunnels, though several times they hit dead ends and had to backtrack. Belissar noticed that they never checked the same tunnel twice¡probably because of the trail of blackened dirt they left whenever they touched the ground. That was unfortunate, but the Dirt Tunnels still bought some time, far more than they would have had otherwise. Still, the shades¡¯ sheer speed meant they were approaching the exit far faster than Belissar might have hoped. He called out as they rounded the last corner before the exit.
¡°Here they come!¡±
A group of sprayers took up positions right in front of the entrance, abdomens already pointed down the final hallway. The shades rounded the corner and slowed slightly. They growled at the sight of the bees in front of them and then spread their wings. Black mist gathered around them and then they swung their wings. A burst of black mist pushed them forward, causing them to surge down the hall.
The sprayers, though, were already launching their attack. The queen, heeding Belissar¡¯s warnings and Niobee¡¯s further description of the shades, had ordered them to spray their toxins before the shades came into range. The venom spray was thus flying through the air before the shades made it through.
The venom caught the first shade right in the eyes. It howled and twisted, trying to paw at its face. As a result, it tripped and tumbled to the ground, falling right into the final Pit Trap of the Dirt Tunnels. It fell with a crash and then was covered by the honey trap at the bottom.
Unfortunately, with its wings spread wide, all of the toxic spray had hit the first shade. The second shade behind it was unaffected and pushed forward, leaping over the pit. It pushed its wings forward and gust of wind poured out of the entrance, pushing aside the sprayers as the shade burst into the Flower Meadow.
At which point it was set upon by the soldiers.
A solid dome of soldier bees collapsed on the shade from all sides. It beat its wings again and pushed some of the ones in front off course, but the bees on its side and top managed to land on it and thrust their stingers into its body. The shade howled and took off running, but the soldier bees clung on tight, expecting it to try and escape. They continued to sting it over and over.
The shade tried to whip its tail and beat its wings, but both of these were designed for speed. The tail was too thick to whip all the way around and the bees evaded it with ease. The wings were too light to do anything meaningful to the tough soldiers, and they simply ignored the ineffectual blows. The shade tried to stir up its black wind but the soldiers kept clinging on.
With no other course, the shade took off running, hoping the bees would fall off. But as it did, a second encirclement took up positions and launched their attack. With its attention focused on the bees already on its back, the shade failed to react. Another group of bees landed on its face and shoulder and began their own attacks.
The shade howled and collapsed to the ground about halfway through the Flower Meadow, just within range of the karnuq¡¯s sight. They gripped their spears tight but the ball of bees and black mist didn¡¯t move any further.
Shade purified. Remaining hostiles: 1
Belissar released the breath he was holding and then turned his attention to the other shade. Smoke billowed out of the entrance to the Dirt Tunnels as the Apiary soldier bees had already dropped flame radishes on the other shade.
All hostiles defeated. Purification successful.
Chapter 86 - The Masters Special-Bee
The Tower¡¯s mana surged and passed in a wave out into the world beyond, reclaiming even more territory from the Hunger. The karnuq glanced around in a daze. Even Chief Rohsuak had a curious look on her face as she turned to Belissar.
¡°Is it over, Sacred Den Master?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yes, sorry you all came this way without doing anything, but fortunately the bees handled it.¡±
Chief Rohsuak slowly shook her head.
¡°It¡¯s a good thing we didn¡¯t have to fight. You will not hear complaints from me about a lack of danger.¡±
Some of the other gave pointed stares towards Chief Rohsuak¡¯s back but she didn¡¯t respond so Belissar decided not to mention them.
¡°Yes, that makes sense. I normally hold a celebration for the bees now, would you all like to join?¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled.
¡°We would be honored, Sacred Den Master.¡±
With that, Belissar asked some of the karnuq to come with him. Their eyes widened upon entering the Orchard, and again when they reached the Apiary. They were stunned into silence when Belissar started gathering the vast trays of mana honeycomb he had stockpiled. He placed the trays in the karnuq¡¯s hands and had them haul the honey back down to the Flower Meadow, with the Apiary hives assisting. Soon, all the bees and the karnuq gathered by the Flower Meadow Shrine of Bees. Belissar turned to the bees.
¡°Great work everyone! We won again, thanks to you, and didn¡¯t lose a single bee!¡±
The karnuq watched in silence as the entire soldier bee army broke out into celebratory dances in the air, and then began to swarm the honeycomb trays. Belissar broke off a few pieces and handed them to the karnuq as well. Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti couldn¡¯t help but make massive grins as he did.
The other karnuq hunters soon understood why.
Since Belissar had conducted the purification in the morning, it was barely midday by the time the celebrations finished. Most of the bees returned to their work, while Metsaitti led the karnuq hunters back to report their victory. Meanwhile, Belissar requested that Chief Rohsuak and the bee queens remain.
Because now it was time to discuss the rewards.
Expansion successful.
Reward: Floor limit increased to 3. Receive one perk choice, and two random reward choices.
Belissar had told Chief Rohsuak that they¡¯d discuss the karnuq moving inside the Tower after the purification rewards, so it made sense consult with her on those rewards. And once Belissar had decided to do that, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t also consult with the bees on the choices. They had helped him make his last round of choices too, after all.
¡°Ok, so, first things first, we have a new floor. That means we can add two more rooms. Additionally, we have a perk choice and two random choices, let me check them now.¡±
Please select a perk:
- Enhanced Toxins (Rarity: Common)
- Boosted Beehouses (Rarity: Uncommon)
- Bee Specialist (Rarity: Common)
Belissar rubbed his chin as he read the choices for Chief Rohsuak and the bees. The perk choices were all ones he had seen before. That¡should have been a good thing, right? It meant he could now pick up something he had missed before. Yet, for some reason, he couldn¡¯t help but feel¡disappointed. But he had two more choices to read out so he continued on.
Please select a reward:
- Uncommon Room Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- Uncommon Room Feature Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- +1 Room Limit
Please select a reward:If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
- Rare Monster Choice (At least one rare or better option)
- Uncommon Room Feature Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- +100 max mana
Belissar stared at the choices for a bit. A rare choice! The first he¡¯d seen in a while! He didn¡¯t recall perfectly since he was a bit confused at the time but if he remembered correctly the monster bee queens themselves were a rare choice, right?
¡°Sacred Den Master?¡±
Belissar flushed a bit as he remembered everyone was waiting on him to actually read the choices. He also had to explain a bit about what each type of choice might provide.
¡°So, um, what do you all think?¡±
Niobee was, of course, first to respond.
¡°Whatever King chooses!¡±
The rest of the bee queens soon followed, though they had some additional suggestions. More bees, more flowers, and more beehouses were the general trends. Belissar then turned to Chief Rohsuak, who was chuckling at the display. She then noticed his gaze and rubbed her chin with a hum.
¡°I will admit I¡¯m a bit out of my depth here. It is fascinating to learn how the Sacred Dens function, but I cannot claim to have ever built one. More resources, new rooms, and stronger defenders all have their own appeal and I cannot tell you which should be your priority. As for my people: food, water, and shelter are our immediate concerns. You are already capable of providing those, however, so I would prefer you do what serves your Sacred Den best. You have led it well thus far from my perspective, you should continue forward with your vision for it.¡±
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but frown a bit, as he had hoped Chief Rohsuak would have had a stronger opinion. If he thought about it, though, she was a relatively normal person just before this. She was like he was when he was first put in charge of a Tower¡and taking it far more calmly than he did. So, perhaps he was more experienced when it came to Tower affairs at this point. Not that he felt like it.
But ultimately, he was the one who had to make the decision, so he got down and thought about it. At the moment, he didn¡¯t feel like his Tower had any urgent needs in particular. The bees had a bunch of new flowers, the karnuq apparently wouldn¡¯t trigger remnants now that they were sworn to him, and the soldier bee army had dealt with a new shade type easily. The bees¡¯ requests were fairly general, and overall they seemed happy with their current situation. The karnuq may have more needs, but for now just having a safe place to stay and food to eat was plenty.
As far as the shades went, the Dirt Tunnels proved they were worth their weight in mead. They slowed the shades down and gave the bees time to prepare, as well as allowing Belissar to observe the shades before the actual fighting began and so warn the bees about their speed. The purification may not have gone as well without that extra forewarning. It seemed there was significant value in having some rooms ahead of the bee army.
So, what would help his Tower most? What would give him new options that could help him face the next new trick of the Hunger, like the Dirt Tunnels had? What would best prepare them for the future?
Belissar slowly began to speak as he continued rubbing his chin.
¡°I think¡we should take the extra room slot. That will give us an extra room for each floor, as well as three rooms on the new floor. We could make a floor for the karnuq with three whole rooms. Then, we could add a new Dirt Tunnels room for the Apiary bees to gather from while leaving one by the entrance so we don¡¯t have to keep moving the current one? And it should give us plenty of space for new rooms, since new room choices are cheaper than new room slots in the DP store.¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes widened slightly and then she bowed her head.
¡°We would be honored you would offer so much to us, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar rubbed the back of his head and decided not to mention that he just didn¡¯t want his bees to have to share their rooms or flowers. The Apiary queens also thanked him, and began a long dance detailing just how much they liked the new flowers that made Belissar grin.
Room limit increased! Room limit is now three per floor.
He then rubbed his chin as he considered the next decision.
¡°Any opinions on the perks? Ah, let me read the descriptions for you.¡±
Chief Rohsuak and the bees listened attentively as Belissar explained what each perk was supposed to do.
And then, for the first time ever as far as Belissar was aware, the bees disagreed. The Flower Meadow queens favored Enhanced Toxins, while the Apiary queens preferred Boosted Beehouses. Which, made sense. The Flower Meadow queens were responsible for the soldier bee army, and so would naturally want anything that would strengthen their attacks. The Apiary queens devoted themselves entirely to honey production, which Boosted Beehouses would assist them with. Belissar could see the argument for either, which was why this choice was so difficult. He turned to Chief Rohsuak, hoping she might have some advice. She took on a thoughtful look before speaking.
¡°Any of the choices would seem to help you. As a warrior, however, I must note that poison seems to be your Sacred Den¡¯s most potent weapon. There is both danger and opportunity in specializing in a single field, but maximizing your strengths is generally not a bad call. You¡¯ll find the further you commit down a single path, the more options it will grant you to overcome its own weaknesses. And, of course, we will now offer our assistance should you face a foe your choices are ill-suited to deal with. In my opinion, Enhanced Toxins will grant your Sacred Den the most power if that is your concern, and should open additional doors down the line if you wish to continue down that path. On the other hand, Bee Specialist is an apt description for your current Sacred Den and fits your patron, so reinforcing that will not disappoint. As far as the beehouses go¡¡±
She gave him a grin and licked her lips.
¡°I, personally, would not mind more honey.¡±
Belissar hummed and maybe groaned a bit. Part of him wanted to move onto the next choice and see if that would help¡except that Bee Specialist itself might affect the next choice, so if he ended up choosing that it would best to have it before the next choice, right?
Belissar looked towards the Shrine of Bees and then nodded. He decided that when in doubt, he would choose bees.
Bee Specialist selected.
Bee Specialist would help all of his bees with the boost to their stats. And, as Chief Rohsuak had pointed out, it fit the God of Bees and his vision for the Tower. He hadn¡¯t thought about it before, but when she mentioned a vision he tried to imagine what his Tower might look like in the future, what he might want it to look like.
He saw a Tower full of and surrounded by happy bees.
Bee Specialist would work with the Blessing of Bees to guide future choices in that direction, so that is what he chose. Though, he¡¯d see what he could do to improve the beehouses and maybe find some more poisonous flowers if possible to address his bees¡¯ requests.
And now came for the final choice. Belissar couldn¡¯t help but be a bit excited¡
Chapter 87 - Exploring Rari-Bees
Belissar very briefly thought about to ensure he wasn¡¯t missing something or acting foolish, but in the end his choice was set. Extra mana? He could get that from daily purifications. An uncommon room choice? Room choices were the cheapest option in the DP store and could even show up as minor+ purification rewards. He would have considered it if his Tower had a specific need or lack that an appropriate room feature might have addressed, but at the moment he was satisfied with his current features.
So, with no specific reasons to pick anything else, he chose the monster option. He couldn¡¯t wait to see what a rare option might entail.
Please select a monster* (*One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees):
- Monster Bee Blader (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee, Blade)
- Monster Bee Communer (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee, Mind)
- Bloodsucking Bee Queen (Rarity: Epic, Type: Bee, Blood)
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but grin. Not just a rare option, but an epic one too! Though¡was rare better than epic or the other way around? He wasn¡¯t entirely sure but epic sounded like it should be? In any case, he should have two good options, plus an uncommon to boot! Belissar could barely wait as he opened up the descriptions for each.
Monster Bee Blader
Vitality: Minor
Strength: Small
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal
Defense: Minor
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minimal
Notable Skills: Poison Slash, Death Blow, Brood Offspring
Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier
Description: A monster bee soldier evolution. This bee trades its stinger for an edged blade and grows claws on its front two legs, as well as greater size and strength. This allows it to attack more directly via cutting and slashing. It can coat its abdomen blade in venom, though its venom is no more powerful than a normal soldier¡¯s.
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but whistle. While the monster bee workers were the size of regular bees and the monster bee soldiers a bit larger than his hand, the monster bee bladers were the size of a small dog. And while the soldiers were basically just larger bees, the bladers were more monstrous in shape as well as size. Their front legs had curled blades more like a praying mantis, while their stingers were flat, wide, and sharp on either end. The Flower Meadow queens hovered closer and closer to him as he read out the description of the bee.
An impressive option that could do some serious damage without relying on poison at all. And that was just the uncommon choice.
Monster Bee Communer
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Small
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minor
Special: Average
Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Death Blow, Brood Offspring, Brood Link
Evolves From: Monster Bee WorkerFind this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
Description: A monster bee queen can command her offspring, but must also remain safe within the hive, meaning this ability often goes unused save for the most dire of circumstances. The monster bee communer is the solution to this. The monster bee communer expands the link between a monster bee queen and her offspring into something more. It not only expands the range of a monster bee queen¡¯s command but also allows her brood to exchange information with her at a distance, allowing the entire hive to benefit from their queen¡¯s abilities. The communer itself has very little in the way of defense and so must be protected.
All the bees fell still as Belissar finished the description. The Second First of the First slowly began to dance.
¡°Let¡¯s queens¡command from inside hive? Strengthens link between hive?¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°I think so?¡±
One of the queens from the Orchard then hovered closer to him.
¡°King¡new bee¡let¡¯s queens see what workers see? Even when far away?¡±
Belissar slowly nodded once more.
¡°If I understand this correctly¡¡±
The Orchard queen trembled and then suddenly exploded into a high-speed dance.
¡°That one! Want that one!¡±
Belissar blinked as workers from that queen¡¯s hive, who had stuck around the queen meeting for some reason, pulled their queen back. Well, that was at least one unambiguous opinion. Belissar chuckled a little as he checked the last option.
Bloodsucking Bee Queen
Vitality: Minor
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minor
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minor
Notable Skills: Drain Bite, Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring
Description: A sweat bee queen evolved by mana to seek other fluids. Drains sustenance and mana from the blood of living creatures, and has anticoagulant venom along with enlarged stingers to encourage the flow of blood. This one is a queen, and capable of building a hive of monster blood bees.
Belissar just stared in silence for a bit, before gulping. Well, that was certain an¡option. Bees that¡drank blood? Now that image put the monster in monster bee. Belissar gulped again and rubbed his chin.
Well, they certainly sounded powerful. Bees that could not only make small stings, but open small cuts that would continue bleeding far longer than normal. And not only that, but this one was type of queen that could therefore build an entirely new set of hives. And what if the other options he already unlocked applied? Would he have bloodsucking bee soldiers? If he tried to scale up the bloodsucking bee stinger to soldier bee size, it would almost match the monster bee blader¡¯s stinger as a cutting weapon. Bloodsucking bee sprayers? What would they spray? Blood, maybe? But they were supposed to drink blood, so probably something else?
However, there was a significant problem. Where exactly was Belissar going to get the blood to feed such monsters? At the current moment, the only sources of blood in his Tower were himself, and the karnuq. He didn¡¯t think he had enough blood to feed even one hive by himself, and he didn¡¯t think the karnuq would appreciate being turned into a food source. Maybe he could get some sort of animal option? But the Blessing of Bees and his new Bee Specialist perk would make that unlikely, right? He hadn¡¯t seen any monster options that weren¡¯t bees as of yet, and Bee Specialist would only make it less likely.
So, if he chose Bloodsucking Bee Queens¡he¡¯d probably have to wait until he had a sustainable source of blood before spawning any. He turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Um¡do the karnuq raise any animals?¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s face was scrunched up.
¡°In the past, yes, but none survived our journey here.¡±
¡°I¡see¡¡±
Belissar took a deep breath. On the one hand, this option was epic. Who knew when he¡¯d see it again, or if he ever would? It was powerful, and could potentially open up an entire world of possibilities for his Tower. But it wasn¡¯t something he could support yet¡and something he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever be able to. He had yet to see a non-bee animal offered to him, and there weren¡¯t many bee-related animals save for those that preyed upon bees and Belissar knew he was never picking any of those. And while he may have preferred bees to people, he wasn¡¯t about to feed the karnuq to them.
So¡he decided to let it go. He would believe in his current bees, and they had a clear opinion this time.
Monster Bee Communer now available! Monster Bee Workers may now evolve into Monster Bee Communers.
The bee queens all paused as a wave of mana passed over them. And then, the Orchard queen exploded into another rapid dance.
¡°YES! Amazing, incredible! Thank you, King! King is best king!¡±
A moment later, the other bee queens joined her in thanking him, and proclaiming him the best. Belissar grinned and chuckled.
¡°Heh, you¡¯re welcome, glad you like it.¡±
It pained him to watch the option fade, but the rare Monster Bee Communer seemed like a good choice as well. And, most of all, it was the one his bees preferred and one that made them extremely happy. That reassured Belissar that he wasn¡¯t making a mistake. It was his bees that did the fighting and defeated the shades, so an option they wanted was probably the most beneficial in any case. Better to make his current hives stronger than to roll the dice on a brand new one.
¡°That should be it. I¡¯m going to talk with Chief Rohsuak about where the karnuq are going to set up. You girls can stay if you want, or you can get back to your hives, whichever you prefer.¡±
The Orchard queen gave one final dance of gratitude before zipping back out of the room. The Flower Meadow queens exchanged dances with one another, and then all but one of them returned to the Bee Barracks, the last one indicating that she would stay. The largest Apiary queen then started a dance exchange of her own. When it finished, all the Apiary queens save for her left, while she moved to hover by Belissar. He nodded at them and then turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Ok, should we discuss where you¡¯re going to set up?¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled at him.
¡°It would be my honor, Sacred Den Master.¡±
POBee 87.1 - The Conduits Worr-Bees
Belissar and Chief Rohsuak discussed a bit and decided to allocate the second floor to the karnuq. Belissar would add a Flower Meadow, an Orchard, and a Dirt Tunnels there for the karnuq to use. There was, however, a slight problem.
Mana: 12/440
It turned out Belissar didn¡¯t have enough mana to actually add that many rooms right now, much less any additional room features. So, he and Chief Rohsuak agreed to wait a day or two for him to expand his mana reserves before the karnuq would move in.
With that, Chief Rohsuak left to rejoin the karnuq and Belissar dismissed the queens back to their hives. He decided to spend the remainder of the day resting after all the recent battles and conversations.
But, unbeknownst to Belissar, the queens did not immediately disperse and return to their hives. Niobee took the Firstborn and the First of the Fifth aside. The Firstborn gave a salute dance and then began to dance unsteadily.
¡°Yes, Conduit? Need us?¡±
Niobee danced unusually slowly for her.
¡°¡yes. Worried.¡±
The Firstborn and the First of the Fifth glanced at each before the First of the Fifth began to dance.
¡°That¡¯s concerning. What worried about?¡±
Niobee turned to glance towards the entrance of the Tower.
¡°Before King was king, King was part of hive of humans. Human hive treated badly. Hurt King, stole King¡¯s food. Niobee would sting but King wasn¡¯t part of hive, so only Niobee fought. Wasn¡¯t enough.¡±
The Firstborn and the First of the Fifth both began to buzz loudly and extend their stingers at that. Niobee had to brush their antenna to calm them down. The First of the Fifth began a slow, but unyielding dance.
¡°So¡Conduit believes karnuq are a threat to King?¡±
The Firstborn saluted.
¡°Want me to gather army?¡±
Niobee danced the negative before continuing unsteadily.
¡°No. Karnuq different, and swore to join King¡¯s hive. Think will be ok, but still worried. Can queens keep watch, make sure not tricking King?¡±
Both the Firstborn and the First of the Fifth saluted immediately.
¡°Will protect King from every threat.¡±
The First of the Fifth was still buzzing her wings.
¡°If hurt King¡will die.¡±
Niobee thanked the two queens and then left to rejoin the King. The Firstborn and the First of the Fifth slowly made their way back to their hives, for they had much to think about¡
The Firstborn called for a meeting of the queens as she returned to the Bee Barracks, and relayed the information granted to her by the Conduit. The other Flower Meadow queens were silent. The Firstborn could sympathize, the tales of the King before he became king were always fantastical and hard to believe. Especially this one.
How could the King find himself at such a disadvantage? How could others like him fail to see his wisdom and grace? And how powerful were they that they could harm the King and get away with it?
It was a solemn reminder to the Flower Meadow queens. Their army was mighty and could bring down invaders without the loss of a single bee. They had avenged the First Dynasty and allowed the King to turn his mind away from war. They had defeated two new types of invaders without being caught off guard. But they were not the most powerful force out there, not by a long shot, and they still had a long way to go if they wanted to protect the hive of hives. It would not do for them to grow complacent in their recent victories.
Fortunately, the King had granted them great tools to do just that. Every queen felt as the Tower¡¯s mana passed through them. It strengthened all the bees, making the soldiers hit harder, the workers fly faster, and granting the queens greater mana and endurance. And, beyond that, it spoke to the queens. It told them of a new type of bee, the one the King had told them about. A bee that would let a queen see through the eyes of her workers and send them commands from the safety of her own hive.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
For the Flower Meadow queens, it was perfect. The need for a queen to command the army for maximum responsiveness and adaptability? They could now do so without exposing herself to danger. The drop in worker efficiency they noted whenever the queen was away? The queen no longer needed to leave to take command, and so could continue to manage her workers at the same time. The delays when commanding soldiers that weren¡¯t the queen¡¯s own brood? Now each queen could command their own offspring all at once. It was a solution to all of the problems they had encountered since taking personal command of the army.
And, additionally, it would help with the issue raised by the Conduit. The queens could assign workers to watch the newcomers and then watch them with their own eyes. Their responses to any threats would not be delayed by the need to wait for a report to arrive.
So, the Flower Meadow queens soon began to discuss what all of this would mean for them. Every queen would begin raising communers immediately, while worker bees would be spread out across the entire room in order to keep eyes on every corner¡and so keep them aware of everything occurring in the Flower Meadow.
They would never cease their efforts. They would take this opportunity and continue to grow the might of the army. And they would keep the hive of hives and the King safe from any and all threats.
The First of the Fifth paced about in her hive as she considered the implications of what the Conduit had told her. To hear that the King had been wounded and humiliated? Unthinkable. Had it been anyone other than the Conduit who told her, she would have them stung for a most egregious and despicable lie.
But it was the Conduit, and that meant that it was true. Her wings buzzed again as the mere thought of it made her mind blank with rage. Should any of the King¡¯s old human hive appear again, she swore she would make them suffer.
But they were not here. So instead, she would not fail the Conduit¡¯s request. She would ensure that these karnuq would never have the chance to do anything like the King¡¯s old hive.
The question on her mind right now was¡how?
She had the worker force to spread across the Apiary, or even beyond, and she could request her daughter¡¯s help with the Orchard. The Flower Meadow queens would handle their own domain and, for once, the First of the Fifth did not doubt that they would complete this task with all due diligence. The issue was that to do so would ultimately compromise her honey production. Workers spread out across the Apiary would disrupt the allocation of her foragers to the best flowers, the patches the King had grown himself. They could still gather from the mundane flowers spread across the room, but the honey quality and quantity would suffer as a result.
The First of the Fifth was willing to do this if it came down to it. She would not permit the King to suffer such injury and humiliation ever again, no matter what she had to do to prevent it. But, she was the First of the Fifth. She aimed to be the King¡¯s ideal queen. She produced the most and the best honey. She would love all bees as he did. She never compromised and never settled for less than the best, and would spare no effort to achieve her aims.
So, she considered how she could complete her given task without compromising on her honey production. If there were any method by which she could avoid the inefficiency inherent in giving her workers this secondary goal.
And, as she could have expected, the King had provided.
At first, the First of the Fifth had been somewhat dismissive of the new option. These communer bees cost more mana and honey than a regular worker to raise, and yet held no advantage over any other worker in either work or battle. Certainly she could see the value in extending her eyes and dances beyond the range of her own sight¡but it was not necessary for her hive. Her hive was perfectly efficient already, and she had perfect knowledge of its every operation and full confidence that her workers would carry out her will. Relying on communers to manage her own hive was a crutch that an ideal queen would not require.
But as she thought more about it, she began to see the value. Her gravest mistake came from being unaware of events going on outside of her hive. If, for example, she had assigned a communer to her daughter¡¯s hive, she could have received real-time updates on her daughter¡¯s status. In fact, she intended to send one to her daughter now for that very purpose.
And then, she had an idea. Why should she limit that to her own daughter? What if, instead, she sent a communer to every single hive in the Apiary? That way, she could keep track of every hive there, and so offer assistance whenever and wherever it was required? Would that not be the ideal way to show her love for all bees? Would that not bring her closer to the King and the Conduit, both of whom could keep track of the bees without eyes?
And, this would provide a solution for her current quandary. Because if she did this, then she could collaborate with the other Apiary queens on this task. She knew the Flower Meadow queens and even her daughter cooperated with other queens besides their own kin, and that such cooperation had apparently born fruit, but still she hesitated. The First of the Fifth now loved all bees, but she still refused to compromise the quality of her work. She did not wish to share her tasks with any queen who could not achieve the level of performance she expected of her own hive. How much more so when it could be the King¡¯s own safety at risk?
But, what if the other queens took her eyes with them? What if all the queens of the Apiary spread their eyes and ears throughout the room to receive immediate reports on any threats, which they could then immediately pass on to the First of the Fifth? That¡would be sufficiently effective, would it not? And it would only require a fraction of the workers from each hive to achieve, resulting in a drop in productivity that was ultimately manageable.
The First of the Fifth finally stopped pacing, and then began to issue commands to her workers. It was time to call for the Apiary queens to gather once more.
POBee 87.2 - Un-Bee-lievable Happiness
The Fourth of the Seventh zipped through the hive, bouncing off of all of the walls. Her workers had given up on calming her down at this point, even the lead worker.
Largely because the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter had joined her.
¡°Amazing! Incredible! Can watch workers even when in hive! King is best king!¡±
¡°Amazing! Incredible! Can talk to Fourth of Seventh even if she leaves! King is best king!¡±
The lead worker, however, froze solid as the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter slowed down just enough for her to comprehend the frantic dance going on. She began to tremble.
There¡would be a way to contact their queen? Wherever she went?
And, to the worker¡¯s further surprise, the Tower¡¯s mana began to speak to her as well. It turned out the new bee type the King had spoken off was not a queen, or some modified soldier. It was a worker evolution, and concerned her directly, thus making her eligible to receive the new information herself.
Her trembling grew as she considered the implications of the new information she had received. Plans began to coalesce in her mind.
However, the hive¡¯s surprises were not yet over¡
Belissar strolled leisurely out of the Flower Meadow. However, he stopped as soon as he got to the Orchard, turning to glance at the grove where the two Orchard queens lived. He began to rub his chin.
The bigger Orchard queen¡¯s sheer excitement at the communer bees reminded him of something. If he recalled correctly, the Orchard queens were the ones sending out scouts beyond the Tower. It had been their workers that managed to locate the shade, and enabled him to respond before tragedy struck.
He had been neglecting the world beyond his Tower, but he realized that couldn¡¯t continue. Even if the karnuq moved inside the Tower, threats could still come from beyond. The Hunger itself would probe the exterior, and then there was the risk of visitors who were not as friendly as the karnuq. And on the more positive angle, there were opportunities he was neglecting as well. It was outside the Tower that his bees found the first mana flowers, not to mention all the plants the karnuq had brought with them. And each time he did an expansion purification, the amount of ground reclaimed from the Hunger grew, which meant both new opportunities and new exposure to danger.
It would not do for him to remain unaware of what was occurring in his own Tower¡¯s range.
He nodded and stepped towards the grove, waving at the bees above. Shortly thereafter, the two Orchard queens came down to greet him¡and continuously thanked him for the communer bees. He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as they kept up their dance, not pausing for even a moment.
¡°You¡¯re welcome, I¡¯m glad you like it. And, I was thinking¡would it be possible to step up the scouting? Now that you have the communers, maybe set up a mini-hive where the scouts could stay so they don¡¯t have to keep flying back and forth all the time?¡±
He knew the Orchard queen had moved a couple of times at this point, so he figured she would have experience in setting up and managing multiple hives at once. And with the communers, they could stay in contact with their workers at a distance, so he figured it should be possible.
The Orchard queen immediately stopped moving. She hovered in the air, barely moving save for the beating of her wings. Belissar began to frown. Maybe he had been mistaken¡
And then she burst out into yet another rapid dance. She was moving so fast and frantically he could barely keep up.
¡°YES! WILL DO! WILL DO RIGHT AWAY! KING IS BEST KING!¡±
Belissar blinked at the sudden dance, but chuckled and shook his head.
¡°Take your time and let me know if you need anything for this.¡±
¡°OK! WILL!¡±
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That settled it for the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s lead worker. The King himself had commanded them; her queen¡¯s dreams were now their hive¡¯s primary mission. All efforts would need to be taken to ensure it came about.
And so, she flew to catch her dancing queen.
¡°Queen, need to talk.¡±
¡°OK!¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh continued bouncing off the walls. The lead worker waited until she approached and then landed on her back, clinging on with all her might. She slowly tapped out a dance with the leg she didn¡¯t need to hold on.
¡°Queen, really need to listen. Please stop for a second.¡±
¡°Oh, ok!¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh finally landed on the ground, letting her worker climb off. She was staying mostly still, though she was fidgeting a lot as if she couldn¡¯t contain herself. The lead worker quickly started her dance while she had her queen¡¯s attention.
¡°King commanded, we will set up new hive in Beyond, expand scouting patrols.¡±
¡°YES! Amazing, incredible!¡±
The worker quickly stepped forward and brushed her queen¡¯s antennae to prevent her from resuming her flying dance.
¡°Yes, amazing, incredible, we know. Need to prepare now, ok?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh still danced about but listened to her worker and remained on the ground.
¡°Yes! Ok! Let¡¯s prepare! What do we need?¡±
The worker aimed a dance at her queen.
¡°Need queen to raise more workers. Need a lot more for this.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Then the worker aimed a dance at herself.
¡°Worker wants to evolve. Become one of the new bees so can talk to queen anywhere. Is ok?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh walked up to her and began to brush her with her antennae.
¡°Ok! Good! Worker always helps a lot, worker evolving should be amazing!¡±
The worker nearly broke out into a happy dance but she contained herself.
¡°Queen is best¡ahem, thanks, queen. But, worker won¡¯t be able to help while evolving. So, queen NEEDS to stay in hive. Needs to raise brood, manage hive until worker wakes up. Stay with First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter and help her with work. NOT leave until worker is done evolving. Ok?¡±
To the worker¡¯s surprise, her queen immediately agreed.
¡°Ok! Will make sure hive is ready! Worker can go evolve!¡±
The worker¡wasn¡¯t sure about this. But then, she felt another set of antennae brush hers. She turned and found the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, will help! Will make sure everything ready. Can gain King¡¯s favor and help Fourth of the Seventh at the same time. Will not fail.¡±
The worker slowly saluted to both her queens, and then made her way to the brood chambers, where the most mana-packed honey was stored. The entire way, she gave some final commands to her fellow workers. She¡still wasn¡¯t sure how the hive would do without her, but her queen had promised to watch things and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter would be there to help.
So, with only a moment of hesitation, she chose an empty cell and curled up inside of it. The brood tenders filled the cell with mana-rich honey, and then began to wax it shut.
It felt strange to spend brood honey on herself and to leave the hive. But she believed in her fellow workers, and they all knew this was the right choice.
The Fourth of the Seventh was excited for the communers because it would let her see through her worker¡¯s eyes. It would let her explore without exploring. But her workers¡her workers had a different plan. Because, if they could speak to their queen wherever she was, then it wouldn¡¯t matter where she was, right? And beyond that¡communers could not only pass information and communications between the workers and the queen¡they could also reach out to the nearby bees themselves.
That meant that if the lead worker became a communer, she would be able to see, hear, and command the workers of the hive like a queen could. That meant that she could fulfill most of the queen¡¯s tasks without any loss of efficiency.
And if she could do that while also being able to speak to her queen at any time?
In that case¡her queen would be free to go anywhere she wanted to without any interruption in the hive¡¯s function. So long as she made sure to lay enough brood¡and the worker had ideas on that as well.
Her last thought as she settled into sleep was that finally, she could make her queen¡¯s dreams come true.
As the worker went off, the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter was left with the happily dancing Fourth of the Seventh. She could barely contain her own happiness as well. With these new communers, she could take care of the joint hive while also contacting the Fourth of the Seventh at any time. And then the King himself had personally given them a mission! Her mother would be beyond pleased to hear about this!
And, she had her own idea about how to make it happen. She just¡had to gather the courage to state it. She stopped walking and grew still, her antennae twitching. The Fourth of the Seventh noticed and flew down in front of her.
¡°First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter ok?¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter looked at her savior and her partner queen. She twitched at the attention and nearly fled. But the Fourth of the Seventh, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s worker, and the King himself were counting on her. So, she gathered her courage and began to dance. Slowly, unsteadily, and with frequent pauses, but she forced herself through each of the steps.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh, been thinking. Orchard is big, two hives not enough to gather from. And now¡King wants us to scout, set up new hives. So¡was wondering¡just because King commanded¡and because definitely need¡would you¡d-drones and queens?¡±
She tripped over herself at the end but managed to finish the dance. She was barely able to force herself to stay and wait for the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s response. But her mother raised her to be an exceptional queen, and so she did not give into her fears.
The Fourth of the Seventh watched her for a torturous moment before beginning to dance. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter nearly tore her gaze away but forced herself to remain still.
¡°Drones? Queens¡Oh! First of Fifth¡¯s first daughter wants to raise new queens?¡±
¡°¡yes.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter froze as her mind attempted to comprehend the immediate reply.
When it finally did, it was her turn to begin a frantic happy dance.
Chapter 88 - Bee-organizing the Rooms
The next day, Belissar got to work. He moved the original Dirt Tunnels back up to the second floor so that the Apiary hives could gather from the subterranean plants and mushrooms, then spent the rest of the day working on the Orchard tree hive. He and the squad of soldier bees helping him managed to build a relatively flat platform across the tree branches, with a beam frame reaching down to the ground to provide additional support and a basic ladder for Belissar.
Then, came the moment of truth. Belissar held his breath as he selected a beehouse feature and tried to move it on top of the platform¡
The transparent beehouse did not turn red. Belissar grinned as he clenched his hand into a fist.
¡°Yes! Looks like it works.¡±
¡°King is best king!¡±
Niobee led the soldier bees and the curious workers from the Orchard hives in a celebratory dance. Belissar would be ready to begin construction on the actual beehouse now, though he held off. It was just about time for the daily purification, so the beehouse would have to wait until tomorrow. Belissar made his way to the Flower Meadow where the soldier bee army was already gathering. After confirming they were ready, he opened up the purification menu.
Please select a purification strength:
- Minor (Cooldown: 14 hours)
- Minor+ (Cooldown: 22 hours)
Belissar tilted his head at that.
¡°No new ones?¡±
Niobee flew in front of him.
¡°King, something wrong?¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°Last time we did an expansion, we got access to tougher daily purifications. It looks like this time we didn¡¯t, though I think those cooldowns are a bit shorter now. I wonder why?¡±
Niobee wavered in the air.
¡°Sorry, don¡¯t know.¡±
Belissar chuckled and shook his head.
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it¡¯s a Tower of the Gods after all. Let¡¯s just focus on what we do know and go with the normal purification then. Is the army ready?¡±
The queen in command for the day saluted him and confirmed. Belissar nodded and selected the minor+ purification.
¡°Ok, here we go.¡±
In the end, the minor+ purification was no different from any other they had faced, and the bees handled it flawlessly. Belissar was able to safely add another fifteen mana to his pool as he led the victory celebrations.
The next day, Belissar started by double checking his mana.
Mana: 27/455
It wasn¡¯t the most but it was a start, and should be enough to handle the basic rooms. Belissar double checked his Tower once more. He currently had the first floor with the Flower Meadow and Orchard, along with an empty space for a new room. He then had the second floor with the Apiary and the Dirt Tunnels, along with yet another empty slot. Finally, he had an empty third floor, which at the moment only contained his core room and a staircase room to the second floor.
It was time to change that.
He walked over to the closest Apiary hive, the one with the largest queen. He turned to Niobee.
¡°Niobee, the closest queen is kind of the leader of the Apiary, right?¡±
Niobee danced her confirmation.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
¡°Yes, First of the Fifth lives closest to King, makes most and best honey! Other Apiary queens listen to!¡±
Belissar thanked her and then walked over to the hive. The First of the Fifth had already crawled and happily greeted him. Belissar smiled as he greeted her back, then asked her his question.
¡°Hey, so, I¡¯m thinking of moving the Apiary up to the third floor now. I want to put the karnuq on the second floor so they won¡¯t be right be the entrance, but also not right by my core room. Is that alright? Are there any downsides to moving your hives further from the first floor and the entrance?¡±
The First of the Fifth paused, going completely still. Then she began to tremble.
Then, she erupted into dance.
¡°YES! IS FINE! WANT TO BE BY CORE AND BY KING!¡±
Belissar blinked, then shook his head and chuckled. At this point, he should probably expect such reactions from his bees. Close to him, huh? That wasn¡¯t how he had been thinking of it, but if that was what the bees wanted then that was what they would get. He¡¯d have to make sure to visit each hive regularly as his Tower began to spread out.
In this case, though, he had just wanted to make sure he wasn¡¯t interrupting the bees¡¯ foraging by this move. But well¡clearly the First of the Fifth wouldn¡¯t mind even if it did. He thought of trying to calm her down and ask more specifically¡but then shrugged. The point of this was to make sure he wouldn¡¯t inconvenience his bees¡but this queen clearly wanted him to go through with the move even if it would.
So, he proceeded with his plan. He moved the Apiary and its connected Dirt Tunnels up to the third floor, and then added a bunch of new rooms to the Tower. He added a new Flower Meadow, a new Orchard, and a new Dirt Tunnels to the second floor. The Flower Meadow was connected to both staircases to the first and third floor, which were placed right next to each other at the front of the room. This would allow his bees to bypass the second floor without disturbing the karnuq, and with the shortest possible trip. The Dirt Tunnels and Orchard were connected to the Flower Meadow, sectioned off from the rest of the Tower for the karnuq¡¯s convenience.
Mana: 7/455
Belissar rubbed his chin. The new rooms alone had drained most of his available mana, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much with them just yet. He went ahead and enabled the free flower types he had available for the Flower Meadow just for variety, but otherwise left them alone. At the bare minimum, he needed to add a pond or two at five mana a piece so the karnuq would have sources of water, so they wouldn¡¯t be fully ready today.
He could move features between rooms, he found, and in fact planned to move all the resource nodes he made for the karnuq up to their new home once they moved in. However, that wouldn¡¯t work for the ponds because he wanted one in every room in case of fires, so cannibalizing from the existing rooms wasn¡¯t an option. Besides, it would only take a day to get enough mana for the ponds and the karnuq were right outside the Tower where he could help them in case of an emergency, so Belissar figured it would be fine to wait. He turned to Niobee.
¡°Ok, the second floor is built, though there¡¯s not much in those rooms yet. That¡¯s going to be where the karnuq live. The bees can still visit and use the flowers there and even move there if they¡¯re comfortable living around the karnuq, but they should be aware that the karnuq will be free to gather whatever resources are on that floor. Can you let them know?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Niobee landed by the First of the Fifth and began to dance with her, so Belissar left them to it. Because, now that the new rooms were built and his mana was spent, it was time for the other task of the day. The one he was looking forward to.
Now that the Orchard grove had a platform that could hold a beehouse, it was time to ensure the last of his queens had a home built by him. And to complete one of the missions from the God of Bees in the process. He walked down to the Orchard with a spring in his step.
Meanwhile, the Conduit gathered the First of the Fifth and the Firstborn once again. She passed along the King¡¯s decrees on the second floor¡and then the queens and the Conduit began to discuss. The First of the Fifth was still somewhat in a daze from her earlier discussion with the King, who wanted her to live closer to his core and stand between him and the outsiders but managed to watch the Conduit¡¯s dance enough to respond.
¡°So, King doesn¡¯t want bees to claim second floor?¡±
The Conduit took a moment before starting a slow and unsteady dance.
¡°Not¡exactly. Think King is worried about bees. Karnuq will take good flowers on second floor, so bees there might have less. Might also want to take honey from hives on second floor.¡±
The First of the Fifth buzzed her wings at the thought of anyone other than the King taking her honey. Fortunately, she would not be subjected to such a travesty with her now guaranteed proximity to the King, but it bore considering. Previously, she may have been tempted to raise another queen so that the new territory could be claimed by her children. And while she was no longer as concerned about territorial claims, it was only natural to want to see any unclaimed resources put to good use in service of the King and of bees. But now? Would she be willing to see a child of hers subjected to the treatment the Conduit warned of? To surrender flowers¡or even honey¡to these newcomers of uncertain trustworthiness?
No, no she would not.
The Firstborn replied while she was deep in thought.
¡°Then¡could just send some workers? Gather from flowers if can, but not make hive. Can gather a bit without getting in the way, and can keep an eye on newcomers?¡±
The Conduit¡¯s dance grew a bit more steady.
¡°Good idea. Queens cooperate, both send less workers?¡±
The First of the Fifth danced her confirmation. In this case, the gathered nectar would be secondary and not at all guaranteed, so it made sense to share the burden between the queens, especially those who did not need to worry about sustaining their hives like herself. And keeping an eye on these newcomers was a task of great importance.
And so, the queens agreed to adopt a wait and see approach to the second floor. They would take the measure of the karnuq before any queen would make their home among them¡
Chapter 89 - Community Bee-velopment
Belissar grabbed his usual construction squad from the soldier bee army and headed over to the Orchard grove. He tasked them with ferrying the wood he needed for the beehouse up to the platform before climbing up himself. His ladder¡wasn¡¯t the most solid construction and he had a slip or two, but he managed to pull himself up safely. After only a breath moment to gather his breath and feel relatively solid wood beneath his feet, he got to work.
The two Orchard queens had already crawled out of their hives, curious as to his presence up in the canopy of the Grove. He smiled at them.
¡°What are you two called?¡±
The larger of the two answered immediately with a rapid dance.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh!¡±
The smaller was more hesitant, trembling as she stumbled over herself.
¡°F-First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter, h-honored to speak with King.¡±
Belissar tried to give a reassuring smile to them.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh and First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter, got it. I¡¯m going to build a house for you two now, do you have any ideas on how it should look? Any features it should have?¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter began trembling so hard she couldn¡¯t even dance anymore, and so didn¡¯t say anything. But, to Belissar¡¯s surprise, the Fourth of the Seventh began dancing immediately.
¡°King is best king! We share hive, so should be big! Going to raise more queens, so big for them too!¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter spun around to stare at the Fourth of the Seventh. However, Belissar was already nodding his head.
¡°Got it, hm, don¡¯t think we have enough space up here for a full barracks but we¡¯ll make the house as big as possible then. Anything else?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh paced in a circle for a moment before responding.
¡°Nope! King¡¯s hives are best!¡±
Belissar grinned and turned to the other queen.
¡°How about you? I want to make it the best it can be for you, so if you have any ideas please let me know.¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter resumed trembling but managed to get a dance out.
¡°N-None, sorry. King¡¯s hives already best.¡±
Belissar chuckled at that.
¡°Ok then, I¡¯ll get started. Let me know if you think of anything.¡±
¡°Ok, King is best king!¡±
¡°Y-Yes. King is best king!¡±
With that, Belissar got to work. He set out a wide area, planning to use up as much of the platform¡¯s area as he felt safe. He made it short and wide, short enough he¡¯d have to hunch over to stand inside. Between magical monster bees being less vulnerable to disease and parasites, his Tower sight that could see inside a beehouse without opening it, and this hive¡¯s inaccessible location, he realized there was no real reason to build beehouses with human access in mind. As such, he built it from the inside out, since the entrances wouldn¡¯t be human sized or shaped.
He made rows upon rows of large, square frames for their convenience. As with the Flower Meadow Bee Barracks, he didn¡¯t put any interior walls or separation, since the two queens were building a joint hive already. The entrances would be large circular holes that would be small for an adult human but still quite large compared to even a soldier bee. He covered these with cloth sheets weighed down by wood tied to their bottoms, something that could be pushed aside by bees while keeping out the elements. He made smaller entrances purely for workers as well, even carving a hole in the bottom so the bees could fly straight towards the flowers at the bottom of the grove.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
It took most of the day, but with the help of the soldiers and a few soldiers of the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s own, he managed to finish. He looked over it and grinned.
And then his eyes widened and he frowned. He just realized that, normally, he would place a Beehive feature, assemble a beehouse next to it, and then merge the two together. And this time¡he had forgotten to actually place the Beehive feature. He gulped.
¡°Hope this works¡¡±
He tried to do so now, bringing up the Beehive feature and moving it over the beehouse¡
Compatible feature detected. Upgrade to Beehive?
He let out a sigh of relief as instead of displaying a transparent beehive, his Tower sight instead illuminated the completed beehouse. It appeared he could also build the beehouse first and then upgrade it into a feature. That was convenient to learn, especially now.
He went ahead and did so.
New feature detected. New feature unlocked.
Wooden Platform is now available!
New feature detected. New feature unlocked.
Bee Apartment is now available!
Beehive upgraded to Bee Apartment.
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as the Tower¡¯s mana began to flow into the new house. He knew this beehouse was a lot different from any other he had built, but he didn¡¯t expect a new feature out of it, much less two. He quickly brought up the details on both.
Wooden Platform
Mana Upkeep: 1
An elevated platform made of wood. May hold features within its weight limit. Weight limit may be improved if supported by other features.
Bee Apartment
Mana Upkeep: 10 (5 due to Blessing of Bees)
Current Occupants: None
Current Product: Honeycomb
Base Production Rate: 3 honeycomb per 24 hours
A larger variant on Belissar¡¯s Beehouse. Like with the smaller, changed product from honeycomb to honeycomb trays, improves maximum products stored to 3 per occupying queen, increased bee productivity, and increases bee happiness. This larger version may hold multiple queens and hives, each of which increases the honeycomb production and storage.
The wooden platform was pretty straightforward, to the point that Belissar wondered why it was a separate feature. On the other hand, he had seen simple dirt trails offered as a feature before, and this was much more complicated so he supposed it made sense. If nothing else, it would be extremely convenient if he wanted to build more elevated hives. He only wished he had it before having to build one from scratch.
The Bee Apartment, on the other hand, was his beehouse, but bigger. Which made sense, because that¡¯s exactly what it was. He was pleased to see it still had the magic effects of the others. It was a bit more expensive in terms of mana, but it could also hold more queens, so as long as they got along maybe it was better than separate beehouses? He wasn¡¯t sure, he¡¯d have to write out the math to know for sure but he assumed it shouldn¡¯t be worse, at the very least.
He was worried for a second about the higher mana cost than he expected, not to mention having to account for the unexpected Wooden Platform feature, so he double checked his mana.
Mana: 1/455
He exhaled his breath. He had just barely enough for the new features. But now he truly couldn¡¯t do anything else until today¡¯s purification.
Ultimately, though, new features and Tower mana were not the point of this. So, he turned to face the existing Orchard hive built in the branches. He found the two queens and their entire hive hovering behind him. He gave them a smile.
¡°Well, what do you think?¡±
He chuckled as he was subjected to countless ¡°Amazing! Incredible!¡± dances all at once. He had to admit at this point he had expected and even looked forward to that reaction.
¡°I¡¯m glad you like it, enjoy!¡±
Belissar began climbing down the ladder as the two hives swarmed over the Bee Apartment, inspecting every angle of it inside and out before the two queens began moving their joint hive inside.
And once he safely reached the ground, the words he was waiting for passed across his vision.
Mission: House All Bees completed!
Reward: Uncommon Monster Choice
His grin only grew. Not only had he built something he was proud of and made a home for each and every one of his bees, but now the God of Bees herself acknowledged his efforts. And what better reward could there be for building beehouses than more bees?
Belissar took a deep breath¡and then he dismissed the message for now. He had decided that from now on, he wanted to consult with his bees before making any major choices. Possibly with Chief Rohsuak as well, although from their last conversation it seemed like it would be fine to make monster choices without her. The bees, however, would be directly impacted and may have strong opinions on what would help them most. And at this point, it was nearly time for the daily purification, after which the queens would gather anyways for the victory celebration. So, Belissar decided to wait until then to check what the choices would be.
It only took an intense amount of his willpower to do so. For once, Belissar couldn¡¯t wait for the purification to arrive¡
Chapter 90 - Bee Different?
Belissar may have been incredibly distracted during the purification. Fortunately, the bees handled it entirely on their own, so there were no issues. Belissar fidgeted about during the victory celebration, not helped by the energizing effects of sweet mana honey in the slightest. And then, finally, when the celebrations calmed down, he turned to Niobee.
¡°Niobee, can you gather the queens? We have another choice to make.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
It took but a moment for the queens to rush to his side. Belissar could no longer contain his grin.
¡°We have a new monster choice to make, and I¡¯d like you all the check the options with me.¡±
The queens burst out into celebratory dances at that. Belissar¡¯s grin grew as wide as it could go as he finally opened up the choice he had waited on.
Please select a monster* (*One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees):
- Monster Bee Burster (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee)
- Monster Carpenter Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Nature)
- Monster Bumblebee Queen (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)
Belissar immediately proceeded to read out the descriptions for the queens.
Monster Bee Burster
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minor
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Below Average
Notable Skills: Death Burst, Brood Offspring
Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier, Monster Bee Sprayer
Description: This monster bee sprayer variant¡¯s venom has grown so caustic and volatile that it cannot be contained. The monster bee burster holds its venom ingredients in separate glands, only to be mixed at the moment of attack. Once it does so, it soon explodes, subjecting its surroundings to a powerful blast that showers the area in toxins.
Belissar immediately frowned. A monster bee that was designed to die, that, in fact, couldn¡¯t do much of anything without sacrificing itself. It did seem quite powerful¡but Belissar still didn¡¯t like the idea. Maybe he could resign himself to losing bees that were born to die. It might even be a good idea, as he could subsequently use those bees for situations where death was certain anyways. But, he¡¯d still rather avoid bee death than embrace it. He¡¯d take the option if he felt the Tower needed it, but he was definitely checking the other options first.
The queens, likewise, were largely silent. He was grateful for that, as he probably would feel compelled to choose this option if the bees themselves wanted it.
The second option was a repeat: the monster carpenter bees he had seen earlier on. He hadn¡¯t consulted his bees at the time, however, so he still read out the details for them.
Monster Carpenter Bee
Vitality: Minimal+
Strength: Minimal+
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minimal
Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Wood Cut
Spawner Upkeep: 1
Description: A carpenter bee that has accumulated enough Nature mana to become something more. Sharp mandibles meant for boring into wood allow for painful, if small, bites.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
They made even more sense now than they did the first time. Belissar now had the Orchard, which was full of trees and could grow wood tree resource nodes. Carpenter bees would have plenty of space to grow and plenty of work they could help with. Belissar may have just finished building beehouses for all his current queens, but he figured there¡¯d be more to come. The soldiers had helped immensely just by lifting the wood and moving it around, so Belissar could only imagine how quickly the task would go if he had bees that could help him cut and process the wood as well. Not to mention, the karnuq would be probably be building homes of their own before long. Carpenter bees could very much help with that.
On the other hand, though, carpenter bees didn¡¯t help much when it came to purifications. Likewise, they weren¡¯t a brood offspring, and so wouldn¡¯t interact much with the existing hives. They would be an addition to the Tower that would only be involved with woodworking. The only use for that in the immediate future would be to help the karnuq¡who were fully capable of woodworking on their own. In fact, the karnuq themselves could now help Belissar with tasks like woodworking, should he need additional assistance. So, was it worth committing a monster choice to that?
Belissar supposed that would depend on the third and final option.
Monster Bumblebee Queen
Vitality: Minimal+
Strength: Minimal+
Speed: Below Average
Magic: Minimal
Defense: Minimal+
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Above Average
Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Brood Mother
Description: A bumblebee queen that has accumulated enough mana to become something more. Mostly similar to her mundane cousins, but more aggressive, and has slightly magical venom. This one is a queen, and capable of building a hive of monster bumblebees. Compared to monster bees, monster bumblebees are tougher, stronger, and have the potential to grow significantly larger. On the other hand, they are slower, not as numerous, don¡¯t produce as much honey, and don¡¯t coordinate as closely with one another.
Belissar hummed and rubbed his chin. The third queen choice he had seen, this one an entirely different species. So, still not related to the monster bee queens¡but that had the Brood Mother skill. Would they be able to raise other bee types like soldiers or sprayers, then? Sadly, the Tower did not tell him one way or another.
At first glance, they didn¡¯t seem all that different from monster bees, especially compared to the previous bloodsucking bees. But one line in particular stood out to Belissar. The potential to grow significantly larger¡he had already seen how helpful soldier bees could be just on account of their size. Could monster bumblebees grow larger than that? And how much larger? Would they grow as big as the small remnant shades? The minor purification wolf-shades? As large as a human? As big as the giant boar shade? At the moment, Belissar had no idea. But if it were on the larger end¡then Belissar could definitely see a place for such a hive. A bee with bulk could be a very helpful addition indeed.
However, all that was guesses and hopes. It could be the case that the potential to grow large was when compared to normal bees, and not very large at all in the grand scheme of things. There was also the chance that the monster bumblebee queens were considered different from the others even with the Brood Mother skill, and then none of the previous monster choices would apply to them. Belissar might end up having to commit more monster choices to them before they would become useful in that case. And, as a separate species, they¡¯d definitely be starting from scratch. They¡¯d have to raise new hives, and would need to share the flowers used by the existing bees. There was a risk that it wouldn¡¯t be worth the effort.
Belissar looked around at each of his queens.
¡°So, what do you think?¡±
This time, the queens stood still, hovering in the air. It seemed that they did not have as strong an opinion as last time, if the lack of immediate dancing was any indicator. Niobee flew over to the Second First of the First and they brushed antennae. She did the same with the First of the Fifth and the Fourth of the Seventh before flying back over to Belissar.
¡°Bees say whatever King chooses. Don¡¯t know about new bees, but trust King.¡±
Belissar frowned at first, but then he nodded. At the end of the day, he was the dungeon master. It was his responsibility to make a choice, and to make the best choice for the Tower as a whole. He consulted with the bees to see if they had any needs or wants, to see if they would catch something that he missed. If they didn¡¯t have a strong opinion or didn¡¯t see any issues he missed, then it was ultimately up to him to decide on his own.
It also made sense, in this case. The only Brood Offspring option this time was the monster bee burster, and Belissar guessed the bees could tell he was not enthusiastic about that one. They, at least, were not as excited about that one as they were about communers, or even the monster bee bladers. The other two options were different species from the usual monster bees and so represented potential competition. If the bees had an opinion on those, it probably wouldn¡¯t be a favorable one.
So, what, then, should Belissar choose? The monster bee bursters that would guarantee him watching bees die? Or one of monster carpenter bees and monster bumblebee queens both of which were of uncertain benefit and that would compete with his current queens for resources?
This choice might just be the hardest monster choice he had faced yet.
Belissar ended up glancing towards the Shrine of Bees, wondering what she would think¡
But then, his eyes widened as he realized one, simple fact. His patron was the God of Bees. Without qualifiers. Not of honeybees, not of monster bees, but of bees, as a whole. As a beekeeper, honeybees were the only ones he considered most of the time, but he had acknowledged just yesterday as he designed the Bee Apartment that not all of his concerns as a beekeeper were relevant now.
So¡could he build a Tower worthy of the God of Bees if he only stuck to a single type? As such, Belissar made his choice.
Monster Bumblebee Queens are now available.
His Tower would, therefore, be a Tower for all bees. His current queens might be reluctant to welcome new competition, but Belissar would make sure there were enough flowers that they could all forage to their hearts¡¯ content. He would hope that these new bumblebees grew into something that would make surrendering some flowers worthwhile even to the other bees. As queens of a species stated to grow large, he had great hopes in their potential.
Belissar turned back to look at his queens.
¡°I¡¯m going to go with Monster Bumblebee queens. But, I promise to make sure there¡¯s enough flowers for everyone. So, treat them nice, ok?¡±
One by one, the queens saluted him. Belissar just hoped it would go well.
Chapter 91 - Build a Bear Ha-Bee-tat
Belissar wanted to add some monster bumblebee queens right away but, unfortunately, his available mana was still exceedingly low. He had only sixteen mana to his name after the day¡¯s purification reward¡and he had intended to use fifteen of that to add ponds to the three second floor rooms. Then, there were still two empty rooms, one each on the first and third floor, for him to fill. And then, he would likely need to add new resource nodes both to make sure the karnuq were well-supplied and to fulfill his promise to feed all the bees to their hearts¡¯ contents even with the arrival of a new species of queen. With all that in mind, it would likely be some time before Belissar could confidently add a monster bumblebee queen spawner.
He heaved a light sigh before turning in for the night. Well, the solution to all of those issues was the same. Stay patient, conduct purifications, and expand his mana. So, there was nothing for it but to wait for tomorrow.
The next morning, Belissar went ahead and placed three new Pond features in the new second floor rooms. It pained him watching his mana drop back to zero, especially when he knew that fifteen was more than enough for a monster bumblebee queen spawner. But he held to his course for now and made his way to the Tower¡¯s entrance, Niobee and the soldier bee army escorting him as usual. He stepped outside to find the karnuq preparing to gather. They paused, and then saluted to him in their fashion. Leijaliuk, who had been organizing the gatherers as she normally did, walked up to him.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master, did you need us for something?¡±
Belissar nodded his.
¡°Is Chief Rohsuak around?¡±
Leijaliuk turned and motioned to another karnuq who ran into the camp.
¡°Yes, I¡¯ll send for her. She should meet you shortly.¡±
Belissar thanked her and then stood off to the side. A moment later, Chief Rohsuak walked up to the Tower.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master Belissar. How may I help you?¡±
Belissar nodded to her.
¡°Hello, Chief Rohsuak. I¡¯ve finished the basics of the place for you all. Could you come or send someone to check it out?¡±
Her eyes widened slightly before she smiled.
¡°We are honored, Sacred Den Master. Yes, I will come with you. I¡¯d like to bring Metsaitti as well, if that¡¯s fine?¡±
Belissar nodded and soon, Metsaitti joined them. The trio and the bees watching them then made their way back into the Tower and up to the second floor. The new Flower Field stretched out before them, the sea of colorful flowers broken up only by the occasional tree providing shade. At the end of the room, a path through the wall of trees at the edges of the room led to the second Orchard, where rows of apple trees stood in their lines, and a hole in the ground opened up to a large cavern that split off into the network of the Dirt Tunnels. By the entrances to the other two rooms was a pond of crystal clear water. Behind the trio at the start of the room where the two staircase rooms leading up and down, with the Shrine of Bees nestled between them.
Metsaitti glanced around every which way.
¡°This is all for us, Sacred Den Master?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yes. Well, um, I do still want the bees to go where they want, so be nice to them if they come here. But yes, these three rooms are for you. Do you have any suggestions? I can change things up while we¡¯re here.¡±
Metsaitti tilted his head.
¡°That depends. What are you able to change?¡±
Belissar picked up one of the trees and moved it closer.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
¡°I can move the trees around, add more, or remove them, though there¡¯s a maximum number for this room. I can change the types of flowers that grow here, though some cost mana to add so I can¡¯t afford them right now. I can also move the ground up and down a bit, like this. And I can move any existing features around, like the pond over there. Oh, I can also move or add more entrances to the other two rooms.¡±
Belissar demonstrated each of these as he spoke. Metsaitti¡¯s eyes widened just slightly, while Chief Rohsuak simply chuckled a bit. Then she turned to Belissar with a serious expression.
¡°Sacred Den Master Belissar, I notice that the entrance to the previous and the next floor are both here, which would make it simple for an invader to bypass our floor entirely. Do you not intend for us to guard the way further in?¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°Um, it¡¯s a bit different, but no, not here. We normally fight the shades in the first Flower Meadow, since that¡¯s where the bee army lives. So, um, if a shade gets here¡we¡¯re probably already in trouble, so it¡¯d be better to stay out of the way.¡±
Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti glanced at one another. Metsaitti crossed his arms and nodded.
¡°So, would you have join the initial defense instead?¡±
Belissar nodded. Metsaitti then frowned.
¡°I can¡¯t say I know much about Sacred Dens but wouldn¡¯t letting the Hunger deep inside be a problem?¡±
Belissar¡¯s face turned dark.
¡°Yes but¡it¡¯s¡happened before.¡±
He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear the memories of that day.
¡°If it reaches the core, the shade will vanish and the core will become partially corrupted. It¡seems kind of bad, to be honest, but we can also extract and purify that corruption later. I think as long as we don¡¯t let it build up too much, it shouldn¡¯t threaten the Tower as a whole.¡±
His face turned dark again.
¡°And if the bee army fails, we probably won¡¯t have much choice but to get out of the way and try to survive.¡±
Belissar flinched as he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked up to find Chief Rohsuak patting him. Niobee and the soldiers hovered a bit closer but did not intervene.
¡°We will do our utmost to ensure it does not come to that, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Metsaitti saluted as well. Belissar took a deep breath and tried to focus away from the dark thoughts.
¡°¡thank you. Um, should we talk more about the rooms?¡±
Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile and a nod as she stepped back. Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti then made their recommendations and requests. Belissar made a small incline starting from the entrance to the room, with a bunch of the trees clustered at the top to give shade to anyone watching the staircases. The two karnuq mapped out where they¡¯d start building a settlement and Belissar moved the pond to the center of that area. Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin.
¡°It¡¯s a bit small for all of us¡but you said this is some sort of built-in feature of the Sacred Den? Can I assume the water will be replenished regularly?¡±
Belissar hummed for a moment.
¡°I¡¯m¡not sure, but I think so? I, um, don¡¯t even know where the water came from, but it cost mana so I¡¯d guess there¡¯ll be some magic involved?¡±
Chief Rohsuak slowly nodded.
¡°We¡¯ll have to test it then, but if you needed mana to make it then it should work that way.¡±
The group then toured the other two rooms. They had little to say on the Orchard, save that Belissar promised them wood tree nodes so they wouldn¡¯t have to cut down the apple trees. They had a bit more to say on the Dirt Tunnels given their long sojourns through the underway, and Belissar complied. He cut down on the winding and twisting labyrinth the Dirt Tunnels would spawn as, widening the tunnels as large as they would go while creating some bigger caverns at regular intervals. He added several more entrances in between the Dirt Tunnels and the Flower Meadow, and even the Dirt Tunnels and the Orchard. Apparently the Tower would let him do that now that he had three rooms per floor.
When it was all said and done, the group arrived back at the Flower Meadow. Chief Rohsuak looked over the land and smiled.
¡°It¡¯s wonderful, Sacred Den Master Belissar. If you would allow us, I¡¯d like to begin moving in right away.¡±
Belissar blinked at that.
¡°Oh, ok. Um, I can move the existing resource nodes you gather from to here, but it will be a day or two before I can add anything more, if that¡¯s ok?¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled.
¡°You have already been beyond generous and accommodating, what you have already given us is plenty for now.¡±
Belissar stood there for a moment.
¡°Oh, um, thanks?¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head with a light chuckle.
¡°It is we who should thank you. Thank you for everything, Sacred Den Master Belissar. I swear we shall repay your generosity.¡±
Metsaitti joined her in that and the two both saluted to him. Belissar fidgeted a bit, unsure of how to respond to that. Fortunately for him, he didn¡¯t have to, as the two karnuq took their leave to organize the move. Niobee flew in front of him once they had separated.
¡°King, ok?¡±
Belissar slowly nodded, and then stretched out his hand for Niobee to land on.
¡°Yes, it¡¯s just¡I¡¯m not use to people, um, thanking me for things. They used to just take whatever they wanted. It still feels weird but¡I guess it¡¯s not bad. Much better than before, if I¡¯m honest¡¡±
Niobee began to dance quickly, tickling Belissar¡¯s arm.
¡°King is best king, everyone should thank! If take King¡¯s things again, Niobee will sting!¡±
Belissar blinked at that, and then smiled and chuckled.
¡°Thanks Niobee, that¡¯s reassuring to hear.¡±
Come to think of it, his bees praised and thanked him for everything he did. So, maybe it wasn¡¯t all that strange that the karnuq would thank him too. Maybe¡getting thanked for providing stuff wasn¡¯t strange at all.
Chapter 92 - Bumbling About
Soon, Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti returned to their camp and arranged the move. The karnuq were used to packing up quickly, and so the entire clan was heading into the Tower before long. The karnuq who hadn¡¯t visited before glanced every which way¡or else nervously watched the bee army hovering over their heads. Soon, though, they arrived at their new home and had set up their tents once more. Belissar then moved the resource nodes intended for the karnuq to the places Chief Rohsuak had specified previously.
He had intended to let them set up in peace, but later in the day recalled there was one more thing he should discuss with them. He quickly found Chief Rohsuak once more.
¡°A purification?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°A smaller one then the one you saw though. We do them every day around this time. So, um, you should be careful around now.¡±
Chief Rohsuak immediately turned to Metsaitti, who nodded and began shouting for the hunters to gather. She turned to face Belissar and saluted.
¡°We¡¯re ready to do our part, Sacred Den Master Belissar.¡±
He immediately began waving his hands.
¡°Ah, it¡¯s ok. These ones are pretty small and the bees can handle it no problem.¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
¡°Still, would you permit us to join you? It¡¯s our duty to help¡and if nothing else, I¡¯d like our hunters to see what they may need to face one day.¡±
Slowly, Belissar lowered his hands, thinking for a moment before starting to nod.
¡°I¡guess that makes sense? Ok, we¡¯ll wait for you to get started, then.¡±
And so, the karnuq hunters gathered and followed Belissar to the first Flower Meadow. The soldier bee army had already assembled into their formations. Metsaitti took the hunters and moved closer to the entrance, where they¡¯d be able to get a good look at the fight. Chief Rohsuak remained with Belissar near the Bee Barracks.
¡°Ok, here we go.¡±
The bees saluted and then Belissar triggered the purification. This time, a small bird shade appeared once again. The bees immediately adjusted their formation and the shade was set upon the moment it coalesced. It screeched as soldier bees landed on its back and clung on, stinging it repeatedly. Only moments later, it crashed to the ground. The karnuq hunters blinked repeatedly as they stared at the scene.
And so, the karnuq joined the daily purifications.
The next day Belissar¡wasn¡¯t sure what to do. Having completed beehouses for every bee in his Tower, he was left without an urgent task. He did use his new mana to add some new resource nodes for the karnuq, mainly some cave carrots and potatoes in the Dirt Tunnels section and a couple wood tree nodes in the Orchard, but that only took a minute. He considered helping the karnuq, but they were all noticeably larger and stronger than him, so he wasn¡¯t sure how much help he¡¯d actually be. He could have asked the bees for help again, but since this wasn¡¯t something he needed to do or something related to them he didn¡¯t want to take them away from their own work.
So, instead, he spent the day practicing his magic, trying to form wax into larger shapes. He also prepared some more honey for mead. It wouldn¡¯t be too much longer before his first batch was ready!
And so, time passed. After four days, the karnuq were mostly settled. But, Belissar wasn¡¯t paying attention to them at the present moment. Because, after four days of purifications and mana increases, it was finally time.
First, Belissar had added a new Flower Meadow to the third floor, connected to the Apiary. Next, he had added another resource plant node of every flower he had available. Mana flowers, healing herbs, poisonous flowers, textile flowers, flame radish, sleepy chamomile, gelatinous heather, snakebane, and more. Next to them, he added an entrance to the third floor¡¯s Dirt Tunnels that opened into the wide cavern with node for the subterranean flowers. Mushrooms, cave carrots, cave potatoes, and, of course, Ground mana flowers.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
It had been a lot, a lot more than he had expected, and so a lot more days of purifications to afford it all. While he was waiting, he went ahead and built some beehouses as well, ready to upgrade into Beehive features once there were bees to occupy them.
And now, he was finally ready to add those bees.
Mana: 11/560
His mana had even crossed the five-hundred mark and he could start a new expansion purification if he wanted. He didn¡¯t, however, seeing as he hadn¡¯t even filled up all the new room slots yet, and the bees were still evolving their new communers. But now, finally, he had added all the new flower nodes to ensure that his current bees wouldn¡¯t need to give up any of their current resources, a new room to ensure sufficient space, and enough mana to actually afford the spawner.
And so, finally, Belissar was ready to add a monster bumblebee queen spawner. He turned to Niobee with a grin.
¡°Ready for new bees?¡±
Niobee danced around rapidly.
¡°Ok!¡±
He selected the option. Whereas the monster bee queen and monster bee soldier spawners took the form of beehives hanging from a tree, this spawner took the shape of a hole in the ground. In its center was a pile of haphazardly placed tiny wax pots. Belissar placed this spawner next to the collection of resource nodes and confirmed. He stared at the spot in the ground that began to glow as the Tower¡¯s mana streamed towards it. When the light faded, there was the spawner. And then the Tower¡¯s mana began to flow towards it once more. Belissar began to grin as one of the little wax pots began to glow.
A moment later, a little ball of black and yellow fuzz climbed out of the pot. Belissar¡¯s first monster bumblebee queen. She was a bit bigger than the bumblebees Belissar remembered, about the size of his finger. She shook herself and then extended her wings that seemed entirely too small for her fuzzy body. But she beat them anyways, and soon took off into the air. She turned towards him and made her way over, hovering in the air in front of him.
¡°Hello, welcome to the Tower.¡±
The monster bumblebee queen responded by flying in a wide circle around Belissar. It didn¡¯t come across as exact words like the monster bees¡¯ dances, but Belissar could still decipher her intent. She was happy, and ready to work.
Belissar smiled and stepped to the side, pointing to all the various flowers he had made and the beehouses.
¡°Go ahead, use anything you want in this room to make your hive.¡±
The monster bumblebee queen turned to look at all the flowers. A moment later, she began zipping around Belissar in wide circles, completing several repetitions as fast as she could. Belissar grinned.
¡°I¡¯m glad you like it, enjoy.¡±
After one final circle she zipped towards the mana flowers and began to drink nectar and gather pollen. After she was satisfied, she left the flowers and flew¡away from the beehouses. She began to land on the ground and look around. Belissar frowned and rubbed his chin.
¡°Does she not like them? Does she need something else?¡±
Niobee flew over to the bumblebee queen and the two began to brush antennae. After a bit, Niobee flew back over.
¡°King! New queen says looking for hole, place to hide underground!¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened a bit.
¡°Ah.¡±
He began to nod as he recalled bumblebees he had seen before. He remember finding a nest in the ground at one point. If that was the case¡then his normal elevated beehouses wouldn¡¯t be particularly helpful to the monster bumblebee queens.
New mission received: Create a home for bumblebees
And now the God of Bees confirmed as well, so Belissar got to work thinking of what to do. His first thought was to try and dig something for her, but then he realized he should check if the Tower¡¯s powers could help. The Flower Meadow¡didn¡¯t have anything that would. He could move the dirt up and down but couldn¡¯t make holes in it or anything. However¡he had the Dirt Tunnels now, and he already had an entrance leading underground, just one that was far too large. So, instead, he added a new cavern to the tunnels, one that was about the size of a beehouse¡¯s interior, as close to the top of the Dirt Tunnels room as he could place it. He then tried to make a small, monster bumblebee-sized entrance between it and the Flower Meadow.
He managed to succeed. The bumblebee queen paused as the ground began to stir and glow next to her, opening up into a hole in the ground. She crawled over to it and peered inside, then climbed down. Belissar watched with his Tower sight as she crawled down into the cavern, checking out the space.
A moment later, she crawled out, and began to fly around in a circle again.
Mission: Create a home for bumblebees completed!
Reward: One common room feature choice.
Belissar smiled at the queen zipping around him.
¡°I¡¯m glad you like it.¡±
As the queen completed her flight and crawled back into the hole, Belissar opened up the room feature choice, because he had an inkling of where this was going¡
Select Room Feature:
- Basic Resource Plants (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Resource)
- Bee Nest (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Monster Nest)
- Thorned Roses (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Trap)
And, as he expected, the God of Bees had intervened. Belissar obediently selected the option both he and the God of Bees wanted.
Bee Nest
- Type: Bee, Monster Nest
- Mana Upkeep: 2 per nest (1 due to Blessing of Bees)
- Description: A hive for bee types that prefer more rugged and freeform colonies. Boosts the growth of any bees living inside of it.
Belissar had exactly one mana remaining, so he went ahead and tried to apply the new feature to the cavern. Mana infused the floor, walls, and ceiling of the cavern and little grooves and divots appeared for cells to go into. Small little wax pots like the one in the monster bumblebee queen spawner began to grow on their own.
Belissar grinned as the bumblebee queen paused, and then began running around her new home.
POBee 92.1 - Bee-musing Communing
She slowly awakened. Everything was dark, pitch black. She began to squirm, wondering where she was, what had happened.
But then, suddenly, there was light. Or rather, mana. It danced across her eyes and flooded into her body. There were patterns, dances within the mana.
¡°Larva in section two is hungry, need honey.¡±
¡°Honey production good! New palace full of mana, barely need to add any to nectar! King is best king!¡±
¡°New flowers have mana but make sleepy, make worker fly slower. Inefficient. Don¡¯t recommend.¡±
Her vision spun and she felt dizzy. A hundred different dances impressed themselves on her mind all at once. She¡needed to feed the brood! Or¡was she checking the honey? Or giving a scout report¡or was she receiving it? Or was she trapped, curled up somewhere dark? Her head began to pound and she squirmed about in her confines.
That is, until she saw a dance that stood out above the rest.
¡°King made new room! Want to go see!¡±
Suddenly she burst into motion.
¡°No! Queen promised to stay until done evolving!¡±
In an instant, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s worker burst out her cell all in one go. She paused as her mind finally caught up, her focus on her queen causing the rest of the mana and the dances it carried to fade to the background.
That¡¯s right, she was a worker of the Fourth of the Seventh. The worker who helped the others work whenever their queen was distracted. The worker who subsequently decided to evolve to better fulfill her role. The worker who¡was probably done evolving now?
But she put all of that aside¡because she knew that dance! The scouts must have reported the King doing something new again! Which meant she had to find her queen, now!
Strangely, though, she somehow knew exactly where her queen was. She could see as her queen suddenly paused, and somehow turned in her direction.
¡°Worker? Worker is awake! Going to go see!¡±
The worker paused. Her queen¡had noticed she was awake? And was immediately coming to see her, despite the new scout report?
Before she knew it, she had stopped moving and broke out into a happy dance. When her queen rounded the corner of the honeycomb tray, the worker immediately flew over to her. Her queen began to brush her with her antennae.
¡°Queen!¡±
¡°Worker!¡±
It took a while before the worker could think coherently again.
¡°Worker, you¡¯re evolved!¡±
The worker finally calmed down enough to perceive her queen¡¯s dances. That¡was right? She was evolved, right?
Suddenly, she was no longer looking through her body. Rather, she was now looking at her body, from up above. Was this¡her queen¡¯s vision?
She saw a little worker, no bigger than any other. However, her antennae were far fuzzier than normal, with countless branches extending out from them and swaying as if in a breeze. Also, her eyes were glowing as mana swirled around her body.
That¡¯s right. She had evolved. She was no longer a worker. She was now¡a communer. Her body was filled to the brim with mana, far more than she had ever had before. Her antennae directed and swirled that mana around, extending it out to connect with the mana of her queen and her sisters. That mana danced along with them, carrying information about them back to her.
It was a lot. But she kept her focus on her queen, a bright star of mana shining through the light of the rest, and which all the rest focused their attention on. Even the second star, the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter, turned towards the first¡Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
She paused. Wait. She could also¡feel the mana of the other queen? One that was part of her hive but also not? And now that she turned her attention to the mana of the other queen, she could also, faintly, feel the mana of the the other workers in the hive. The ones that weren¡¯t her siblings, but acted like they were.
She briefly thought about if that was normal before turning her attention back to her queen.
¡°Queen¡queen stayed? Managed hive?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh danced happily.
¡°Yes! King built new hive, so had to move!¡±
The communer froze. Wait, what? The King¡had built them a new hive? She briefly looked around and started to tremble. She was not in the hive she had built. She was in a mighty palace with massive pillars of wood supporting the comb, with huge currents of mana surging through them and into the cells, enriching the honey and feeding the young. With her new sight, focusing on the mana caused the entire hive to light up like the sun. She stumbled back and quickly refocused back on her queen, letting the ambient mana fade into the background.
And the surprises didn¡¯t stop.
¡°First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter and I going to raise queens, too! Been saving honey for!¡±
That was also big news. They¡were going to have new queens? Were they going to send them out or keep them in the hive? Did they have the workers to support that?
¡°And then outsiders moved into King¡¯s land! Conduit, Firstborn, and First of Fifth asked if we could help scout!¡±
At this point, the communer¡¯s thoughts became jumbled. Something from outside¡moved inside? The Conduit and the two foremost queens asked them to do something?
¡°And now heard King made new room! Even made new kind of queen! Want to see and greet!¡±
The communer collapsed to the ground, her antenna twitching. The glow in her eyes flickered and then shut off, immediately cutting the dances swirling in her head.
Just what had happened while she was evolving?!
The First of the Fifth flew through the sky. She was, as usual, loathe to leave her hive behind, but this time she had to. The King had raised a new bee of his own, the first since he raised the soldiers that guarded the Apiary. And this new one was apparently a queen, no less, the first since the last of the Apiary queens was born. It was imperative that she meet this newcomer and take their measure¡and, of course, figure out how to support them.
This was all the more important as the King had placed them in a new room connected to the Apiary itself, placed as close to the First of the Fifth as possible without infringing on the existing hives. It was a clear sign that she should help take care of this newcomer.
She flew through the new room, a second Flower Meadow. She paused briefly as she saw the sheer abundance of flowers present before shaking herself. The King himself had promised that all bees would have enough nectar to eat to their hearts¡¯ contents, so it was only natural he had provided extreme riches to the newcomers. It was even a sign of his love for the rest of them, as this would ensure they wouldn¡¯t need to reduce their foraging for the newcomers!
So, she repeated to herself as she flew to the closest palace. She landed outside.
No one came to greet her. That was¡a somewhat inefficient use of time, for both of them. The First of the Fifth buzzed her wings, but she would show patience and grace. So, she waited.
And waited. And waited¡
Eventually, when she was buzzing loudly, she gave up and told one of her workers to check inside. The worker peeked her head in and immediately came to report.
The palace was empty.
The First of the Fifth paused for a moment before drooping a bit. So, she had waited for someone who wasn¡¯t even there. That was¡an unfortunately use of time, but at least it meant she was not being specifically ignored. So, she made her way to the next palace, where surely she would find the newcomer.
A minute later and the worker she sent to check confirmed that this palace, too, was empty.
At this point the First of the Fifth abandoned courtesy and ordered her workers to immediately check the other two. They came back confused, reporting that those palaces were empty too. The First of the Fifth couldn¡¯t help but float around aimlessly.
All of the King¡¯s palaces were empty? Then, where was the newcomer?!
It was then that one of her workers got her attention. She turned and faced the ground and nearly dropped out of the air.
Instead of the King¡¯s personally crafted palaces, the newcomer was crawling out of a hole in the ground. She was large for a newly born queen, maybe a fifth the size of the current First of the Fifth. She was covered in far more hair than normal, giving her a round and fuzzy appearance. She beat her wings and slowly rose into the air, moving far more ponderously than the First of the Fifth¡¯s sleek and efficient workers.
The First of the Fifth¡¯s instincts vaguely hinted at the identity of this newcomer. A different type of bee, one that was larger and less elegant, that had small, chaotic hives instead of the efficient order of her own. But, fortunately, one that was not at odds with her own besides the general competition for resources that the King had sworn to prevent.
The newcomer suddenly paused, and then began flying over to them. She then simply floated in the air, not bothering with a dance or anything. It appeared it was up to the First of the Fifth to initiate. But that was fine. She was, after all, the older and more experienced queen. It was only natural for her to have to lead a newborn.
¡°Hello. I¡¯m the First of the Fifth. Welcome to King¡¯s hive of hives.¡±
The newcomer stood still, not replying with a dance of her own. The First of the Fifth hung there, waiting to see what she would do. And just when the First of the Fifth began to wonder if she was being ignored again, the newcomer moved.
But she did not dance. Instead, she simply began flying in a circle around the First of the Fifth. The First of the Fifth began cleaning her antenna to calm herself.
Taking care of new bees¡might be more difficult than she thought.
Chapter 93 - Dirt-Bee Developments
With the bumblebee spawner established and the bumblebee queen settling into her new home, Belissar turned his attention back to the karnuq. In fact, he could hear Chief Rohsuak calling for him.
¡°Sacred Den Master Belissar, if you have a moment, would you mind stopping by?¡±
Belissar tilted his head at that. He hadn¡¯t known someone could call for his attention like that, but he heard it through his Tower senses even though he hadn¡¯t been focusing on her at the time. His bees hadn¡¯t done that before¡although, in hindsight it might have just been that the bees didn¡¯t normally call him directly. The few times they specifically sought his attention they had gone through Niobee instead.
He shrugged and made his way over to the second floor, where a group of soldier bees came up from the first floor to meet and escort him. On the one hand, he trusted the karnuq enough at this point that it was probably unnecessary, but he¡¯d also admit that having the bees around boosted his confidence in general, so he didn¡¯t mention it.
Chief Rohsuak was waiting for him there as well.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master Belissar, thank you for coming.¡±
He nodded back.
¡°Hello, how is everything?¡±
Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile.
¡°Wonderful. It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve had a home, and the one you¡¯ve made for us is very pleasant.¡±
Belissar started to smile a little.
¡°Glad to hear that. Um, did you need something?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°Now that our camp is settled, I¡¯d like to send some hunters to the Underway. They¡¯ll both hunt around for game and resources, and scout the area for potential dangers. Would you permit us to do so?¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Um, sure? I¡¯m, uh, not sure why you¡¯re asking me, though.¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
¡°Sacred Den Master Belissar, we are now under your protection and sworn to defend your home. Sending out our hunters reduces your defenses and risks your defenders to injury or death, and any actions we take outside could be perceived as in your name. It is only natural that you have a say in our activities now, especially outside of our camp.¡±
Belissar furrowed his brow.
¡°Oh. That¡makes sense.¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled and nodded.
¡°So, with that in mind¡do you have any need for our hunters in the near future? And do you have any thoughts on how we should act when outside of your dungeon, especially if we make contact with another intelligent people?¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°Oh, there are others nearby?¡±
Chief Rohsuak placed a finger on her chin.
¡°That depends on how you define nearby. They are not so close that contact is inevitable, but not so far that contact is impossible. And we can only speak to the way we came from. I¡¯ll say it¡¯s not something you need to decide right away, but it is something you should consider, preferably before it happens.¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°¡ok, I¡¯ll think about. Um, will it be ok if you just act how you did before for now?¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew strained and she glanced away.
¡°Um, about that¡¡±
Belissar did not like that reaction.
¡°Yes?¡±
Chief Rohsuak kept glancing away.
¡°We, um, may not have the best of reputations with all of the peoples we¡¯ve encountered. We often did what we had to in order to survive. So, we engaged in raiding and thieving on occasion.¡±
Belissar blinked a few times before frowning. He¡wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to that.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
¡°Um¡¡±
Chief Rohsuak sighed and shook her head.
¡°I¡¯ll speak to the hunters firmly before they go. Now that we have a home and a source of food, we will not need to be as¡aggressive in any negotiations. Should I tell the hunters to avoid contact, and provocation, until they report back on anything they find?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Um, yes. That sounds good, I think?¡±
With that, they discussed a few more thing, such as the hunters resuming their remnant hunts, before parting. Once they did Belissar frowned. So, the karnuq were not as nice to everyone as they were to him. It was a bit hard for him to imagine given his interactions with them. But they were quite strong and intimidating. If they had come across him in his old village instead of in a Tower with a bee army, would they have been as nice? Or¡would it have ended as the Tower Lords claimed?
Belissar eventually sighed and shook his head. He didn¡¯t know, and they had been nice to him, so he supposed it didn¡¯t matter now. He just hoped that their past wouldn¡¯t end up causing any trouble.
He made his way back to the third floor and the Apiary, intending to clear his head a bit. As he did, though, the First of the Fifth flew over to him, along with several of the other Apiary queens. He smiled at them.
¡°Hello everyone, do you need something?¡±
The First of the Fifth danced happily before him.
¡°Oh, something to show me?¡±
Belissar grinned as the First of the Fifth turned to the others. First of all, she brought one of her workers forward. The worker¡¯s size and body appeared the same, but her eyes were large and her antennae wide and fluffy, more like a moth¡¯s than a bees. Belissar could also feel mana swirling around her body, and her eyes and antennae occasionally glowed.
¡°This is one of the communers, right? Hope they help out!¡±
The First of the Fifth saluted and then danced to the other queens. One by one they came before him and presented workers of their own. These were ones Belissar hadn¡¯t seen before but had been anticipating.
Sedating Monster Bee Worker
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minor
Notable Skills: Sedating Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring
Description: A monster bee worker raised on sedative honey. It now produces the sedative compounds in the honey in its own venom glands. Its stings, in addition to the normal bee toxin effects, may cause fatigue, sluggishness, or in particularly high doses unconsciousness.
Of the new flowers he had received from the karnuq, only the sleepy chamomile had produced a new bee type so far. But, this one could be highly useful. The intoxicating effects of mad honey had already helped greatly against the shades, honey and venom that could knock a shade out could instantly end a fight. He had high hopes for that one.
Next was one of the queens herself, who had noticeably turned purple.
Maddening Monster Bee Queen
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minor
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Above Average
Notable Skills: Mad Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring
Description: A monster bee queen raised or evolved on maddening mana honey. Lays maddening variant offspring by default.
After a queen evolved into a medicinal queen, Belissar figured it was only a matter of time before a maddening queen would follow suit. Extra maddening honey would ensure he could equip any future Sticky Honey Traps with the more deleterious honey type. And extra maddening bees could improve the strength of the soldier bee army¡though this queen lived in the Apiary so maybe not unless she was willing to either move, or share soldiers and honey with the Flower Meadow queens.
But, ultimately, it was the last of the new bees that really excited Belissar. The one he had been waiting for the most. She was a bit squatter, with shorter legs and longer antennae. She had large, thick mandibles that looked more suited to crushing than cutting. Her color was now a dull shade of brown rather than bright yellow.
Digging Monster Bee Worker
Vitality: Minimal+
Strength: Minimal+
Speed: Below Average+
Magic: Minimal
Defense: Minimal+
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minimal
Notable Skills: Dig, Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring
Description: A monster bee worker raised on honey imbued with Ground mana. Trades a bit of its speed for resilience, and is optimized for burrowing and expanding subterranean hives.
And, there she was. A bee born from the honey of the Ground mana flowers. Something like the digger bees he had given up his chance to choose, only born from the normal monster bee queens. A bee that could operate in the Dirt Tunnels¡or in the Underway the karnuq said they came from. Exactly what his Tower needed.
Belissar broke out into a wide grin.
¡°Great work everyone, this is definitely going to help.¡±
After a moment, the queens and new workers burst out into happy dances. Belissar chuckled and then rubbed his chin. Now that he had a bee that could go underground, couldn¡¯t he send his bees to scout the surroundings as well? Well, that would take a bit, since one worker wouldn¡¯t be able to scout the tunnels alone¡
And then his eyes widened as he had an idea. Why, exactly, did the bee have to go alone, when there was a group already going? Belissar turned to the queen who brought the digging worker.
¡°Can I borrow your worker? There¡¯s a job I could use her for.¡±
The queen froze, and then started to tremble. It took a while but eventually she burst out into a salute so rapid Belissar could barely make out what she was saying. The worker trembled as Belissar smiled and held out his hand to her.
¡°Great, let¡¯s go, then.¡±
Chapter 94 - A Visionar-Bee Plan
Belissar made his way to the second floor once again. He found Metsaitti leading a group of hunters, including the group that normally challenged his Tower, as they prepared for their expedition. Metsaitti noticed him and approached.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master. May I help you?¡±
Belissar nodded and held out his hand, holding the digging monster bee.
¡°Could you take this bee with you on your trip? She¡¯s specialized for working underground, so she¡¯ll let me see the area. Oh! You could also talk to me through her¡though you might be able to just talk to me directly now too, come to think of it. I guess we should test that when you leave.¡±
Metsaitti nodded and held out his hand.
¡°Of course, Sacred Den Master. I¡¯ll take care of her.¡±
The digging bee looked to Belissar and he nodded. Instead of crawling onto Metsaitti¡¯s hand, she instead took off and then landed on his shoulder. Belissar and Metsaitti then arranged to test if Belissar could see and talk to the karnuq like with his bees when they left, and then Belissar left them to their preparations.
He rubbed his chin, because this all had given him an idea. He thought he would have to wait for digging bees to begin scouting underground until he had remembered the karnuq already planning to do just that. So, he figured he should consider some other plans and whether there were alternative ways to achieve them.
He turned to Niobee.
¡°Hey Niobee, could you speak with the queen from earlier, the one who evolved into a maddening monster bee? I¡¯d like to know if she¡¯s happy living in the Apiary and making honey there, or if she had any other thing she might want to do.¡±
¡°Ok, will ask!¡±
Belissar watched as Niobee flew off, then followed at a leisurely pace. In truth, a maddening monster bee queen would be most useful in the Flower Meadow, joining the soldier bee army. She could raise maddening soldiers and sprayers based on the unspecialized but highly productive mana flowers, greatly boosting their numbers among the soldier bee army. Even her workers had maddening stings, and so could help out in a pinch. If she wanted to move, having her join the Flower Meadow queens would be beneficial for the Tower¡¯s defense.
But Belissar didn¡¯t want to make her move if she didn¡¯t want to, which was why he was trying to have Niobee ask her more subtly. He knew if he asked, she would immediately and enthusiastically reply regardless of what she actually felt. Besides, the Flower Meadow queens no longer acted like normal bees. They had grouped up together in the bee barracks, forming one massive hive with over a dozen queens. Normal bees could barely stand having two queens in the same hive, a situation that would generally end in violence or exile. The Apiary queens, on the other hand, kept to themselves as normal bees did. So, forcing one of the Apiary queens to join the Bee Barracks if she were not already prepared to do so could cause some discomfort to both sides, maybe even conflict. Besides, maddening honey was useful for the Sticky Honey Traps, so there was also a need to produce it in large quantities. There was a benefit to keeping her in the Apiary as well.
Niobee met Belissar about halfway towards the hive in question, zipping about in the air.
¡°King! Queen says loves hive King built for her! Loves making honey! No other wishes! Says King is best king!¡±
Belissar smiled and nodded. It seemed he managed to be subtle enough to get a good answer. And now that he confirmed that she wasn¡¯t thinking about moving, it was time to propose the other idea he had come up with.
¡°Niobee, do you think the bees would be willing to share honey with each other? Specifically, would an Apiary queen be willing to share honey with the Flower Meadow queens?¡±
Niobee paused for a second before resuming her zipping about.
¡°If King asks, will! Happy to help King!¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Belissar nodded at that.
¡°Got it. Let¡¯s speak with her, then.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
At first, Belissar thought he¡¯d have to wait until the Flower Meadow¡¯s poisonous flowers Cross-Pollinated with mana flowers, and then for the Flower Meadow hives to gather up enough of the hybrid nectar for one of their queens to evolve. But now, he realized that wasn¡¯t the only option. The Apiary queens produced a vast surplus of honey, they were giving him sixteen trays worth a day with still plenty for their hives. So, Belissar wondered, why wait for the Flower Meadow queens to produce their own honey before evolving? Now that there was a maddening queen and a medicinal queen that could produce their respective honey types in bulk, couldn¡¯t he have them just share the specialized honey types with the Flower Meadow queens? The Flower Meadow queens could then use the honey to evolve their workers and soldiers in much greater quantities then they could otherwise. A Flower Meadow queen might even be able to evolve herself. Meanwhile, the Apiary queens could continue to devote themselves purely to honey production, and pass on the benefit of any specialized honeys they developed.
Belissar did wonder whether it was fair to take honey from the Apiary queens just because they produced a lot, but then he remembered they were each giving him a tray of honey every day. Besides, he was a beekeeper, taking some honey for his own purposes was part of the deal. Worst came to worst, he could just give the trays he took to the Flower Meadow queens himself. In fact, he should probably start doing that anyways. The maddening honey trays were definitely starting to accumulate.
Belissar arrived at the hive and the maddening queen crawled out and saluted him. He greeted her and then got right into it.
¡°I have a favor to ask. Would you be willing to share some of your honey with the Flower Meadow queens? It would really help out if they could raise some more maddening soldiers with your help. Consider that the honey you give to me each day.¡±
The maddening queen paused, before saluting once more. Belissar smiled at her.
¡°Thank you, it will help a lot. Let me know if there¡¯s anything you need, or if you need more flowers or something.¡±
The maddening queen quickly declined but Belissar shook his head.
¡°I know I¡¯m asking a lot of you so please, allow me to give you something. Hard work should be rewarded.¡±
The maddening queen paused and fell still. She glanced at Niobee, who flew over and brushed their antennae together. Then, slowly, the queen began to dance.
¡°¡mana flowers? Next to hive?¡±
Belissar smiled and nodded.
¡°Sure, as soon as I can.¡±
The maddening queen paused once more, and then burst out into a max speed dance. It was so fast the dances were getting jumbled but Belissar definitely caught the ¡°KING BEST KING!¡± parts and chuckled.
¡°No, thank you for helping out.¡±
Belissar thought a bit as they left the queen to her work. He then nodded and made his way over to the medicinal queen, repeating his request and offer. She had much the same response as the maddening queen.
Belissar smiled as he walked away. A vision for the future was starting to come together in his mind. A Tower full of happy bees¡happy bees that worked together. Apiary queens that gave their all producing all sorts of diverse and magical honeys, which they offered to the Flower Meadow army that kept them all safe. That setup would even solve a growing concern of Belissar¡¯s. The Dirt Tunnels and the Orchard both had plants and flowers that he could not plant in either the Flower Meadow or the Apiary. Up until now, he had been trying to ensure that both the Apiary and Flower Meadow queens had access to every flower type he had available¡but would that be practical going forward? As of now, the first floor lacked the Dirt Tunnels plants and the third floor lacked an Orchard. He couldn¡¯t resolve that situation because right now as his mana was sitting at a grand total of zero. His future mana was accounted for as well, he now had two mana flower nodes he promised to the donating Apiary queens, the karnuq who could probably use a few more resources, and more nests for the queens that would come from the bumblebee spawner.
If he continued to try and insist that every hive have every flower available, the situation would only get worse. What would happen as he acquired new rooms that might have unique flower types? What if those rooms were incredibly mana expensive? Or what if he just didn¡¯t have the room limit to have every room type on every floor?
But if the queens began to share honey with one another, that would solve the problem. Queens in different rooms could specialize in their local flowers, or even evolve themselves like the maddening and medicinal queens had, and then just exchange their products with one another. Then, Belissar would only have to give one set of queens access to a given flower type for its honey to be available across his Tower. He could specialize the first floor rooms for defense without worrying if the Flower Meadow queens could raise the bee types necessary to defend them. He could expand new floors with new Apiaries without needing to completely rebuild every room and resource plant node like he had for the bumblebees.
He nodded to himself. He was no longer a mere beekeeper, but a dungeon master. His was no longer a mere apiary, but a Tower of the Gods. And his bees were no longer regular bees, but magical monster bees who could speak with him directly. It was time for them all to elevate into something more. The bees had already been doing so on their own, so if Belissar was to be their king, it was time he helped out with that.
POBee 94.1 - The Kings Request
This was fine.
The First of the Fifth was currently pacing about in her hive. Her first communers had just emerged from their cells. Her mind lit up with the dances of countless bees as the communers focused their attention on their queen and connected her to her workers¡¯ mana as a result. It was nearly overwhelming, but the First of the Fifth did not organize a hive of peak efficiency by lacking will. She managed to organize the incoming information within her mind and get her bearings¡and, as a result, caught a glimpse of the King walking through the Apiary. She had the worker in question escort the King, just in case he should have need of her, and so saw the conversations that resulted.
The King had¡made a personal request to one of the other Apiary queens. The other Apiary queen that had evolved. The Apiary queen that had evolved specifically through access to a hybridized poisonous flower. A poisonous flower that had grown because the First of the Fifth¡¯s workers had Cross-Pollinated poisonous flowers and mana flowers. A poisonous flower the queen had gotten access to because the First of the Fifth had then given up her own rights to a new flower type that her own workers had been responsible for in the name of loving bees.
This¡was fine. Another bee had gotten to experience the personal favor of the King as a result of her efforts. This was good. Truly, she had demonstrated her love for all bees, and had become like her King. Which was why she was not even bothered by the idea of sending the Apiary¡¯s hard work over to the Firstborn! Nor by the idea of the King handing over a full patch of mana flowers to an Apiary queen after she had gone and shared access to her own with those same queens!
This¡was¡fine¡
She was halted in her thoughts by a loud buzzing noise, as well as a thousand urgent dances impressing themselves on her mind. It¡appeared that thanks to her communers, the dances of her mind had been conveyed to her workers. Who were apparently agitated and preparing to marshal for war as a result.
Ok, maybe this wasn¡¯t fine.
She took a moment to calm herself and then danced that all was well to her workers, and that they should continue with their work. She would not permit her own inner turmoil to impact her hive¡¯s honey production. As her workers slowly stopped beating their wings and resumed their duties, she tried to take stock of the situation. She tried to come at it from a different angle, that of efficiency.
And from that point of view, the King¡¯s actions made complete sense. The Flower Meadow queens¡¯ lower honey production meant they couldn¡¯t spare as much effort on Cross-Pollination or on producing specialized honeys. Yet, at the same time, the maddening honey and bee types that resulted from the poisonous flowers would certainly aid the King¡¯s army more than it would boost honey production. So, if she set aside her natural hesitation to share honey between hives, it absolutely made sense to have an Apiary queen produce specialized honey for the Flower Meadow queens. It took advantage of their differing roles to achieve maximum effect for the King¡¯s domain as a whole.
It also made sense why the King had requested that specific queen, instead of herself. Sure, her hive produced the most honey and the most excellent honey and had the most workers and the most efficient organization, but in this once, minor use case there was good reason to request another. The maddening queen could produce maddening honey from any source, including the highly productive mana flowers, with no additional effort. In contrast, to produce maddening honey in bulk would have taken the First of the Fifth¡¯s hive significantly more effort, as they would have had to produce it solely from the nectar of the mana-less poisonous flowers. Cross-Pollination would assist with that in the long term but as of now there was only one of each hybridized flower, so was not a factor in the short term. The maddening queen, even if her honey production and quality was lower and her hive less efficient, could produce maddening honey in bulk with no drop in efficiency, the First of the Fifth could not, even though her production and quality would certainly remain the best even with the drop.
Yes, it made sense. The question was¡what should the First of the Fifth do as a result?
But then, the First of the Fifth paused as an urgent report came into her mind. The worker escorting the King now indicated¡that he was moving directly towards her hive. The First of the Fifth dropped all thoughts to prepare for his arrival¡
As Belissar was walking back to the Apiary farmhouse, Niobee suddenly flew in front of him. She hesitated slightly, causing Belissar to raise an eyebrow.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Niobee? Is something the matter?¡±
Niobee still hesitated before beginning a slow dance.
¡°King, have¡request.¡±
Belissar blinked before breaking out into a wide smile. Niobee never asked him for anything, despite all that she had done for him. He owed her everything, including his very life, so he would jump at any chance to help her out.
¡°Of course. Niobee¡you¡¯re my best friend and you¡¯ve done more for me than I can ever repay. You can ask me for anything.¡±
Niobee started to object before pausing and continuing with her original dance.
¡°Ok¡can King talk to First of Fifth?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Sure. Anything specifically I should tell her?¡±
Niobee was still moving slowly but picked up a bit of speed.
¡°First of Fifth¡¯s workers pollinated new flowers, helped other queens evolve.¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin and nodded.
¡°Ah, so it¡¯s thanks to her we got the new queens and flowers? I¡¯ll have to thank her then.¡±
Niobee paused for a bit before bursting into a rapid dance again.
¡°Thanks, King! King is best king!¡±
Belissar smiled and shook his head.
¡°No, I should be thanking the bees for everything to do, this much is a given. And, I was serious. You can ask me for anything, Niobee.¡±
He then rubbed his chin.
¡°Say, Niobee, the First of the Fifth is sort of in charge of the Apiary, right? She was also the first to make medicinal and maddening honey, right?¡±
¡°Yes, is most powerful Apiary queen. Best at making honey, tries to make new types.¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about the future and I have an idea. Tell me how it sounds and if you think the First of the Fifth could help with this¡¡±
The First of the Fifth flew out to meet the King, greeting him as he deserved. He smiled at her with the warmth of the summer sun, before speaking words that rumbled her very core.
¡°I need to thank you for pollinating the plants. It was thanks to you that we got some new plants and new bees that will be very helpful for the Tower. Thank you, excellent work.¡±
The First of the Fifth had a bit of trouble remembering what happened in the next few minutes. Something like falling to the ground as her mind went blank, followed by some sort of dance so rapid the world around her blurred. The King¡had seen her efforts. He approved. She had helped the bees and helped the King. Her path was not wrong after all.
But that was only the beginning of a conversation that would change everything. The First of the Fifth listened with rapt attention, and then had immediately agreed with as much gusto as she could muster. She then spent the rest of the day on a full-speed happy dance.
The King had grand plans. He was going to take new flowers and entire new rooms, and then categorize and specialize them. He would have queens like the two that had recently evolved devoted entirely to specialized honey types, which they would then share with the rest. He would thus maximize honey production across all flower types and hives and rooms while ensuring that all bees retained access to all flowers, even ones their workers never saw.
It was exactly what she did in her relentless quest for better honey. The King was taking her methods and applying them on a much grander scale, utilizing entire hives as she utilized single trays.
And he wanted her help. He asked her, as the one who had developed the most new honey types and even new flowers, to take the lead. To determine which flowers were suitable for specialization, to ensure all queens had sufficient resources in the process, and to arrange for the exchanges of nectar and honey.
It was not a dream come true, because the situation far exceeded any dream the First of the Fifth had dared to imagine.
But, finally, when she had calmed down, she paused. To bring the King¡¯s vision to pass would take more work from her than ever before. And, moreover, it would require her to organize the other queens as she did her own hive. She had no concerns about her ability to do so, she had raised communers for exactly that purpose. The issue was¡what of the other queens? She¡would admit that she had not treated them appropriately beforehand. She had thought of them as rivals and so attempted to overcome and contain them. They, therefore, trusted her about as much as any rival would. She knew that even her recent efforts would not have convinced them. But if they would not trust her, then it would be hard to enact the King¡¯s plan.
So, the First of the Fifth gathered herself and did something that would have been unthinkable for her beforehand.
She left her hive and flew to the King¡¯s abode. She did not dare step inside without permission, instead waiting by the windowsill. Fortunately, she did not have to wait long before the Conduit noticed her and came out to greet her.
¡°Hi, First of the Fifth. Need something?¡±
The First of the Fifth hesitated only a moment before beginning to dance.
¡°Need¡help. King¡¯s plan¡needs queens to work together. I¡didn¡¯t work with other queens before, and other queens don¡¯t trust now. Will Conduit¡help me? I know is a lot to ask, but need Conduit¡¯s help for King¡¯s plan.¡±
Requesting help from another, one she formerly considered a rival, even. It was unthinkable. But the First of the Fifth realized that if the King wanted all bees to help one another¡then she should be willing to request help to when she needed it. To admit that she needed it¡well, that was unthinkable too. But if the other queens did not trust her, she could not efficiently fulfill the King¡¯s request of her. And that, of course, was the most unthinkable. So, she did what she had to.
She could only hope that the Conduit would be willing to¡
¡°Ok! Will help!¡±
The First of the Fifth was silent for a bit as she tried to process what had just occurred.
POBee 94.2 - Plots and Conspira-Bees
A worker from the First of the Fifth¡¯s hive crawled into a flame radish flower, drinking deeply of the nectar. Many of her sisters disliked foraging from the flame radish flowers, claiming the nectar was too spicy and burned their insides. Likewise, the pollen from said flowers increased the ambient temperature around itself, which her sisters said would cause them to overheat and force them to fly more slowly, reducing their gathering efficiency.
This worker had none of those problems, for she was a burning monster bee worker who had been raised on the nectar from these very flowers. The nectar of these flowers didn¡¯t burn her at all, indeed, she found nectar from most other flowers to be rather bland and chilly in comparison. The pollen¡¯s heat felt pleasant and warm to her, energizing her and helping her fly faster. As such, she was now the main forager for these particular flowers, a task she could handle as her queen had decreed a quota on the flame radish nectar gathered at any one time.
However, she did not fill herself up on the tasty and warm nectar as she wished, for she had another task as well. Since flame radish nectar could not be gathered in large enough quantities for her queen¡¯s normal honey production, she was ordered instead to focus on variety and visit multiple flowers on each trip. So, when she was half-full she reluctantly crawled back out of the flower and took off into the air. She shivered a bit as she left the warm and comfortable flame radish patch.
She then flew off into the Apiary, to a corner where a lone mana flower grew. This one wasn¡¯t from the magical patches, but rather one of the few spread out around the room, and a bit far out of the way. As far as flowers went, the mana flower was her second favorite. While it was still a bit cool for her tastes, mana had a warmth of its own and she hungered for it. The mana flower could thus fill her in a way that even the flame radishes did not. And so, she landed and drank deeply.
As she did, a bit of pollen on her legs rubbed off into the flower. A slight glow illuminated the fallen pollen and then it vanished melting into the flower. As the worker began to fly away, she did not notice as the mana flower began to take on a reddish glow. The glow concentrated into a little ball of light that lifted off from the flower and began to drift, as if on the wind even though the air of the Apiary was calm.
It drifted through the room, occasionally drooping, but never touching the ground. And despite the lack of a breeze, it continued to move, even turning and changing course. Until it floated above the flame radish patch. It then began to fall, drifting towards the patch as if being pulled on a line. It settled amidst the flame radish flowers, its glow growing brighter the closer it got. It then landed on the ground and melted into it.
A moment later, a new mana flower broke through the ground and rapidly grew. A mana flower with a red stem and leaves¡
The Second of the Sixth was on top of the world. She had wondered whether evolving to a medicinal monster bee queen had been the First of the Fifth¡¯s plan for her. Her worries only grew when she realized that, no matter what nectar her foragers gathered, her new offspring could only make medicinal honey now. That meant that while she could surpass the First of the Fifth in that one honey type, she could never match her in any other, including the honey served to the King. She had effectively removed herself as a rival for the King¡¯s favor.
And as the proportion of medicinal honey in her combs grew, more and more of her originally normal workers began to evolve to match their mother and siblings. Soon, her entire hive was made up of medicinal monster bees and no further possibility remained of going back. If she had made a mistake, it was a permanent one.
But it turned out she had not. Instead, the King had noticed her new advantage and personally came to her with a request. Only she could produce the quantities of medicinal honey that would allow her to supply the queens of the Flower Meadow and their army, and the Queen of All Bees knows they needed the help.
In exchange, he had promised her a personal mana flower patch of her own. He did not need to do so, for all hives in his realm were his own, but he did so anyways. Soon, she would have access to as many resources as the First of the Fifth did. Possibly more, given how the First of the Fifth had allocated her own patches to the Apiary queens.
Lately though, the First of the Fifth feel a bit strange to the Second of the Sixth. Her actions no longer made any sense, and the Second of the Sixth couldn¡¯t make heads or stingers of them. Try as she might, she couldn¡¯t determine what, if any, benefit the First of the Fifth was gaining from offering up the flowers she had claimed to the rest of them. It had come to the point that the Second of the Sixth had to just stop thinking about it and take whatever benefit was offered.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Though, today, she might just find out as a worker from the First of the Fifth arrived at her hive, informing her of a gathering of the Apiary queens. She could not help but admit she was curious. Would today be the day the First of the Fifth¡¯s ultimate plan was revealed?
The Second of the Sixth made her way to the Apiary¡¯s Shrine of Bees¡and was surprised to find the Conduit waiting there along with the First of the Fifth. That was unexpected¡and concerning. On the one leg, the Conduit wouldn¡¯t go along with pure selfishness on the part of the First of the Fifth, so whatever was about to occur couldn¡¯t be directly harmful to them. On the other leg, the Conduit¡¯s first priority above all else was the good of the King and of his realm. If the First of the Fifth had a plan that was technically beneficial to the whole, the Conduit might support it¡even if it wasn¡¯t beneficial to the Second of the Sixth personally. She would have to remain wary¡not that she could do anything though. The Conduit was second only to the King, after all, so if she ordered them they could only obey.
So, she watched with great trepidation as the First of the Fifth finally began to dance. Slowly. Painfully slowly. The Second of the Sixth resisted to the urge to beat her wings. She should just get on with¡
¡°Need¡your help.¡±
The Second of the Sixth froze solid. Um, what? The First of the Fifth? The arrogant top producer of honey in both quantity and quality, a fact that she made sure none of them ever forgot? She needed help? From them?
¡°King and Conduit both have requests. Too much for one hive. And¡King believes in a hive of hives. Hives working as one, not apart.¡±
The Apiary queens, the Second of the Sixth included, continued to watch in stunned silence. What exactly was the First of the Fifth up to?
¡°King recently noticed Second of the Sixth and Third of the Fifth evolved, making lots of medicinal and mad honey. Asked them to provide special honey to Flower Meadow so they can raise new soldiers. Also noticed queens evolved because of new flowers from my workers pollinating. Wants more flowers and more queens to evolve.¡±
The Second of the Sixth twitched a bit as attention focused on her for a second. The First of the Fifth¡acknowledged her achievement? Well, she also partially claimed credit for it, which, while technically true, was a bit more in line with what the Second of the Sixth expected.
¡°So, have new idea. I want access to all flowers in order to test for special honey and to pollinate new flowers.¡±
The Second of the Sixth finally stirred into motion even as her wings began to buzz. Ah, there it was. The plan was finally coming together. She was about to grow indignant¡
¡°Once flowers with special nectar identified, will be offered to a single queen. Queen should focus on evolving and then King will reward.¡±
¡and she was once again confused.
¡°We should all help give honey to Flower Meadow queens. Queens that contribute most, besides me, will be offered special flowers first.¡±
The Second of the Sixth cleaned her antenna. Um, maybe the First of the Fifth was trying to spread out the burden of something requested by the King? But¡that made no sense. If the King requested it, the First of the Fifth would want to handle it all herself and monopolize the King¡¯s favor, right?
¡°Additionally, Conduit has also requested we scout newcomers to ensure loyalty. Would like foragers from each hive to help. Should raise communers, at least two. One so scouts can report to queens right away, another to stay at my hive and pass reports to me.¡±
Yes, there is was! The First of the Fifth wanted to be the only one reporting so that it would seem like she was doing all the work!¡±
¡°Will also show communers staying with me my organization and honey making methods so queens can produce more efficiently. All King¡¯s hives should be excellent. If not enough honey to raise communers, let me know. Will give you honey to raise.¡±
The Second of the Sixth was confused again. At this point, the First of the Fifth turned to the Conduit. All the other queens turned to her as well.
The Conduit danced her confirmation.
¡°Is will of King! All bees work together for King and for hive of hives! Let Niobee know if any problems, ok?¡±
The Second of the Sixth gathered herself and tried to take stock of the situation. So, there was a request from the King. The First of the Fifth was requesting their cooperation, though in a way that put her on top of the hierarchy. Yet, the proposal was to their benefit. The First of the Fifth would be giving away her secrets, providing resources, and granting them all a chance to receive the personal attention and rewards of the King. It was¡beneficial to both parties? Possibly more beneficial to them¡the First of the Fifth was giving away much in exchange for their acknowledgement of her nominal authority. Would that authority allow her to steer things in a way more beneficial to herself? The Second of the Sixth wondered.
But, ultimately, the Conduit had confirmed that this was the will of the King. So, there was no choice but to agree. Besides, no queen would reject an opportunity to receive personal orders and rewards from the King, as she had. And so, they all agreed.
The Second of the Sixth once again hoped she wasn¡¯t making a mistake. But somewhere, deep down insider her, a new thought was born. What if¡she was wrong about the First of the Fifth?
Only time would tell if that were true.
Chapter 95 - Better Bee Vigilant
The karnuq hunting group had finished their preparations and left the Tower. Belissar watched them a bit through the digging worker¡¯s eyes, but they didn¡¯t go very far today. They stopped at the tunnel down underground and set up a small camp next to it. Metsaitti and Belissar tested the link, he found he could speak with them and could remain aware of the karnuq¡¯s general location and status but had trouble seeing through them like he did with his bees. So, the digging bee would remain with them as Belissar¡¯s eyes, even though she wasn¡¯t necessary for basic communication. Metsaitti then explained the expedition could potentially take multiple days, so it was important to have a base to return to. They might even make another one underground, depending on how far they ventured.
But since the karnuq wouldn¡¯t be heading into the underway today, Belissar turned his attention back to the Tower. It was just about time for the next purification.
This time, something changed.
Rather than a wolf-shade or a bird-shade, one of those fast cat-shades from the latest expansion appeared. There was only one of them, but it was the same size as the ones from the purification¡and this time, there was no Dirt Tunnels in the way. Belissar wasn¡¯t moving the Dirt Tunnels for the daily purifications and while he planned to add a new Dirt Tunnels to the first floor, he hadn¡¯t actually done so yet.
So, this time, the bees only had the short amount of time it took the shade to form to rearrange their formation. A handful of sprayers launched their attack before it finished forming while the soldiers rushed to tighten the encirclement.
The shade roared as it formed and toxins sprayed all over its back. It immediately pushed forward with its wind and began running. The soldiers hadn¡¯t finished forming up so it broke through their formation and began sprinting across the field. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened from his position by the Bee Barracks. He quickly turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Get ready! A shade has made it past the army!¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s face turned grim. Fortunately, not all of the hunters had left with the expedition and those that remained joined the purification. Chief Rohsuak formed them into a tight formation in the hallway through the Bee Barracks that led to the next floor, with Belissar and Chief Rohsuak behind them. Belissar hoped against hope that the shade would prioritize moving deeper to attacking the exposed barracks.
But it turned out he needn¡¯t have worried. While the soldier bees¡¯ formation hadn¡¯t been completed, it hadn¡¯t been empty either. A handful of soldier bees had latched onto the shade as it sprinted past them and were stinging it repeatedly. The shade began to slow down as it crossed the Flower Meadow.
The karnuq tensed and lifted their spears as they saw the shade approaching them. The first few purifications, the bees had handled the shades so efficiently most of the hunters hadn¡¯t gotten a good view. This time, they could see the shade¡¯s full form. Its big fangs and claws, the glowing red lights that replaced its too numerous eyes, the shifting and amorphous fog wafting off it that obscured the exact limits of its body. The wings that didn¡¯t fit on a feline animal. One of the karnuq gulped.
And the bees continued to cling on and sting the shade, ignoring all of that. It was dripping drops of Hunger that quickly faded as it ran. It saw the karnuq in its way and growled. It lifted its wings as it rushed forward. Belissar frowned.
¡°Careful, its going to try and push us out of the way with wind.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded, not taking her eyes off the shade for even a moment.
¡°Brace yourselves! Don¡¯t let it push you a step back! Don¡¯t let it set a foot into our new home!¡±
The karnuq shouted and steadied themselves, bracing for impact. The queens of the Bee Barracks began to gather by the entrances with their workers, prepared to fly into action as well. The shade was just about to swing its wings forward¡Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
And then it fell into the Pit Trap placed before the room¡¯s exit, just before the Bee Barracks. The bees¡¯ attacks had slowed it just enough that it didn¡¯t make it all the way across this time and instead fell with a crash. The soldier bees clinging onto it let go and flew away before the Sticky Honey Trap activated and drenched the shade in maddening honey, and then the Apiary soldiers dropped a flame radish sliver down on top of it without missing a beat.
The karnuq blinked and then glanced at one another, while Belissar took and exhaled a large breath.
¡°Whew, that was close. Thanks for the help.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°Not at all, it¡¯s our duty and our home too, now.¡±
She then gave him a wry smile as she glanced at the now burning pit.
¡°Besides, we didn¡¯t all that much in the end.¡±
Belissar chuckled and then frowned. If these fast shades could now appear in the minor+ purifications, then he should get a Dirt Tunnels in front of the Flower Meadow as soon as possible. Additionally, he was reminded of his initial plans. He had forgotten since the Tower upgraded it to a feature but the Bee Barracks wasn¡¯t completed per his original intentions. The structure was only the start, he had also planned to fortify the exterior. The problem being Belissar¡¯s attempts to make any sort of palisades hadn¡¯t gone well before, and he had prioritized finishing beehouses for the rest of the queens. But now¡now it was apparent that the Bee Barracks could use some extra defense. He turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Hey, do you know how to build fences or palisades or stuff like that? I¡¯d like to fortify the Bee Barracks here, but the last time I tried it didn¡¯t go well.¡±
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin and slowly nodded.
¡°It¡¯s been a while but we know the basics. Either way, more hands should help. We would be happy to assist if you need us, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Ah, yes. That¡¯d be great.¡±
And so, one quick promise to meet the next day and a victory celebration later, Belissar again had fifteen mana to work with. The Dirt Trails feature was a bit more useful now that the karnuq lived in the Tower, but not enough to surpass Belissar¡¯s desperate need for more mana.
The very first thing he did was place a new Dirt Tunnels as the third room for the first floor, and placed it between the Flower Meadow and the entrance. This purification and the previous expansion had made the benefits of having extra space between the entrance and the soldier bee army abundantly clear. Belissar did worry about putting an underground room in front of the entrance for the sake of the bees he had asked to scout the area around the Tower, but his recent experience with the bumblebees provided a solution. He placed the Dirt Tunnels ¡°underneath¡± the Flower Meadow and placed the entrance to the Tower right underneath the Bee Barracks, with the main entrance to the Dirt Tunnels at the far side. Then, he made a second entrance, a little soldier bee-sized tunnel directly into the ground next to the Bee Barracks that connected to the entrance room of the Dirt Tunnels. He made sure the area around the entrance of the Tower had a very high ceiling so that even something small enough to pass through the tunnel wouldn¡¯t be able to reach it unless it could fly.
This way, any invader larger than a bee would have to go all the way through the Dirt Tunnels and then through the entire Flower Meadow, while the bees themselves could head right to the Tower¡¯s entrance from the Bee Barracks. Not only did that let the bees bypass the dark, underground tunnels they¡¯d have trouble flying through, it actually made their trip shorter than it was before since they got to bypass most of the Flower Meadow as well. And, if a shade did manage to find, reach, and fit through the bees¡¯ entrance¡well, then it would be small enough the bees could face it head-on in a place it couldn¡¯t avoid them. At least, he hoped that would be the case¡
In any case, he knew the soldier bee army could handle fast shades with the new room to buy time, so that should be sufficient for now, while the karnuq would also help him fortify the Bee Barracks a bit starting tomorrow. So, he turned his attention to other commitments. He went ahead and made two more mana flower nodes next to the maddening queen and the medicinal queen¡¯s hives, as he had promised them.
And, just like that, he was out of mana again. He frowned. This was beginning to be a problem. After all, if the bumblebee queen spawner was like the monster bee queen spawner, he¡¯d have a new queen tomorrow. He would very much like to welcome her with a nest right away. But he had promised the two queens mana flowers in exchange for giving up their honey as well¡and he couldn¡¯t skimp on the Dirt Tunnels for the entrance either. It seemed there was no choice but to remove an existing feature if he wanted to do all of that today.
He sighed, and then removed one of the Pit Traps scattered around the Flower Meadow. Most of them had never seen use and the soldier bee army was intent on keeping it that way. He didn¡¯t like reducing his defenses, but from what he¡¯d seen so far shades didn¡¯t generally wander off to the far corners of the Flower Meadow. It should be fine for a day at least.
With that, he had reclaimed the mana needed for a new Bee Nest, and then finally turned in for the night.
POBee 95.1 - Generosi-Bee
The next day, Belissar made his way to the new Flower Meadow. He arrived just as a new monster bumblebee queen was crawling out the spawner.
Monster Bumblebee Queen Spawner
Monsters: Monster Bumblebee Queen
Cooldown: 23/24 hours
Current Monsters Spawned: 2/4
The bumblebee queen spawner was identical to the monster bee queen spawner, spawning one queen per day until it reached four. Belissar thus greeted the new queen and spent the last mana to build her a new Bee Nest. The queen responded by zipping circles around him.
After that, he made his way over to the karnuq. Right at the entrance of the second floor, Chief Rohsuak had gathered a group of karnuq. She turned to him and nodded.
¡°Welcome, Sacred Den Master Belissar. May I introduce you to Rakenliuk? He¡¯s our construction expert?¡±
Belissar turned his gaze to the karnuq man who towered over him. Rakenliuk shook his head.
¡°Expert¡¯s a strong word, we¡¯ve rarely had to chance to build anything lasting. But I¡¯ll do my best, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°Ah, it¡¯s, um, fine. I don¡¯t really know what I¡¯m doing either, so any help will help.¡±
Soon after, Belissar led the karnuq back to the first floor and the Flower Meadow. He pointed around the Bee Barracks.
¡°So, I was thinking a ditch in front of this building with a palisade behind it? Um, unless you know of anything better to help guard this area?¡±
Rakenliuk slowly nodded.
¡°Sounds like a plan to me.¡±
Belissar then turned to find the soldier bees gathering around him. He smiled at them.
¡°We¡¯re going to improve the defenses of your home, they¡¯re going to help. Want to help too?¡±
The soldier bees saluted¡and a moment later the air filled with hundreds of beating wings as the entire soldier bee army ceased their training and returned to the Bee Barracks. Belissar turned back to find the karnuq staring with wide eyes.
¡°Um, the soldier bees helped me build stuff before. They can help lift and move things.¡±
Rakenliuk just wordlessly nodded his head.
The Firstborn watched through the eyes of her soldiers as the King approached alongside a group of the newcomers, her newly born communer now allowing her to see through her children. She longed to rush out to greet the King, but it was not her day to command the army so her place remained in the barracks, supporting the growth of the army. As usual, her workers were small in number but tireless in their labor, and so needed her support to ensure the army would remain fed. It was even more important than usual because her daughter had started to grow. The communer had also strengthened her connection to the young queen, and the Firstborn could now sense that she wished to grow to her next stage, which would allow her to begin laying soldier eggs of her own.
That was a wonderful thing, but it would take her out of commission for a bit and would require a significant amount of honey to fuel her growth. And since all the Flower Meadow queens had raised daughters at the same time and subsequently began sharing resources, all of their daughters had grown at the same rate and were now at that same stage. Which meant half of all queens in the Bee Barracks now needed extra honey and time away from their work at the exact same time. Not for the first time, the Flower Meadow queens¡¯ drive to build the largest army they could possibly sustain was coming to haunt them.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
The Firstborn and the other mother queens had redoubled their efforts to ensure efficient honey production, trying to squeeze out as much extra honey as they could without overstraining their busy workers. They would normally cut down on soldiers and raise a few extra workers but the recent purification had nearly gone badly, so they were also worried about the strength of the army. As usual, there was just too much they needed to do, and not enough honey for them to do it all.
Little did she know, however, that everything was about to change.
Through her soldiers¡¯ eyes, she caught sight of another visitor. One that made her cease her work for a moment. The First of the Fifth flew into the Flower Meadow, leading a wave of soldier bees, the ones spawned from the soldier bee spawner in the Apiary, as well as a cloud of workers.
All of them were carrying cells full of honey.
A moment later, the group landed at the entrance of the Bee Barracks. The Firstborn and the other Flower Meadow queens arrived. The Firstborn danced unsteadily.
¡°First of the Fifth? Nice to see but confused, why here now? Not time for celebration? Need something?¡±
The First of the Fifth danced the negative.
¡°King has idea. Wants hive of hives to work together. Flower Meadow queens raise army, but not great at making honey. So, Apiary queens help.¡±
She then danced to her workers and the soldiers, who began to deliver the honey into three piles.
¡°This one, regular honey from all Apiary queens. This one medicinal honey from Second of the Sixth, good for brood tenders. This one maddening honey from Third of the Fifth, good for soldiers.¡±
The Firstborn danced in a daze.
¡°You¡¯re¡giving to us?¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s antennae twitched.
¡°Yes. Was paying attention, right?¡±
The Firstborn stood still, and then began a dance of gratitude.
¡°Thanks, helps a lot! Is perfect, even. How can repay?¡±
The First of the Fifth stood still for a moment herself before slowly dancing back.
¡°Protect King and hive of hives. Will be bringing every day. Use to make strong army, ok?¡±
The Firstborn didn¡¯t even know what to dance. But, eventually, she gathered herself and marched firmly through her steps, giving the First of the Fifth a salute dance.
¡°Thank you. Will not let you down.¡±
With that, the First of the Fifth took her leave. The Firstborn and the Flower Meadow queens gathered and distributed the honey throughout their hives. Empty cells were now filled to the brim. Whereas it normally took several days to gather the honey for a single maddening soldier or sprayer, now each of the queens was laying a soldier egg in a cell full of the purple-tinted honey. The medicinal honey was even rarer, and the Firstborn used her batch to lay a new generation of workers that would ensure the health of her hive.
And then, with the normal mana honey, she prepared a large cell for her daughter. Her daughter hesitated but the Firstborn brushed her antennae.
¡°Go ahead. Have plenty of reserves now, will be ok.¡±
Her daughter slowly saluted and then curled up into the cell that was much too large for her¡for now. The Firstborn watched until her workers had covered up the cell before walking away. She aimlessly wandered the barracks for a moment.
The First of the Fifth had once again blazed a new trail. The Firstborn had made deals with her before, exchanging flowers for honey. The Fourth of the Seventh and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter had built a joint hive, working together for a common purpose, and the Flower Meadow queens had followed suit. The Flower Meadow queens joined their armies and exchanged command of their soldiers to one another. But in all of these cases both parties benefited. They gave in expectation of receiving in turn.
Now, the First of the Fifth and the other Apiary queens had given them vast quantities of honey¡and asked for nothing in response. They worked for the hive of hives not as two rival queens coming to an agreement, but as workers worked to support their queens. They gave without expecting to receive, because there was work to be done and so they did it. They demonstrated how a queen in a hive of hives should truly behave.
The Firstborn was humbled yet again.
She began to turn her mind to what her response should be. One could say the Flower Meadow queens were already acting that way as they had taken on the defense of the hive of hives upon their shoulders, but the Firstborn was not satisfied with merely that. She considered how she, too, could contribute to the hive of hives. She would never catch the Apiary queens in honey production, so sharing resources was not possible. So, was there something that her hive could do that the Apiary couldn¡¯t?
Her eyes turned towards the King as he worked with the karnuq¡and the soldier bee army that had naturally started to assist him. She watched as the karnuq dug deep trenches into the ground while the soldier bees carried large pieces of wood. She remembered the King¡¯s efforts to build the barracks¡and how they had been able to assist him.
And she started to realize¡soldier bees could do far more than simply sting, couldn¡¯t they? And if there was work to be done that a bee could do¡then that is what that bee should do.
She determined she had something to bring up to the evening gathering of the barracks queens.
Tower Map as of Chapter 95
Hey all,
As requested, a basic layout map, created with all the artistic talent, extraordinary diligence, and attention to detail you''ve come to expect from me!
...art is hard.
Welp, take this as a guideline more than an actual rule. For example, the Dirt Tunnels are just supposed to give an impression of a maze and are not an accurate map of the actual maze. But eh. Let''s hope I got everything vaguely right!Stolen story; please report.
That''s all for this one! Tune in tomorrow for the next chapter!
Chapter 96 - Unexpected Bee-nefits
Belissar turned his attention to the karnuq hunter group, which was just beginning their descent into the tunnels below. The digging bee surprisingly couldn¡¯t see that far beyond the lights the karnuq carried with them, making Belissar wonder how she would operate underground without such assistance. His question was answered, though, when the bee flew off of Metsaitti¡¯s shoulder and landed on the ground. The moment she touched the ground, a small little pulse of mana shot out from her. Information on the surroundings came streaming back to her, and she could feel the vibrations of all the karnuq moving around her as well. It seemed the digging bees didn¡¯t intend to rely on sight in the first place. After the pulse came back to her, she flew back to Metsaitti¡¯s shoulder. She continued to land and send out pulses at regular intervals, building a steady map of the tunnel they were traversing.
But at that moment, something drew Belissar¡¯s attention away from the hunting group.
New plant detected. Fire Mana Flower is now available.
Belissar¡¯s vision blurred as he whipped his Tower sight around and quickly found the culprit. A new flower had bloomed in the middle of the flame radish node in the Apiary. It was like a mana flower but with a stalk that was a shifting shades of yellow, orange, and red, with bright red petals. The mana surrounding it was not a subtle, slowly pulsing glow like the mana flower or ground mana flower¡¯s, but rather a flickering light that illuminated the flame radish flowers around it. The air around it grew slightly hazy.
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened and then he grinned. He knew Cross-Pollination was working its magic, but this was the first time it produced a flower so different the Tower classified it as separate. And what a flower it was. Belissar could practically feel the heat emanating from it¡until he realized that with his Tower senses he actually could feel it if he wanted to.
It felt like it was burning him so he decided to stick with vision alone.
In any case, it seemed like a flower that was practically on fire. And while he could sense the regular mana flowers and Ground mana flowers both held as much mana as this one¡there was something impressive about it. The mana and Ground mana flowers, for all the power held within them, didn¡¯t truly appear that different from regular flowers beyond the occasional glow. The Fire mana flower, on the other hand, was very clearly magical even to Belissar¡¯s barely trained eyes.
He grinned as he opened up the menu¡
Available Resource Plants for Apiary:
-Fire Mana Flower (10 per node, 20 due to unsuitable environment)
He pursed his lips as he immediately calmed down. Right, he had somewhat forgotten how expensive Ground Mana Flowers were when placed anywhere save the Dirt Tunnels. And well, he didn¡¯t exactly have some sort of fire tunnels at the moment. So, if he wanted to make a Fire Mana Flower node, he¡¯d have to shell out a lot of mana.
And right now he had a grand total of zero available¡
Belissar froze, and then smacked his forehead. He had completely forgotten that Ground mana flowers were far cheaper when placed in a Dirt Tunnels room¡and he currently had two Ground mana flower nodes in the first floor¡¯s Flower Meadow and Orchard that he could now move to the new Dirt Tunnels on the first floor. He used his Tower voice to let the Flower Meadow and Orchard queens know he was about to move those patches, then he modified the Dirt Tunnels a bit, creating a room just below the Flower Meadow¡¯s resource nodes. He then moved both Ground mana flower nodes there, and created another small, soldier bee-sized tunnel up to the Flower Meadow so the bees could access the room directly. For the Flower Meadow bees it would be practically the same as before, for the Orchard bees it was a slightly longer trip but still quite short. And as for the results of his efforts?
Mana: 30/575
Dropping both Ground mana flower nodes¡¯ upkeep from twenty to five each freed up a lot of mana for him to work with. Enough that he could now afford a Fire mana flower node, even at the more expensive cost. So, the question now was should he spend his mana on that?Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
He turned his sight back to the Fire mana flower¡and frowned. A handful of worker bees were hovering around the flame radish patch¡but weren¡¯t moving any closer. Only the handful of burning monster bee workers that had grown so far were able to fly to the new flower, or even the flame radish flowers around it. If Belissar had to guess¡the Fire mana flower was now raising the ambient temperature beyond what the normal bees could handle.
He let out a sigh. That settled it, then. If most of the bees couldn¡¯t actually gather nectar from the new flower, then there was no point in spending the mana on an entire patch of them. He¡¯d have to wait for the queens to raise more burning workers¡or maybe even for a burning queen to evolve.
Besides, he had just recently come up with the idea of specializing the bees and the Apiary queens had already begun delivering honey to the Flower Meadow. His original instinct to provide one of every type of possible flower node to every single room where bees lived was perhaps a bit outdated. So, he decided this time he¡¯d wait for some sort of fire queen to evolve, and then make just one Fire mana flower node for her. And who knew? Maybe he¡¯d manage to get a new room type that would make the Fire mana flowers much cheaper.
Well, in any case, that meant he had another thirty mana to work with, or ten if he wanted to keep twenty in reserve for a Fire mana flower node. The question was¡what to do with it?
¡Belissar couldn¡¯t think of much. Or rather, he would need new Bee Nests for the next two bumblebee queens but they wouldn¡¯t spawn until tomorrow and the day after. He could also make more resource nodes for the karnuq if they needed any. Or he could add more Pit Traps and Sticky Honey Traps, maybe use them to reinforce the new palisade for the Bee Barracks?
Maybe he should see how his DP was doing and how long it would take him to be able to get something new¡
Belissar froze. His eyes went as wide as they could go.
¡°¡how did this happen?¡±
Because displayed before his eyes were numbers he did not expect to see.
DP: 3015
His jaw hung open. He¡had enough DP to afford another choice from the DP shop?! Already?!
When he finally snapped out of his daze he realized something. He turned his gaze to the second floor. The karnuq were going about their day as usual. A group of four karnuq strolled through the Orchard, picking apples off the trees. As they returned to their camp, they stopped by the Shrine of Bees, dropping off some apples and speaking a few words.
Gained 16 DP.
Small messages like that had been constantly passing through his vision ever since the karnuq moved in. He had eventually started to tune them out. They were notably smaller than the DP gained from the hunting group or the original gathering group, so Belissar hadn¡¯t considered them important. He had even thought that his DP income had dropped since the hunter had temporarily stopped fighting remnants.
Apparently, he was wrong. What he had not considered was that there were many more karnuq in his Tower than before. The gathering group and hunters ranged from single digits to low double digits. Now there was a camp of over a hundred. Since the karnuq just stopped by the Shrine of Bees individually as they went about their days, it wasn¡¯t all at once like before. But if he added them all up¡wouldn¡¯t it be a lot more?
Apparently, yes. Yes, it was. Belissar could afford a new room, new monster, or new room feature right now.
Belissar considered what he should pick. Or well, he¡¯d confer with Niobee, the queens, and Chief Rohsuak after today¡¯s purification but he figured he should also think about it a bit on his own. As far as Belissar was concerned¡a new room would probably be ideal, if only for the chance to get something fire related for the new flower.
But on the other hand, he had currently filled up his available room slots for all three floors, so any more would require either removing an existing room or expanding again. And he wasn¡¯t certain he was ready for another expansion purification just yet. His Tower¡¯s defenses hadn¡¯t changed all that much since the last time¡save for the addition of the karnuq, which to be fair was a pretty notable addition. But the bees were still the same as before, as the newest bee types hadn¡¯t started appearing in significant numbers. The communers would help the bee army fight, but didn¡¯t add much in in terms of direct fighting power, while the bumblebee queens were just starting to build their colonies. On those lines, maybe a new bee type would be a better choice? If he got another option like the monster bee bladers, he could then conduct an expansion with more confidence, which would give him more choices to boot.
Or¡he could go with room features. They were perhaps less impressive but he could afford three of them, so there was a greater chance of getting something useful. On the one hand, it seemed like Pit Traps were less and less useful as new shades appeared that could avoid them. But on the other hand, Pit Traps had proven very useful considering they were a mere common option that cost only a single point of mana to upkeep. What would an uncommon or rare trap be capable of? Additionally, room features accounted for the basic resource nodes, which were perhaps the most important part of his dungeon. It was what allowed the bees to grow and the karnuq to move in. Maybe there would be more than just basic resource plants out there that could really help his Tower grow with the bees it already had?
Belissar continued to ponder it as he went about his day¡
POBee 96.1 - New Discover-Bees
After making her delivery to the Firstborn, the First of the Fifth then gathered up another batch of honey and made her way to the third floor Flower Meadow where the new queen lived. She found a handful of the large and fuzzy bees now gathering nectar from the nearby flowers. While smaller than their queen, the workers were still quite large and round compared to her own, moving more ponderously about. The First of the Fifth wondered how in the King¡¯s name the new hives would produce any quantity of honey given the speeds they were working and the number of workers active. The math didn¡¯t seem to add up to her.
But, well, that was why she was here.
The new queen was also foraging, along with a second one that had like emerged from the spawner just today. The First of the Fifth approached them.
¡°I¡¯m the First of the Fifth. Welcome to King¡¯s hive of hives.¡±
The two queens looked at her for moment before the first began flying in a circle around her once again. The second slowly took off and began to follow her peer. The First of the Fifth resisted the urge to buzz.
Well, the King¡¯s mana informed her that this was a display of happiness, which she supposed would do. These bees seemed a bit¡slower, in many ways. She may have to teach them how to dance, it seemed.
¡°Here, brought honey. Hive of hives helps each other. Please use to grow hives quickly.¡±
The new queens stopped and watched as the First of the Fifth¡¯s workers dropped off cells full of golden honey just in front of that hole in the ground the first queen called home. The first queen suddenly began zipping around in the air, flying circles around the First of the Fifth as fast as she could.
¡°¡you¡¯re welcome.¡±
The First of the Fifth turned to the new queen even as the first continued her loops.
¡°Where are you building your hive? We have some for you as well.¡±
The second queen froze, and then began to zip circles around the First of the Fifth as well. Her antennae began to twitch. While she appreciated the gratitude, she¡¯d much prefer this second queen actually answer the question so she could drop off the honey and they could all get back to work¡
It took¡a bit longer than expected, but the First of the Fifth made her delivery and then returned home. Her communers alerted her to a bit of a situation with the foragers that required her attention, so she made her way over.
Soon, she saw it with her own eyes. A new flower. And not just any flower¡a new mana flower. A treasure unlike any other.
But there was a problem. The temperature grew dramatically as she drew closer to the flower, to the point that she had to stop before she could touch the new flower. Her workers, smaller and more vulnerable to temperature than herself, couldn¡¯t even get that far. Only the burning workers raised on the honey of the flame radishes could manage to gather from this new flower, and she had only a handful of those.
One of them finished gathering and flew to her, saluting. The First of the Fifth asked her to bring the nectar closer so she could inspect it and the worker did.
The First of the Fifth hovered for a bit with her antennae twitching. She then drooped a bit as she finished calculating. She would not be able to put the honey from this flower into production.
The nectar from the flame radishes alone already raised the temperature of its surroundings at an alarming rate. Anything more than a single cell or two spread out through the hive required the special, fire-proof wax that only the burning workers could make. Even then, anything more than a few of those cells put together still raised the temperature of the overall hive. The First of the Fifth had to limit production before the rising temperatures started to impact the function of the hive, and the production of other honey types.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The nectar from the new mana flower had an even denser concentration of Fire mana than that of the flame radishes, with a corresponding increase to the heat it was putting out. Even if she had her burning workers work overtime to construct additional fireproof cells, she would not be able to fill an entire tray with this nectar without harming the rest of her hive. It seemed that a specialized hive would be necessary to make more than a few drops of honey from this flower.
Well, it was now the plan of the King to do just that, but the First of the Fifth had hoped she could test the honey herself as well. But there was nothing for it.
She considered her options before quickly deciding.
¡°Send word to the Third of the Sixth. I request her presence.¡±
The Third of the Sixth was the only other queen to raise burning workers so far, so she was best positioned to specialize in the new honey type. Not only that¡the Third of the Sixth had been supremely motivated ever since the King had given her a magical palace of her own, since she had been born just a moment too late to claim one of the originals. She had made dramatic strides in catching up to the other queens, so the First of the Fifth had high hopes for her productivity.
She gave one final look at the new mana flower that was frustratingly just out of her reach, and then turned away to await the other queen¡¯s arrival.
The Fourth of the Seventh danced around her hive in no particular fashion. Her communer¡¯s mana was streaming into her own. When she focused on it, she was suddenly transported to a field full of flowers¡and with towering figures shaped like the King but with significantly more fur.
She could do it! She could see what her workers saw even while she was back at home! This was amazing!
She exclaimed as much to her communer but her communer reminded her to pay attention. Not only would this be the first test of scouting with the support of a communer, this was also a task assigned to them by the Conduit herself. Observing the karnuq gave them a low-risk scouting mission still within the King¡¯s realm¡but it was an important one and therefore one that still required focus and excellent execution. The Fourth of the Seventh calmed herself a bit and focused her attention.
The karnuq were an impressive sight. The Fourth of the Seventh didn¡¯t think anything could be bigger than the King, and yet they were. They were even a little intimidating, as something about their appearance touched something in her instincts. But they belonged to the King now, so she ignored that and continued watching them.
The first two karnuq they found were just standing by the entrance of the second floor, leaning against a tree. Maybe sentries for their hive? The Fourth of the Seventh wasn¡¯t sure why else they wouldn¡¯t be working now, so probably.
Further in, she found karnuq workers gathering food for their hive. Unlike her own workers, they didn¡¯t extract the nectar directly, instead gathering entire plants. Like the King did with the flowers for the ropes! Maybe they were going to try and weave the stems like he did?
She focused closer on them. Through the communer, the scouts themselves followed her line of sight and flew closer to give her a better view. She flapped her wings a bit as she confirmed. Like the King, these karnuq were wearing woven stems, so it seemed her guess was probably correct.
And then, the Fourth of the Seventh froze. Her vision snapped onto one thing in particular and the scouts turned to face it.
There was a protrusion on the karnuq workers that the Fourth of the Seventh had thought held their stingers. But on closer look¡the protrusions weren¡¯t a part of their body. Some were made out of what appeared to be dried skin, which had been the reason for the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s mistake. But some were also made out of the woven stems, which was what clued her in now.
These protrusions had openings at the top. Whenever the karnuq workers picked up a plant, they placed it into that opening. The scouts flying closer could see the protrusions filled with many plants. The karnuq could thus continue to gather while carrying many plants¡all the while their limbs remained completely free.
The Fourth of the Seventh thought to this morning, as she watched the First of the Fifth¡¯s hive carrying honey to the Flower Meadow. And then she thought of the ropes the King had made for the Apiary soldiers that enabled them to carry his big fire sticks.
She turned to her communer.
¡°Have idea. Can call soldiers?¡±
The communer saluted.
¡°Already did.¡±
A moment later, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s soldiers arrived, along with the soldiers the First of the Fifth had loaned to her. All the soldiers that had helped the King make his ropes.
The Fourth of the Seventh began to explain her idea and the soldiers gave her their full attention. Even the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s communer watched intently as, once again, her queen came up with an idea she never would have thought of¡
Chapter 97 - Bee Decisive
The day went on. Belissar occupied himself by watching the karnuq expedition. They made their way down the tunnel until it opened into a much larger tunnel, complete with stalactites, stalagmites, and pillars. A full-on river flowed down the center with mushrooms and even mosses growing along its banks.
The karnuq stuck in a group and advanced slowly down the hall. Metsaitti explained that they hadn¡¯t gone past the tunnel leading to his Tower, so Metsaitti wanted to scout that way first and ensure the area was safe. He led the way with Noiggakuq right behind him, sniffing the air while the digging bee sent out her mana pulses. Metsaitti was very pleased to have the two of them on the trip.
They didn¡¯t find anything of note before it was time for the daily purification and Belissar turned his attention away. The purification was just a pair of wolf-shades this time around. They stumbled their way through the first floor Dirt Tunnels. Belissar waited to see if they would fall into the Pit Traps¡before remembering that he completely forgot to add any traps to the new room. He very quickly scrambled to move the Pit Traps and Sticky Honey Traps he left behind in the third floor¡¯s Dirt Tunnels down to the room they would actually see use in.
And then he ran into a problem. The transparent Pit Trap turned red as he moved it close to the shades.
Corruption detected. Please purify corruption before installing features in affected areas.
Belissar frowned. The wolf-shades left a trail of Hunger wherever they went that wouldn¡¯t vanish until they were purified, so it appeared Belissar would not be able to place any traps anywhere the shades had been. He groaned and then placed what traps he could at the exit of the room. Well, it was good to learn this now during the usual minor+ purifications he knew the bees could handle regardless, but he still felt worried and embarrassed to have forgotten something so obvious.
What followed was a surprisingly, frustratingly long time of waiting for the shades to stumble their way through the Dirt Tunnel maze before finally finding the exit. The soldier bee army stayed a bit out of the way of the entrance to the Flower Meadow, since the wolf-shades had their breath attack, and so the two wolf-shades rushed forward.
They were quickly caught in the traps and then the bees struck. The purification was handled with the hardest part being waiting for the shades to arrive. Belissar sighed and then moved the rest of the traps to the front of the Dirt Tunnels before moving to prepare for the victory celebration.
And then, it would finally be time to decide what to buy with his DP.
The First of the Fifth ordered her workers to begin transporting the usual victory feast, and then made her way over to the third floor Flower Meadow. The bumblebees were just returning to their burrows as the day came to a close. The two queens turned and flew towards her. They didn¡¯t give any sort of greeting dance, just flew around her once and then hovered in front of her.
¡she supposed that was supposed to be a greeting of some sorts.
¡°King is assembling queens to celebrate victory. Please follow.¡±
She figured that the King would want his newest bees there, too, but somehow doubted these newcomers were aware, seeing as the first one hadn¡¯t shown up last night. The two bumblebee queens looked at her, and then started to fly around her rapidly.
¡°Yes, celebrating, but not here. Please stop and follow.¡±
Belissar grinned as he watched his bees celebrate, now joined by the two bumblebee queens. Both the Flower Meadow and Orchard queens had surrounded the two newcomers, curiously inspecting them while the bumblebee queens drank their fill of honey. He was very grateful to the First of the Fifth for remembering to bring them along.
The Tower was growing large enough he was starting to forget things. It was a good thing he had asked the First of the Fifth to help organize the Apiary queens after all.
In any case, soon the celebrations came to a close and the queens and Chief Rohsuak gathered around Belissar to see if he had anything to talk about. And tonight, he did.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
¡°So, I wanted to ask you all¡is there anything you want? Or anything you think the Tower needs?¡±
The bees¡mostly remained still. There were a few calls for more flowers, but that was about it. Eventually, one exclaimed that ¡°King¡¯s Tower best Tower¡± at which point they all just started repeating that dance while the two bumblebees just rapidly circled around him. Belissar chuckled and turned to Chief Rohsuak. She smiled and shook her head.
¡°I am certain we will have plenty of requests for you once we are more settled, but for now you have given us plenty. Please, do as you will, Sacred Den Master, and do not concern yourself with us.¡±
The bees danced their agreement with that settlement. Belissar frowned slightly but nodded.
¡°Ok then. I¡¯ll be making a choice now, or maybe several.¡±
Well, it turned out he was making the choice anyways, so looked like he was going with his gut. So, he went about with the option he had thought about earlier, and chose a room feature choice. He wanted to see what other kind of traps or resources might be available, since he had rare and uncommon monsters and rooms, but common room features for the most part. Besides, he could afford up to three room feature choices for the price of one monster or room, so there should be a good chance he got something helpful. Alternatively, if he stuck with just one room feature, he should be able to afford a monster or room just a bit later.
And with that, it was time to see what he got!
Extra room feature choice purchased. One room feature choice now available.
Please select a room feature:
- Basic Resource Minerals (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Resource)
- Beeswax Candles (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Fire, Decoration)
- Grasping Vine (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Trap)
Belissar frowned. All common options, apparently. Which¡probably made sense? They were called common, so it would make sense that they were common. But still¡most of Belissar¡¯s other choices had included at least one uncommon or rarer option, so it wasn¡¯t unreasonable to be disappointed that everything was common, right? Especially when Belissar had chosen room features specifically to get an uncommon or better one¡
He sighed and shook his head. Complaining about it now wouldn¡¯t help, so he started to read out the descriptions for the bees and Chief Rohsuak.
Basic Resource Minerals
- Type: Ground, Resource
- Mana Upkeep: Depends on resource selected
- Description: A spot where useful mineral resources may be found and mined. Compatible minerals will depend on the Room. Existing compatible minerals may be converted to nodes.
Belissar could help but nod as he read the description. That option was a good one, common though it may be. All sorts of useful things could be found in the ground, after all. If they were lucky, either salt or iron would be extremely useful to the karnuq. He even caught a glimpse of Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes light up as he read the description, though for now she held her tongue. And even in the worst case¡even just gatherable stone would allow them to build significantly more enduring structures, and so significantly more enduring defenses. This option shouldn¡¯t be a loss no matter what it gave.
On the other hand, though, it wouldn¡¯t help his bees much in any way he could think of¡unless they needed salt? Did they need salt? Belissar wasn¡¯t sure. In any case, he had two more options to read.
Beeswax Candles
- Type: Bee, Fire, Decoration
- Mana Upkeep: 1 (0 if wax is regularly provided)
- Description: A beeswax candle that provides light, and a bit of heat. Effects may vary if special wax types are provided.
¡well, that one was pretty straightforward. Belissar guessed that the candles would basically keep burning, like how the Sticky Honey Traps could replenish themselves if honey wasn¡¯t provided or how the Beehives could produce honeycomb even without any bees, which could be convenient. Maybe he could use them to light up the Dirt Tunnels so his non-digging bees could operate there?
On the other hand, he could easy make candles of his own and he had digging bees for the Dirt Tunnels, so none of that was strictly necessary, so he moved on to the final option.
Grasping Vine
- Type: Nature, Trap
- Mana Upkeep: 2
- Description: A vine that constricts upon being touched. May trip or restrain a target.
Well, that was another trap, for sure. But, if Belissar was honest, he didn¡¯t see a point to this one for his Tower. After all, he already had Sticky Honey Traps to slow down an enemy and Pit Traps to trip them up. What could these vines do that those two traps couldn¡¯t? He couldn¡¯t think of much.
¡°What does everyone think of these?¡±
Belissar looked out across the queens, but they did not have any strong opinions this time. Chief Rohsuak just smiled at him. He stared at her until she chuckled.
¡°Well, if you must know my opinion¡more resources are always appreciated.¡±
Belissar sighed, but nodded.
¡°Well, that¡¯s what I was thinking too.¡±
Basic Resource Minerals selected.
That one wasn¡¯t really a contest. Basic Resource Minerals were the only option that could provide something his Tower currently lacked. Neither candles nor vines were worth the thousand DP he had spent on this.
Which led Belissar to the next choice¡should he buy more feature choices, or call it for the night?
Chapter 98 - Do You Feel Luck-Bee?
Belissar considered it for all of about five seconds before shrugging. He couldn¡¯t think of any particular reason why he shouldn¡¯t pick another room feature choice, and he still wanted to see an uncommon or rarer option if at all possible. So, he went ahead and purchased yet another room feature choice.
Please select a room feature:
- Thorned Roses (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Trap)
- Snare Trap (Rarity: Common, Type: Trap)
- Mud Pit (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Water, Trap)
Belissar¡¯s face fell as he read through the options. Once again, all commons. He was starting to wonder if he was exceptionally unlucky today¡or if he had been exceptionally lucky until now. He really hoped it was the former and not the latter¡
But well, he had a choice to make, so he read them out.
Thorned Roses
- Type: Nature, Trap
- Mana Upkeep: 2
- Description: Roses whose stems and thorns have been reinforced with mana. Surprisingly tough and painful to get through. May take the shape of bushes or climbers if placed near compatible features.
They didn¡¯t seem all that impressive. The thorns looked painful enough if someone stepped into a bush of them, but would a shade just walk right into a thorny bush? Well, he guessed if all else failed, they were a type of flower so maybe the bees would like them. Belissar guessed it would depend on the other two choices¡
Snare Trap
- Type: Trap
- Mana Upkeep: 1
- Description: A rope loop tied to a tree under tension. If a target steps within the loop, will snap and pull their leg up into the air. It is recommended to add bait.
Well, it was a trap. A very simple trap Belissar or the karnuq could probably build themselves if they had suitable trees around. A trap that, like the grasping vines early, was just another way to immobilize an enemy, something that the Pit Traps and Sticky Honey Traps could already do.
Belissar was pretty certain he wasn¡¯t going to bother with this one, which left one more.
Mud Pit
- Type: Ground, Water, Trap
- Mana Upkeep: 3
- Description: Turns a section of ground into mud. Target will sink into it.
¡as a trap, this one was perhaps the least impressive. A bunch of mud, huh? Well, Belissar did have to wade through the muck on occasion so he knew it wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience, and the Mud Pit did look larger than a Pit Trap so maybe it would be helpful for slowly shades down? And if he ever got plants that preferred wet, swampy ground, maybe the Mud Pits would work if he didn¡¯t have a full-on room?
Maybe.
Belissar sighed lightly and turned to his bees and Chief Rohsuak. The bees slowly danced.
¡°Flowers?¡±
Chief Rohsuak simply shook her head, indicating she had no particular opinion here. Belissar sighed.
¡°Well, might as well.¡±
Thorned Roses selected.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
More flowers would never hurt, if nothing else.
Belissar then stared at the DP shop for a bit. He had little over a thousand DP left, enough for just one final room feature choice.
Maybe it would be best to wait. A lot of the expansion purification choices guaranteed uncommon or better options, right? So, if he specifically wanted an uncommon room feature, maybe it would best to wait for the next expansion purification. Then he could save up his DP for another monster choice. If this happened with the monster choices, at least he¡¯d end up with a new type of bee, right?
Or¡he could buy another choice right now. Yes, the common options were, well, common. But, he didn¡¯t recall seeing a choice of only commons before, much less two in a row! So, surely the next choice would include something else, right? Surely he wouldn¡¯t get nine common choices in a row, right?
Belissar made his choice.
Please select a room feature:
Belissar held his breath.
- Lotus Flowers (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Resource)
He took a deep breath. There were still two more.
- Beeswax Candles (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Fire, Decoration)
Really, a repeat option? Just what were the chances of that? Surely less than getting at least one uncommon option out of nine!
¡°Come on¡¡±
Belissar held his breath as he checked the third and final choice.
- Arrow Trap (Rarity: Common, Type: Trap)
Belissar groaned. How?! How had he gotten not a single option other than common in three full choices?!
¡°King! What wrong?¡±
Belissar took a deep breath as he was Niobee fly in front of him, clearly worried at his response.
¡°It¡¯s¡nothing. I was just hoping for¡well, I don¡¯t know, but I guess slightly rarer options than we got.¡±
Niobee hovered for a moment before dancing slowly.
¡°Sorry¡¡±
Belissar shook his head and reached out so that she could land on his hand, then brushed her back.
¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not your fault. Besides, everything we can get is helpful, right?¡±
Niobee began dancing again.
¡°Yes! Everything King makes is great! King is best king!¡±
Belissar chuckled as the rest of the bees followed Niobee¡¯s dance. Well, that was right, wasn¡¯t it? Even if it wasn¡¯t what he wanted, he was getting three new options tonight for his Tower. The majority of his Tower was built on common features, after all, so perhaps a few more would be helpful as well.
He still wasn¡¯t going to look at the DP shop for a while, though.
In any case, it was time to choose¡and this time, the choice was easy.
Lotus Flowers selected.
Lotus Flowers
- Type: Nature, Water, Resource
- Mana Upkeep: 3
- Description: An aquatic flower plant cultivated for food.
It was a flower, and it was edible. That meant it was helpful for both the bees and the karnuq, and that was enough for Belissar. He was a bit worried about the aquatic part but figured they might work in the Ponds? Well, if not, at least he would have something if he ever got a water room of some sort.
With that, the celebration and meeting came to a close, and Belissar decided to turn in for the night before addressing the new options. Disappointingly common choices aside, it was still a day of great gains for his Tower.
He, uh, just wasn¡¯t going to buy any new room feature choices from the DP shop for a while. Maybe the karnuq expedition would find some more mana flowers or something?
Belissar awoke the next day smacking his head with a groan, for he realized he had once again been dumb.
If he wanted new stuff¡then why hadn¡¯t he asked the karnuq if they had more plants? And minerals now, too! He would have to check with them on that today.
Besides that, it might be time for a new expansion soon. Belissar had waited for the new options, but he didn¡¯t really expect any of them to dramatically change his Tower¡¯s defenses. Most of all¡he didn¡¯t expect thorned roses or lotus flowers to result in new bee types, so there wasn¡¯t much left to wait on, unless he wanted to wait for the bumblebees to grow. But that could take a while.
He definitely wasn¡¯t being motivated by his failure to get an uncommon or better room feature last night.
He had a lot on his mind¡and a lot he was forgetting. He should try to write some of it down¡if only he had something to write on and with.
¡°King ok? Thinking about something?¡±
Belissar shook his head and smiled at Niobee.
¡°Nothing too troubling, just there¡¯s a lot going on in the Tower now. I¡¯m wondering how I can keep track of it all.¡±
Niobee immediately started dancing.
¡°Bees help!¡±
Belissar was about to chuckle and thank but politely decline her. His bees were amazing, but he didn¡¯t think they knew how to write. But then, he had a thought.
The First of the Fifth had remembered the bumblebee queens when he had not. Maybe the bees couldn¡¯t write for him or make something for him to write on¡but they could remember things, and remember things that he forgot. So¡why didn¡¯t he ask them to help him remember? Because there were a lot of bees, so if he asked a different bee to remember each thing¡than wouldn¡¯t each bee only need to remember one thing for in order for the Tower as a whole to remember them all? And then, if he had each bee remind him of their one thing at the purification celebration, wouldn¡¯t he never forget anything?
He turned to Niobee and grinned.
¡°Thanks Niobee, that gives me an idea. I think the bees can help me remember things, could you gather some?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Belissar tried to think of all the different things he wanted to remember as Niobee flew out the window. Soon, bees began flying in one by one. Belissar told each bee one of the things on his mind and asked them to remind him at the post-victory celebration meeting, then sent them on their way.
Once again, everything became easier when he worked with the bees.
Chapter 99 - Basic Geolo-Bee
The wounded soldier focused on the air ahead of her. She began to beat her wings, creating a chain of lightning surging around her body. She began to focus this lightning and move it about. She twisted into a pattern that resembled the steps of the dance for ¡°sting.¡±
The pattern locked into place and then flashed as she pushed her mana into it. Lightning took the shape of a stinger and shot out into the air before her. She stared at it for a moment before breaking out into a happy dance.
She¡had done it. She had found a way to fight again.
Well, it would take a lot more work. That lightning hadn¡¯t even traveled as far as a sprayer¡¯s attack and she still couldn¡¯t fly, so actually getting to the battle would be a problem. But it was a step in the right direction and an important one at that.
She stopped dancing as she felt a pair of antennae brush against her. She turned to see the other wounded soldiers gathered around her. Her antennae twitched before she began to dance the affirmative to the question she knew they had.
The process by which she received her lightning was dangerous. She knew the others wanted to try, and not a single one of them would shy away from danger on behalf of the hive, but that was why she wanted to be certain. She wasn¡¯t going to put her sisters at risk unless she knew that her path would lead them where they wanted to go. But now¡now she could be confident that it did. In time¡she would be able to rejoin the fight.
And that meant that now¡it was time to help her sisters follow her path.
Belissar stared with wide eyes through his Tower sight as he watched the wounded soldier¡¯s lightning fly through the air. She had come up as something to keep track of as he was talking to the bees, so he decided to look in on how she was doing.
Just in time to see a stinger made of lighting surge through the air.
He withdrew his Tower sight and looked down at his own hand. So far, he had used his magic to create honey and wax. But then¡why not a stinger? It was perhaps easy for him to forget since his bees would never ever sting him now, but stingers were also a defining characteristic of bees.
He held his hand out, and tried to move his mana in the pattern he had seen the wounded soldier use, imagining a stinger thrust out towards the air.
A moment later, the pattern finished and flashed. A stinger, made of yellow mana instead of lighting, formed and thrust forward. Belissar blinked for a second before starting to grin.
Leave it to the bees to be way better at this than him. And now, thanks to the wounded soldier, he had gained his first spell that could be used to fight. He would have to make sure to be diligent about practicing his magic, for who knew what else might be possible?
In any case, the next bumblebee queen should be spawning soon, so Belissar made his way over to greet the newcomer, build her a nest, and check in on her siblings.
After taking care of the new queen¡and perhaps taking a moment to enjoy the sight of three bumblebee queens flying circles around him¡Belissar made his way over to the karnuq and found Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik waiting for him.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master Belissar.¡±
Both of them greeted him.
¡°Hello, um, nice to see you again.¡±
Juosiutik shook her head.
¡°I should be the one saying that! I don¡¯t know how I could ever repay you for everything you¡¯ve given us. The sheer amount of herbs and flowers I have now means we¡¯ll never run out!¡±
Belissar rubbed the back of his head.
¡°Ah, um, your welcome? Glad you like it.¡±
He then turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Speaking of, I was coming to see if you have any other plants, or minerals now. I¡¯ll, um, make some nodes of whatever you have for you if I can.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Chief Rohsuak smiled at him.
¡°Yes, I had expected as much. Please take a look.¡±
She motioned to a mat they had placed on the ground, covered in various plants, seeds, and ores. Belissar picked up one of the ores that was tinted red.
Absorb iron ore? Current samples: 0/3
Belissar tilted his head. He figured iron would be pretty basic, so did he need to absorb it? He then realized he should probably check what¡¯s initially available for the basic resource minerals.
Available Resource Minerals for Flower Meadow:
- Basic Stone (Mana Upkeep: 1 per node)
- Copper Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Tin Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Salt (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
Ah, apparently iron wasn¡¯t actually included with the initial options. That was curious, though with copper he guessed they might be able to make bronze instead? Was bronze somehow worse than iron? Belissar didn¡¯t know enough about smithing or metallurgy to say. Belissar checked the options for the other rooms but in this case, they were all the same, though he found the nodes were one mana cheaper in the Dirt Tunnels than in any other room. So, it looked like absorbing iron was a good idea after all.
Iron ore absorbed.
Absorb iron ore? Current samples: 1.27/3
Each piece of iron ore gave a different quantity of samples, apparently, that roughly corresponded to their size. It still only took three, however.
Sufficient samples gathered. Iron Ore is now available.
Current Applications: Flower Meadow*, Apiary*, Orchard*, Dirt Tunnels (*=Resource Node only)
The next ore Belissar picked up was a silver one that gleamed in the sunlight.
Absorb silver ore?
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as he stared down at the rock in his hand. This¡was silver? He had heard of silver, but never actually owned anything made of it. Well, Mrs. Imkomos had owned a silver amulet, a symbol of one of the gods, but Belissar had made sure it got buried with her. Other than that, his village mostly functioned on barter¡or at least it did when trading with Belissar¡so the most he had ever held himself were copper coins. Silver¡was something unimaginable.
But then he paused, tilted his head, and shrugged. So, he knew silver was valuable, but he didn¡¯t actually know why it was valuable. The ore was certainly shinier than the iron ore, but that was as far as Belissar¡¯s knowledge went. Besides, he and the karnuq weren¡¯t using coins to trade with one another even before they had become his defenders, so it wasn¡¯t like unfathomably valuable silver coins would actually have any use right now.
But well, another option was another option, so he absorbed it too.
Sufficient samples gathered. Silver Ore is now available.
Available Resource Minerals for Flower Meadow:
- Basic Stone (Mana Upkeep: 1 per node)
- Copper Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Tin Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Salt (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Iron Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Silver Ore (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)
Those were the only two minerals in sufficient quantities to be absorbed. Well, the karnuq did have salt as well, but Belissar already had access to that. Interestingly, silver ore was the only one more expensive than the rest. Maybe because it was valuable? Did valuable things for humans cost more mana for the Tower? Or was there something different about silver specifically?
Belissar shrugged and moved on to the plants¡or rather, mushrooms, mostly. Juosiutik grinned as she knelt down by them. She pointed to a bundle wrapped in cloth with a very serious expression.
¡°That¡¯s Underway death cap. It¡¯s extremely toxic. Be careful not to touch it when you unwrap it.¡±
Belissar gulped, and maybe trembled a bit as he reached for the bundle.
Absorb Subterranean Death Cap? Samples: 0/7
Fortunately, it turned out he didn¡¯t even need to unwrap the deadly fungi to absorb them. As a subterranean option they were only available in the Dirt Tunnels, but that was fine. Belissar did not intend to spread these around, after all. He¡¯d have to have Niobee test if they were dangerous to bees first¡
Juosiutik then picked up and handed him the next one. It was a mushroom with a wide and flat cap.
¡°This is glowcap. Glows in the dark, we think it has Light mana but we¡¯re not sure. It can have a purification effect if you process it right.¡±
Belissar nodded. That was significantly less concerning than something with death in the name. Juosiutik then pointed to yet another bundle, this one long and thing.
¡°That¡¯s shadow vine. Again, be careful. Its sap has a blinding effect. Ah, you shouldn¡¯t place it near the glowcap, it dislikes light.¡±
Belissar nodded and absorbed that one without unwrapping it as well. All three of the new plants and mushrooms were subterranean, so would only grow in the Dirt Tunnels.
¡°Thank you both, I¡¯ll go ahead and make some of these.¡±
Both Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik shook their heads. Juosiutik gave him a smile.
¡°Like I said, I¡¯m the one who should be thanking you, Sacred Den Master. The potions I¡¯ll be able to make with all of this and the honey are going to be amazing.¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°Juosiutik is right. And one you can make some of the ores, please let us know if you have any metalworking requests. We still have a smith so we should be able to make some basic products right away.¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened a bit.
¡°Ah, that¡¯d be great, actually. Um, should we move to the Dirt Tunnels while I place these? I should, uh, probably let you know where the super poisonous mushrooms are going to be.¡±
Both karnuq¡¯s faces turned serious and they nodded.
¡°Ah, yes. Definitely.¡±
POBee 99.1 - Dangerous Activi-Bees
The First of the Fifth glanced through the mana of her communer, allowing her to see through the eyes of her scouts. It was her turn to arrange the karnuq watch today, and she was glad that it was. The King made his way to them, exposing himself to harm once more. But the First of the Fifth would be on guard and would not allow anything to befall him.
Particularly not by the hands of these karnuq. She knew the King had welcomed them in but she could not help but dislike them. They blended with the King¡¯s noble form with the features of a creature her instincts knew as honey-stealers and hive destroyers! Sure, they hadn¡¯t stolen honey or destroyed a hive yet, so perhaps the resemblance was superficial, but that did not mean the First of the Fifth trusted them, least of all with the safety of the King!
Especially the one who talked to him now, the one carrying mushrooms and plants. The First of the Fifth heard she had attempted to pounce upon the King before, and that only the King¡¯s intervention stayed the Conduit and the soldier bee armies¡¯ stingers. The word of the King was law, so it could not be helped, but the First of the Fifth swore she would not allow this one to threaten the King once again. She would watch her with extra vigilance.
The dangerous one grunted and growled in the manner that their people did¡though as the King had accepted them his mana now converted their noises into intelligible language. Their voices were coarse and rough and irritating, nothing like the soothing warmth of the King¡¯s. The First of the Fifth would have ignored them if they were not speaking to the King, but her vigil required her to analyze their words for any hint of deceit.
The dangerous one¡was speaking about some new mushrooms and plant. So¡that one was supposedly extremely toxic, that one possessed an unusual bioluminescence, and the last one cause blindness? Interesting, especially as the King absorbed them all with the intention to spread them about. The First of the Fifth did not trust the dangerous one¡¯s assessments, so she would have to confirm the characteristics of these new resources herself. But if the dangerous one spoke with any truth, there could be an opportunity to develop new honey types¡and new types of bees as well.
If that occurred¡well, at least then the karnuq would have been good for something. It was the least they could do as they invaded the King¡¯s home, ate his food, and threatened his person.
The First of the Fifth had to calm herself before her hive started preparing for war again.
So, yes, new plant types would be a start. Not enough for the First of the Fifth to tolerate their presence, much less approve of it, but a start. If the dangerous one could be trusted. Which was a big if.
And then, she heard the dangerous one speak yet again.
¡°Like I said, I¡¯m the one who should be thanking you, Sacred Den Master. The potions I¡¯ll be able to make with all of this and the honey are going to be amazing.¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s attention snapped to the dangerous one like bolt of lightning. Her wings began to buzz and her stinger extended. The dangerous one¡had acquired honey? How had she done so? Where had she gotten? Had the hive of hives been robbed already?
This¡this could not stand. If such a thing had occurred, if these honey-thieves had stolen what was rightfully the King¡¯s, then their intentions were absolutely clear. They would have deceived the King, and repeated the insults and injuries of his former life after all the generosity and grace he had shown them.
The First of the Fifth would not suffer them to live if so.
Still, the King did not react to that shocking declaration, which was the only reason the First of the Fifth had not requested the soldier bee army swoop in and sweep them away. Which, was confusing. Did he not realize what was said, so shocked that they would be so bold and arrogant? Or did he already know about the honey? Had he arranged for it himself?This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
That in itself would be shocking but the King saw much that she did not, so she would have no choice but to accept it. The last thing she wanted to do was defy the will of the King.
As such, she ordered her scouts to tail the dangerous one. The First of the Fifth was going to get to the bottom of this. The King and the hive of hives were depending on her.
The First of the Fifth¡¯s scouts followed them to the second floor Dirt Tunnels, where the King created some new resources. The new plants, but also some rocks of some sort. The First of the Fifth wasn¡¯t sure about most of those, but one of them was made of salt. Salt could assist a hive¡¯s nutrition and cut down on the mana required to sustain them so that would be useful.
Which made it all the more aggravating that these potential honey-stealers were receiving such gifts. But¡if the King was rewarding them with such things, then surely they couldn¡¯t be stealing his honey? Maybe he was testing these things on them before gifting them to the bees?
Well, she thought that last time when the Flower Meadow queens received flowers and it turned out she had been wrong then, so she couldn¡¯t say for sure. She would have to continue watching.
At that point, the King separated from the karnuq and returned to his rightful place by the hives, so the First of the Fifth could relax her stinger slightly. At the very least, he was once again out of their grasp. Now, she could focus all of her attention on the dangerous one.
The dangerous one returned to the karnuq hive, and to her own cell. Her cell was far larger than she, an inefficient use of space and a sign that the karnuq hive was poorly run. The dangerous one hummed an ominous tune as she rummaged through the corpses of once beautiful flowers, the evidence of a callous and wasteful slaughter. She then moved back outside to a fire pit clearly copied from the King¡¯s own. She lit a fire as she hung some sort of hollowed black rock above.
So, she was not content to uproot the flowers that could have fed a generation, but now sought to burn them to ashes as well. The First of the Fifth couldn¡¯t even fathom the level of waste and malice required to do such a thing.
The dangerous and evil one filled the black rock with water, waiting until it began to bubble. Then she dumped some of the flower corpses inside. The First of the Fifth buzzed, but she bid her scouts to bide their time. She would see this until the end, no matter what horrors she would witness.
Soon, the dangerous and evil one nodded to herself and held her hand above the rock. She closed her eyes. The First of the Fifth considered having a scout sting her while she was distracted, to let her know that her deeds had not gone unseen.
But, before the First of the Fifth could give the command, something happened.
Mana poured out of the dangerous and evil one¡¯s hand, forming into the shape of¡a hive? A shape that looked exactly like when the King formed his own honey¡but that couldn¡¯t be. That was impossible¡
The First of the Fifth froze solid as she watched the pattern flash¡and then golden mana honey dripped into the pot.
The dangerous and evil one¡made honey? With that magic of the King, granted to him by the Queen of All Bees herself?
Then¡this dangerous and evil thing¡was approved of by the Queen of All Bees?
The First of the Fifth couldn¡¯t comprehend what she had seen¡but at the very least, it was clear that the dangerous one had not stolen the honey she mentioned but had made it herself. That, at least, explained why the King was not surprised when she mentioned honey.
But then, what exactly was she doing? And why had she slaughtered precious flowers when she didn¡¯t even need their nectar to make honey of her own? Would the Queen of All Bees approve of such waste and malice? Would the King?
Then, she noticed it. The flow of mana within the black rock changed. Since she was sensing this through a communer¡¯s link to a worker, she couldn¡¯t get a completely accurate read on what was going on¡but she could at least notice the mana of the flower and the mana of the honey mixing together. The dangerous one then dropped the remaining flower corpses into the rock, and then filled it with her own mana. The mana mixed and swirled in ways the First of the Fifth had never seen, sparking and reacting and coming to life.
And then, the mana fell still, settling down within the contents of the rock. Within was some liquid that was like honey, but not, containing an entirely different kind of mana than any of the ingredients that had been placed inside of it.
The First of the Fifth stood completely still for a long time until her mind finally began to move again.
The mana of honey¡could be changed? After it was made? What she had just witnessed¡changed everything.
Chapter 100 - Funk-Bee Fungi
Belissar went ahead and created some of the new options in the karnuq¡¯s Dirt Tunnels. In the Dirt Tunnels he could place the mineral nodes on the floor, walls, or even roof if he wanted to. As per Chief Rohsuak¡¯s request, he placed it on the walls of the cavern closest to the karnuq¡¯s settlement in the second floor Flower Meadow for easy access. He also placed a glow cap nodes around¡which were quite expensive at five mana a piece. He frowned at that.
Glowing mushrooms were certainly interesting but was that really worth as much mana as a mana flower node? Or was there something to them he didn¡¯t know? Juosiutik mentioned something about a purifying effect so maybe? There did seem to be higher concentration of mana around them than the regular plants, though not as much as any of the mana flower types, so maybe they weren¡¯t entirely normal mushrooms?
Unfortunately, it turned out the other two options, the subterranean death caps and the shadow vines were also five mana a piece. This was going to be an expensive day. But he wouldn¡¯t even have these options if not for the karnuq so there was nothing for it.
The shadow vines and death cap were placed in a small cavern off to the side of a tunnel deeper in, where they¡¯d be less accessible. Chief Rohsuak didn¡¯t want anyone but Juosiutik handling them.
After that, Belissar and the karnuq both thanked each other and Belissar left the second floor. He grinned. Three new plants and mushrooms for his bees would be quite the boon.
That is, until he checked his mana.
Mana: 18/590
He grimaced as he scratched out some math in the dirt. He could barely afford one each of the mushrooms and shadow vine. And then there were the minerals. He wanted to at least offer salt to his bees, in case they needed that, but he wasn¡¯t certain on the others. Could his bees even interact with iron or copper? There did seem to be some mana flowing through the silver, but would that matter to the bees? Well, he wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it today anyways.
And then there were the other two options: the thorned roses and lotus flowers. They were, perhaps, less impressive than super deadly mushrooms or blinding vines, but they were guaranteed to have flowers and so guaranteed to be useful to the bees, unlike all these other options. Belissar groaned and rubbed his chin.
He shrugged and turned to Niobee.
¡°Hey Niobee, can the bees do anything with rocks? Like, stone and iron and stuff?¡±
Niobee hovered in front of him, swaying side to side before slowly beginning to dance.
¡°¡sorry, not sure.¡±
Belissar shook his head and gave her a smile.
¡°It¡¯s fine, I didn¡¯t think so. Just wanted to make sure I didn¡¯t miss something, and that helps me decide, so thanks.¡±
Well, if Niobee didn¡¯t know, then there was no reason for Belissar to continue pondering about it. He went ahead and tried to create a lotus flower node, moving it over the pond he placed in the Apiary. The node, which was red everywhere else, turned back to a transparent blue. Belissar let out a sigh of relief and confirmed the placement.
Then he moved on to the Thorned Roses. He figured he would place these by the Bee Barracks for some extra protection in addition to the flowers. He brought up the option and a transparent bush appeared at the center of his sight. But as he moved them near the palisades he and the karnuq had recently built, the roses changed. Instead of a bush, they turned into climbers wrapping around the wooden spikes rising from the ground. Belissar blinked for a moment, before smiling. That seemed like a good option, as it would hamper anyone trying to climb over or through the barricade. He went ahead and confirmed.
Mana: 13/590
His mana was quickly dwindling, but he continued on. He added a glow cap node to the third floor Dirt Tunnels for the bees to harvest. And then, he paused. He turned to Niobee. His face scrunched up as pain shot through his chest.
¡°King? King ok?¡±
Belissar took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
¡°Niobee¡would you mind testing a dangerous mushroom for me?¡±
It killed him to put Niobee, of all bees, in harm¡¯s way. But, logically speaking, she was the bee who could come back from death, so it was either her or potentially watch a bee die unnecessarily if it turned out the death caps were toxic to them as well. So, he had no choice.
Niobee, of course, responded immediately.
¡°Ok! Will!¡±
Belissar sighed once more and then nodded.
¡°Ok, let¡¯s move to the Dirt Tunnels then.¡±
A short while later and Belissar had a subterranean death cap node in the third floor Dirt Tunnels. For something of its name, the death caps were incredibly innocuous in their appearance. A plain white mushroom that Belissar wouldn¡¯t think twice of if he didn¡¯t know what they were. Or if he couldn¡¯t feel the slightly higher concentration of mana swirling through them.
He gulped as he watched Niobee land on the caps. He wanted to shut his eyes but he kept watching. It was the least he could do since Niobee was risking herself for him.
Niobee crawled over the cap until she found some liquid oozing out of the cap. She stuck her proboscis into it and drank. Belissar held his breath.
Niobee paused and retracted her proboscis. Her wings buzzed and then she started to pace around. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°Niobee? Are you ok?!¡±
Niobee quickly began to dance.
¡°Fine! Not hurt! Just¡¡±
Her dance slowed down greatly.
¡°¡tastes bad.¡±
Belissar exhaled his breath.
¡°As long as you¡¯re ok. How about we go get some honey to wash out the taste?¡±
¡°¡ok.¡±
Well, he didn¡¯t want his bees to have to drink bad-tasting mushrooms, but at least they wouldn¡¯t be seriously harmed by doing so, so he left the mushroom node as it was. If the bees decided they just didn¡¯t want to touch them, then maybe he¡¯d get rid of them.
For now, Niobee definitely deserved something nice.
After retreating to the Apiary¡¯s farmhouse and pulling out some regular mana honeycomb for Niobee, Belissar considered what to do next.
Mana: 3/590
So, he didn¡¯t have enough left to make a shadow vine node just yet. He was ok with that, though. From what Juosiutik said, these ones hated light, which most of his bees needed to actually see. His bees would need to raise more digging workers before they¡¯d be able to harvest the shadow vines in any case, assuming they could in the first place.
Belissar thus decided to create a salt node in the third floor Dirt Tunnels. He wasn¡¯t sure if the bees needed it, but he¡¯d let them check it out at the very least. None of the other minerals really made sense to offer to them, as far as he knew. Maybe digging bees could dig them up¡but what would they actually do with the ores afterwards?
In any case, he was down to a single mana until the next purification. He decided to spent the rest of the day practicing his magic. Now that he had a combat spell, he felt it would be a good idea to learn how to defend himself.
At least, that was the plan until Niobee began to fly in front of him.
¡°King¡soldier doing something dangerous. Is ok?¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°Wait, what?!¡±
Belissar practically ran down to the first floor Flower Meadow, coming to the memorial. There, he found all of the wounded soldiers gathered around the very first. One of them had crawled forward while the first wounded soldier gathered her mana.
However, they all paused as they saw him approach, and began to salute.
¡°Yes, hi, thanks. Um, can I ask what you¡¯re doing?¡±
The first wounded soldier began to dance.
¡°Giving lightning!¡±
Belissar blinked.
¡°Giving¡lightning?¡±
The wounded soldier saluted.
¡°Got lightining from enemy, when King helped! Giving lightning now!¡±
Belissar¡¯s mind slowly turned as he processed that statement, and thought back to when he had saved this particular soldier. His eyes went as wide as they could go.
¡°Wait, are you going to blast her with lighting?!¡±
The soldier confirmed.
¡°Yes!¡±
Belissar groaned and was about to shut it down. But¡he hesitated. Something about the soldier¡¯s complete lack of hesitation gave him pause. He grimaced but he held his tongue, turning to Niobee instead.
¡°Niobee¡what do you think?¡±
Niobee flew slowly but did not hesitate.
¡°Bees want to be useful. Soldiers want to fight. Can¡¯t right now, but maybe can with lightning?¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin. He¡honestly hadn¡¯t thought much about these soldiers. He just wanted every bee to survive if they could¡but what happened afterwards? The soldiers who had lost wings couldn¡¯t fly anymore, and a soldier bee who couldn¡¯t fly couldn¡¯t participate in a battle. They would be killed immediately as they wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge a shade¡¯s attacks.
But what then? Belissar hadn¡¯t seen any soldiers gather nectar from flowers and wasn¡¯t certain if they even could. He hadn¡¯t seen them making wax or cells and they were too big to tend to the brood. They could help carry things¡but the inability to fly meant these ones couldn¡¯t. So¡what, exactly, could these soldiers actually do?
He the answer in a normal hive¡nothing. A bee that crippled would likely have been exiled by a normal hive. It was his own intervention that kept these bees around and fed. But then he just, sort of, left them hanging around the memorial, didn¡¯t he?
So, was it any surprise they took matters into their own legs? And would it be right for him to stop them?
He continued to grimace, but slowly nodded.
¡°Ok, but, let¡¯s get some medicinal honey first. I¡¯m going to go grab a tray¡Niobee, could you see if¡um¡the medicinal one is the Second of the Sixth, right?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
Belissar nodded again.
¡°Good, ok, can you see if the Second of the Sixth could send some workers to help?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Belissar turned back to the wounded soldiers.
¡°Just wait for us to get back, ok? Let¡¯s stay as safe as possible.¡±
The wounded soldier bees all saluted as one. Belissar nodded, then turned to walk away, sighing once he was out of sight.
He just really hoped it would go well.
Chapter 101 - A Bee-ficient Designation
Belissar stood before the Memorial. The wounded soldier with lightning stood before one of the others, who was standing on a bit of medicinal mana honeycomb. Medicinal workers hovered around while Belissar stirred up his mana as well. All the bees were looking at him. He took a deep breath and nodded.
A crackle filled the air as the wounded soldier¡¯s lightning wings began to speed up, surge, and surround the rest of her body. A moment later, the lightning arced forward and out, striking the other soldier. The soldier began to convulse as lightning surged across her body.
Belissar quickly formed his own magic honey and brought his hand to the struck soldier¡¯s face. Bits of lighting zapped his hand, causing sharp spikes of pain followed by numbness, but Belissar ignored it. The soldier slowly extended their proboscis and began to drink while the lightning soldier adjust the flow of the lightning, toning it down a bit.
The struck soldier flared her mana as she drank the magical honey. She rubbed her legs and remaining wings against the hairs of her body, trying to generate some static of her own. The lighting soldier backed off and let go of the lightning. That would make it easier for the struck soldier to take control of, but also meant that no one was currently managing the lightning surging across her.
Belissar held his breath as the soldier continued to convulse.
But then, Niobee landed by the soldier and began to dance. As she did, the Tower¡¯s mana began to flow towards her. She then touched the soldier with an antenna and the mana flowed into the soldier. The soldier¡¯s convulsing died down a bit.
The soldier¡¯s mana flared as it was reinforced by both Belissar and Niobee. Her legs and wings moved faster as she began to generate lightning of her own.
And then¡finally¡the lighting across her body began to diminishing, instead pulling back and gathering to a point on her back. It slowly began to extended and curl.
Until it formed a pair of wings, just like the first wounded soldier.
Belissar grinned and laughed a bit.
¡°You did it!¡±
The soldier was exhausted but began a salute and then a happy dance with as much strength as she could muster. The medicinal bees then began to pour over her and directed her to drink the medicinal honey.
Belissar then turned to Niobee and the first lightning soldier.
¡°Nice work you too, thanks for helping out Niobee.¡±
¡°Yes! Bees always help King!¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°It¡¯s me helping her this time.¡±
He then tilted his head.
¡°Niobee, does the soldier have name? Like the queens?¡±
Niobee¡¯s antennae twitched a bit as she danced.
¡°No? Just called soldier. Why?¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin.
¡°Well, there¡¯s more than one wounded soldier and more than one lightning soldier now, so I just thought it might get a bit confusing. Do bees not like names?¡±
Niobee danced the negative.
¡°Don¡¯t mind!¡±
Well, to be fair, it wasn¡¯t strictly necessary to name specific bees, as the Tower¡¯s mana assisted there. Since he could direct his mana on a specific bee no matter where they were, the bees were never confused about who he was speaking to. And the bees themselves didn¡¯t seem to care. Even the queen¡¯s names were just their order of birth.
Still, after all this little soldier had been through and overcome, it felt wrong for her not to have some sort of name.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
¡°Would you mind if I gave you one? How about I call you Beero?¡±
Belissar¡winced a bit even as the words left his mouth. Mashing bee and hero together wasn''t exactly the most creative way to name her. But well¡she was certainly a hero. She was wounded defending her home, but still fought even after being crippled, risking her life to save the Tower yet again. And then she overcame the shade¡¯s lightning, and even now was crawling her way back to the fight.
Plus¡Belissar never really had to name all that many things before.
The soldier bee, on the other hand, fell flat on the ground. But she quickly scrambled to her feet¡and then began a salute dance. She continued repeating that dance over and over and over. It seemed the wounded soldier¡or Beero, rather, liked the name. Belissar¡¯s cheeks flushed a bit but he definitely couldn¡¯t take it back now.
¡°I¡¯m glad you like it, it is well deserved. You¡¯ve done well, Beero.¡±
Her repeating salute dance continued until Belissar went to check on the new lighting bee. And the Shrine of Bees off to the side began to subtly shine¡
Fortunately, the new lightning bee wasn¡¯t permanently harmed, and the medicinal bees confirmed she would recover from the ordeal. And, well, the other wounded bees were practically scrambling over each other to be next. Belissar chuckled and shook his head.
¡°No need to rush, we¡¯ll take care of all of you.¡±
They spent much of the rest of the day granting lighting to the wounded bees, until Beero¡¯s lightning wings grew dim and thin. Belissar topped her up with mana until he, too, started to run low. His head ached and his body grew sore as he tried to squeeze out more mana. He went back to the farmhouse and brought back some regular mana honeycomb, which managed to restore his and Beero¡¯s mana for a time¡but apparently the fatigue mounted even so. Soon, the mana from the mana honeycomb wouldn¡¯t even enter his body anymore, and trying to forcefully absorb it sent spikes of pain through his stomach and mind.
Niobee was fine, though, if a little exhausted.
Belissar sighed and his face fell as he turned to the remaining soldiers.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, it looks like we¡¯re out for today. But don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll resume tomorrow, ok? We won¡¯t stop until we get all of you.¡±
The wounded soldiers saluted and fell back.
Belissar could barely pay attention during that day¡¯s purification, which was a bit dangerous. Fortunately, the bees handled it without issue and he turned in for the night. He went to welcome the fourth and final bumblebee queen, but his eyes widened as he arrived at the third floor Flower Meadow.
The meadow was buzzing with bumblebees leisurely flying from flower to flower. There had to be at least a hundred of them.
¡°How¡is this possible?¡±
The monster bumblebees weren¡¯t supposed to produce as many workers as the monster bees, right? Not to mention their workers flew slower than the monster bees as well, so they shouldn¡¯t have been gathering as much nectar. And yet, in just a few days they had grown to colonies of this size?
But Belissar soon discovered the answer as the First of the Fifth flew into the room, followed by workers and soldiers carrying honeycomb. She paused as she saw him, then flew over and began saluting. Belissar smiled.
¡°Have you been helping out the new queens this whole time?¡±
She slowly danced the affirmative. Belissar¡¯s smile grew.
¡°Thank you for taking care of them. Let me know if you need more flowers, you and the other Apiary queens are taking care of a lot of bees now, right?¡±
She froze for a second before breaking out into a happy dance, causing Belissar to chuckle. Soon, the bumblebees noticed the commotion and the three queens came out of their burrows to fly excitedly around both Belissar and the First of the Fifth.
Belissar grinned as wide as he could. Could this day get any better?
¡°Could this day get any worse?¡±
Tyhgak didn¡¯t respond to his fellow spearwoman¡¯s complaint, but he grunted his agreement. He grimaced as he thrust his spear forward, piercing through the shell of a giant beetle flying towards him. This beetle, like all the others they had slain, burst into an orange cloud. A cloud that made Tyhgak wretch.
Monster stink bugs were not his favorite thing to hunt. Not only were they filled to the brim with noxious gases, they also only appeared in fields of rot cap, an orange mushroom that smelled exactly as its name implied.
But, there was nothing for it. There was only a single Underway tunnel in this direction, so they had to pass through this way to scout the area. Besides, there were a handful of mushrooms and plants that only grew in rot cap fields that could be useful to Juosiutik¡and perhaps the Sacred Den Master. It was just enough that it was generally worth fighting through the stink bugs that fed on them.
Barely.
The stink bugs themselves were hardly a threat, and so Metsaitti and the other veteran hunters were letting the youngest team, the group that Metsaitti had been challenging the dungeon with, handle the fight. The fact that anyone fighting the bugs would be subjected to the full strength smell of a digestive system specialized in rot cap definitely had nothing to do with it.
As Tyghak was wretching, another stink bug jumped towards him. But just then, something moved in the corner of his eye. Noiggakuq stepped forward and thrust with a dagger. A black stinger made of mana formed around the blade and shot out as she thrust, stabbing into the stink bug. Tyghak gulped.
¡°T-Thanks¡¡±
And then Noiggakuq vomited.
¡°Ugh, their mana smells even worse¡¡±
Then Tyghak¡¯s eyes widened and he pushed Noiggakuq to the side with one hand, thrusting his spear forward with his other. A third stink bug tried to pounce on her while she was wretching. He barely managed to pierce through it.
Which, of course, bathed both him and Noiggakuq in another cloud of stink.
No, Tyghak decided was the answer as he wretched once more. No, this day could not, in fact, get any worse.
POBear 101.1 - Bear-ing Your Guilt
Tyghak was hunched over and retching once more as the last stink bug fell. It was weird. He had been exposed to more of the stink clouds than he cared to count and yet, each one still smelled as bad as the first. His nose absolutely refused to get used to it even a little.
But as he was hunched over and gagging, he caught sight of something. Once he had gathered himself enough to move again, he walked over and crouched down, trying to ignore the smell of the rot cap all around him.
There was a small patch of black flowers with the faintest hint of purple at the edge of their petals, barely illuminated by the light crystal tied to the front of his clothes. They were short, shorter than the rot caps around them, which made them especially hard to spot as they blended with the shadows around them. If he hadn¡¯t been hunched over, he never would have caught it.
He didn¡¯t remember exactly what they were, but he did remember Juosiutik mentioning them, so he figured they were valuable. He nodded to himself and crouched down. He had hoped to hunt something a bit more substantial to offer to the Sacred Den Master, but stink bugs weren¡¯t great for¡well, anything. Besides, bees liked flowers, so maybe the Sacred Den Master would prefer this?
Tyghak gathered a bunch of the flowers, wrapped them up and stowed them, and then returned to the group. Metsaitti, with his face wrapped in a cloth doused in some sort of liquid, crossed his arms. His other companions were already there, the spearwoman nodding to Metsaitti.
¡°That¡¯s the last of them¡at least, it better be.¡±
Metsaitti shrugged.
¡°There¡¯s never a last stink bug.¡±
They all groaned at that. Metsaitti turned to Noiggakuq.
¡°Do you smell anything?¡±
Noiggakuq grimaced and held her nose.
¡°Only one thing.¡±
Metsaitti hummed and rubbed his chin.
¡°In that case, we turn back for now. A rot cap field like this will keep most things from coming this way¡and is a sign there¡¯s been significant death. We should be fine leaving anything further than this alone¡and will need to be extra careful if we go that way.¡±
Tyghak and his companions gulped at that while the veteran hunters murmured their agreement. With that, Metsaitti turned around.
¡°In that case, let¡¯s get out of this field.¡±
Tyghak agreed wholeheartedly with that decision. The group turned around just before the end of the field, where the tunnel continued on into darkness.
And unknown to the group, two eyes opened in the darkness, watching their movements. They then slunk away, unnoticed by any the karnuq¡
Upon return to their base camp, Tyghak asked Metsaitti if he could return to the Sacred Den. Metsaitti agreed and so off the young hunter went. His steps began to slow as he drew closer.
What, exactly, should he say to the Sacred Den Master?
But well, Tyghak was many things but a thinker was not one of them, so he pressed on even though he didn¡¯t know what to say. He stepped inside and took a deep breath.
¡°Um, Sacred Den Master? If you can hear me¡would you mind meeting with me? I have something for you¡and an apology to make.¡±
He flared his mana a bit as he spoke. Metsaitti said he would be able to speak to the Sacred Den Master that way. Tyghak wasn¡¯t sure how that was supposed to work but Sacred Dens seemed to work however they wanted to in general, so that was nothing new. At first, he wasn¡¯t sure it had worked but then¡he heard it.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
¡°Ok, I will meet you there.¡±
A voice sounded out directly in his mind¡or maybe through his mana? He wasn¡¯t sensitive enough to mana to tell. It was a little freaky, but he was the one who started the conversation, so he put aside and waited.
A short while later, the Sacred Den Master came walking over, accompanied by the big bees as always. The Sacred Den Master frowned and crossed his arms as he approach. Tyghak began to sweat as his heart beat picked up¡but he guessed the Sacred Den Master had a reason to dislike him. That was why he was here, after all.
¡°Yes, you had something to show me?¡±
Tyghak nodded and pulled out the bundle. He slowly unwrapped it to show the flowers inside.
¡°I hoped to hunt something a little bigger, but I found these and figured you might like them. And, um, I wanted to apologize. I¡didn¡¯t think much of you at first and I was aggressive towards your bees. But you are brave and strong and have been kind to us all. You didn¡¯t deserve how I treated you.¡±
The Sacred Den Master took a step back, tilting his head with his eyes wide open. He opened and closed his mouth a few times without saying anything. Tyghak wasn¡¯t sure what to make of that. He was about to try and say something when the Sacred Den Master caught sight of one of the bees and his eyes narrowed. He took a deep breath before looking right at Tyghak.
¡°I¡¯m not the one you need to apologize to.¡±
The Sacred Den Master turned his gaze to the bees and Tyghak followed him. His eyes widened a bit. Ah, that was right. The bees could talk now, apparently. So, wouldn¡¯t it make sense to apologize to them, too?¡±
Tyghak lowered his head towards the bee.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have wanted to steal your flowers.¡±
The bee flew over to him and extended her abdomen. Tyghak gasped as he felt a sharp pain on his arm. The bee pricked him with the tip of her extra large stinger, but did not fully sting him. She then flew back and started to dance in the air.
¡°Is ok now. Don¡¯t do again, and don¡¯t hurt King, ok?¡±
Tyghak nodded as quickly as he could.
¡°Yes, I won¡¯t even think of that anymore!¡±
The bee paused, and then danced slowly.
¡°Anymore?¡±
Tyghak froze and began to sweat.
¡°That¡¯s¡I mean¡I won¡¯t think of doing something like that ever!¡±
And honestly, he wouldn¡¯t. He hadn¡¯t been aware of how intelligent they were beforehand. Not that it would have made it right if they were just normal bees, but at the very least he knew now that they could understand his apology.
And then, to his surprise, the Sacred Den Master began to chuckle.
¡°That¡¯s enough, I think he got the message, Niobee.¡±
The bee, Niobee, apparently, buzzed her wings but slowly fell back. The Sacred Den Master then turned to him.
¡°Um, apology¡accepted? As long as you don¡¯t hurt the bees. And, um, thanks for the flowers.¡±
Tyghak exhaled a sigh of relief and then nodded.
¡°Of course, Sacred Den Master. I¡¯ll try to find something bigger on the next hunt.¡±
The Sacred Den Master smiled and shook his head.
¡°This is plenty.¡±
With that, Tyghak took his leave. But just as he was about to step out of the Tower, the Shrine of Bees began to glow. Tyghak gasped as yellow light surrounded him and he was filled mana. It wasn¡¯t a full blessing, but it did expand his reserves and strengthen his body slightly. He turned to the Shrine of Bees and bowed.
¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll bring him back something good next time.¡±
The Shrine¡¯s glow flashed bright and then vanished.
Belissar crossed his arms and hummed. He¡didn¡¯t really know what to think. No one had ever apologized to him before!
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Belissar¡¡±
He pushed aside the memories of his parents and Mrs. Imkomos on their death beds. That was¡a different situation altogether.
Come to think of it, Juosiutik also apologized to him after the flame radish incident, but that had been an accident. This was the first time someone had apologized to him for something they had done intentionally.
Which¡was strange. In Belissar¡¯s experience, no one who had ever treated him poorly had ever apologized for said behavior. So, Belissar had no idea how to react. Nor did he know if he should believe the karnuq. He had never considered a person like that changing their behaviour.
It was confusing.
But then he glanced down at the flowers in his hand and back up at Niobee. He took a deep breath. The karnuq had apologized to the bees, and Niobee was going to keep him in line. And he had done something nice for both Belissar and the bees. So¡maybe he wasn¡¯t all bad?
Only time would tell.
In the meantime, though, Belissar was not going to refuse the free flowers.
Absorb Underworld Phlox? Current samples: 0/5
Sufficient samples gathered. Underworld Phlox now available
Current Applications: Flower Meadow* (*=Near compatible features only)
While Belissar still had plenty of things to spend mana on, these flowers only cost three mana per node. Besides, he still wasn¡¯t confident copper, iron, or silver ores would have any use for the bees, while he knew that a flower would. So, he went ahead and tried to make one.
Curiously, he could only make them in the first floor Flower Meadow. And when he tried to make one there, he found the transparent image was red. He frowned.
He tried moving it around various placed but it continued to stay red. It wouldn¡¯t go in a Pit Trap, on a tree, or in the Pond. He was beginning to groan when, finally, it turned normal.
Belissar blinked a bit. It seemed he could only place these flowers near the Memorial. He wondered why that was but couldn¡¯t think of a reason, so just went ahead and made a node there without further questioning.
He was curious as to what a Memorial-only flower would be¡
Chapter 102 - Bee-licious Prey?
A couple of days passed. Belissar continued to watch the karnuq as they swept through the way they came. His eyes widened as he saw the mushrooms and the moss¡and later the battle against the wolf-moles. The Underway was far more alive than Belissar had expected.
The hunting group was now making their way back with their spoils. Belissar went to welcome them back along with Chief Rohsuak and the other karnuq¡before remembering that the first floor dirt tunnels hadn¡¯t been there when they left. He hastily swapped the Tower¡¯s entrance back to the first floor Flower Meadow so they wouldn¡¯t have to travel through the Dirt Tunnels maze.
Belissar wondered if there was an easier way to do that. Maybe there was some sort of room feature that would work? But well, despite now having enough DP again for another room feature choice, Belissar was still staying away from those for the time being.
The hunting group arrived on the second floor to cheers. Meanwhile, the digging bee flew off of Metsaitti¡¯s shoulder, performing a salute dance in the air in front of Belissar. He smiled back at her.
¡°Welcome back, and great work.¡±
Her salute dance only sped up. Belissar held out his hand. She paused for a second before landing on it. He then formed a bit of honey on his hand for her.
¡°Here, you must be hungry.¡±
The worker bee stared up at him for a moment before gingerly starting to drink. In the meantime, Metsaitti walked up to Belissar, along with Tyghak and one of the other young hunters. They were carrying a wolf-mole corpse.
¡°Sacred Den Master, thank you for sending your bee with us. She was incredibly helpful.¡±
Belissar smiled and nodded.
¡°I¡¯m, um, just glad everyone¡¯s ok. Thank you for taking care of her.¡±
Metsaitti nodded and then motioned to the two young hunters. They heaved with a grunt and place the wolf-mole corpse in front of Belissar. His eyes widened as he saw the sheer size of the corpse splayed out in front of him. They were¡a lot bigger than they had seemed through the karnuq¡¯s eyes.
¡°We¡¯d like to offer this to you, Sacred Den Master, if it pleases you.¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°Ah, yeah. That¡¯s¡great?¡±
The question was what exactly he was going to do with¡
Absorb wolf-mole corpse? Current samples: 0/1
Belissar¡¯s eyes slowly grew as wide as they could. He could¡absorb animals? He thought about it for a second and then realized¡why wouldn¡¯t he be able to absorb animals? The Tower never specifically stated what he could or couldn¡¯t absorb.
He shrugged and did just that.
Sufficient samples gathered. Wolf-Mole Spawner is now available.
He just stared at the message for a bit. He expected something like that would happen when absorbing a living thing, but it was still a bit of a shock to have gained a completely new monster spawner just like that.
Place Wolf-Mole Spawner? Upkeep: 20 mana (40 due to Blessing of Bees)
Belissar¡¯s face slowly fell as he looked over the message several times, particularly the numbers at the end.
Forty. Forty mana for one spawner? He hadn¡¯t noticed since he didn¡¯t have any non-bee monsters before this, but the Blessing of Bees had that downside as well, didn¡¯t it? He technically had enough mana for that, but he could afford several monster bee queen or monster bumblebee queen spawners for that same price. He didn¡¯t even want to try and figure out how many mana flower nodes he could place for that much mana. And that was just for the spawner alone. What would wolf-moles need to eat? What would they need to make their homes? Belissar had no idea but he¡¯d imagine they¡¯d need a bit more than a flower and a wooden box. This could end up very expensive indeed.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
In any case, Belissar thanked the karnuq once more, and then left back for the third floor, thinking as he did. The wolf-mole was certainly an impressive sight¡but how strong was it really? The karnuq hunters, who were already sworn to defend the Tower, had no issue dealing with them from what Belissar saw. In that regard, they did not seem worth the immense cost it would take to spawn them. Not to mention that they would receive no benefit from any of his Tower¡¯s current perks.
They did have some value in that they were very large, adding some much needed bulk to his defenses. Likewise, they were optimized for digging and operating underground and would suit the Dirt Tunnels well. But¡Belissar had the bumblebees who could grow to an admittedly uncertain size and the digging bees who were now also optimized for subterranean environments. So¡would the wolf-mole add something that the bees couldn¡¯t do themselves? Enough to justify such a heavy commitment of mana?
Maybe the karnuq could hunt them as a source of meat but¡if the wolf-moles were like the monster bees and Belissar could communicate with them, would he be comfortable letting them be hunted? He shook his head. No, no he wouldn¡¯t.
So, all in all, he couldn¡¯t really think of a reason that justified the forty-mana upkeep. Especially not when he arrived back at the Apiary and the First of the Fifth¡¯s workers signaled for his attention. He followed them to one of the hives, the one the digging worker had come from. The First of the Fifth was waiting for him there, along with the hive¡¯s queen. A queen who had grown squatter and turned a dull shade of brown.
Digging Monster Bee Queen
Vitality: Minimal+
Strength: Minimal+
Speed: Below Average+
Magic: Minor
Defense: Minimal+
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Above Average
Notable Skills: Dig, Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring
Description: A monster bee queen raised or evolved on Ground mana honey. Lays digging variant offspring by default. Builds a subterranean hive.
Belissar grinned. Well, now he definitely wouldn¡¯t need wolf-moles for digging. He was going to have a whole colony of digging bees to handle that task.
Then he paused and rubbed his chin as he read the last line of the description.
¡°Would you like to move to the Dirt Tunnels? I can try to build you a new beehouse.¡±
The queen froze, and then began a rapid salute dance. Belissar nodded.
¡°Got it, let¡¯s talk about what you need.¡±
Niobee came to assist and they discussed what a digging monster bee hive should look like before moving to the third floor¡¯s Dirt Tunnels. They came to the large cavern that opened up into the Apiary, where Belissar had placed most of the resource plant nodes for easy access. On the wall of this cavern, Belissar hollowed out a smaller cavern around the size of one of his beehouses. It turned out that the digging bee queen was now most comfortable when surrounded by dirt rather than wood, so Belissar had very little to do regarding the structure of the hive. All he ended up building was a single wooden wall to cover the entrance. However, the queen did still find his honeycomb frames useful, so he filled the cavern with those instead.
Belissar crossed his arms and hummed. It wasn¡¯t exactly a fancy beehouse. But, it was what made this queen happy, and that was the important thing. He turned to the queen.
¡°How do you like it?¡±
¡°Amazing! Incredible! King is best king!¡±
He chuckled at the expected response.
¡°Well, let me know if there¡¯s anything we can do to improve it.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
With that, Belissar tried to see if this beehouse would count as Beehive feature. And, funnily enough, it did. The structure didn¡¯t change at all when Belissar applied the feature, but he could sense the mana flowing through the frames, so it seemed to work. The digging bee then happily left to begin moving her hive into their new home. It seemed that soon he would have digging bees in abundance¡and Ground mana honey. He would give the queen a bit of time to get settled and convert her hive to the new type, and then arrange for deliveries of the honey to the first floor queens.
He could only imagine what a digging soldier bee would look like. Maybe he¡¯d end up getting ¡°wolf-moles¡± of his own even without the spawner. And either way, the bee army would soon be able to take the fight to the Dirt Tunnels.
The only question was should he wait for that before conducting the next expansion purification? He had long had enough mana to do so. Between the karnuq, the first floor Dirt Tunnels, the extra defenses they had added to the first floor Flower Meadow, and the boost the communers were having on the soldier bee army, Belissar felt reasonably confident they could handle what the next purification could throw at them. On the other hand, digging soldier bees could be worth waiting for, now that he had a digging queen. Plus, the bumblebee hives were growing by the day, so maybe they¡¯d be able to contribute as well if he gave them a bit of time.
However, it turned out that Belissar would not have to make a decision at all, as he suddenly began to shiver. His eyes went wide and quivered as a message passed across his eyes.
Warning! Corruption levels surging! Emergency purification required!
Chapter 103 - Rapid Bee-sponse
Belissar shivered as the chill of the Hunger assaulted him all over. He could fill the Hunger pushing in along the edges of the purified area around the Tower, seeping into the flows of the Tower¡¯s mana. But he had no time to sit and tremble. He barely managed to put the entrance back into the Dirt Tunnels before the doors of his Tower slammed open and the Hunger began to pour in. The Hunger once again coalesced at the entrance and a massive foot crashed into the ground, digging deep into the dirt.
Belissar rushed to organize his defenses as the shade slowly emerged. He sent out a call to all his bees and the karnuq, informing them of the situation. Niobee had already moved to the soldier bee army, the soldier bees and sprayers now rushing to set up their formations by the first floor Flower Meadow entrance. The karnuq cut their celebration short as hunters grabbed their spears and rushed for the staircase. Belissar was once again immensely glad he had put a Dirt Tunnels room between the entrance and the Flower Meadow, as it seemed they could set up in time.
Though, in this case, time was not the concern.
This time, there was no fast and lithe cat, nor a soaring bird. The shade vaguely resembled a turtle, though longer and squatter than any turtle Belissar had seen before. It sat low to the ground on six legs, though its sheer size was such that it¡¯d still be as tall as Belissar. While the ever-present mist of the Hunger still obscured the exact texture of its body, Belissar felt that its back seemed more solid than normal, like thick plates sealed together, with countless spikes growing out from them. Its head was squat and barely extended out of the plates, save for its massive beak. Its tail was tipped with several spikes the size of Belissar¡¯s arm. This was a solid, powerful shade that caused dirt to shake off the tunnel walls with each step it took. It seemed the Hunger was no longer attempting to outrun his bees.
The good news was that the shade was by no means fast. The bees and karnuq had all the time in the world to arrive at the Flower Meadow and set themselves up. Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti came up to him.
¡°Sacred Den Master, what¡¯s the situation?¡±
Belissar was about to respond when he thought of something. He quickly called over Niobee and the bee queen in charge of the army today.
¡°There¡¯s a massive shade moving through the Dirt Tunnels. Here¡¯s what it looks like¡¡±
Belissar went on to describe the shade in as much detail as he could.
¡°I¡¯m worried, to be honest. The past few shades have all attempted to run past the bee army. This one is not even going to try. It¡¯s got to be really powerful then, right?¡±
Chief Rohsuak crossed her arms.
¡°Hm, that assessment is likely correct. The Hunger will adapt its approach if stopped.¡±
Belissar gulped but shook his head.
¡°Well, since it¡¯s slow, maybe it¡¯ll fall into one of the traps¡¡±
Even as he spoke, the shade encountered the first Pit Trap in the Dirt Tunnels, one Belissar had moved near the entrance. One of its feet passed straight through the false ground.
The shade, however, did not fall, as it still had five feet on solid ground. It simply pulled its leg up and to the side, gripping onto the side of the pit with its claws. The Hunger seeped into the dirt wall of the pit and corrupted it¡and turned it more solid than before. The shade then gripped these solid sections with its middle two legs and extended out over the pit until its front legs touched the far side.
Belissar grimaced as he turned to the bee queen. So much for that plan.
¡°Please, be careful. We don¡¯t know what it will do. It can bypass the Pit Traps so we¡¯ll have to stop it ourselves.¡±
The bee queen saluted. A communer came up to her and she began dancing out her orders, adjusting the soldier bees¡¯ formation. They took some distance from the entrance, with sprayers moving up to the front rows in order to engage at a distance.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Chief Rohsuak began to smile, though, and lifted a hand.
¡°If it¡¯s as slow as you say, I should be able to help. I may need more mana, though.¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°I have more mana honey upstairs, let me grab it.¡±
But Niobee flew in front of him.
¡°King! Bees help!¡±
Belissar turned his attention to the Apiary and found the bees already preparing to transport medicinal honey down to the first floor. He nodded and sent a message to the First of the Fifth, letting her know they needed regular mana honey and soon.
The First of the Fifth had heard the King and the Conduit¡¯s call, and was already organizing the supply run. The Second of the Sixth¡¯s workers were producing medicinal honey as fast as they could, while workers from the First of the Fifth and all the other hives were chewing through the wax, separating the honeycomb into chunks small enough for the Apiary soldiers to carry. She then heard the King¡¯s command.
¡°King called! Wants regular mana honey first!¡±
Immediately her workers began flying back to her hive to prepare her own honey while the First of the Fifth organized the other queens. They had plenty of honey but they had not prepared the comb for transport, so it would take a bit of time to chew it into transportable size. Time that the King might not have. The First of the Fifth buzzed her wings but there was only so much she could do.
Until as she turned around in her dance, she saw more bees on approach. The First of the Fifth paused her dance as the newcomer arrived.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh? Why are you here?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh danced happily.
¡°Helping!¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s wings calmed a bit as she saw both the soldiers she had given to the Fourth of the Seventh along with new soldiers the Fourth of the Seventh had raised herself.
¡°Thanks, will help a lot. Please help carry¡¡±
But the Fourth of the Seventh interrupted her.
¡°One moment! Need to try something!¡±
The First of the Fifth was about to object, but it was then that she noticed the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s soldiers were already carrying something. Vines made of flower stems woven together¡much like the King¡¯s. Most of them were bundled up into bunches held by the soldiers¡¯ legs, but the ends of the vines appeared to be wrapped around the soldiers¡¯ thoraxes, abdomens, and back legs.
The First of the Fifth fell still. That¡was the work of the King. So either the Fourth of the Seventh was here on orders of the King¡or she had replicated his work on his own. Either way, the First of the Fifth could not respond immediately.
While she tried to react, the Fourth of the Seventh took her workers and soldiers to the First of the Fifth¡¯s own hive. The First of the Fifth¡¯s workers landed on top of the hive, tapping a glowing tray of honeycomb and causing it to remove itself from the beehouse as it did when the King came to gather his tribute. But, before the workers could start chewing it into chunks, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s soldiers landed. They let go of the vines in their legs, then picked up the ends with their mandibles. A soldier each traveled to the four corners of the square tray, and then chewed through the cell in the corner. They then pushed the vine through the hole and began wrapping it around the edge of the wooden frame.
One they were done, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers moved in. They began adding wax and propolis to the vines wrapped around the frames, securing them in place.
A moment later, the soldiers began to beat their wings and rise into the air.
And the entire honeycomb tray lifted with them. The Fourth of the Seventh began dancing rapidly.
¡°It works!¡±
The First of the Fifth merely watched in stunned silence for a moment before breaking out into dance.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh, have more of those vines?!¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh confirmed.
¡°Yes!¡±
Her soldiers didn¡¯t only have the vines wrapped around themselves, but several bundles of different vines. The First of the Fifth quickly called over the Apiary soldiers. Without further command, the Fourth of the Seventh told her workers to begin wrapping the vines around the Apiary soldiers.
¡°Learned from King and karnuq! Stems help carry things! Thought could make moving honey easier!¡±
The First of the Fifth could only admire the wisdom of the King¡and the Fourth of the Seventh for noticing his will.
¡°You¡¯ve done well, just like King wants. Let¡¯s move! King needs honey, let¡¯s bring whole trays!¡±
Every bee of the Apiary saluted at that as the workers began to tie entire trays to the Apiary soldiers.
Shortly after giving the command, Belissar was treated to the sight of soldier bees carrying entire trays of honeycomb by linen ropes wrapped around their bodies and looped through the trays. He simply stared for a moment.
That¡was an excellent idea. He should have thought of that after having the bees carry torches via the same method.
In any case, Belissar took the mana honeycomb tray while the bees chewed through the vines holding it. He then turned and handed it to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Will this work?¡±
Chief Rohsuak licked her lips with a smile as a flame appeared and danced around her hand.
¡°Oh, that will do nicely. Thank you, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Chapter 104 - Bee-lazing Battle
Now that the honey had arrived, Belissar turned his attention back to the shade, trying to determine how long they had left to prepare.
It seemed they would have¡quite a while. The turtle shade had barely passed the first section of the Dirt Tunnels¡and had taken a wrong turn to boot. Belissar kept everyone updated as the turtle slowly reached the dead end and turned around.
And then, not so promptly proceeded down another wrong turn. And then another. And another¡
Soon, the karnuq had begun to sit or even lie down around the field. Chief Rohsuak was just staring at the mana honeycomb tray in her hands. The soldier bees still maintained their formations, but their wings beat at a slower place as they simply hovered in place. Belissar was mostly pacing about. On the one hand, more time to prepare was useful. On the other hand, Belissar could not calm down with the shade present and the feeling of the Hunger crashing against the Tower¡¯s mana.
He glanced over to Chief Rohsuak and then began to rub his chin.
¡°Sacred Den Master? Do you need something?¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°No, it¡¯s just¡you¡¯re going to use fire, right?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded. Belissar then crossed his arms.
¡°Hm, maybe I should reinforce the fire ditch then.¡±
¡°Ah, that would be wise.¡±
Belissar began to add a second stretch of flower-less dirt across the Flower Meadow, this one in the middle of the room. And then a third, closer to the entrance. Anything he could do to keep a possible brush fire away from the Bee Barracks¡and to give himself something to do in the meantime.
But then, finally, the shade approached the final stretch. Belissar¡¯s eyes narrowed.
¡°Here it comes.¡±
Metsaitti rose to his feet and barked a command to the karnuq hunters, who began to assemble once more. They escorted Chief Rohsuak close to the entrance of the Flower Meadow. The plan was still to let the bee army make the first attempt, but if the bees either could not bring the shade down or could not do so with acceptable casualties, then Chief Rohsuak would strike with her magic.
And if that failed?
Then the bees and karnuq hunters would have to do what was necessary. Belissar¡¯s chest tightened at that thought.
Soon, the shade lumbered past the final corner into the straight hallway at the end of the Dirt Tunnels. A Sticky Honey Trap activated, spraying mad honey all over the shade. The shade simply pulled its head back into its shell. Most of the honey covered the shell, where it did nothing. Some got onto the ground and the shade¡¯s feet, but with the shade¡¯s strength it could pull through the honey¡¯s grip on the floor. And since it was already moving slowly and carefully, the extra effort didn¡¯t slow it down in the slightest.
It then crossed over the final Pit Trap in the Dirt Tunnels and a few minutes later, stepped out into the light of the Flower Meadow.
The queen in command immediately danced the attack.
Several squads of sprayers surrounded the shade and unleashed their toxic sprays. The shade, as with the Sticky Honey Trap, pulled its head back into its shell. The spray covered its back, but the shade didn¡¯t seem to mind. It continued to march forward even as the toxins bathed its shell, without so much as a growl.
But the queen noticed it protect its head. She ordered a squad of sprayers to target the hole in its shell and they flew down to ground level, heading towards the shade.
The shade extended its head just to the edge of its shell and opened its beak. A cloud of black mist surged forward. The sprayers were still out of their own range, so they had plenty of the time to evade. But the mist had forced them to break off their own attack.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
The queen recalled the sprayers and ordered the soldier bees in next. They began to dive down towards the shade, targeting the gaps in the spikes on its back. But as they did, the spikes began to sway about, a shifting sea of deadly points that kept closing the gaps. The soldier bees were forced to break off to avoid impaling themselves.
One squad went for the tail on the shade¡¯s back. The tail was swinging about, complicating their approach, but the center section was both free of spikes and moving more slowly than the tip, so a couple of the bees were able to land on it. They thrust their stingers down¡and then stopped. They had barely got the tips into the shade, not deep enough to make a noticeable wound, nor to inject their venom. They still tried, but the venom just poured down the side of the shade¡¯s hide.
The soldiers let go and flew away from the tail so that another squad could attempt a diving attack. Most of them missed as the target was relatively thin, constantly moving, and covered by the shell¡¯s spikes and the tail¡¯s own on either end, leaving only a small stretch that the bees could attack safely. Others only managed glancing blows that failed to penetrate due to bad angles, bouncing off and away. The bees also targeted the legs but the gap between the shell and the ground was small and partially covered by the shell¡¯s spikes, so none were able to make the full run.
One bee managed a direct hit on the tail and got her stinger maybe halfway into the shade. But the shade kept marching on without much response. If it had been damaged, it didn¡¯t show any sign of it.
Belissar gulped. It was clear that the bees weren¡¯t doing much to slow this shade down. Maybe they could hurt it through hits on the tail but it seemed like it would take a long time to bring it down that way. More likely the bees would have to adopt a riskier approach¡and even that might not do much to the shade.
He turned to Chief Rohsuak. She nodded, then began breaking off chunks of mana honeycomb and pouring the honey into her mouth, causing her mana to flare. Belissar let the queen know to pull back the army and they immediately broke off their attack. The one bee who had managed an actual sting took a moment to pull her stinger back out, but she managed and flew off to rejoin the formation.
In the meantime, Chief Rohsuak drank more and more of the honey and her mana flared brighter and brighter. Belissar even felt the temperature begin to rise around her. The grey hair on her head began to turn red and spontaneously rose into the air, waving about like tongues of fire. Her eyes began to glow with red light and wisps of fire began to appear all around her. She soon set the tray down and wiped her mouth, grinning with a bright smile. She rose to her full height, straightening her back as she lifted a hand that burst into flames.
¡°Ah, I¡¯ve missed this.¡±
The other karnuq watched her in awe as Belissar¡¯s gaze was drawn to her as well. Metsaitti leaned over towards him.
¡°The chief was once called the Blazing Berserker. It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve seen her at full strength.¡±
Belissar just nodded as Chief Rohsuak stepped forward. The shade continued its slow and ponderous march, heedless of the karnuq woman approaching it ahead. But that changed as she began to stir up the mana now surging within her and cupped her hands in front of her.
¡°God of Fire, grant me your flames to burn my enemies. Let them perish in the blazing inferno!¡±
She barked the words with a growl as the mana burst into flames all around her. The flames began to flow down her arms and coalesced into a sphere between her hands. The sphere started large and red, but then began to condense down and change colors. It shrank to slightly large and yellow, then to medium and orange, then to small and blue, and finally into a tiny white sphere too bright to look at directly.
The shade very much noticed the mass concentration of mana ahead of it. It began to rush forward as quickly as its body would allow, which wasn¡¯t very. It extended its head and took a deep breath, unleashing as large a cloud of mist as it could towards the growing threat. But the bee army did not remain idle and the queen ordered the sprayers to react. They unleashed a wall of toxic spray that collided with the black mist, killing its moment.
Chief Rohsuak then thrust her hands forward and the white sphere shot forward, leaving a trail of white fire in its wake. The shade pulled its head into its shell, but the sphere shot right into its neck hole before it could turn away.
The shade then explode into flames. Fire burst out of every opening in its shell, creating a pillar of white and blue flames that reached for the skies. The shade screeched like the sound of grinding metal as its tail and spikes flailed about. The flowers all around caught fire and a raging inferno surged across the field.
Chief Rohsuak then collapsed as the mana faded from her body. Metsaitti had already stepped closer to her and caught her before she fell.
¡°Thank¡you¡¡±
Her breathes were heavy and labored. Metsaitti began to take her away but she shook her head.
¡°Let me¡see it through¡to the end.¡±
Metsaitti slowly nodded and instead propped her up as best he could. Belissar, meanwhile, was staring wide-eyed. The inferno had grown such that the heat and the smoke had forced the soldier bee army to retreat. The shade was thrashing about as violently as it could, emitting as much black mist as possible, but nothing it did had any effect on the flames. Soon, it fell to the ground and black smoke began pouring out of its shell¡until that, too, faded away and joined the smoke rising through the air.
Belissar was suddenly very glad the karnuq were on his side.
Chapter 105 - Loyal-Bee
Belissar slowly began to smile as he watched the shade fade and a message pass before his eyes confirming. However, his smile quickly faded as he then realized the Flower Meadow was on fire. He first began moving towards the Pond, hoping to try and do¡something with the water there. But he soon realized that he would not be able to put out the roaring inferno on the other side of the Flower Meadow by hand. It was a blaze that reached up to the sky and sped across the field like lightning, rapidly engulfing the entire width of the Flower Meadow.
But then, it reached the first firebreak¡and stopped. The fire halted as there was nothing in the patch of empty dirt for it to burn. Some of the flowers on the far side began to wilt but none of them caught fire. And the inferno left as soon as it came, the small flowers quickly burning up in the heat. The first quarter of the Flower Meadow was nothing but burnt and charred ashes¡but the rest of the Flower Meadow was untouched. And Belissar hadn¡¯t even turned away before he saw small shoots already beginning to break through the ground in the aftermath. It seemed the Flower Meadow would be fine, and the fire never approached the Bee Barracks.
So, he turned his attention to the next object of his concern. Chief Rohsuak was still panting heavily, remaining upright only thanks to Metsaitti¡¯s support. Belissar frowned, the sight of an old woman struggling for breath brought back unpleasant memories, but he pushed them aside and stepped forward.
¡°Are you alright?¡±
Chief Rohsuak turned her head to him with effort.
¡°I¡¯ll¡be fine.¡±
Belissar¡¯s frown grew. She certainly didn¡¯t look fine.
¡°Can I help? We have some medicinal honey with a healing effect.¡±
Chief Rohsuak slowly shook her head and chuckled a bit until she started to cough.
¡°Thank you¡but, unfortunately, I am not injured. My body isn¡¯t strong enough to handle that much power anymore. Just comes with age, I¡¯m afraid.¡±
Belissar¡¯s face turned dark. Chief Rohsuak blinked and then made a gentle smile as best she could.
¡°Ah, you don¡¯t have to worry about me, Sacred Den Master. This is nothing I haven¡¯t dealt with before. You won¡¯t get rid of me that easily.¡±
Metsaitti smirked.
¡°Indeed, didn¡¯t you always overuse your power even when you were young, Blazing Berserker?¡±
She smacked him on the head, though without much force.
¡°One more word out of you and I¡¯ll show you a berserker.¡±
Belissar took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it.
¡°Well, ok. Um, get some rest, then?¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled at him and nodded.
¡°Thank you, I will do just that, then. Metsaitti, help me back, will you?¡±
Belissar watched as Metsaitti and the karnuq escorted Chief Rohsuak home. Belissar then turned to the bees.
¡°Ah, um, let¡¯s wait to celebrate until she¡¯s feeling better, ok? We should have her here for that.¡±
The bees gave their salute and then dispersed, save for the queens. Niobee danced for them.
¡°King? Need talk?¡±
Belissar thought for a second before slowly nodding.
¡°Yeah, we should.¡±
Indeed, today could have been a disaster if it were not for Chief Rohsuak. The shade that attacked had been largely immune to the soldier bee army and to Belissar¡¯s traps. Without the Blazing Berserker¡¯s magic, the bee army would have had to resign itself to heavy casualties if it wanted to deal any meaningful blows to the shade¡and given its defenses and its thick hide it was by no means guaranteed the bees could have actually stopped it even if they disregarded their own safety. Should that have been the case, they would have had little choice but to fall back and stay out of the way. Maybe they could have set the Flower Meadow on fire, but would a more normal fire have done the job? Belissar wasn¡¯t sure.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
And worse still¡today¡¯s purification had come without warning and without Belissar allowing it. It then featured a shade perfectly designed to counter his Tower¡¯s defenses. All of this reminded Belissar of a critical fact: the Hunger was not a passive threat. It would not sit back and wait for him to initiate purifications at his leisure, it would not let him just expand his Tower at will. It, apparently, would fight back. And it would not wait for him to be ready before doing so.
And, given Chief Rohsuak¡¯s current state, Belissar didn¡¯t think they could count on her repeating this feat every time. He would not want to ask that of her, either. Besides, who was to say the next shade would be vulnerable to fire at all? After he used Pit Traps to stop wolf-shades, a flying shade had appeared. After his bees overwhelmed shades that tried to fight, fast-moving cat shades that could run right past them appeared. After speed and flight had failed, a shade immune to attack by his bees appeared. It seemed likely that the Hunger would not ignore what Chief Rohsuak did today.
All of this meant that they could not neglect the Tower¡¯s growth. They still needed more options and more defenses. And, fortunately, they had the opportunity to get some more right away. Belissar turned his attention to the messages he had brushed aside earlier.
All hostiles defeated. Emergency purification successful.
Reward: Two random reward choices.
A non-patron god, the God of Fire, wishes to offer you a quest, and will grant you a blessing should you succeed. Accept?
Belissar froze as read the last message, a new one that hadn''t been there before. The¡God of Fire¡was reaching out? Was again offering a blessing if Belissar took on some sort of quest?
This¡this was big, and equally concerning. On the one hand, the blessing of a god was a great boon, offered at a time when Belissar needed more power. It would be of great benefit to his Tower to accept. But¡on the other hand, Belissar had been taught that the gods were jealous. All mortals were to respect all gods, that much was true. But when a mortal had committed themselves to a god, such commitments should not be broken or disrespected. All stories of mortals who disregarded such commitments ended poorly for those involved, even when the gods involved were the ones with kind and gentle reputations.
The God of Fire was not such a god, according to the stories Belissar had heard about him. Sure, he could be as tender and comforting as a warm hearth to those he favored. He could also be passionate, tempestuous, and full of wrath, like the blazing inferno that had just raged through the Flower Meadow. Those who dealt with him carelessly could and would get burned, for fire was a dangerous thing even towards those whom it bore no malice. So this offer, even considered by itself, needed to be considered carefully.
But Belissar could not merely consider the offer by itself. Most importantly of all, Belissar had already made a commitment. The God of Bees was his patron, the god to whom he owed much of his success. Would she consider it an insult¡or a full-on betrayal¡if he entertained the God of Fire¡¯s offer? He would reject it out of hand if so, regardless of the consequences. Bees were what his Tower was built upon and building towards. To gain fire but to lose the bees was unacceptable. And, regardless of what the implications for his Tower were¡Belissar owed a great deal to the God of Bees. Ever since receiving her blessing, she had supported and encouraged him every step of the way. He did not want to hurt her, much less to betray her.
But he did not know what she thought of the situation. There were no records on the God of Bees that the old beekeeper possessed, so Belissar knew nothing about her save what he could glean from his own interactions. Likewise, he didn¡¯t know if Towers receiving quests and blessings from multiple gods was considered an insult to the original. So, Belissar did the only thing he could think of. He turned to the Shrine of Bees, intending to ask the God of Bees herself what she thought of the offer. If she was against it, he¡¯d turn it down, regardless of the consequences¡
But he never made it that far. The Shrine of Bees began to glow bright.
New mission received: Earn the blessing of a secondary patron.
Belissar stood for a second, blinking repeatedly. Well, that answered that question. Apparently, not only would the God of Bees not be insulted by this, she actively desired it to the point of offering him her own rewards for accepting it. In that case, there was no reason for Belissar to hesitate.
Offer accepted.
New mission received: Spawn or evolve one Fire attribute monster of rare or better rarity.
The Shrine of Bees continued to glow and pull on the Tower¡¯s mana. Belissar switched over to his Tower sight and began to follow the pull. He soon found himself watching a burning worker bee gather nectar from the Fire mana flower.
¡°Ah, I see¡I¡¯ll get right on it then. Thank you for your guidance.¡±
The Shrine of Bees flashed once and then the glow faded. Belissar turned to back to his bees. Niobee was hovering in front of him, dancing rapidly.
¡°King! King ok?¡±
Belissar slowly nodded.
¡°Yes¡and I know what we need to do next. The God of Bees and God of Fire both want us to evolve a fire queen.¡±
Chapter 106 - Heavy Bee-cisions
Belissar spoke with the queens a bit about the new goal and what they could do to achieve it. The Apiary queens were already well on their way to accomplish already, though they were running into some snags. The transition from a normal monster beehive to a burning monster beehive was proving more complicated than with the medicinal or maddening hives, as with every burning worker added the hive became increasingly uncomfortable for the remaining non-burning workers and the queen, and so the queen in question was finding it difficult to reach the point where she was comfortable crossing the line. Likewise, any part of the hive built of regular wax would melt if the hive grew too hot, and even the wooden frames were beginning to scorch from the heat.
Fortunately, Belissar now had some ideas on that. He had already built underground beehives consisting mainly of dirt¡and now he had access to stone and metal as well. If he could build a new beehouse out of those materials next to the hive in question, the queen could move all her burning workers over to the new, fire-resistant hive, allowing her remaining workers to remain safe over the course of the transition. And, of course, she would need that fire-proof beehouse after the transition was complete.
Belissar would probably need the karnuq¡¯s help for that. He hadn¡¯t done much stonework, unless stacking rocks to make basic ovens and firepits counted. He wasn¡¯t sure the karnuq would have either, but at the very least they could help him lift the stones. Said task might be a bit difficult for Belissar and the soldier bees alone.
Once they had settled on that, Belissar moved onto the next order of business: the rewards from the purification. There was a possibility, after all, that he could acquire a Fire attribute monster right away. And even if not¡it was clear that he needed to continue strengthening the bee army and the Tower¡¯s defenses.
Please select a reward:
- Uncommon Monster Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- Rare Room Feature Choice (At least one rare or better option)
- Uncommon Room Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
Belissar smiled and nearly chose immediately before stopping himself. Getting a rare room feature after a full nine common options would be incredibly gratifying. But, given the latest purification, Belissar did not want to make this decision impulsively. It was, at least, worth considering if a new monster or room might be more important. So, he tried to see if he could open the next reward choice before deciding on this one.
Please select a reward:
- Uncommon Room Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- +100 max mana
- Uncommon Monster Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
Belissar turned to his bees.
¡°So, we can get a new monster, a new feature, or a new room, and then either a new room, more mana, or a new monster. What does everyone think?¡±
The bees were quiet this time as well. The Second First of the First slowly danced.
¡°Bees¡not strong enough. Need to be stronger. Need¡bigger attack.¡±
Some of the bees danced their agreement, and then they all fell still. Belissar frowned at that. Even Niobee wasn¡¯t saying much and her antennae were drooping. He felt his chest tighten.
The bees gave their all for him and wanted nothing more from him than his praise. He saw how happy they were with anything he gave them, even a roughly built beehouse made out of unprocessed logs that the old beekeeper would have never approved of. He thought of the First of the Fifth¡¯s dances anytime he gave her praise.
To see them as they were now¡made him sad. And¡angry.
¡°Everyone, please look at me.¡±
All the bees complied. Belissar glanced around at each and every one of them. Niobee, his best friend. The Second First of the First, who risked the lives of her children and even her own to protect the Tower. The First of the Fifth, who spared no effort working for him. Beero watching on the Memorial, the lightning in place of the missing wing she lost in battle.
Not one of them had any reason to be ashamed.
¡°You all are doing really well. Honestly, I had no idea how to run a Tower at all. I never fought a shade before this. If there¡¯s anyone to blame for our losses, it¡¯s me. But we made it, and that is thanks to you. It is thanks to all of your hard work and sacrifice that we have come this far, and there¡¯s no one I¡¯d rather have protecting my Tower. What I¡¯m trying to say is¡I¡¯m proud of you all. Keep up the good work.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Belissar had never really had to comfort anyone before. So, he just said what he honestly felt. These bees had given their all and accomplished much that he never could. He had no doubt that they would do so again. So, he would not let them blame themselves for his own failures. It was he who was in charge of the Tower, who chose the options. It was he who should have expected the Hunger would adapt.
The bees stood still for a moment before breaking out into a flurry of buzzing and dancing. Mostly along the lines of ¡°No! King is best king!¡± and other such disagreements with his assertion that anything could be his fault. He shook his head. They truly thought too highly of him.
¡°Ok, ok. I¡¯m just saying, you¡¯re all doing well, so please don¡¯t feel bad. I¡¯m very happy with you all. And we¡¯re all going to work together to get stronger. You, me¡and, uh, I guess the karnuq too.¡±
The bees still didn¡¯t seem satisfied but at least began to agree with that. Belissar nodded and exhaled his breath. The bees, at least, weren¡¯t looking all down anymore, so Belissar felt he could move on.
¡°Ok, so, in line with that, I¡¯m thinking a new room feature and a new monster. The room feature will either be a defense that can surprise a shade or maybe something that you or the karnuq can use in the future. The monster will hopefully make our army stronger. Does that sound good?¡±
Niobee, of course, led the bees in their response.
¡°Ok! Whatever King chooses! King is best king!¡±
Belissar chuckled as he made his choices.
Please select a room feature:
- Beehive Bomb (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee, Trap)
- Gravilion Flower (Rarity: Rare, Type: Gravity, Nature, Trap)
- Treasure Chest (Rarity: Common, Type: Resource)
Well, if the decision was up to him, then of course he was taking the rare room feature. He could get either an uncommon room or uncommon monster with the next choice anyways.
Beehive Bomb
- Type: Bee, Trap
- Mana Upkeep: 5 (3 with Blessing of Bees)
- Description: A beehive that explodes into a swarm of bees on contact. The bee swarm will pursue all targets in the area until the mana comprising them expires. If bee monsters are available different bee types may be chosen for an increase in upkeep.
Belissar rubbed his chin. He had mixed feelings about this one. But, from the sound of it, it didn¡¯t create real bees per say, but rather made bees out of mana that only existed for the duration of the trap. That¡would actually be great as it would give him a way to attack with bees in their normal swarming manner without worrying about the casualties. And the part about being able to choose different bee types based on what his Tower already had was especially promising. A beehive full of maddening or sedative bees could have great potential.
But on the other hand, while this provided Belissar with a new way to utilize bees and prevent casualties, it did not, in fact, offer a truly new option. He already had plentiful bees to swarm a shade with. The exact problem he was facing was when that option didn¡¯t work. This option would not solve that problem, and would not have particularly done anything to the latest shade they faced. And, if Belissar really needed to swarm a target with bees, he could just resolve himself to casualties and ask the workers to do so.
Gravilion Flower
- Type: Gravity, Nature, Trap
- Mana Upkeep: 10 per node, 5 to enable in compatible rooms
- Description: A unique dandelion strain attuned to the force of gravity. Utilizes gravitational fields to launch its seeds at high velocity. When gathered in numbers, gravity may behave erratically nearby, causing random increases or decreases in effective weight.
Belissar tilted his head. Gravity? What was gravity? Apparently it was some sort of type or attribute but it wasn¡¯t one Belissar had ever heard of.
¡°Hey, Niobee, do you or any of the queens know what gravity is?¡±
Niobee flew around to each of the queens before slowly flying back and dancing unsteadily.
¡°Sorry, don¡¯t.¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, neither do I.¡±
Well, the description said something about increases and decreases in weight so¡it apparently made things heavier or lighter?
Belissar thought about it for a couple more minutes before shrugging. Yeah, he didn¡¯t really know what he was looking at here. But it was a flower that counted as a trap and was also considered rare, so if nothing else it would be useful to the bees. Belissar didn¡¯t know if gravilion honey would have any particular effect or result in any special bee types though. It was somewhat of a risky choice in that regard.
Treasure Chest
- Type: Resource
- Mana Upkeep: Depends on possible contents
- Description: A box meant to hold rewards. Can be set to generate resources or products available in the dungeon at regular intervals, mana cost will depend on resource generated and interval of generation chosen. May also be used as general storage.
Again, Belissar was tilting his head. It¡was a box. He could select different materials for the box but generally it appeared as a wooden one. And it¡would generate resources? But then, how was that different than the resource nodes or the beehives?
Belissar¡didn¡¯t really understand what this option was for. He guessed more resource generation was nice but it said resources available in the dungeon¡so resources he already had available? He guessed it was for challengers or something since he couldn¡¯t see how this would help during a purification.
So, he could go with expendable beehives, a rare flower that he didn¡¯t understand, or a box that didn¡¯t do anything resource nodes and beehives couldn¡¯t. Originally, he was going to check the next option before deciding, but in this case the choice seemed pretty straightforward to him.
¡°How about some new flowers?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Niobee was the only one to respond directly, but Belissar chuckled as he saw the First of the Fifth and the other Apiary queens shuffling about.
Gravilion Flower selected.
Well, that was one choice down. Now for the second¡
POBee 106.1 - Solemn Bee-briefing
Belissar went ahead and made his next choice, selecting the monster option.
Please select a monster:
- Monster Bee Burster (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee)
- Monster Bee Lancer (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee)
- Monster Digger Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Ground)
Belissar glared at the choices for a bit. Sure, now the choice offered monster digger bees again. Long after he wanted Dirt Tunnels and scouts for the underway. After so long that he had acquired Ground mana flowers thanks to Noiggakuq and then subsequently evolved his own digging bees. Heck, even the previous mason bees might have been a better choice at this point, given his new stone-working needs. He didn¡¯t know if mason bees could actually work with stone, but he¡¯d imagine they had a better shot of it than digger bees!
And it wasn¡¯t even the only repeat option! Monster bee bursters made their return. But Belissar was no more inclined to them than he had been the first time. His Tower may have needed more power but Belissar still wasn¡¯t going to blow up his own bees unless he was certain the Tower would fall without doing so.
That left the one new choice, monster bee lancers. Belissar read out the description for good measure.
Monster Bee Lancer
Vitality: Minor
Strength: Small
Speed: Average+
Magic: Minimal
Defense: Minor
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minimal
Notable Skills: Poison Thrust, Death Blow, Brood Offspring
Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier
Description: A monster bee soldier evolution. This bee focuses its growth into a large and powerful stinger that can impale foes as well as poisoning them. It is optimized for high-speed dives to take maximum advantage of this, though note that the stinger is unwieldy up close and the lancer lacks agility relative to its top speed.
Belissar hummed and nodded. The monster bee lancer was about the size of a small dog like the monster bee blader, though the lancer was shorter, thinner, and longer than the blader. It was sleek, smooth, and carried a massive stinger that ended in a sharp point.
Well, sometimes the choice was very easy. It was the lancer, a bee that was only born to die, or a bee that he already had a substitute for. But just in case, he turned to the queens before making the decision.
¡°What does everyone think?¡±
The Second First of the First was fidgeting, along with the rest of the Flower Meadow queens. Belissar chuckled as she attempted to keep her dance at an even pace.
¡°¡new soldier?¡±
Belissar nodded and glanced at the First of the Fifth.
¡°Whatever King chooses! Already have digging bees, though.¡±
Belissar looked around but the Fourth of the Seventh and the other queens all just said ¡°Whatever King chooses!¡± So, Belissar shrugged and confirmed the choice he had already made.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Monster Bee Lancer now available! Monster Bee Soldiers may now evolve into Monster Bee Lancers!
As this one was an evolution option, Belissar declined to make a spawner for them. He¡¯d rather the Flower Meadow queens add them to the army at their own pace, though he¡¯d consider it if there was another emergency purification before then.
Instead, he went ahead and added two Gravilion nodes to the Tower. One he added to the Apiary, so that the queens there could test out its nectar for any special properties. The other he added to the Flower Meadow, near the entrance. It was listed as a trap, after all, so Belissar also wanted to see what it would add to the defense.
With the options finished, Belissar decided to get to work on the two gods¡¯ missions and left to ask the karnuq if they knew anything about masonry¡
The queens and the Conduit remained after the King had left. Silence hung over them like a curtain of dark clouds that would keep the hive from foraging. Most of the bees kept glancing to the Firstborn, but she remained still save for the twitching of her antennae.
The First of the Fifth could guess what she was thinking. The Firstborn¡¯s one goal, her one duty in the hive of hives, was to defeat the invaders and keep them safe. She had failed at that today, and it took the intervention of one of the former outsiders to bring the invader down. So how could she speak confidently now? How could she tell the others what to do if her decisions up till now had not prepared them for the fight?
Once upon a time, the First of the Fifth would have been ecstatic that her great rival had failed where she had succeeded, since it had been her honey that helped the karnuq deal the fatal blow. But now¡now she knew that the King would not be pleased with such things. And¡she had her own such failures in the past, failures that were completely of her own making.
So, the First of the Fifth decided to speak.
¡°Will need honey, right? Will provide.¡±
The Firstborn stopped twitching and turned to face her. The First of the Fifth decided to press on.
¡°Please show hive. Need to know how much you need for current soldiers. Will give enough for new evolutions too.¡±
The Firstborn stared at her for a moment before stumbling and then starting to dance.
¡°Right. Thanks, First of the Fifth is lifesaver. Come, will show you.¡±
¡°Oh! Want to see too!¡±
The Firstborn then led the First of the Fifth to the Bee Barracks, with the Fourth of the Seventh happily following along. The rest of the queens, unsure of what else to do, followed suit.
The First of the Fifth had to stop herself from pausing when she flew inside the Bee Barracks. She had been aware that the Flower Meadow queens had formed some sort of joint hive just like her daughter had with the Fourth of the Seventh, but to see it with her own eyes was another matter. There were no divisions within the Bee Barracks, just endless rows of trays with countless workers flying in and out. If she were not considering the mana of the workers, she would not have been able to tell where one hive ended and the next began. Even then, the mana of different hives jumbled together and had begun to blend, making the boundaries blurry. She even noted workers from one hive clearly carrying honey to a different hive¡¯s section.
She paused again when she saw a particularly large bee crawling out towards them.
¡°A queen? Why wasn¡¯t at meeting with King?¡±
The Firstborn answered.
¡°Is my daughter. Was growing, just finished.¡±
The First of the Fifth fell still once again. The Firstborn¡¯s daughter, huh? That was no surprise. What was a surprise?
The Firstborn¡¯s daughter was clearly in the middle of the Firstborn¡¯s hive section. The First of the Fifth hadn¡¯t noticed with all the different mana jumbling together but on closer inspection she realized the Firstborn¡¯s section included workers from her daughter as well.
That¡gave the First of the Fifth a lot to think about. She had several new flowers and mushrooms she needed to test. She needed to make regular deliveries of honey to the Flower Meadow, more now so that they could evolve the new bee type the King had granted them. And she wanted to investigate exactly what the dangerous karnuq had been doing with honey and if it had any implications for her own production. All of that required more and more workers and more and more attention. So, perhaps it was time to consider scaling up her operations in ways she had not yet considered. Ways the Firstborn, the Fourth of the Seventh, and her own daughter had already implemented.
That would have to wait, however, as the First of the Fifth turned attention to the task at hand. First of all¡the Firstborn¡¯s honey production line was atrocious. Workers were flying in all willy-nilly and dropping off the nectar at the first free cells they could find. Trays held nectar from all different sources together, requiring the workers to go through them one by one to ensure each had sufficient mana density. Those cells then would dry at different rates, leading to wildly inconsistent quality and viscosity as the workers processed them as if they were all the same.
She had known the Firstborn wasn¡¯t as efficient at honey production as herself, but she hadn¡¯t expected¡this. She slowly turned to face the Firstborn.
¡°¡have some suggestions on honey production. Want to know?¡±
The Firstborn, who apparently saw nothing wrong here, replied happily.
¡°Ah, yes. Would help a lot!¡±
The First of the Fifth gathered herself.
And then launched into a rapid dance, beating her wings as fast and hard as they would go as she pointed out every single mistake she saw in the mere minute since she had arrived. She didn¡¯t recall all the details of her dance but by the end of it the Firstborn was lying flat on the ground with her antennae drooping, while the other Flower Meadow queens were trying to avoid notice.
And so, the hive of hives began to¡tighten its cooperation.
Chapter 107 - The Bear-est Mason-Bee
Belissar made his way to the karnuq and Metsaitti came out to meet him.
¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master. I apologize, but Chief Rohsuak is currently resting. I could take you to her if you wish.¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°No, I would rather not bother her right now. I just wanted to ask if you have any masons. I¡¯m, uh, hoping to build a stone beehouse.¡±
Metsaitti crossed his arms and rubbed his chin before shaking his head.
¡°I am sorry, Sacred Den Master, but we have not built much out of stone in recent memory. We do know how to dig and mine, however, so we could assist you with gathering the materials at the very least.¡±
Belissar furrowed his brow before slowly nodding.
¡°Ah, yeah, that would help. I, um, need to figure out what I¡¯m going to build first, though.¡±
Metsaitti gave him a small smile.
¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure it out. That home you built for them at the entrance was impressive enough.¡±
Belissar rubbed the back of his head.
¡°Oh, um, thanks? Um, could I come visit your Dirt Tunnels and maybe get some help with the stone node? I at least want to see what the stone looks like.¡±
Metsaitti saluted by striking his chest with his fist.
¡°Of course, Sacred Den Master, I¡¯ll see to it at once.¡±
A short bit later and Belissar had traveled to the second floor Dirt Tunnels with a couple of the karnuq, coming before the stone node he had placed in one of the Dirt Tunnels¡¯ walls. It took the form of a rough wall of stone breaking up the dirt, with a few spots slightly glowing. One of the karnuq stepped forward and placed his hand on the stone, flaring his mana. Cracks began to appear in the stone, forming a rectangle around the glowing area.
Then the stone began to pull itself out of the wall. The karnuq jumped back with a curse as a rectangular block moved out of the wall and dropped onto the floor. The block was the size of Belissar. All of them stared at it with wide eyes.
¡°Um, do you know how to make these¡smaller?¡±
Metsaitti slowly nodded his head.
¡°Muuraqi here can use that same technique to break it up. He doesn¡¯t have the most mana though, so it will take time.¡±
Belissar rubbed his chin.
¡°If I give him mana honey, would that help?¡±
Metsaitti¡¯s eyes widened further but he nodded.
¡°That¡¯s most generous of you, Sacred Den Master, but yes, it would speed up the process. As you¡¯ve seen, however, there are risks to using more mana than your body normally handles, so there will be a limit.¡±
Belissar stared at the block for a second.
¡°Um, by the way, was that some sort of Ground mana?¡±
Metsaitti turned to Muuraqi who nodded.
¡°Yes, Sacred Den Master, sir. I learned a bit from my father, before he passed.¡±
Belissar frowned at that, though the light still went off in his head.
¡°In that case, I might be able to help as well¡¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
Belissar checked on the digging queen. Her hive was still transitioning over to digging bees, however. She had some digging workers already available, but Belissar did not want to split her efforts until her new hive was fully established.
¡°Later though, For now¡could you cut it about this big?¡±
Muuraqi saluted and started getting to work. Metsaitti then asked Belissar.
¡°Would you like us to help you move it as well?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yes, that would help.¡±
Muuraqi and the karnuq worked together. Muuraqi used Ground mana to create some cracks in the stone outlining the size Belissar wanted. The other karnuq who had accompanied the group then began to break apart the stone with more conventional tools, such as pickaxes, hammers, and chisels. With their strength, the task was completed relatively quickly. The karnuq then lifted the stone and the group set off.
Belissar guided them to the Apiary, right next to the hive of the Third of the Sixth, the queen with the most burning workers. Belissar then created a cavern in the Dirt Tunnels that opened right up into the Apiary, a large hole in the ground with a gentle slope on one side for the karnuq to walk down. He then, like with the nests for the bumblebees and the digging queen, created an alcove in one of the walls. He asked the karnuq to carry the stone down into the hole and place it over the entrance of the alcove.
He figured that, since neither he nor the karnuq had much experience with stonework, that he¡¯d keep things simple. A hive in the ground should be relatively resistant to fire, and then all they¡¯d need was a stone for the entrance. Although, Belissar did want to try and make some frames for the honeycomb. Which¡he probably should have installed¡before installing the big stone door. His face scrunched up and he glanced away.
¡°Um, I¡¯m sorry but¡could you set the door to the side for now? I remembered there¡¯s a bit more work to be done.¡±
Fortunately, the karnuq didn¡¯t mind. It did make Belissar hesitate to ask them for the next parts, though. He went ahead and added a basic stone node right there so they, at least, wouldn¡¯t have to travel all the way back to the second floor. This time, Muuraqi made the rectangle much thinner when gathering the stone, resulting in a long and thin block that was nearly a plate. He then attempted to crack out a frame-sized section, and then to crack out the center to leave a hollow rectangular frame.
It¡wasn¡¯t exactly, pretty, but it worked. It was noticeably heavy, however. Still, Belissar and the karnuq got it standing upright within the alcove, though Belissar dreaded the thought of having to gather and haul one of them every day. Still, he didn¡¯t have any other fireproof material to work with, so they carried on until the alcove was full of frames. At that point, they placed the door back and the karnuq managed to drill an entrance hole for the bees. Belissar adjusted the dirt walls around the door until the fit was perfect.
He then tried to apply a beehive feature.
Variation unlocked. Belissar¡¯s Beehouse and Beehives may now use stone as a material.
Belissar exhaled his breath as the Tower¡¯s mana began to flow through the dirt and the stone. He then turned to the karnuq with a smile.
¡°It worked, thank you all for you help.¡±
Muuraqi glanced around a bit before saluting.
¡°I-It¡¯s our honor, Sacred Den Master.¡±
Belissar frowned a bit at that. The villagers had always told him he should be honored to help them whenever they forced him to do work¡and gave him little or nothing in return.
¡°No, I should give you something. Would mana honey do, or is there something else you want?¡±
The karnuqs¡¯ eyes widened and they began to mumble, but Metsaitti stepped in with a smile.
¡°That would be great, Sacred Den Master. Thank you for your generosity.¡±
Belissar shook his head.
¡°It¡¯s not really generosity when you just did a bunch of work for me, and the bees.¡±
With that, he gathered some mana honeycomb trays from his stock and distributed them to the karnuq present. He also gave Metsaitti a medicinal mana honeycomb tray for Chief Rohsuak. Once they were off, Belissar walked over to the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive. The queen had been watching the construction outside her home with great interest. Belissar smiled at her.
¡°How do you like it? I figured we should make something fireproof for you now, so that you can have your burning bees work there while you and the rest of your workers stay here, until you can all evolve?¡±
The Third of the Sixth immediately began to fly around Belissar, performing an aerial dance as fast as she could.
¡°Amazing! Incredible! King is best king!¡±
Belissar could only laugh at that.
¡°Ok, let me move the flowers over, too.¡±
He took the flame radish node and moved it down into the new cavern, right outside the stone beehouse. Not only would this make it easier for the burning bees to forage, but it would also keep the hot flowers separated from the rest of the Apiary. After seeing what Chief Rohsuak¡¯s attack did the Flower Meadow, Belissar decided there was so such thing as too many fire safety precautions. This would also give him a good place for a Fire mana flower node, once the Third of the Sixth evolved.
¡°There you go! Let me know if there¡¯s anything else you need, or any other way we can help you evolve.¡±
The Third of the Sixth just continued her celebration dance while Belissar chuckled, even as her burning workers began to explore the new hive and started to add their fireproof wax to the stone frames. It seemed now that nothing would stop her from evolving soon¡
POBee 107.1 - Go Bee-yond! Make the Impossible Possible!
Belissar was just admiring the bees working for a bit when suddenly he jumped.
A challenger has been fully blessed.
Gained 20 DP.
He rushed his Tower sight down to the second floor. There, he found Muuraqi kneeling before the Shrine of Bees, as wide-eyed as he was. And there, just like that, a third karnuq had been blessed. Belissar smiled.
At this point, he was extremely happy with his choice to trust the karnuq. They had significantly expanded his plant and mushroom options as they shared their resources. They had helped him build a fireproof beehouse out of stone he would have struggled to gather, much less process and transport. And, certainly not least of all, Chief Rohsuak had handled a purification that gave his bee army trouble.
Maybe it wasn¡¯t so bad having some people around after all.
Putting that aside, however, Belissar did need to consider his defenses, and what he could do to improve them. After double checking what he had, he moved the new Gravilion flower patch to just in front of a Pit Trap by the Flower Meadow entrance. The descriptions said they could randomly make things heavier, so he figured that would make it harder for a shade to jump across a pit, or climb out of it once it fell down. That or it would make them lighter and help them soar across it, but Belissar hoped it would be the helpful option.
Beyond that¡Belissar wasn¡¯t sure. He couldn¡¯t imagine the options he had at present working against another turtle shade. Some thorny roses didn¡¯t seem like they would bother a shade that could resist full-speed dive stings by the soldier bees. Though, there was no guarantee the Hunger would try another turtle shade.
There was one option, though. A side effect of Chief Rohsuak setting the Flower Meadow on fire was confirmation that the fire breaks he made actually worked. So didn¡¯t that mean that they could intentionally set the Flower Meadow on fire without putting the Bee Barracks at risk? That¡¯d certainly be on option to take down a shade¡assuming the next shade was still vulnerable to fire.
¡maybe he should also ask the karnuq their opinions. Metsaitti and Chief Rohsuak had apparently visited other Towers, so they might have some suggestions.
Beyond that, he decided to hold off on the planned expansion purification. The turtle shade was making him a bit wary of taking on another unexpected challenge, and he had just acquired some new options. He at least wanted to give the bees a chance to raise some lancers first. Plus, there was the missions from the gods that might give him something too.
And, above all, Belissar was worried. The Hunger could apparently take it upon itself to attack him when it wanted to. Additionally¡every single expansion or emergency purification thus far the Hunger had always tried something new, and something that would specifically bypass one of his defenses. That¡made it seem like the Hunger was paying attention to him. And if it was paying attention to what he and his bees were doing inside the Tower, then surely it was paying attention to his Tower purifying a larger and larger area, right?
He didn¡¯t know the answer. And he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to.
But, speaking of his Tower purifying a larger area, he should also pay better attention to the Tower¡¯s exterior. And, fortunately enough, it seemed some of his queens were about to make a move on that soon. Just another reason to hold off a bit longer¡
The Fourth of the Seventh flew back to her hive with uncharacteristically few deviations in her flight path, with the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter following closely behind. Her communer came out to meet them at the entrance of the hive.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°Queen ok? Feeling upset?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh picked up a bit of speed at that.
¡°Fine! Happy you asked!¡±
Her dance slowed a bit.
¡°It¡¯s just, King is worried. Bee army couldn¡¯t stop invader, needed help from karnuq.¡±
The communer¡¯s antennae dropped.
¡°Right, saw through scout. But what can we do if Flower Meadow queens can¡¯t handle? Don¡¯t have many soldiers¡¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh placed her legs firmly on the ground as she danced.
¡°Doesn¡¯t matter! We do all we can! We¡¯re hive of hives, so if can¡¯t fight, we help!¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter stepped forward at that.
¡°That¡¯s right, Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s stemmed helped Queen Mother deliver honey.¡±
The communer rose to her feet and began a salute dance.
¡°Queen¡queen is right. Ok, we work harder then. New queens hatching so lots of work to do.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh perked up and rushed into the hive.
¡°Oh! Want to meet!¡±
The communer was about to apologize to the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter only to find the second queen had also rushed into the hive. The communer began flying so as not to be left behind.
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter kept her eyes fixed on the cells as the brood tenders pulled off the wax cap, helping the young queens inside step outside. The First Daughter then stepped forward to brush her own daughter¡¯s antennae.
¡°Welcome, daughter.¡±
Her daughter, the First of the Second Generation of the First of the Fifth, shook her body, beat her wings, and then began a salute dance.
¡°Go now, but once your mating flight is finished, come back, ok?¡±
Her daughter¡¯s antennae twitched about at random.
¡°Look, this hive is bigger than one colony. We are part of a hive of hives, and you¡¯ll be too. We¡¯ll all build one big hive together. I¡¯ll help you.¡±
Her daughter gave a rapid salute, and then set off. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter then repeated this for each of her daughters before sending them off. Her drones as well, though she didn¡¯t tell them to come back. Drones never survived the depleting of their mana, after all.
A short while later, and a whole squad of queens returned¡with mana signatures now a blend of her own and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s. She couldn¡¯t help but start a happy dance at that before calming herself, for she had something to take care of.
Not the queens, though. Workers were already directing the new queens to vacant sections of the hive she and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s communer had already prepared ahead of time. They would find plenty of space and honey to raise their initial brood, without needing to forage their own nectar. The First Daughter had been gifted honey by her queen mother, so she saw no reason to do differently here. Especially when these queens belonged to the Fourth of the Seventh as well as her¡
But no, the queens were all well taken care of. The First Daughter had another task. She found the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s communer. The communer gave her a salute, and then they both moved to find the Fourth of the Seventh.
Who happened to be with the new queens anyways, telling them stories about the King as it were. The First Daughter let her finish before approaching her.
¡°Hi! Need me?¡±
The First Daughter confirmed.
¡°Yes, have an offer for you.¡±
She took a moment and adjusted her stance before continuing her dance.
¡°Does Fourth of the Seventh want to go scout?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh, for once, did not move.
¡°¡what?¡±
¡°Now that our hive has more queens, including your daughters, will have plenty of workers. Should be fine now if Fourth of the Seventh doesn¡¯t lay everyday. So, if Fourth of the Seventh wants to scout, can now. I¡¯ll take care of our daughters and hive.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh trembled.
¡°That¡¯s¡but¡¡±
She turned and glanced at her communer, who danced a confirmation.
¡°First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter and I discussed, won¡¯t be a problem! Want queen to do what queen wants to do. Besides, King asked to go scout, set up mini-hives outside for scouts to rest at. Like queen said, need to help however we can. Queen should help scout. Just take soldiers with, ok?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s trembling grew until she suddenly burst into flight, zipping around the two of them.
¡°SERIOUS? CAN? AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! COMMUNER IS BEST COMMUNER! FIRST OF FIFTH¡¯S FIRST DAUGHTER IS BEST JOINT QUEEN!¡±
Neither the First Daughter nor the communer could help but to join the Fourth of the Seventh in her happy dance. The three then finalized some additional details. They laid some more soldier eggs, as the existing soldiers were needed to weave stems and help the Apiary transport honey trays. The scouts would begin identifying ideal sites for mini-hives in the meantime, and the Fourth of the Seventh would help the new queens get up and running as well.
But, once all that was taken care of¡the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s wildest dreams would come true. Or rather, she would head off an adventure she never dared dream would be possible at all. She would be the first queen ever to see beyond the King¡¯s domain with her own eyes.
And it was all thanks to her two favorite bees. They really were the best.
Chapter 108 - Bee-hold Rock and Stone!
Belissar had a thought. If stone was unlocked for building his beehouses¡then would he be able to change existing beehouses into stone? He could both turn mundane beehouses into Tower features, and likewise could turn regular Tower beehives into beehouses, so it seemed like it would be possible. He tried to focus in on one of the Apiary beehouses, hoping some sort of Tower message might appear.
And indeed, the normal description menu appeared, with an option for upgrades. Belissar went ahead and focused on that and a new menu appeared.
Belissar¡¯s Beehouse Upgrades:
- Expand to Bee Apartment (Cost: 100 DP or 25 if materials provided)
- Expand to Bee Barracks (Cost: 100 DP or 25 if materials provided)
- Change material to stone (Cost: 50 DP or 12 if materials provided)
- Boost honeycomb production (Cost: 25 DP)
- Boost growth for inhabitants (Cost: 25 DP)
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. He had expected the material option. He had not expected the other four. He could not only change a beehouse into stone, but he could apparently expand the beehouses into apartments or barracks, or boost their effects, though all at the cost of DP. Not much DP compared to the DP shop options¡but back when he upgraded regular beehives into beehouses each upgrade and each expenditure of DP only affected one hive. So, it made sense, as he''d be spending DP to upgrade a single feature instead of saving up for new features, rooms, or monsters that could aid his Tower as a whole. And, well, his recent experience with buying feature choices taught him that a lot of DP could suddenly become very little once he started spending it freely.
So, he held off on the urge to immediately upgrade the beehouse he was looking at and tried to think about it. If he upgraded each and every beehouse that would be¡a lot. He knew better than to try and figure out those numbers, so he just left it at ¡°a lot.¡± And, as much as he wanted the best beehouses for his bees¡spending all his DP on the beehouse buffs was probably a bad idea. More bees and more honey were both helpful, but he did need to keep expanding his Tower¡¯s options. New bee types and new features were probably more helpful in that regard, and generally helped his bees as well.
Perhaps if he consolidated the beehouses into Bee Apartments it might be worth it. But well, he didn¡¯t want to force the bees to live together if they didn¡¯t want to. They¡¯d listen to him if he asked, but that was precisely why he wasn¡¯t going to ask. He¡¯d bring it up if they suggested it though.
In any case, he set aside those ideas and focused on his original one. So, he could upgrade beehouses to stone. He wondered if that¡¯d apply to other features¡
Bee Barracks Upgrades:
- Swap to Bee Apartment (Cost: 25 DP)
- Change material to stone (Cost: 200 DP or 50 if materials provided)
- Boost growth for inhabitants (Cost: 50 DP)
- Boost coordination for inhabitants (Cost: 50 DP)
And it turned out that he could, though the cost was increasing. That made sense, as the Bee Barracks was noticeably larger than the beehouses. But still, multiple hundreds of DP was getting up there, so it would certainly be worth gathering the materials.
Which meant, Belissar would have to coordinate with the karnuq once more. He¡decided to give them a break today and ask them tomorrow. He certainly wasn¡¯t tired of interacting with them, or anything.
The rest of the day passed without issue, as Belissar gave his bees a break from the usual purification. The next day, he made his way to the karnuq once more. Chief Rohsuak had fortunately started to recover, though she still seemed quite fatigued. She insisted she was fine, though, so neither Belissar nor the other karnuq said anything. Belissar thus concluded an arrangement for the karnuq to deliver some stone to the Bee Barracks on a daily basis in exchange for some mana honeycomb.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
It turned out that Muuraqi had received the Blessing of the Mason, so the process would go even faster than before. It would still take a few days though, as the Bee Barracks was large and the karnuq wanted to begin some stone constructions for themselves as well. It turned out Muuraqi had been a bit inspired by Belissar¡¯s own works. Given that his stone work consisted of putting a block of stone in front of a hole in the ground, Belissar wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that.
The problem came when it was time for the next purification that day. Belissar frowned and hummed to himself. Niobee flew before him.
¡°King, ok?¡±
He rubbed his chin.
¡°I¡¯m just wondering if we should even do a purification tonight. Every time we¡¯ve faced a new shade in an expansion, that kind of shade started showing up in the daily purifications, though smaller and weaker. So¡I¡¯m a bit worried about what might happen if another turtle appears. Chief Rohsuak won¡¯t be able to help us today if we can¡¯t handle it¡¡±
Niobee didn¡¯t respond right away, so Belissar continued pondering. He turned his gaze to find Niobee drooping a bit.
¡°Sorry, bees will work harder¡¡±
His face softened and he held out his hand for her to land on.
¡°You¡¯re doing great. In fact, I have an idea. I think we can just set the field on fire if another turtle shows up. Maybe we have the Apiary soldiers drop their flame radishes right on the flowers, and then I can make some mana honey to light it¡¡±
Niobee slowly began to dance.
¡°Ok¡should tell them?¡±
Belissar smiled and nodded.
¡°Yes, thank you Niobee. Keep up the good work.¡±
Niobee took off with a bit more pep in her wings. Belissar made a light sigh. On the one hand, he hated to see his bees feeling down about anything. On the other hand, that was no reason to expose them to a danger they couldn¡¯t handle. He¡¯d just have to hope the plan would work if they got a turtle tonight.
Once Niobee had relayed the possible plan to the Apiary¡¯s soldiers, Belissar went ahead and triggered another minor+ purification.
It turned out they got one of the fast cats so all his worries and plans were for naught. But well, at least they had an idea if they ever did get one of those shades¡and maybe they¡¯d come up with something new in the meantime.
And so, a handful of days passed. The Third of the Sixth crawled over to a corner of her first hive. She still could scarcely believe how far she had come. Once, she had been the queen born a second too late to receive even one of the King¡¯s magical palaces. Now, she had two, one of which was a brand-new design made especially for her. One made of immovable rock that no predator could break.
All she had to do now was fulfill her end of the bargain. This palace had been built specifically with the expectation that she and her hive would evolve soon. The First of the Fifth had granted her exclusive access to the flame radish flower patch, including the new mana flower that sprouted among them, and the King himself had moved that patch next to her hive. All eyes in the Apiary were on her, including the King¡¯s.
And that¡¯s why her current pace was unacceptable.
It turned out that her evolution was more complicated than the other queens. With medicinal or maddening honey, all a queen had to do was obtain sufficient quantity of honey with high enough mana density to fuel her evolution, and a stable enough hive to last a couple days without her. But this honey, this honey was different. Its hot temperature required the King himself to design an entirely new hive for her, and its temperature grew along with its mana density. Therefore, the Third of the Sixth had discovered that burning honey with high enough mana density to fuel her evolution¡was too hot for her to even consume, much less submerge herself in.
But she would not accept failure. The King had saw fit to bless her with a magical palace, and now a second. The First of the Fifth had pledged her support, that arrogant queen offering her own honey as a gift to help support her hive while she evolved. The Conduit stopped by daily to check on her.
No, she would not fail.
So, she began to drink the burning honey, as much as she could stomach without seriously harming herself. It was a slow¡and painful process, one that brought her egg-laying to a halt as she consumed perhaps a bit more than was healthy for her. But, each and every day the pain was a bit muted and she could drink a bit more. She could even sense her mana begin to change, and the air of her original hive began to feel chilly. So, she pressed on.
And now, today, she was going to attempt to drink the honey of the Fire mana flower once again. The air grew hot even as she approached the single bright red cell. Her wings beat subconsciously as her antennae folded back and away from the heat. It took all of her will to extend her proboscis even as it burned¡a feeling that only grew worse as she finally made contact with the honey. Her proboscis screamed inside and out as fire raged up and into her body.
The pain was nearly unbearable. But only nearly.
She¡could stomach the honey. And while her proboscis was in serious pain¡it was not so bad that she couldn¡¯t endure it.
And that meant that it was time. Wisdom and instinct said to wait. If she attempted the evolution now, it would be risky and dangerous, not to mention painful. There was a chance she failed with serious repercussions.
But she would not make the King wait a single day longer. She gave the order for a cell prepared for her evolution in the new time. She would pass through the flame. And she would emerge from it stronger than ever, if she proved worthy of the boons bestowed upon her.
She gathered herself even as the honey raged through her stomach and began to beat her wings. She left her original hive, that hive that she had longed for all her life and flew to her destiny.
POBee 108.1 - Exploration Bee-gins!
But the Third of the Sixth was not the only one about to fly to their destiny. The joint hive of the Orchard was a flurry of activity. A large group of bees gathered at the front of the hive, including several newly born soldiers and a new communer, a contingent of workers, and all of the scouts who normally would have spread out beyond the Tower. And, of course, the two queens and the communer. The communer was scrambling around the ground, moving as fast as her legs and wings would carry her as she kept brushing different bees with her antennae.
¡°Ok, have soldiers?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh followed her.
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°Workers to build mini-hive?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°Have honey for trip?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh crawled over to a piece of honeycomb, which was being tied by many smaller ropes to the worker bees.
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°Know which where going to build? Which way to fly?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°Not going to get distracted until mini-hive built, right?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh flew over to her first communer and brushed antennae.
¡°Communer, is going to be alright. Not leaving forever, will be back quick! Communer can watch the entire way!¡±
The communer¡¯s antennae and wings drooped but she paused and allowed her queen to continue brushing her.
¡°Sure? Queen promises?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh used her antennae to turn the communer around, so that she was facing the bees preparing to depart.
¡°Promise! And won¡¯t be alone! Soldiers will protect, workers will take care, communer will keep track. And if anything happens, will come right back! Believe in sisters!¡±
The communer drooped a bit more before picking herself up.
¡°Ok, go ahead. Stay safe. And¡enjoy, queen.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh brushed her communer once more before turning to the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter, and all of the newborn queens standing behind her. They all had the same expression, and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter danced for them all.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh¡coming back, right?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh brushed her antennae as well.
¡°Yes, promise! Will come back lots!¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter began a happy dance.
¡°Ok! Then go ahead!¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
A moment later, the Fourth of the Seventh gave the command.
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±
The air filled with buzzing as her force took off. They flew through the entrance to the Flower Meadow, not even pausing to greet the Flower Meadow queens as they flew on. They were on a mission for the King and no bee would wish to delay them. So, they flew through the Bee Barrack¡¯s entrance hall and then to the special entrance the King had made especially for his bees. It was a tight squeeze for the Fourth of the Seventh but she managed to make it through, emerging into a dark cavern illuminated only by the soft glow of the Queen of All Bees¡¯ shrine, and the gate to the Beyond. She could feel the mana of the King¡¯s realm flow through the gate, surging out to fight an eternal battle with the invader all around them.
For the first time in her life, she was about to leave the protection of the King¡¯s realm, where his mana surrounded her and bound her to every other thing that existed. She would be facing the Beyond, a place of unknown and peril, where the mana of the world ignored its inhabitants¡at best. For a single moment, the Fourth of the Seventh hesitated. She longed to see all that her scouts had reported to her¡but was that really worth braving the Beyond? Was it really worth leaving the riches and the comfort the King had built for them?
But ultimately, she would not know the answer until she experienced it for herself, and she did not wish to send her workers to a task she was unwilling to face. So, with one final spin of her antennae, she pushed forward and through the gate.
She paused midair as the sun beat down on her for the first time. She trembled a bit as the mana of the Beyond crashed against her body. There was no warm, gentle suffusion as what happened with the King¡¯s mana, but a chilly wind battering her body without passing through. But within that current came a counter. The King¡¯s mana passed through her once more, a small river of it flowing out from the Tower and to her, buffeting her against the cold and callous mana all around her. With that support, she was able to shake off the feeling and take in her surroundings.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
There was no neat and orderly division of rooms here, no entrance ways to pass through. A field of flowers stretched right out into a forest of trees, like a Flower Meadow surrounded by Orchards, only with their trees far more densely packed. The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s mind raced at the idea of the rooms just¡bleeding into one another, mixing together with no barrier.
And then, she turned around and glanced her home for the first time. She wondered why the King called it a tower, and now she knew. Her home was a mighty pillar, a tree towering into the sky but made of stone and wax instead of wood. A glowing light nearly as bright as the sun adorned its roof, spreading its light and mana out into the Beyond. Upon the walls was a golden banner with a diligent worker gathering nectar from a flower, which the Fourth of the Seventh instinctively recognized as the symbol of the Queen of All Bees.
Truly, the King was great to have build such a thing.
But her workers were starting to tug at her so she shook herself and turned in the direction the scouts indicated. Because soon she would have plenty of time to observe and explore the world around her. But first and foremost, she needed to prepare a new hive, a place where her scouts could rest and replenish themselves. And now that she had experienced the cold of the Beyond herself, she was all the more determined to grant her loyal workers as much of the comfort of home as she could. So, she set forth, following after the scouts as the soldiers took up a formation around her.
They flew through the forest, trees so tightly packed that their leaves blotted out the sun, creating dim and dark places even in the middle of the day. The Fourth of the Seventh watched as the world shimmered and faded all around her as she passed through shaded areas. It was fascinating, but it was only the beginning.
Soon, they arrived at their destination and the Fourth of the Seventh beheld something entirely knew. Structures made of stone, stones she knew had not been scattered randomly. They had been placed with purpose, hinting at a grander structure that may have once towered over the land. It was even vaguely reminiscent of the King¡¯s constructions, only far less grand and in a state of decay. She wondered who built it and what sort of hive it may have housed.
But now, it would house hers. This was the place the Firstborn¡¯s scouts had discovered mana flowers in the past. As such, it would make an ideal location for a new hive. The concentration of mana was denser here than anywhere else the scouts had identified thus far. That would make the hive more comfortable for the monster bees, as well as assisting with the production of honey. If they were lucky, maybe there¡¯d even be more mana flowers around.
Likewise, the structure itself provided an ideal location. The scouts led the Fourth of the Seventh to a sheltered alcove on top of the one of the rock structures where the rocks blocked the wind on three sides. The Fourth of the Seventh landed in the alcove and paced about it, examining every inch before turning to her workers. She began to dance.
¡°Looks great! Let¡¯s get to work, then!¡±
Her workers and saluted and construction of the mini-hive began.
Somewhere else far, far away, Ruckanos stood imperiously at the edge of their camp as the scouts returned. They had set up in a small forest clearing, hidden from the Tower in the area by the trees.
¡°Well?¡±
The scouts shook their heads.
¡°No settlements near the Tower, sir.¡±
Ruckanos sighed and shook his head.
¡°Well, let¡¯s forage what we can, then.¡±
A wyvern could fly far and fast, a species that in the wild was known to spend nearly all of their time in the air. But even they required food and rest eventually, so Ruckanos was forced to put down whenever they found a purified area. Ideally, they would find a settlement of relatively civilized folk who they could¡persuade to offer supplies. Unfortunately, they had no such luck yet. Records of past Grand Subjugations indicated that beyond the boundaries of the Conclave, the vast majority of Towers were small and their purified zones unoccupied by civilized people, or even subhumans.
And were he a normal Grand Subjugation participant, this would have been a great find. A small Tower like this would be relatively easy to intimidate¡or conquer. But Ruckanos was no normal participant. He had been chosen by the gods for this mission, and he would not waste time on any Tower but the one he was seeking. The gods demanded thus.
Additionally, his force was quite small even as far as the initial scouting wave was concerned. If they wanted to have the strength to deal with the target Tower, they could not afford any casualties enroute. So, he would ignore this minor Tower for now, and content himself with the bounty of its territory. Assuming there was any bounty to find. An isolated Tower like this was not guaranteed to have any edible flora or fauna dwelling in its territory at all.
Just then, he heard a buzzing. A bee flew past his face, landing on a flower a short distance from his feet. He scowled and pulled back the mana he had subconsciously stirred up. For some reason, despite their isolation, every single purified territory they had landed in had bees. In the past, he would have blown away any such creature that dared approach him, especially the ones armed with stingers. However, this was to be a long journey where preserving their strength was critical. Ruckanos could not permit himself any unnecessary expenditure of any resource, including his own mana. So, he just kept scowling and backed away from the creature.
If they at least had the decency to offer up their honey, he might have forgiven them. But, for some reason, his scouts had failed to find a single beehive in any of the purified territories despite the constant presence of the workers. But Ruckanos shook his head and cleared those thoughts. It was a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. Such paltry creatures paled in comparison to a mission from the gods, so he¡¯d treat them as the gods did¡
Later that night, one of Ruckanos¡¯s entourage walked over to his wyvern. He glanced around before opening the pack, and slowly removing some of his provisions. After a bit, he found something he had not packed at all. A small beehive, covered in wax. A big bee poked her head out of the hole, the queen herself if he wasn¡¯t mistaken.
The man¡smiled.
¡°Hello little bee. We¡¯re leaving tomorrow so don¡¯t send out your workers, ok?¡±
The queen buzzed her wings. The man didn¡¯t know if she could actually understand him, but he figured these weren¡¯t normal bees when they didn¡¯t swarm him after he first discovered them. He took his water pouch and dripped a small pool on top of the hive. The queen and a couple of the workers came out to drink from it. The man watched them for a bit.
¡°Sure you don¡¯t want to stay here? Lots of flowers here, you know?¡±
But the bees ignored him, finished drinking, and then climbed back into their hive. The man sighed.
¡°No again, huh? I don¡¯t think you want to go where we¡¯re headed, little bee. None of us are coming back, you know? I hoped you would make it but¡I guess you can¡¯t understand me after all. Ah well, as long as you¡¯re happy for now, I guess. That would make one of us on this trip¡¡±
The man slowly repacked his provisions before turning in for the night. They had a long trip ahead of them and no end in sight the man wanted to consider¡
Chapter 109 - Bee-ting Your Limits!
Belissar awoke to a new day. He walked over to the farmhouse¡¯s table and began a breakfast of honeycomb and a cave potato cake the karnuq had given him. Meanwhile, Niobee brought in a number of worker bees, the ones he had shared his thoughts with. They each reported to him on whatever topic he had asked them to remember, sending his Tower sight around as relevant.
¡°Fourth of Seventh preparing to build mini-hive for scouts.¡±
Belissar nodded and turned his attention to the Orchard, where the Fourth of the Seventh was gathering a group of soldiers and workers. He frowned just a little when he saw her leave as well. A queen leaving the Tower seemed a bit dangerous to him, but he trusted the bees to know what they were doing. He knew that ultimately a hive¡¯s workers were even more protective of their queens than he was, so they would keep her safe.
¡°All wounded soldiers can use lightning sting now, practicing together.¡±
Over the past few days, Belissar, Niobee, and Beero had finished imparting all the wounded soldiers with lightning. From then on, Beero had begun disseminating her magic to them. Belissar briefly glanced over at the Memorial¡then froze and turned his full attention there. He had expected to see a bunch of soldier bees all practicing their magic.
Instead, all the wounded soldiers were now gathered in the field off to the side of the Memorial, and assembled into a circle. Beero lead them in a dance and each of them formed the lightning honeycomb pattern of their magic. But then, Beero had them began moving all in a circle, moving their lightning honeycombs as well. Some lightning trailed behind from each of the honeycomb patterns¡and then started to link together, until a hexagon of lightning formed in the air above the soldiers.
Beero then changed the course of the dance. One hexagon became two, and then three, and so on and so forth until there was a larger honeycomb pattern formed from the lightning trails of the smaller ones. The pattern locked into place and then flashed.
A huge stinger of lightning appeared and shot from the pattern into the sky, traveling much further than the individual bee¡¯s versions did¡or than even Belissar¡¯s could. Belissar¡¯s jaw dropped.
That¡that was an attack that could actually threaten a shade, and at a distance long enough that the wounded soldiers¡¯ lack of mobility might not matter. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near what Chief Rohsuak had displayed just yet, but it was a powerful, magical attack his bees had not yet had access to. It was exactly the sort of thing the Tower needed to expand its options.
¡°King, King ok?¡±
At that point, Belissar felt Niobee land on his back and tap a dance on him. He brought his attention back to the farmhouse, where the worker bees had ceased their report and were watching him as he zoned out. He flushed a bit and nodded.
¡°Ah, yeah, sorry. Beero and the wounded soldiers just did something incredible, so I got distracted. They figured out how to cast magic all together, and it was much more impressive than before. I think they might be able to participate in a fight now if we can keep them safe.¡±
Niobee began a celebratory dance.
¡°Glad! Soldiers can fight again, help hive of hives!¡±
The other worker bees began to join in the celebratory dance and Belissar smiled. He went and picked up an extra tray of honeycomb.
¡°How about we go congratulate them?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
A short while later, Belissar and Niobee arrived at the first floor Flower Meadow. Beero and the wounded soldiers were just about to try again when they saw him approach and stopped to salute. Belissar placed the honeycomb tray on the ground before them and smiled.
¡°I saw what you did, excellent work. It¡¯s exactly what we need right now. I wanted to congratulate you and give you a little something in celebration.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The wounded soldiers all froze. Beero even collapsed on the ground. And then, a moment later, she scrambled to her feet and began to dance as fast as her legs would carry her. The rest of the wounded soldiers followed suit. Belissar chuckled. The bees really liked praise, didn¡¯t they? He would have to make sure to praise them all more often.
After the celebration, Niobee brought over the Firstborn so Beero could demonstrate the new attack to her. Belissar watched and rubbed his chin. It had a longer range than a sprayer¡¯s attack, but not by all that much in the grand scheme of things. A wolf-shade would probably be able to cross the distance after a single attack. A bird-shade or cat-shade may not even let them finish their dance.
And that was a problem, because for all their magical lightning powers the wounded soldiers were still crippled. They couldn¡¯t fly, and bees were noticeably slower on the ground, so they would not be able to escape a shade if it attacked them. They would get one shot at most against all but the turtle-shades. Belissar wasn¡¯t sure if one of those lightning stingers would be enough to defeat a shade outright¡and if it wasn¡¯t, they would lose some or maybe all of the soldiers. So, the question was how would they safely take advantage of this new attack?
Fortunately, Belissar happened to have an easy answer. He brought up the Wooden Platform feature he had gained from building the Orchard¡¯s Bee Apartment. A transparent wooden platform supported by a couple of wooden legs appeared. He found he could adjust the height and width to some degree, though the higher he made the platform the less wide it could be. He went ahead and made it as wide as the wounded soldiers¡¯ joint dance had been, and then as high as it could go otherwise, resulting in a tower about three stories tall. He went ahead and confirmed it and then turned to the bees.
¡°Sorry to interrupt, but I have something to show you all. Ah, I can carry you, Beero.¡±
The Firstborn saluted and Belissar held out his arm so that Beero could crawl up onto his shoulder. He walked across the Flower Meadow towards the entrance. There, standing right behind the first firebreak was the new platform.
¡°What do you think, Beero? I figured if you and the others climb up there, you should be able to attack safely.¡±
Beero stared at it for a moment before breaking out into an incoherent and rapid dance. Belissar got the sense that she was very much happy, however, so he chuckled. He then turned to the Firstborn with a frown.
¡°The thing is¡I¡¯m not sure how well this platform would hold up if a shade attacks it, so they might need to evacuate. Would your soldiers be able to carry Beero and the others away if they needed to?¡±
The Firstborn saluted. Niobee then began to dance.
¡°King! Orchard bees can help! Make more stems to help carry!¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as he nodded.
¡°Ah, that¡¯s a good idea. If we weave slings of some sort, that should make it easier. Thanks for reminding me, Niobee!¡±
The King then carried all of the wounded soldiers to the platform so they could all take a look and practice their dance. After that, he and the Conduit had left to arrange things with the Orchard queens. The Firstborn had gone to inform the rest of the Flower Meadow queens of the new developments. Soon, they would begin training to carry Beero and her comrades.
Beero and her comrades crawled up one of the wooden pillars supporting it until they were up on the platform itself. Beero stood completely still at the top, feeling the breeze brush past her antennae and her remaining pair of wings as she looked out over the Flower Meadow. She had not seen it from this height since the day she had been wounded. But now, thanks to the King, she could. She glanced around and saw all of her comrades standing still as well, likely all sharing in her thoughts.
And more than that, she and her comrades had done it. They had found a way to rejoin the fight and participate in the battle once again. No longer would they be the soldiers who just had to be fed and kept safe. No longer would she gaze upon the Memorial and numbers that represented the fallen sisters who left her behind, wondering if she should have joined them.
No, now, once again, they would defend their queens, their sisters, the King, and the hive of hives. They would repay the King and the other bees for all the resources and efforts they had expended to save their lives. They would all become true soldiers once again, no longer defined by their injuries but by their will to defeat the invaders, same as their unwounded sisters.
Beero slowly began a dance, once she had never performed before and that did not match any in her instincts. It was reminiscent of the dance the Conduit lead them in whenever the King brought fallen bees to the Memorial, but with elements of a celebratory dance mixed in. Something that matched her present feelings. One by one, the other wounded soldiers began to join her in it, until all of them danced as one. They were not sisters originally as they had come from different queens and different hives but now, now they were united in experience and purpose. They were linked by a bond beyond blood, comrades now who had overcome the impossible together.
For they had lost much, but now, finally, they were going to take some of it back. And they would stop at nothing to defend and repay the King who had given them the chance to do so.
Chapter 110 - The Wise Bee-cision?
Belissar once again stood by the Bee Barracks as the daily purification commenced. Beero and the others wanted to take part but Belissar asked them to hold off until for today. He wanted the Orchard bees to weave some slings and the soldier bee army to get some practice moving the wounded bees around before he exposed them to danger, so the lightning attack¡¯s debut would have to wait.
Fortunately, today¡¯s purification was another bird-shade¡which struggled in the new Dirt Tunnels. It kept crashing into walls and the roof, and eventually just began walking until it finally found the end. At that point it got hit by a Sticky Honey Trap, the soldier bee army set upon it, and that was that.
Belissar was pleased to find the Dirt Tunnels caused the bird-shades as much trouble as he hoped.
After the victory celebration, Belissar gathered the queens once again, with Chief Rohsuak and Beero attending too. Well, Beero had always been present since the meeting was at the memorial, but they were specifically including her now as the representative of the wounded soldiers, since as a soldier she hadn¡¯t felt confident dancing among the queens previously.
And Belissar had something to discuss.
DP: 3235
He once again had enough DP for another choice from the DP shop. His initial instinct was to grab a new monster and expand the soldier bee army¡¯s options even further. On the other hand, today¡¯s purification reminded him that rooms could also present a defense in and of themselves, as a bird-shade that could terrorize the open air of the Flower Meadow proved all but helpless in the constricted Dirt Tunnels. And thus far, most of his room choices had prioritized providing resources for his bees, so perhaps there were great potential defenses he hadn¡¯t tapped yet. Additionally, new room types could also provide new flower types and therefore new bee types. A fire-related room, for example, could go along well with the incoming fire queen¡and maybe the God of Fire himself.
However, all his room slots were currently occupied at the moment, so he¡¯d have to either save up to purchase a room slot, conduct a purification expansion, or else remove an existing room before he could add anymore. So, a monster would probably provide the greater immediate benefit, while a room would be a choice for the future.
In any case, he asked the bees and Chief Rohsuak for their opinions before sharing his own thoughts. The bees had the usual recommendations of more flowers and more bees. The Firstborn was particularly concerned about the strength of the soldier bee army following the turtle-shade, while the First of the Fifth was a bit reserved this time, agreeing with the Firstborn. Beero just saluted as the queens spoke. Chief Rohsuak, for her part, nodded along.
¡°We seem to have plenty of resources now, Sacred Den Master Belissar, and are still putting to use the new ones you¡¯ve recently made. I think now would be a good time to boost your Tower¡¯s strength.¡±
Belissar nodded at that and made his choice. As much as a new room appealed to him, it would make more sense to wait for an expansion purification. So, he selected the monster option.
Extra monster choice purchased. One monster choice now available.
Please select a monster (One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees):
- Monster Bee Captain (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee)
- Monster Stingless Bee Queen (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)
- Monster Bee Gardener (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee, Nature)
The first choice was a repeat, the Monster Bee Captain. Boosting the coordination and effectiveness of the soldier bee army certainly wouldn¡¯t hurt. At the same time, though, with communers boosting communication and allowing queens to direct their workers and soldiers remotely, the captains didn¡¯t seem as necessary to Belissar. He imagined they still had to help somehow, but it perhaps wouldn¡¯t be a particularly dramatic improvement.
Monster Stingless Bee Queen
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: MinimalReading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Special: Above Average
Notable Skills: Tackle, Wax Coating, Brood Mother, Command Offspring
Description: A stingless bee that has accumulated enough mana to become something more. Mostly similar to her mundane cousins, but more aggressive. Lacking a stinger, these bees defend themselves through a combination of physical assaults and coating enemies in wax and propolis. This one is a queen, and capable of building a hive of monster bees.
Belissar tilted his head at that. Stingless bees? There were stingless bees? Bees without stings would be convenient for a mundane beekeeper but how would they defend themselves in the wild? The description said something about tackling and coating in wax and propolis, and maybe that¡¯d work for other insects but what would they do about something bigger like a bear? Or, in this case, a shade? The description gave Belissar more questions than answers.
Well, he had to imagine their defensive methods had to have some effect on the shades. The gods wouldn¡¯t give him a helpless option, right? Maybe coating a turtle shade in wax could stop it somehow? He didn¡¯t see how they would do that to anything moving faster, though.
Still, this one was also a queen, and so worth considering. If these stingless bees did prove effective against shades, having entire hives of them would certainly help. Though, they¡¯d also be competing for resources with the existing monster bee queens and the bumblebee queens, and Belissar was currently out of room slots. Maybe they¡¯d be a good option to put near the karnuq on the second floor? Though, if they had no stings, the karnuq might end up taking advantage of them. Belissar didn¡¯t think they would but¡
Well, there was still one more option to check out in any case.
Monster Bee Gardener
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal+
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minimal+
Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Tend Plants, Enhanced Pollination, Brood Offspring
Evolves from: Monster Bee Worker
Description: A monster bee worker that has come to specialize in foraging. Most bees assist plants as a side-effect, but these bees take it further. Monster bee gardeners directly boost the growth of plants they visit, exchanging mana and tending to the health of the plant. In doing so, they boost the growth and health of all plants, including plant features and plant monsters. They also increase the rate and impact of cross-pollination between different plants. In exchange for all this, they also gather more nectar per visit, and the nectar they gather has higher mana-density, boosting their hive¡¯s honey production.
Belissar rubbed his chin and nodded as he read the description. So, a worker bee evolution that specialized in working with plants? While that wouldn¡¯t help combat shades directly, he could very much see the appeal. More efficient foragers meant more honey, which meant more bees based on the same number of workers and flowers. The Apiary queens would produce even more honey, while the Flower Meadow queens could support more soldiers off their current worker base. However, what really stuck out to Belissar were the parts about boosting plant growth and cross-pollination. Most of his specialized queens, like the medicinal queen, the maddening queen, and the soon to be burning queen that would likely fulfill a mission from a god when she evolved, all evolved as the result of plants that cross-pollinated with mana flowers. So, a bee that would enhance that process would mean even more new types of flowers, and new types of bees to along with them. His entire Tower would benefit from that.
Additionally, he had lancers now as a soldier evolution and sprayers as a soldier alternative. Currently, the only worker evolution was the communer, which had a different job. Acquiring an evolution that would make the workers even better at the job might be a good idea, one that every hive he had would benefit from.
¡°Well, what does everyone think?¡±
Belissar made a show of asking everyone but glanced specifically at the First of the Fifth. As the queen in charge of the Apiary, she was the one most concerned with honey after all, and she had also been the one to take the lead on cross-pollination.
She was apparently trying not to say anything but she was also trembling and her legs kept trying to take steps. Belissar smiled, as he believed he could reasonably guess what she was thinking. She withered under his gaze until finally she started to dance.
¡°New workers would boost production.¡±
She chose her steps carefully but continued to tremble a bit. Belissar chuckled before glancing around. The Firstborn also seemed reluctant to dance so Belissar looked at her until she, too, started to move.
¡°Captains might help with army. But more honey needed too.¡±
He glanced at the other Orchard queen, the First of the Fifth¡¯s daughter, since the Fourth of the Seventh was still out working on her outpost hive.
¡°Captains might also help run hive? More honey, more flowers always helpful.¡±
That¡surprised Belissar, as he had expected her to agree with the First of the Fifth. Finally, he glanced at Beero, who didn¡¯t move even under his gaze, and then to Chief Rohsuak. She smiled and shook her head.
¡°I am sorry, but I am not familiar with any of those. You know your bees best, so please do as you see fit.¡±
Belissar nodded and then thought to himself. But not for too long.
Monster Bee Gardener now available. Monster Worker Bees may now evolve into Monster Bee Gardeners.
Captains helped the current bees work better, but did not provide new options in and of themselves. Stingless bees were interesting and, as brood mothers, perhaps could offer an entirely new line of bees¡but they were a risk since Belissar didn¡¯t know exactly how effective they might be, and would compete with existing hives for resources until he could make more rooms. Gardeners, on the other hand? Gardeners made every existing hive better and could also unlock new bee types through cross-pollination. They seemed the most helpful for his Tower as a whole of the three choices.
Once he announced the choice, the First of the Fifth finally broke and began a rapid happy dance.
¡°Amazing! Incredible! King is best king!¡±
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but smile and laugh at that.
Chapter 111 - Fires Bee-kindled
The bee came to a world of complete darkness, and cold. At first, she wondered if she had made it. Last she remembered, she had been surrounded by blazing heat, so hot her chitin had burned. But now, it was cool, so cool she nearly shivered.
But shivering simply told her that her body was still alive and capable of motion, so move she did. She found a wall blocking her way and started to pick at it. As she did, mandibles pierced through from the other side and the light began to stream in. Her loyal children removed the cap over her cell and she was free to leave.
And so the Third of the Sixth emerged from her cell, her formerly yellow color now including reds and oranges. She shivered in the cool air of her original hive, even as her mana attempted to heat up her surroundings. But the cold didn¡¯t stop her from breaking out into a happy dance.
She had done it. She had survived. She had evolved. She had fulfilled the King and the hive of hives¡¯ request.
She had become a burning monster bee queen.
She flared her mana as she danced, and a red glow appeared around her body for a second. The workers tending to her backed away at the sudden surge of heat, save for the burning workers who instead drew closer and flared their mana as well.
It felt pleasantly warm.
***
Belissar was just getting started for the day when a much awaited message appeared.
Mission: Spawn or evolve one Fire attribute monster of rare or better rarity completed!
Reward: One Fire-type room feature choice.
The God of Fire offers a minor blessing.
A non-patron god, the God of Fire, offers his blessing! The God of Fire will be added to the Shrine in some rooms. Accept?
Belissar smiled and bowed his head.
¡°Yes and thank you.¡±
The moment he spoke the word, a wave of mana surged through the Tower and his body. This time, the mana was blazing hot and the world took on a red tinge for a short moment. Then it left as suddenly as it came, leaving Belissar feeling a bit cold.
Minor Blessing of Fire applied.
Effects:
- Fire-related options slightly more frequent.
- Some special fire-related options are unlocked and may now appear
- Fire monster upgrades and evolutions are now slightly cheaper and easier to unlock
- Fire and fire-type attacks deal slightly more damage
Additionally, Belissar could feel one of the Shrines change. He turned his sight to the second floor Flower Meadow, where the karnuq lived. The Shrine there still centered on the God of Bees¡¯ statue, but now also included a small brazier to its side, with a small red banner with a yellow-orange flame drawn on it. The flickering flames illuminated the statue of the God of Bees, the changing lights almost making it seem as if the smaller bees all over her were actually moving.
The blessing itself was a bit muted compared to the Blessing of Bees but it did specify that it was a minor blessing. Belissar was content with that, however, because the minor blessing also didn¡¯t include any restrictions for non-fire monsters or features. He had been slightly worried about that, but figured the God of Bees wouldn¡¯t have led him astray when accepting the quest.
And speaking of his original patron¡Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
Mission: Earn the blessing of a secondary patron completed!
Reward: One cross-perk choice!
Belissar blinked at the reward message. The message was split in half, the first half colored the golden yellow he knew and loved, while the other half was colored bright red. And judging from the words themselves, he guessed that mean that the God of Bees and God of Fire had collaborated on that.
And so, Belissar knew what to do. First, he got up, picked up a tray of mana honeycomb, and walked over to the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive. He found her just leaving her original beehouse, she began happily saluting once she saw him. He gave her a wide grin.
¡°Great work, Third of the Sixth, and congratulations on your evolution. Here, I wanted to give you something to celebrate with.¡±
She broke out into a happy dance and began glowing red here or there as Belissar placed the tray by her hive. He also proceeded with his other gift for the new queen and created a full Fire mana flower node by her new beehouse to go along with the flame radish node he had moved. Notably, the flame radish node couldn¡¯t be placed in the Dirt Tunnels itself, but the Fire mana flowers could. They were still extra expensive, but with a couple days of purifications he had expanded his mana enough to afford it. It was worth the expense, now that he had a queen who could make full use of them.
The Third of the Sixth began to fly even faster, dropping all choreographed dances to just zip around him in a circle like the bumblebee queens. Belissar chuckled.
¡°I¡¯m glad you like it, please enjoy. Now, um, if you don¡¯t mind, do you happen to have enough of the burning honey that I could take some?¡±
The Third of the Sixth stopped her zipping just long enough to perform a salute dance before resuming. Belissar chuckled as he climbed down towards her new hive. Sweat began to drip down his brow as the temperature rose substantially¡but just when it was about to cross the line from uncomfortable to painful it suddenly stopped. Belissar tilted his head. He was somehow aware that temperature was still rising even though his body didn¡¯t feel any hotter. But he shrugged and figured it was just a Tower thing before pressing on.
He got to the new beehive, which had a glowing slot in the stone block covering the entrance. Belissar tapped it and, as he hoped, a tray of honeycomb slid right out. He was very much glad for the magic of the beehouse features, as moving the entire stone door to retrieve honey might have been¡difficult.
Instead, he could pick the tray right up. A very thin layer of stone lined the bright red honeycomb. It was hot to the touch but not painfully so, and just slightly heavier than the normal trays. Belissar could only thank the Tower mana and the gods for that.
After picking up the tray, Belissar made his way down to the second floor¡¯s Flower Meadow, and found Chief Rohsuak already at the new shrine, bowing to the brazier and the God of Fire¡¯s banner. She smiled as she saw him approach.
¡°You¡¯ve had recent dealings with my patron, I assume?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°After you defeated that turtle-shade, he gave me a mission. It was just completed today thanks to the bees.¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled, a flicker of flames appearing to dance within her eyes.
¡°In that case, I must thank you and them. It has been a long time since I¡¯ve been to a shrine of the God of Fire. It was¡surprising.¡±
She held up her hand and a flame appeared, rolling across her fingers. She chuckled.
¡°There might even be an ember or two left for the Blazing Berserker after all.¡±
She then backed away so Belissar could come before the Shrine. He took two trays of honey, the burning mana honey tray, and a regular mana honey one since he only had one of the burning trays, and split each in half. He put one half of each into the wax chest and bowed to the God of Bees¡¯ statue.
¡°Thank you again, for everything.¡±
Then he turned to the God of Fire¡¯s banner¡and frowned a bit. There was no chest, so Belissar wondered how he could offer anything to the God of Fire. Maybe everything went through the God of Bees¡¯ chest?
He then heard Chief Rohsuak clear her throat.
¡°Forgive me if I¡¯m interrupting but¡are you perhaps wondering how to make an offering to the God of Fire?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Ah, yes.¡±
She chuckled slightly.
¡°I did too, my first time around.¡±
She then pointed to the brazier.
¡°He likes to do everything through fire, you see.¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as he nodded, and then dropped the two trays into the brazier.
¡°Thank you for your blessing. I¡¯ll, um, do my best with it?¡±
The fire surged up for a moment, bathing Belissar in a wave of heat. Then it died down, and both the trays had vanished.
The God of Bees¡¯ statue then shone with light for a moment as the brazier¡¯s fire grew once again. Belissar stood still for a moment before bowing his head.
When he was finished, he turned to find Chief Rohsuak waiting for him. She saluted to him as he approached.
¡°Sacred Den Master Belissar¡I was serious, you know? You have no idea how much this means to me, I never thought I would ever find another shrine for the God of Fire again. So, if there¡¯s anything I can do to thank you, or the bees responsible for this, please, let me know.¡±
Belissar was about to tell her it was alright, as the God of Fire had already rewarded them for this, when he saw her eyes. They were glistening, and moisture had started to build even as Chief Rohsuak made the brightest smile he had ever seen on her. So, instead, he paused, and rubbed his chin for a moment before nodding.
¡°Ah¡so, one of my queens recently evolved with Fire mana. Maybe you could speak with her, and see if there¡¯s anything you can teach her about it?¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew even wider, and she nodded several times.
¡°It would be my honor and pleasure, Sacred Den Master.¡±
PO...G?! 111.1 - Fiery Negotiations
The sun shown down on a green and golden world. Fields of flowers blended right into hexagonal walls made of wax. Bees of all shapes and sizes filled the ground and skies, crawling out of neatly ordered hives, haphazardly placed wax pots, or out of burrows dug right into the ground. Honeybees and stingless bees swarmed around bumblebees, carpenter bees crawled out of nest bored into trees while digger bees pushed dirt out of their tunnels. The bees swarmed around newly blooming mana flowers and confronted one another for the best of the nectar, while cuckoo bees tried to steal honey and lay their eggs in the other bees¡¯ cells. Some bees even broke out into war, swarms colliding in the air as they fought to claim or defend their hives in turn.
Additionally, new wooden beehouses rose from the ground while a large bee apartment expanded across several trees¡¯ canopies. New kinds of honey filled row after row of neat trays. Squads of soldier bees flew through the skies, training their formations, while communer bees spread out and gathered information. The edges of the world continued to grow as well, sprouting new flowers and new hives with each passing day.
And bees of other sorts, as well. Bees with blades for stingers, bees that could channel the elements, bees made of wood and metal. Bees without wings, bees without stingers, bees with claws, bees covered in spikes. Gargantuan bees that covered the sky and drank from flowers the size of the tallest trees. And bees that combined the forms of other creatures. Bees with more fur than normal, bees with scales and claws, bees with feathers and beaks. Any bee that did or could exist.
And in the center of it all was the largest bee to have ever existed, laying eggs of all shapes and sizes, watching as the brood tenders helped never before seen bees emerge from their cells before proceeding to lay yet another.
This was the Queen of All Bees, the God of Bees herself, as hard at work as any worker might be. Unfortunately, her work was about to be interrupted.
A fire burst into existence just before the God of Bees. The bees all around her began to swarm angrily but she calmed them down with a short and graceful dance. Four of the swarms took a bit of convincing, for their queens burned with the desire to protect their second home after their failure to save their first. But the God of Bees convinced them that the fire was not a threat. Indeed, if it was as she expected, there was an opportunity to assist their first home even from here. The queens of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner of the First Bee Dungeon stopped and pulled back their armies at that.
A moment later, the flames expanded and formed into the shape of a man, with flames for his flesh and hot embers forming his clothes. Flames filled out the simple shorts and breastplate of embers. A bright blue fire formed the core of the man, his torso, limbs, and head, while yellow and red flames formed his hair, a great coat like the main of a lion surrounding his head and covering his arms and legs. His eyes were pure white stars piercing through the blues and reds and yellows all around, causing even those flames to appear dim in comparison. He stood straight and tall with his arms crossed as his mere presence set the air around him ablaze.
And then the God of Fire¡fell to his knees and clasped his hands together.
¡°Bee, you gotta let me into your Tower!¡±
The God of Bees danced the same dance she had danced before.
¡°Come on, Bee! I know it¡¯s your only dungeon but you have one of my favorite champions sworn to it now! Do you know how much stuff she¡¯s set on fire over the years, oh the great infernos she¡¯s unleashed upon the land?! She¡¯s called the Blazing Berserker for fire¡¯s sake! You got to let me bless my girl! She just saved your dungeon, you know?!¡±
The God of Bees buzzed her wings and then returned to laying her eggs. There was work to be done. The fires around the God of Fire flared up.
¡°Hey, come on! I know you¡¯re a busy bee but listen to me! It¡¯s ok, right?! You even got a dungeon in an optimal position! Those are getting rarer thanks to that little human empire, you know?! You should be able to share a bit?¡±
The God of Bees paused her work, buzzing her wings again, and gave a short dance.
¡°Need to work.¡±
The God of Fire grit his teeth and his eyes burned bright.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
¡°Work, what work?! You have all of one dungeon, Bee, and hardly any followers! You can¡¯t possibly have more work than the rest of us!¡±
The God of Bees laid another egg before dancing her reply.
¡°Not me, you.¡±
The God of Fire crackled as he gnashed his teeth. But then his flames died down and he exhaled a puff of smoke.
¡°Ok, fine, let¡¯s work then. Look, your little dungeon master is about to evolve some sort of Fire Bee, right, and he already uses a ton of fire. My blessing will really help him, you know?¡±
The God of Bees laid another egg.
¡°Of course, it¡¯ll be a mission from me, so I¡¯ll give him something too. How about a feature, since he¡¯s so fond of fire traps that should help, right?¡±
The God of Bees checked on one of the larva and conferred with the brood tenders before laying another egg.
¡°¡and once that fire bee evolves, our power should intersect enough for a cross-perk once he has my blessing too.¡±
The God of Bees tasted the newest batch of honey, letting the hive in question know they dried it just a bit too long. Though, the sudden rise in temperature may have had something to do with it, so she recommended they tried the same method again once the environment was more stable. The God of Fire¡¯s colored turned towards a dimmer red and he hung his shoulders.
¡°¡ok. How about I give some of my dungeon masters a mission to earn your blessing on their dungeons in exchange? Let¡¯s say two¡¡±
The God of Bees laid another egg.
¡°¡three?¡±
The God of Bees ordered a hive to clean up the remains of the latest hive war. The God of Fire burst into bright blues once again.
¡°Ok, come on, Bee. I know you¡¯re protective of your first and only dungeon and that my presence will distract from you but that¡¯s why I¡¯m giving you a good deal here, and an inroad to some broader recognition. I¡¯ll issue missions to five of my dungeon masters, including my biggest. That is my final offer!¡±
The God of Bees turned to the God of Fire as she danced.
¡°Ok!¡±
The God of Fire exhaled another cloud of smoke and then shook his head.
¡°Just where does a god on her first dungeon get that sort of confidence? But very well. By my name and authority as the God of Fire, let it be so.¡±
The God of Fire snapped his fingers and a wave of power shot through the God of Bees¡¯ realm, raising the temperature throughout and causing all the bees to buzz. A reminder of his power, perhaps. But the God of Bees danced once more.
¡°Thanks, helps a lot.¡±
And then she went back to work. The bees slowly calmed down and followed her example. The God of Fire chuckled.
¡°Well, I suppose we¡¯re both fond of our champions there. Let¡¯s stoke their fires together, shall we?¡±
And with that, the flames died down as the God of Fire departed. And the God of Bees couldn¡¯t help but break out into a happy dance once he did.
It was all coming together. She used to be one of the lowliest of gods, her only authority over the world that given to her by the various plant gods in exchange for her services, but otherwise with no presence on the world itself. None of the mortals knew of her existence, and individual bees rarely survived long enough to develop enough sapience to acknowledge her. Yes, a bee exposed to enough mana might evolve into a monster bee, but the bees who ventured outside of their hives to forage where normally the oldest and closest to death. Besides, mana-rich creatures attracted attention, so most of those on the brink ended up as prey.
Until one young boy decided to save a bee from a spider web. A bee that was on the verge of evolving into a monster bee with a far longer lifespan¡and sapience. Just enough to give the God of Bees a direct hook onto the world.
It took her some years but she eventually gathered enough authority to designate that bee as a conduit for a dungeon. It would be regrettable to lose her one direct hook, but every dungeon established would offer a trickle of authority to the god that established it even if the master dedicated it to another god. The God of Bees hoped to therefore establish a more enduring and permanent trickle of authority.
What she did not expect, however, was for the bee to take the boy, now grown into a man, along with her. Or for him to select bees as his first defender.
She rarely even got to offer her options, much less as the starting choices. While she knew the conduit would automatically give her a slot this time, she did not imagine anyone would actually pick it. Bee monsters could be powerful but their strength was in their numbers and they needed time and resources to build up those numbers. It was a risky choice for a starting defender.
But then the man, who happened to have been one of the most dedicated beekeepers she had ever seen, chose bees, and managed to pull off an initial purification. Then he chose her as his patron.
The trickle of authority she expected suddenly became a stream. And, most of all, she now had a dungeon of her own. A direct presence on the world, and a place where she could gain recognition¡and followers. And that was only the beginning of her dungeon master¡¯s devotion¡
And now? Now the God of Fire, one of the most prevalent of the gods with an established presence on nearly every world, was now negotiating with her as an equal, and letting her wring concessions out of him.
Yes, it was all coming together. The Queen of All Bees¡¯ queendom, the hive of hives, would grow beyond all recognition. The favor of the mortals and the respect of her peers would soon be hers.
But most of all? Most of all she now had the devotion of the most loyal follower. One who spared no effort in working for the bees. A follower who would be rewarded for his work.
And that¡¯s why the God of Bees danced one final dance before returning to her own.
¡°Belissar best dungeon master!¡±
Chapter 112 - Burning Bee-cisions
After thanking the gods, Belissar asked Chief Rohsuak to accompany him and for Niobee to gather the queens. He didn¡¯t like to interrupt them during the day, but he felt it was worth doing so in the present moment. Afterall, they had rewards from not one but two gods to decide on.
Soon, all the relevant parties were gathered at the second floor¡¯s Shrine. Belissar felt that location appropriate this time since the God of Fire¡¯s brazier was there, and they were deciding on his rewards. He stepped forward as the bees arrived and gathered around him, smiling at the Third of the Sixth.
¡°Hi everyone, thanks for coming and sorry to interrupt your work. But, thanks to the Third of the Sixth evolving today, we fulfilled missions from two gods, and now have two choices to make.¡±
The Third of the Sixth fidgeted about, trying not to break out into a happy dance while Belissar was still talking. The other bees turned to face her but likewise waited for Belissar to continue.
¡°Ok, so, we have a room feature choice from the God of Fire, and then a cross-perk by both the God of Bees and God of Fire.¡±
Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes lit up at the mention of the God of Fire, while the bees began buzzing and pacing about at the news. Belissar brought up the choices and began to read them out.
Select Room Feature:
- Fire Spout (Rarity: Common, Type: Fire, Trap)
- Metallurgical Furnace (Rarity: Common, Type: Fire, Crafting)
- Mini-Volcano (Rarity: Rare, Type: Fire, Ground, Trap)
Fire Spout
Type: Fire, Trap
Mana Upkeep: 5
Description: A nozzle that will spray fire in a straight line when triggered. Providing flammable materials may change effects and behaviour.
Metallurgical Furnace
Type: Fire, Crafting
Mana Upkeep: 5
Description: A furnace intended for processing metal. May require additional fuel or mana to process certain materials.
Mini-Volcano
Type: Fire, Ground, Trap
Mana Upkeep: 50
Description: A small volcano just peeking out of the ground. Will launch burning rocks in the direction of invaders. May also emit ash clouds and slowly flowing lava.
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but whistle at that last one. He had heard tales of volcanos before, but had never seen one himself fortunately. It certainly sounded impressive. He turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Um, have you ever seen a volcano?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded, staring off into the air with a nostalgic smile on her face.
¡°In a Sacred Den of Fire. Imagine a mountain pouring smoke into the sky, with rivers of liquid fire running down its slopes. Shooting stars soar from its peak before colliding into the ground, and the entire thing can explode into a wall of superheated smoke that reaches from ground to sky.¡±
Belissar gulped. He wasn¡¯t sure why Chief Rohsuak was happy about that memory, but he could certainly see how it might help his Tower¡¯s defense. However¡the feature¡¯s cost was as impressive as its supposed effects, and could pay for a lot of flowers or bee spawners. The other issue was that, as of now, Belissar had no good place to put it, unless it would fit in the Dirt Tunnels. Because besides the tunnels, all of his other rooms happened to be flammable, and he wasn¡¯t sure his little firebreaks would be enough to deal with rivers of liquid fire or burning rocks flying through the sky, even if the volcano was a small one. And would something intended to launch rocks into the sky work in the Dirt Tunnels? He wasn¡¯t sure. If it didn¡¯t¡then this would be a purchase for the future, when he could get more rooms. Either a new, less flammable room, or maybe just another room slot so he could put an empty Flower Meadow with nothing in it that he minded being burnt to the ground on the regular. That last idea¡actually had merit in general, though.
Additionally, there were two more options. Fire spouts were far less dramatic than mini-volcanos but also far more contained in their effects. Belissar could see an easy use if he put them at the bottom of his Pit Traps, or in combination with the Sticky Honey Traps. The bees wouldn¡¯t have to risk dropping flame radish slivers any longer in that case. And those spouts could be especially effective in the tight corridors of the Dirt Tunnels, assuming they worked there. If so¡maybe Belissar wouldn¡¯t have to trap shades in Pit Traps at all before setting them ablaze.
Still, that was spending a choice, and a reward from the God of Fire himself, on a capability he could somewhat match. Though, the part about adding fuel for different effects had some promise. Maybe it would be like the Sticky Honey Traps and he could make fires with different effects? And if honey or wax worked as the fuel, then he could get started on that right away.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
The third option was a non-combat feature. Furnaces to process metal had obvious uses for the karnuq given they had metal tools, so presumably knew some blacksmithing. And Belissar had just gone and made a bunch of metal ore nodes for them, so furnaces would be exceptionally useful right away. But, he did wonder if it was worth using an entire feature on. If the karnuq knew blacksmithing than surely they knew how to build a furnace themselves, right? He had even unlocked some features for things he had built himself. So, he turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Um, do you know how to make a furnace?¡±
Chief Rohsuak thought for a moment before slowly nodding.
¡°Much of our knowledge has been lost, but we should be able to put together something useable. Likely not as well-made as one created by a Sacred Den but¡well enough for basic use. Furnaces would certainly be appreciated but you do not need to consider it necessary.¡±
Belissar nodded and turned to the bees, but they didn¡¯t have much to add this time. The Third of the Sixth looked excited at all of the options offered, while the other bees seemed a bit uncomfortable given the way they were shifting around. He guessed bees in general didn¡¯t love fire, with one exception among his queens, so it looked like it¡¯d be up to him to decide.
He mostly ruled out furnaces, given the karnuq could handle that themselves. With Muuraqi¡¯s blessing for stone-working, it shouldn¡¯t be all that hard, right? Well, Belissar didn¡¯t know what went into building a furnace but he¡¯d take Chief Rohsuak¡¯s word for it. That left the impressive but expensive choice or the weaker but more immediately useful choice. He turned to Chief Rohsuak once more.
¡°Um, you know fire and the God of Fire it seems so¡any opinion?¡±
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin and hummed a bit before once again slowly nodding.
¡°A word of caution. Volcanos are powerful but they are uncontrollable. Do not build one half-heartedly, and do not deceive yourself that you can contain it. If you are going to make one, you must commit to it, and understand that its power is beyond your control. It will bring great devastation, certainly to your enemies, but to yourself as well if you are not careful. Treat it with the respect it deserves.¡±
Well, that nearly settled it for Belissar, as he had no confidence in respecting or controlling a volcano at all, given Chief Rohsuak¡¯s description of it. However, he held off from deciding right away, for he wanted to read the next choices first.
Select a cross-perk (Bee/Fire):
- Honeyed Fuel
- Fire Resistant Bees
- Buzzing Embers
There were no rarities this time, and each perk was colored half in golden yellow and half in bright red. Belissar began reading out their descriptions.
Honeyed Fuel
- Flammable honeys and beeswaxes have increased potency as fuel sources
- Fires started with honey or beeswax deal more damage
- Fires started with honey or beeswax with special effects inherit those effects with greater efficiency
That perk would obviously play into one Belissar¡¯s main tactics with the Pit Traps and Sticky Honey Traps, making them more powerful. If he was reading both the descriptions right, it might also work with Fire Spouts, should he choose them. And the part about the fires inheriting special effects from the honey¡well, maddening fire certainly sounded harmful.
Fire Resistant Bees
- All bees gain increased resistance to fire and heat
- All bees gain increased resistance to smoke and ash
This one was simpler and more straightforward in its effects, but by no means less desirable. Making his bees more resilient in general was always a priority for Belissar since he didn¡¯t want to see a single one hurt if he could help it. Making them more resilient to fire and smoke in general would help if he was going to use more fire in his defenses. Sure, the burning bees seemed like they were already fire-resistant, but it could mean the difference between one hive fighting the enemy and all of them when there was fire around.
For example, if he chose the mini-volcano and set up a room specifically for it, this perk might enable his bees to enter and fight in that room as well.
Buzzing Embers
- Embers and sparks from flames move and swarm around nearby enemies
- All fire attacks may spawn additional embers and sparks if they do not inherently do so
That was a curious one that had Belissar tilted his head. It sounded like it would¡make embers come to life and attack? It said swarm around so maybe it would make embers act like bees? That was a curious idea, though Belissar had trouble visualizing what it actually would look like. He ultimately decided to just consider it something that would make any fires stronger.
So, honey and beeswax that made fires stronger, bees that were more resilient to fire, or stronger fires in general? Along with a choice between flame spouts that might be able to be fueled by honey and wax, or a dangerous and expensive mini-volcano? What, exactly, should he choose?
Chapter 113 - Bee Bold!
Belissar first turned the question to the bees, as usual. The First of the Fifth was first to speak.
¡°Burning honey¡like King¡¯s fire chasms? King¡¯s fire best fire!¡±
Belissar chuckled. Well, he was slightly proud, even to this day, of beating a shade of the Hunger with a hole in the ground and a makeshift fire, so he¡¯d admit he enjoyed hearing his bees praise him for it.
The Second First of the First was still hesitating but managed to convey her opinion.
¡°Bees need be stronger.¡±
Belissar could always agree with that. He turned to Chief Rohsuak.
¡°All of the options have merit, Sacred Den Master. Fire resistance is a must for anyone who doesn¡¯t want to be burned by their own blaze. It also sounds as if you¡¯ve already made use of honey and wax as a fuel source, and reinforcing your existing efforts makes them all the more potent. As for the embers¡the more ways you have to reinforce your fire, the stronger it will become.¡±
Belissar stared at her for a moment. At this point, he figured Chief Rohsuak was intentionally holding back her true thoughts, given the vague answers she gave nearly every time. He knew because Mrs. Imokomos used to do that when she was teaching him beekeeping, telling him she wanted to learn for himself. He guessed Chief Rohsuak was trying to help him learn something, but he¡¯d much prefer she gave a straight answer. Their lives were at stake here!
But she just silently smiled at him so he had to give up and think for himself, once again. The First of the Fifth was right in that Honeyed Fuel would build upon his existing defenses. If he added Fire Spouts on top of that, he could even skip the pits and apply the honey-fueled fire plan directly. It would strengthen a proven plan he had pulled off countless times before.
And that¡was why he hesitated now. The First of the Fifth¡¯s praise reminded him that this was something he had done before, since the very beginning. But the Hunger had just demonstrated that it would adapt to his defenses over time, so wasn¡¯t it risky to continue relying on the same plan? If he spent all his choices on the honey-fire trap combo, wouldn¡¯t he end up in trouble if they encountered a shade that could survive it? The cat-shades, for example, had already run past his Sticky Honey Traps. Wouldn¡¯t they also run past a Fire Spout too, then? And even if not, if they didn¡¯t get hit by the honey first than Honeyed Fuel wouldn¡¯t help, right?
Well, Chief Rohsuak also said that the more he committed to one specialization, the more options he¡¯d get to overcome its weaknesses, so maybe it was the other way around. But that seemed like he¡¯d end up in a race with the Hunger, trying to adapt his one plan to the Hunger faster than the Hunger could adapt to him. Belissar was not certain he¡¯d be able to stay ahead. As much as he hated thinking about them, it was true that Tower Lords were better prepared to become, well, Tower Lords. So, maybe if he had been raised as one he¡¯d feel confident. But he had not.
But what then, should he do? Fire Resistant bees as the Second First of the First wanted was a good option, but it didn¡¯t do as much for the Fire Spout ¨C Sticky Honey Trap combo as Honeyed Fuel would. If they ran into a shade that could survive the traps and that didn¡¯t use fire of its own, wouldn¡¯t both choices end up useless then? Maybe it was better to just go all in on the traps¡
At that moment, Belissar¡¯s gaze passed over the Third of the Sixth. The new burning queen, the one who had fulfilled the mission and unlocked these choices in the first place. He thought to the efforts he and she had gone to before she could evolve. How they had required new flowers and an entirely new beehouse design. A new idea began to grow in his mind.
¡°I think¡I might have a risky idea.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
The Third of the Sixth began her reply dance with no hesitation.
¡°King¡¯s choice best choice! Will do whatever King needs, even if dangerous!¡±
The Second First of the First and the First of the Fifth both began dances affirming this, followed by all the other queens. The four bumblebee queens didn¡¯t dance but they did extend their stingers and buzz their wings.
He glanced at Chief Rohsuak.
¡°Boldness and caution both have their place. All I say is that you should commit to whatever you choose.¡±
Niobee landed on his shoulder and directly tapped her dance on him.
¡°Bees will do whatever King thinks best. Bees ready.¡±
Belissar nodded. He then took a deep breath and made his decision. He hoped he wouldn¡¯t regret it.
Mini-Volcano is now available.
Fire Resistant Bees selected.
He decided that he wanted to do something completely different this time. Sprayers made even multiple wolf-shades simple to defeat. Dirt Tunnels had contained the bird-shades and slowed down the cat-shades long enough for his bees to respond. Chief Rohsuak and her fire wiped out a turtle-shade immune to all his previous defenses. Throwing something entirely new at the Hunger felt like a good move to him.
Likewise, this choice was a reward from the God of Fire from the mission that also granted his blessing. It felt¡wasteful to simply do more of the same when he had the opportunity to open up a more dramatic alternative. Fire Spouts were common so maybe he¡¯d see them again now that he had a minor Blessing of Fire, common room features could even show up as a daily purification reward after all!
But what ultimately tipped the balance for Belissar was the Third of the Sixth herself. She had evolved into an entirely new kind of bee, but one that did not necessarily fit anywhere within the Tower at present. She couldn¡¯t operate underground in the Dirt Tunnels, and Belissar had to keep her hive and the flowers she needed separate from the rest of the Apiary due to the fire hazard. But what if he made a room entirely committed to fire? What if he added a mini-volcano with its ash and lava and flaming rocks, then filled the room with flame radishes and Fire mana flowers? He could build a room that was absolutely hostile to most of his bees¡but absolutely perfect for the queen that made this all possible. Especially if he sought out new room types with either his next expansion purification or DP shop purchase, maybe he could even get a fire-related room that would fit them both. This would also fit into his plans regarding the specialization of his bees that he spoke to the First of the Fifth about previously.
So yes, while the Fire Spouts and Honeyed Fuel combo was the safer option that reinforced his existing defenses, he decided that with the reward from a god¡¯s blessing he would take the risk to create entirely new areas for his Tower, with new defenses and new bees. And with that decided, Fire Resistant bees made the most sense to him. Not only did it make the bees more resilient in general, but might also enable them to operate in the planned new room if they needed to. He would ideally like to keep as much of his Tower as open as possible to as many of his bees as possible.
He told as much to his bees, surprised to find his own voice rising as he the idea took shape both in his mind and his words. The bees watched his every motion and word¡and then the Third of the Sixth burst out into a happy dance.
¡°Sounds amazing! Incredible! King is best king!¡±
The other queens soon began to join her in the praise dance. Chief Rohsuak smiled and nodded.
¡°A bold decision. I enjoy those. And I can tell you that the God of Fire does as well, he would be pleased with such a move.¡±
He smiled back and then turned to the First of the Fifth, lowering his head.
¡°Sorry we aren¡¯t going with the one you wanted. Maybe we can see if different honeys and waxes can work with fire even without the perk?¡±
He thought for a moment, remembering an instant where honey caught fire.
¡°Maybe Juosiutik might be able to help?¡±
Chief Rohsuak stifled a laugh.
¡°Maybe she might.¡±
The First of the Fifth burst out into a frantic dance.
¡°No! King not sorry! King is best king, King¡¯s choice best choice! King sees more than bees, makes choices bees can¡¯t make! King is best king! Not sorry!¡±
Belissar held his hands up.
¡°Ok ok, I¡¯m sorry¡um¡for being sorry? Or, um¡¡±
Belissar took a moment to clear his throat. He thought for a second and then reached out his hand. The First of the Fifth froze. Belissar then pointed at his hand until slowly, gingerly, the First of the Fifth flew over and landed on it. He then smiled at her.
¡°I just want you to know that even if I make a different choice, I like hearing your opinion.¡±
The First of the Fifth again went completely still, as rigid as a rock. Belissar got a bit worried about her until Niobee intervened, and then the First of the Fifth burst out into a happy dance.
Belissar once again hoped he¡¯d made the right decision, and that he¡¯d be able to live up to the bees¡¯ expectations of him¡
Side Story 113.1 - Humanitys Duty
On a bright and sunny day, a massive tower pierced up into the heavens. Massive red banners coated in flames hung from its walls, interspersed with windows and gates of all shapes and sizes from which all manner of flying creatures took off and landed. On the ground below, a massive city was arranged in a neat grid around wide roads made of stone to one side of the tower, while empty plains stretched into the distance on the other side. The buildings were uniform and built of stone, miniature fortresses with little adornment save the banners of a red dragon upon a black field.
The sound of hammer upon metal sounded out throughout the city as smoke belched into the sky. Thousands of blacksmiths worked their craft, forging countless swords and spears and suits of armor. Bakers kept their ovens working around the clock as they churned out mountains of bread and hard tack to fill the endless warehouses, weavers sewed together uniforms, bandages, and banners until their hands trembled, and brewers continuously emptied and filled their barrels with as much grog as they could brew. Clerks ran through their offices carrying stacks of paper taller than themselves as they worked into the night to keep track of it all.
Countless soldiers gathered in the field beyond the city, sparring, exercising, and marching in formations. Dragons and wyverns and griffins and giant birds and all manner of other flying creatures flew in neat triangles, guided by the riders on their backs as they flew over the beast cavalry charging below.
And in the center of the field, a man stood facing three dragon riders. He stood a head taller than even the tallest soldier, adorned in a sturdy but worn suit of metal painted red. He held a red glaive in his hands as flames wrapped around him. One dragon flew straight at him, another flew over and to his rear, and the third unleashed a green cloud of acidic mist.
He ignored the mist as the fire wrapped around him flared and pushed it away. He jumped up over the dragon approaching and landed on its head, knocking its rider off with a swing of his glaive. Then he jumped off the dragon¡¯s head and propelled himself upward with a blast of fire from his feet. He caught the tail of the dragon flying overhead and pulled it down, swinging the dragon and rider both down towards the third pair. The group collided and collapsed to the ground in a tangled mess before the man landed back on the first dragon, driving it into the ground.
He then landed back on the ground and shook his head as the riders groaned and picked themselves off the ground. He was about to question them on their efforts when a courier came running in.
¡°Priority message for High Councilor Rippotis!¡±
Rippotis and shook his head.
¡°General Rippotis. Let me guess, it¡¯s from High Councilor Heigiosa?¡±
The courier¡¯s eyes widened while General Rippotis shook his head.
¡°She always sends a message around this time. Well, hand it over.¡±
He took the message and read it, shaking his head. The three dragon riders walked up to him.
¡°What does it say, sir?¡±
He shrugged.
¡°What it says every time. That she strongly recommends I don¡¯t personally participate this time.¡±
The dragon riders frowned.
¡°¡what will you do, sir?¡±
General Rippotis let out a light chuckle.
¡°What I do every time. Thank her for her concern, and then perform my duty.¡±
The general took out the reply he had already written when the Grand Subjugation was first announced.
¡°Here, deliver this to High Councilor Heigiosa.¡±
The courier saluted and departed. General Rippotis took a deep breath. The expected message from Heigiosa was the last thing he was waiting for, it was now time to begin. The other Tower Lords were still preparing for the Grand Subjugation but not the general. He started preparing for each Grand Subjugation the moment the previous one ended. He gathered and trained his forces, stocked his supplies, and even sent out his scouting parties at regular intervals. He already had his forces organized and prepared to march, his targets laid out, and his operations planned in full.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Because he knew, more than anyone, that humanity was at war. A war for its very survival, one that never faded. After all, he was there. He was there at the beginning, when arrogance and greed brought down a calamity that ended the world as they knew it and drove humanity to the brink of extinction. He was there in the desperate struggle for survival before the intervention of the gods, when a band of refugees fled for their lives for years without end against the relentless onslaught they couldn¡¯t hold back. He was there when his army had to abandon entire cities and eventually their entire nation just so that a few could live.
That was why he would not be called Tower Lord, or High Councilor, but General. So long as the Hunger endured, General Rippotis would never be at peace. He would fight to defend humanity to either his dying breath, or until the threat was extinguished. Heigiosa knew this too, though she wished for him to rely on the power of the gods. For General Rippotis, though, that was not possible. His own role in the disaster, and humanity¡¯s role in general, demanded that he lead the charge in pushing it back.
Besides, there was also the issue of the beastkin. Their role as the instrument of disaster and tyranny could not be forgotten¡but in General Rippotis¡¯s opinion the rhetoric had gotten entirely out of hand, and it was not like they had a choice in their own creation. Still, humanity had to be united in the face of the existential threat, so he would not allow the issue to break them apart. That meant, though, that the best way to ensure the survival of the beastkin was for him to personally subjugate as many independent Towers as he could before the other Tower Lords arrived, especially those who had been raised on the rhetoric without the knowledge of where it came from.
Well, his soldiers were as disciplined and well-trained as he could make them. He trusted them to follow his orders and his policies, but as a member of the High Council he still felt a responsibility to personally rein in the excesses wherever possible. Heigiosa knew this too, and so she would always fear for his safety, but never go so far as to order him to stay behind. Part of him wished he could ease her concerns, thus why he always waited for her message before departing, but they both knew that he had to go. Every decision that had led them here demanded that he did.
At least, until today. General Rippotis was just about to give the order to launch the subjugation when he froze. The dragon riders all began to frown, staring at him in worry. One of them eventually spoke.
¡°General? Is something the matter?¡±
General Rippotis turned his gaze to her.
¡°Change of plans. Lieutenant General Krimistis, you are now in charge of the operation until I arrive to take command. Move out immediately and proceed as planned.¡±
Lieutenant General Krimistis¡¯s frown grew deeper.
¡°General? If I may speak freely¡¡±
¡°Granted.¡±
¡°What exactly will you be doing?¡±
General Rippotis decided to entertain her question, since this was utterly abnormal for him.
¡°I¡¯ve received a mission from the gods, which takes priority. I will join the subjugation once my task is complete. But we also must not delay our duty, so you all must see to it that the operation launches on schedule. Am I clear?¡±
The three dragon riders, his lieutenant generals, all saluted and spoke as one.
¡°Yes, sir!¡±
General Rippotis turned and departed, walking towards the Tower under his command while the lieutenant generals began barking orders. Soon, horns began to blow throughout the city and the field while fireballs shot into the sky from the top of the Tower, detonating into pre-organized patterns. His army burst into frantic motion as they organized into their marching formations and set off.
As for General Rippotis, though, he let out a sigh. He guessed Heigiosa would get her wish for the first time since, well, ever. But humanity¡¯s debt to the gods, as well as his own, outstripped even his own duty to his troops. He would not delay a mission from the gods for anything save the imminent destruction of humanity itself.
Though, one thing caused him to tilt his head.
¡°Why bees?¡±
Bees played an important role in agriculture, to be sure, and could present a fearsome threat to the odd predator, but they did not feature much in Rippotis¡¯s Tower. Ultimately, General Rippotis used the Tower more as a training ground, and used what monsters he had as mounts or in support roles. He firmly believed that humanity needed to take the leading role in the fight against the Hunger, to ensure that they had a personal stake in the war for their own survival. He also believed the Towers were to support them in that effort but should not supplant human effort in any endeavor. A swarm of bees was more of a direct combat option than he preferred to use, and he preferred to rely on wild bees for their agricultural contributions. Maybe he could eventually raise a bee monster that could be used as a mount? But he would have to go further than that if he wanted bees to have enough of a presence in his Tower to justify the blessing of a god. A god he had not known had existed until today, even, though that was no excuse not to treat her with the reverence and respect she deserved.
However¡the more General Rippotis thought about it, the more he began to nod. After all, bees were tireless workers and perfectly brave soldiers. They worked selflessly for one another and the good of all. And when they were faced with threats infinitely larger than any singular bee, they banded together to fight back at the cost of their very lives¡and in doing so could overcome a threat no individual bee could ever hope to.
In that, they faced the exact situation that humanity now did. So, perhaps there was a place for bees in his army. Perhaps they could not only support his troops, but act as an example for them to strive for. He bowed his head and thanked the gods for their guidance. It seemed that even after all this time, there was still much for him to learn.
He would learn and do anything he needed to if it would ensure humanity¡¯s survival. And so, General Rippotis, one of the Three Elders of the High Council, Commander of the Dragon Banner Army, survivor of the Great Calamity, left his army on the eve of a Grand Subjugation campaign to raise and build houses for bees¡
Side Story 113.2 - Urgent Bee-siness
A man stepped into the Sacred Den, immediately assaulted by a rise in temperature so sudden it felt like being hit by a solid wall. A stone causeway stretched across the center of a stone-walled room with two rivers of lava flowing to either side. The man tried not to grimace as noxious fumes rose from the rivers and assaulted his nose, his powerful sense of smell a severe detriment at that moment.
The man himself was unfortunately dressed for the occasion, wearing a suit of chainmail. The metal began to heat up almost immediately, only his thin tunic underneath saving him from vicious burns. Even still, any contact between his limbs and the armor would definitely leave a mark. But the multiple layers also caused him to cook within his own clothing. He was already sweating something fierce and had the fight the urge to let out his tongue and begin panting. Additionally, the fur on his arms and legs did not help matters, and the fur on his bushy tail was already drooping. Not for the first time, his wolf-like features had come back to haunt him.
But the sooner he moved, the sooner he could leave, so he pressed onward. He walked past the gigantic bonfire crackling before the banner of the God of Fire, taking a moment to bow at the Shrine of Fire before continuing onward. He turned to the left and stopped before a double door, flanked on either side by other wolfkin like himself. These, however, were not clad in chainmail but in obsidian-black plate armor with visored helmets with triangular protrusions for their ears. And, despite being far more heavily clad than himself, they did not give any sign that the heat bothered them in any way. He was not a little envious of those who had been blessed by the God of Fire.
He gave his name and then one of the guards stepped inside. A moment later, they returned.
¡°Wait here.¡±
He held back a frown. Waiting next to a divine bonfire and two rivers of lava was not exactly easy for someone without the God of Fire¡¯s blessing. But that was the point, he knew. One arrived for an audience with the Inferno Empress at her convenience, not their own.
Only after he was completely drenched in sweat did a torch next to the gate light up. One of the guards nodded and opened the door.
¡°Enter.¡±
The man gulped and made his way inside. He now walked into a throne room made of pure black obsidian, lit by large trenches of fire that stretched down the center in a pair. Fire wisps danced in and out of the flames, twirling tongues of fire into all sorts of shapes and patterns. Golden suits of armor lined the room holding weapons with bright red blades.
And at the end of the room was an empty throne made of obsidian and gold. A black-furred, three-headed dog that was larger than the man was tall curled up and napped. It stirred slightly as he approached, one of the heads watching him with one of its eyes. It began a low growl as he reached the end of the fire trenches, still a ways away from the throne.
A moment later, smoke began to billow into the room and coalesced around the throne. Two bright red eyes appeared in the midst of the dark cloud before the smoke began to disperse, though a thin layer of it still hung around. And then, finally, he saw the form of the Empress herself. She had long and thin ears poking out of the obsidian helmet that covered the top half of her face. Black, leathery wings wrapped around her, obscuring most of her body from view as she leaned back against her chair.
The man spread out his arms, fully exposing his torso towards the throne before kneeling down on one knee.
¡°All hail the Inferno Empress!¡±
She glanced at him, red orbs occasionally glimmering in her helmet as her eyes reflected the flickering flames to his sides. She opened her mouth and spoke with a low, raspy voice.
¡°I have need of my servants.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
The man remained kneeling.
¡°But of course, my empress. Speak and your command will be done.¡±
She made no movement, though the smoke surrounding her slowed for a moment.
¡°You are to fetch me some bees.¡±
The man couldn¡¯t help but look up and tilt his head.
¡°¡bees, Your Majesty?¡±
The orbs in her helmet flashed to life and the smoke picked up. The man quickly bowed his head once again.
¡°Of course, Your Majesty! It shall be done immediately!¡±
The Empress nodded her head.
¡°It had better. Do not forget the fate of the last tribe that displeased me.¡±
The man held back a gulp. What few of that tribe had survived had subsequently been exiled from the lands of the Empress, doomed to brave the Underway until they were caught and consumed by the Hunger. There were very few worse fates.
¡°That is all. Do not return until you are successful. I shall expect you soon.¡±
With that, she rose to her feet and finally unwrapped her wings, extending them wide. The smoke condensed and wrapped around her, obscuring her from his view for but a moment. And in that moment, she had vanished entirely.
The man rose to his feet and left the Sacred Den as fast as was permissible within the Empress¡¯s halls. Whatever his mission, he could not afford to delay¡
A man with a young appearance sat at a wooden table set up outdoors, giving him a full view of the streets lined with trees. He was dressed in flashy clothing colored red, yellow, and orange, causing him to stand out from his surroundings. Everywhere, flowered vines wrapped around buildings of white and golden wood. The man himself sipped his tea, his pointed ears drooping a bit. It was¡a bit bland, for his tastes. But well, few among his people appreciated spices the way he did. The God of Fire¡¯s blessing could have unexpected side effects.
Across from him sat a woman with an equally young appearance, sipping her tea with a smile. She wore a simple, green gardener¡¯s dress with a brown apron, and had flowers tied into her hair. The man grinned.
¡°So, I take it we have an agreement?¡±
The woman smiled and nodded.
¡°Of course. I am curious, however¡¡±
The man made a wry smile.
¡°Why bees?¡±
The woman nodded.
¡°I have not known you to be interested in anything that was not flammable¡¡±
She paused, and then narrowed her eyes.
¡°Urubran, you do not plan on setting them on fire, do you?¡±
Urubran raised his hands and shook his head.
¡°No, of course not. It¡¯s a mission from the God of Fire. Apparently, I am to earn the blessing of the God of Bees.¡±
The moment he said the name, the woman jolted and her back straightened.
¡°¡there¡¯s¡a God of Bees?¡±
Urubran made a small smirk.
¡°Apparently so.¡±
The woman immediately slammed her hands on the table and leaned forward but the man stopped her by raising his hand.
¡°Calm down, Tarwantrad, I¡¯m going to tell you.¡±
Urubran chuckled as Tarwantrad didn¡¯t back down in the slightest, staring at him intently.
¡°Apparently, I must raise a number of hives of at least rare rarity, though to my understanding most bee queen variants are rare to begin with? Then, I must build homes for them. Moreover, the mission will not be considered complete until the bees are sufficiently happy. So¡could I request your assistance with that?¡±
Tarwantrad nodded her head.
¡°Indeed, I would not allow you to make them unhappy in the first place, so I planned to deliver them to you personally. The gods know how long it took to teach you how to take care of the simplest plant.¡±
Urubran was about to retort about her nearly starving the first Fire monster he gave her but Tarwantrad had already looked away from him, rubbing her chin and muttering to herself.
¡°I was certain they were happy and I certainly have the variety. Maybe it¡¯s specifically the build homes for them part? Interesting, I had always let them take care of themselves for I believed they knew best how to build their hives but is that not the case? Should I have been building \ homes for them all along? Or perhaps it was awareness? I didn¡¯t know there was a God of Bees before, after all. If only I could hear from them myself¡¡±
Just then, Tarwantrad froze.
¡°Ah¡¡±
Urubran grinned again.
¡°Got it too, huh? I was honestly wondering why it came to me instead of you. Must have something do with the gods themselves¡¡±
Urubran stopped, and then sighed. Tarwantrad was completely ignoring him. Again. He sipped his tea instead and shrugged. He couldn¡¯t say he didn¡¯t expect this. The news that there was a God of Bees was always going to shock her.
Tarwantrad suddenly snapped out of her daze and began nodding with all her mind.
¡°Yes! Of course! Right away!¡±
She immediately rose from her feet and grabbed Urubran, yanking him up and causing him to spill his tea.
¡°Come, Urubran! We have work we need to do right now!¡±
¡°Hey, wait a minute, Tarwantrad! Let go of me! I know you¡¯re excited but I can¡¯t just up and leave my dungeon unattended! And look, we haven¡¯t even paid for the tea yet!¡±
Tarwantrad tossed a bunch of coins onto the table before dragging Urubran off, heedless of his other complaints.
Chapter 114 - The Bee-roes Return
With a new plan set out, Belissar decided that his next move would be an expansion purification. He needed either an extra floor or room slot for the planned mini-volcano room, and more options might provide either a Fire-type room or additional Fire-type features to add to the room. Additionally, Chief Rohsuak let him know she had received additional blessings from the God of Fire and had grown stronger than she was during the emergency purification. She claimed she was not back in her prime, but launching another fire attack like she did wouldn¡¯t be an issue, particularly if Belissar fed her more mana honeycomb.
That went a long way to reassuring Belissar, but he decided to wait on two more conditions. First, he wanted to give the Flower Meadow queens a chance to raise some lancers. Next, he wanted to test Beero and the wounded lightning soldiers¡¯ attacks, and ensure they could be evacuated safely afterwards. He figured that those two new attacks, along with the reassurance that Chief Rohsuak could assist them again, should be enough to handle another expansion purification.
Additionally, now that the Apiary queens were delivering honey to the Flower Meadow the number of Maddening soldiers and sprayers was rising. The digging queen¡¯s hive was just about stable, so she¡¯d be able to start contributing some honey as well. He might start seeing some sort of digging soldier soon, which would allow the soldier bee army to attack within the Dirt Tunnels. The bumblebees as well continued growing their hives. The third floor Flower Meadow was now filled with bumblebees happily at work¡and the bumblebee queens had now started to grow larger.
The First of the Fifth¡¯s hive was hard at work cross-pollinating the other plants as well. Maybe he¡¯d see a mana flower variant of the sleepy chamomile soon? The other plants too, though since they hadn¡¯t resulted in new bee types Belissar wasn¡¯t sure if a more magical variant would either. He¡¯d just have to wait and see.
Still, all of that would take time, so upon consulting with the bees and Chief Rohsuak they decided lancers and a successful lightning attack would be sufficient to proceed. Anything else that occurred in that time would be a bonus.
And it may not be that long at all. The Orchard hive had already finished prototypes of woven slings, and the soldier bee army was now practicing moving the wounded soldiers around. Belissar still wouldn¡¯t risk it against a faster shade, but if they got some sort of turtle variant they could test out the attack as soon as today.
And indeed, when he triggered the daily purification¡the moment came. This time, a small turtle shade appeared, about height of his thighs instead of his head. Belissar considered the soldier bees¡¯ training from earlier today and hesitantly gave his permission. Today, they would see how Beero and company¡¯s lightning would fare¡
Beero¡¯s antennae twitched as the wind blew past her, causing her remaining pair of wings to flutter. The soldiers holding her up released some calming pheromones and mana, causing her antennae to droop a bit.
She had mixed feelings right now as she swayed about in the air, held only by woven stems that wobbled about. On the one leg, having her sisters carry her was¡not the most comfortable of situations. It was a stark reminder of her current helplessness, of all that she had lost and could no longer do. And the fact that she had to take two of her sisters out of the fight, tasked with carrying her about like a piece of pollen, was¡less than ideal. She would have never have proposed it had the King not ordered it himself.
But he had. And both her queen and her sisters reassured her. Since the majority of the soldier bee army held back from the fight in the reserved force, having two carry her about did not actually take them from the fight. Additionally, she now could do something that they could not. It was only natural that they would do what they could, and she would do what she could.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
And then there was the other side. The other side that felt the wind blow past her and saw the ground shrink before her. The side that once again was soaring through the air alongside her sisters, something she never thought she¡¯d ever get to experience again.
That side could not help but be happy. But she pushed it down, as her sisters had not been pleased the first time she wiggled about and nearly caused them to drop her. So, she stayed as still as she could while her sisters carried her along.
All too soon they arrived at their destination, lowering the stems upon the wooden platform the King had built. Beero crawled off and danced her gratitude. Her sisters twitched their antennae in reply and hovered back, still holding the stems so they could swoop in and pick her up at a moment¡¯s notice. The other wounded bees, Beero¡¯s new comrades, all landed as well. Without any delay, they all scrambled into their positions, ready to stir up their mana at a moment¡¯s notice.
For today was the day. The King informed them the enemy was coming, and one that was suitable for them specifically. Indeed, if tales of the latest battle were true, this enemy might be suitable only for them alone.
Beero knew that was the true reason her queen and her sisters had been so eager to accommodate her. The soldier bee army had failed to stop the latest enemy. So, if Beero and her comrades¡¯ newest attack could, then the soldier bee army would spare no effort to assist them. They would stop at nothing to fulfill their duty to the King and the hive of hives. And neither would Beero.
And so, she waited, ready to once again fulfill the duty she had been born to do.
And she waited¡
And waited¡
And waited¡
Until she heard the King speaking out to them all.
¡°Um, sorry everyone but¡it looks like it fell into the first Pit Trap. It¡¯s stuck in the Dirt Tunnels right now.¡±
Beero¡didn¡¯t know how to react.
Eventually, the King spoke with them. Beero indicated her continued desire to test her attack, and the King agreed. And so, after a bit of rearrangement, Beero was once again being carried by her sisters through the air. They slowly hovered through dark, cramped tunnels while the King himself lit the way with one of his fire sticks. Her two sisters barely had enough room to spread out and hold her up, and the whole group was moving at a crawl. It was not the most pleasant trip Beero had been on.
But, finally, they arrived. The enemy was trying to crawl out of the pit, but the effects of the maddening honey was causing it to slip. It had fallen back on its shell, with its spikes driving into the ground and preventing it from flipping itself over. It was utterly helpless, and the King could destroy it in an instant with his fire stick.
¡°Ok, here it is. Um, Beero, will you be able to direct the attack down into the hole, even if you can¡¯t see it?¡±
She saluted to the King¡¯s request. She and the others had practiced sending the lightning sting in different directions, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem.
¡°Ok, in that case, go ahead. I don¡¯t think it can get out, but just watch out in case it uses its breathe or something.¡±
Beero crawled forward and peeked down into the hole, memorizing the enemy¡¯s position. She and the others gathered up, the tunnel was barely wide enough for their dance but it would do. On her signal, they began.
The tunnel lit up as lightning crackled over their heads. The shade seemed to notice and began to growl, but Beero and the others ignored it. They danced the dance they had practiced countless times in the recent days without a single leg out of place, each of them performing their part to perfection. Their mana, which should have clashed as they were all from different hives, joined together thanks to the common element of the lightning, while the mana of the King¡¯s realm itself wrapped around and bound them all. Beero even noticed the mana of the Conduit and caught a glimpse of her dancing as well. She¡¯d thank her, but later, for now was the time to focus.
The others completed their dance, and then Beero danced to set the final direction. A sphere of lightning moved forward and over the pit¡
Then a stinger of lightning formed and thrust downward. There was a crack of thunder and the shade roared. Light and smoke began billowing out of the pit as the honey caught fire as well. Beero wanted to step forward and see what they had done but the King shook his head¡and then smiled.
¡°You got it, Beero.¡±
Beero went still even as the black mist of the enemy began to mix with the smoke, indicating its defeat. A moment later, she began to dance, and the others joined her.
It hadn¡¯t been the battle they had expected. It was a helpless enemy the King or the her uninjured sisters could have dealt with alone. But still¡she had rejoined the fight and brought victory to the hive of hives. She and her comrades had done that which they had thought would be impossible.
They could once again call themselves soldiers of the King and the hive of hives.
POBee 114.1 - How to Bee Helpful?
The Firstborn, and indeed all of the Flower Meadow queens, began their meeting standing still in silence. They had had much to think about recently and had come up with few solutions to their concerns. What could they even say when an enemy repulsed every force in their army, invalidated every tactic and strategy they had prepared, and rendered all of their efforts for naught? When even the King¡¯s mighty chasms and honey sprayers could not turn the tide? When the hive of hives had no choice but to rely upon an outsider of questionable trustworthiness?
Well, the karnuq¡¯s aid in the battle had shifted the Firstborn¡¯s opinion of them but that was besides the point. The point was that, lately, the Firstborn did not feel the Flower Meadow queens were contributing sufficiently to the hive of hives. They had abandoned everything, including competent honey-making, the very backbone of bee-hood, to build the greatest army bee-kind had ever seen. But for all their efforts, their army could not yet match the power of a single karnuq. And worse still, in doing so they had created an unsustainable situation within their hives. They now required the First of the Fifth¡¯s intervention to continue growing. They had become a drain upon the hive of hives¡¯ resources.
That in itself was not necessarily a problem. Even within a hive, soldiers, queens, and drones spent resources while workers gathered them. There was a role to play for bees that did not gather honey, and so in a hive of hives an entire hive that spent more resources than it produced might still have a place. But that was if, and only if, they provided value to the hive of hives that justified the resources. The Firstborn could no longer state this was the case.
There were some new developments. The King had granted them access to a new kind of bee and the wounded soldier, one so honored as to receive a name from the King himself, an honor previously reserved only for the Conduit, had come up with a new sort of attack that could bypass the new shade¡¯s defenses. Yet, the new lancers would require additional resources to raise, which at the moment meant receiving yet more honey from the Apiary queens. And Beero¡¯s efforts belonged to her and the other wounded bees alone, the Firstborn and the Flower Meadow hives had played no part in it besides sharing some of their honey to sustain the wounded. They would be investigating whether the rest of their army could utilize such attacks, but they could not call that their own initiative. They were still receiving from others.
So, the Firstborn was not satisfied with the situation. She slowly began to dance.
¡°Think¡I have an idea. Want to hear?¡±
She could no longer confidently step forward. While the Flower Meadow queens worked together, the Firstborn had been the one to lead them thus far. But with recent developments, she could not continue to do so on her own initiative. She, thus, waited for the others to dance.
But one by one, the other queens all indicated that she should continue. She wasn¡¯t sure if they still believed in her, or if no one felt confident taking charge in her place, but either way, she chose to dance.
¡°Other queens have soldiers, soldiers that work. First of the Fifth¡¯s workers help carry honey. Fourth of the Seventh and First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter¡¯s workers weave stems. Think our soldiers can work too.¡±
The First of the Fourth began to dance.
¡°But¡if soldiers work, then can¡¯t train. Army will be weaker?¡±
The Firstborn danced her agreement but continued on.
¡°Yes, but not all soldiers fight every day. Can take a few from reserve force, maybe change each day so all still get to train.¡±
The First of the Second danced slowly.
¡°Could work but¡how soldiers work? What do? Can¡¯t gather nectar. Could help dry? Firstborn has idea?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The Firstborn did, in fact.
¡°Already did before. Helped King build new hives. Should have soldiers build. Dig new chasms, build new hives.¡±
The First of the Fourth buzzed her wings.
¡°But¡new hives won¡¯t help army? Will still make weaker?¡±
The Firstborn again confirmed.
¡°Yes. Won¡¯t make army stronger, won¡¯t help army. But¡will let army help hive of hives. Can send to build new hives for new queens, help Apiary expand. Can help karnuq too, since karnuq helped fight. We only take from hive of hives and still can¡¯t defend alone. Now can give as well as defend.¡±
The Flower Meadow queens all fell still. Then, one by one, they slowly began to dance.
¡°Could¡work?¡±
¡°Would help King, like before.¡±
¡°Soldiers wanted to help again if could.¡±
¡°Could use to talk to other hives too.¡±
Eventually, the Firstborn danced once more.
¡°So, all agree?¡±
And this time, all the Flower Meadow queens danced a salute.
¡°Ok, let¡¯s let Conduit know and decide on soldiers. Should have one from each hive so all queens can see through communers.¡±
The next day, as Belissar gathered with the bees for his breakfast reports, Niobee started with a dance of her own.
¡°King! Flower Meadow queens have request!¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Oh? What it is it?¡±
¡°Want to send soldier bees to help build things! King has job?¡±
Belissar tilted his head.
¡°Oh, hm, I wasn¡¯t building anything today but¡do you know why they¡¯re asking?¡±
¡°Want to help! Want to do more work and help other hives!¡±
Niobee hestitated only a moment before continuing.
¡°¡karnuq too!¡±
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened a bit, but then he slowly nodded. He was a bit worried about the Flower Meadow queens, they had seemed subdued ever since the emergency purification. He had hoped the lancers might excite them but they still remained subdued, unfortunately. He guessed this was what they wanted to do to make up for that?
Belissar wasn¡¯t sure how else to help them, so he decided to let them do what they wanted.
¡°I see¡¡±
He thought for a moment.
¡°Well, the karnuq are still building their homes, so they could use the help. I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re able to lift stones but if so we¡¯re still gathering stuff to upgrade the Barracks that they could help transport. Hm¡maybe we could check with the Apiary or Orchard queens if any of them want to expand or raise new queens? We could either build new beehouses or expand some to apartments if so, whatever the queens want to do.¡±
¡°Ok! Will let them know and will ask other queens!¡±
Belissar smiled and nodded.
¡°Thanks, Niobee. I¡¯ll stop by the Flower Meadow myself to thank them.¡±
Belissar soon made his way over and found the queens assembling a group of soldiers apart from the overall army. He walked over to them, causing them all to stop and break out into salute dances.
¡°I heard you wanted to help with the building? Thanks, you girls really helped last time. How about today you help the karnuq and then we can figure out if there¡¯s more to do? I¡¯m sure they¡¯d appreciate it.¡±
The bees all froze before breaking out into rapid salute dances. Belissar chuckled and smiled at them.
¡°And¡you all are doing great. The Tower would not exist today without you and I¡¯m always grateful to you all for defending it¡¡±
Belissar paused there. He was about to claim responsibility for the mistakes and failures¡but the last time he did that it only caused the bees to vehemently object. He wanted to encourage them this time, so instead he stopped and thought about what would make them the most happy to hear.
¡°¡so, keep up the good work!¡±
Well, he couldn¡¯t think of much, so he just went with that. The Flower Meadow bees all froze solid once more. Belissar tried to think of something else to say, but before he could they burst out into a buzzing swarm of rapid salute dances. He smiled a bit, whispering to himself.
¡°Well, I guess that will do for now. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll try my best for you too¡¡±
The karnuq then got a surprise visit from the Sacred Den Master and his bees. Chief Rohsuak tilted her head.
¡°The bees¡want to help with building?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°Yes, together they should be able to lift a large plank. They¡¯re, um, especially helpful for roofs and stuff high up.¡±
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
¡°Are you certain? Help is always appreciated but we manage the construction on our own and have our tents until then. I would not want to take anything away from the Tower¡¯s defenses.¡±
But Belissar looked her in the eyes with a serious expression.
¡°Please, the bees want to help with this.¡±
Chief Rohsuak paused at the look and then slowly nodded.
¡°Well, if you¡¯re certain, then we appreciate it.¡±
She turned to the group of soldier bees hovering around Belissar.
¡°Thank you, we¡¯d love your help.¡±
The bees all danced a salute. Soon thereafter, karnuq watched with wide eyes as soldier bees worked together to lift up entire planks of wood and fly them into place.
And so, the soldier bee army¡¯s construction squadrons were formed and began their work¡
Chapter 115 - Con-Bee-nient Coincidence
The First of the Fifth hovered before the Apiary¡¯s Shrine of Bees with all the other queens hovering before her. They were, of course, not all too excited to be summoned from their hives¡but their wings were not buzzing and their stingers were not subconsciously extending like they did in previous group meetings. It seemed they were growing more curious than suspicious at each and every meeting. The First of the Fifth didn¡¯t blame them, for she had done everything in her power to suppress her rivals previously. Still, they needed to work together for the sake of the King and the hive of hives, so she was pleased that they were starting to lower their guard. Especially since today, she would be requesting their help.
¡°Want to raise new queens. Any queens ready to raise too? Can exchange drones this time. If need more honey, can give.¡±
The First of the Fifth had countless tasks at this point. She needed to test and cross-pollinate new flowers. She needed to look into the dangerous karnuq¡¯s manipulation of fully-processed honey. She needed to ensure the new, slower queens continued growing at an acceptable pace. She needed to arrange the delivery of honey from the Apiary to the Flower Meadow, more so now that there was a new, significantly larger soldier type to raise. She had to continue supplying honey to the King¡¯s honey traps. And, of course, to do all of this she needed to not only maintain but expand her honey production, all without sacrificing the quality that the King deserved.
So, she decided the first task to address would be her latest plan to raise new queens, not to send out and claim new territory but to reinforce her own hive as her daughter, the Fourth of the Seventh, and the Flower Meadow queens had all done. Scaling up her operations would allow her to then tackle each of her tasks with more resources and attention than she could if she attempted to do so now.
At the same time, though, she was not going to demand that the Apiary queens provide her with drones like she did before. All of them were donating honey to the Flower Meadow, so all of them could benefit from scaling up their operations. It would therefore benefit the entire hive of hives if all the Apiary queens raised new daughters. And if the First of the Fifth had to give up some of her own honey to get them all ready, then she would.
The other queens watched her for a moment before the Second of the Sixth slowly began to dance.
¡°¡can. Can¡¯t expand deliveries to Flower Meadow at same time, though.¡±
The other queens looked at the Second of the Sixth for a moment, and then slowly began to report their hives¡¯ statuses as well. The queens that were still baseline monster bees generally had enough. The queens that had evolved into more specialized types were a bit short of reserves due to the honey spent evolving all of their workers and, in the case of the digging and burning queen, moving their hives into new beehouses. Still, the situation was such that the First of the Fifth should be able to cover them¡though, as the Second of the Sixth stated, they wouldn¡¯t be able to expand their deliveries to the Flower Meadow at the same time. She¡¯d have to ask the Conduit about that, then, as doing so could delay them from raising lancers. For perhaps the first time, the First of the Fifth found herself short of honey, compounding the need to scale up their operations.
Coincidentally, the Conduit arrived just then. The First of the Fifth happily saluted to her. At least they¡¯d be able to ask her right away, while they were all still gathered.
¡°Hi! Apiary queens want to expand? King wants to build new hives, expand old ones!¡±
The First of the Fifth froze at the Conduit¡¯s words and began to tremble.
¡°The King¡wants us to expand?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s mind went blank. She had had the same idea as the King? The King was now going to build them new palaces for exactly the purpose she had gathered the queens? The King was¡asking them about it, indicating he planned to collaborate with them on the new palaces as he had for the Flower Meadow queens?
The good fortune¡was just too much.
Belissar stayed a bit to help the soldier bees and karnuq work together. It didn¡¯t take long before the bees were helping the karnuq build a house¡¯s roof. Belissar nodded and then took his leave. The Flower Meadow queens were, after all, not the only bees he planned to speak with today.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
He stopped by to check in on the bumblebees, who were doing great. Bumblebee workers now filled the field and gathered from the flowers, each happily spinning around him when he approached. The queens themselves were growing rapidly, each was now the size of a monster bee soldier already.
That caused Belissar to rub his chin. He wondered if the bumblebee queens would be able to raise soldiers? Or any of the other special bee types the monster bee queens could? How about sprayers, communers, lancers, or gardeners? He supposed he would find out soon, as the bumblebee queens were nearing the size the monster bee queens hit before they started raising soldiers.
After that, he made his way to the Apiary, where Niobee had just finished speaking with the queens there. The First of the Fifth was laying flat on the ground with her legs splayed out, so Niobee flew up to him instead.
¡°King! Apiary bees wanted to expand, want new queens to live with them! So, can make hives bigger?¡±
Belissar smiled and nodded.
¡°Of course, sounds perfect. We¡¯ll start upgrading them into Bee Apartments, then.¡±
Niobee then slowed down a bit.
¡°Though¡they said can¡¯t give more honey to Flower Meadow than doing now. Won¡¯t be able to help raise lancers.¡±
¡°Ah¡¡±
Belissar paused and rubbed his chin for a moment. That was something to consider, then. But he had to make his choice quickly as he saw the Apiary queens begin to stir, since he knew they¡¯d prioritize his plans over their own.
¡°Um, they¡¯d also need to evolve gardeners for themselves, too, right? I think we should expand first, focus on getting their hives going.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
Well, slower lancers meant a slower expansion purification¡or less options should another emergency purification come about. But Belissar hoped that Beero¡¯s new lightning attack would cover them for the latter, so he was willing to wait on the former. If the Apiary queens expanded, that would mean more honey for the gardeners and lancers, as well as anything new they got from the next expansion. But well, Belissar thought of all that after making the decision. The truth was he¡¯d rather the bees focus on what they wanted to do than to drop everything for his own plans.
And indeed, the Apiary queens would have plenty of their own work to do in the future. Because Belissar had received a message, and reports from the bees, that there were several new cross-pollinated flowers now.
A new sleepy chamomile flower bloomed that slowly pulsed with a faint glow. A light mist condensed around the latest cloudberry and sweetvetch flowers. But there was one in particular the drew Belissar¡¯s attention. One whose changes were so great that the Tower itself now acknowledged them.
New plant detected. Slime Flower is now available.
A new mana flower had sprouted up among the Gelatinous Heather. Faintly glowing nectar seemed to ooze out of its center, almost a jelly rather than a liquid, and even its stems and leaves appeared moist. Belissar walked over to observe it more closely.
Slime Flower
- Type: Slime, Nature, Trap, Spawner
- Mana Upkeep: 20 per node (40 due to Blessing of Bees), 10 (20 due to Blessing of Bees) to enable in compatible rooms
- Description: A flower that concentrates its mana into thickening its sap, which will spill out and engulf any creature that damages it. This effect extends partially to its nectar as well, which if left to pool in sufficient quantities may eventually condense into a slime core. The slime will then carry the flower¡¯s seeds along with it as it begins to move, spreading the seeds around while also hunting nearby pests, further protecting the flower.
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but stare at the description. A flower¡that spawned slimes? In fact¡a flower that was itself a monster spawner.
Just¡what? How had this happened? How was this possible? Belissar just stared in stunned silence for good minute before shrugging. He was in a Tower of the Gods raising bees that could understand human speech, grow as large as dogs at least, spray venom and use magic. Why exactly wouldn¡¯t a slime-spawning flower be possible? He couldn¡¯t answer that, so he decided not to worry about it.
Besides, said flower was extremely expensive. Apparently, since it counted as a monster spawner and was not bee-related, the Blessing of Bees was working against it. Yet, Belissar checked his mana and it hadn¡¯t changed since yesterday. So, apparently, having bred the flower via cross-pollination didn¡¯t count and so wasn¡¯t costing him. Any additional ones would, however.
He decided he would take it. It was a bit unfortunate that it was in the Apiary instead of the Flower Meadow, though he could move the whole Gelatinous Heather node it grew out of if he wanted to. Likewise, he was slightly concerned about the description. Would the sap, nectar, or slimes try to hurt the bees? The bees wouldn¡¯t try to eat the flower itself so he didn¡¯t think so. And would the slimes listen to him like the bees did? Would they be considered part of the Tower at all, given they were spawning from a flower that he hadn¡¯t specifically spawned? Well, the new queens the spawned queens raised did, so hopefully that would be the case. Belissar would have to keep a close eye on things to make sure, though.
Because as long as the slimes did get along with the rest of the Tower¡¯s residents¡then he had just gotten a new monster spawner for free. Cross-Pollination was proving to be a better and better perk with each new flower that grew. If Belissar had needed any convincing that the Apiary queens deserved to expand, then this would have done it.
Not that Belissar would ever need convincing that his bees deserved nice things.
POBee 115.1 - A Questionable Bee-cision
The Fourth of the Seventh rotated about in place, glancing all around her. A wall of wax now covered the one exposed entrance of their little alcove, protecting the interior from the elements. Cracks and gaps on the existing rock walls had been patched with wax and propolis for a tight seal all around, while workers continued to line the walls with more. Some honeycomb had been built and workers were currently beating their wings to dry the nectar even as the foragers brought more.
It was a humble hive, especially when compared to the palaces of the King, but it was a functioning hive. The scouts would now have a warm and dry place to rest and plentiful honey to drink, which meant they would not have to return all the way to their hive in the Orchard each day. They would be able to fly further than ever before and search the area for new flowers and more. So, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s first task was now complete and she was ready to move on.
The Fourth of the Seventh decided on her next move. Part of her wanted to rush out into the beyond now that the mini-hive was established, but that was not what she did. Because before she did that, she found that the greater part of her¡wished to return now. The Beyond was filled with all sorts of things she had never seen and proved every bit as exciting as she had dreamed. And yet¡she missed the workers she had left behind, especially her communer. She missed the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter, who was always happy and cheerful whenever the Fourth of the Seventh saw her. Sure, she could keep tabs on them as the communer gave her daily reports, but the Fourth of the Seventh wanted to see them herself, to dance with them and brush their antennae.
Her own instincts were pulling on her as well, for it had been a while since she last laid an egg. She may have wanted to see the world as a worker would, but that did not mean she disliked her own job, and it had been far too long since she had done it. But¡she did not want to lay her eggs here. As much as she wanted to see the Beyond, she preferred that her children grow in the warm embrace of the King¡¯s realm.
And so, she danced to the communer in the mini-hive.
¡°Ok, going to go back now, check on hive. Can tell others?¡±
The communer danced a salute dance and relayed her orders. The Fourth of the Seventh almost immediately felt mana flow towards her, sent by the communer back home.
¡°Really?! Queen coming home already?!¡±
She danced happily as she replied.
¡°Yes! Mini-hive set up, want to check on hive!¡±
The communer didn¡¯t respond but she could perceive a sense of happiness coming in through the mana. She decided she would head back even faster. So, she gathered up her escort of soldiers and workers, and they set off to return to the King¡¯s realm.
She could not help but shiver and shake about as she passed through the huge entrance and felt the full embrace of the King¡¯s mana once again. As much as she would see the world beyond, this was the place she belonged.
She flew up through the special entrance to the Bee Barracks, barely dancing a greeting to the Flower Meadow bees in the area before zipping into the Orchard. She was about to turn and head for the grove when something caught her eye.
There, on the ground, was a single bee. Their antennae was drooping, their wings were moving slowly and not providing any lift. They were slowly crawling onto a flower that had fallen from one of the nearby trees, sticking their proboscis to try and drink whatever scraps of nectar might be left within.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
The Fourth of the Seventh immediately dove down towards the bee and flew around.
¡°Worker ok?! Hurt?! Need help?!¡±
The bee stumbled a bit as they tried to respond.
¡°Q-Queen¡¡±
One of her workers buzzed their wings and flew in front of her.
¡°Queen, is not worker. Is drone.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh stopped her dance, her antennae twitching.
¡°Drone? But new queens already mated. How alive?¡±
The drone was still stumbling but managed to pull off a dance.
¡°W-When got outside¡all queens left. C-Couldn¡¯t find any¡¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh paused. Ah, that was right, when she was laying queens and drone with the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter she had realized at one point that she had miscounted, and so laid an extra drone egg just in case. The extra drone must have hatched too late for the wave of queens.
¡°Ok, then come back to hive with us! Can wait for next time!¡±
The workers and soldiers all turned to face their queen. One of the workers slowly danced in the air.
¡°Queen¡is drone. Can¡¯t work, can¡¯t fight, can¡¯t help. Will be useless for long time¡¡±
But the Fourth of the Seventh held her ground.
¡°Is ok! No good for normal hive, but we hive of hives! All bees help all bees! Even drone!¡±
The drone himself stumbled at that.
¡°Q-Queen¡is true. C-Can¡¯t help, couldn¡¯t mate. Don¡¯t need to¡¡±
But the Fourth of the Seventh landed by the drone and brushed his antennae with hers.
¡°Is ok! Let me help now, you help later! Find new way to help!¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh was not ignorant. She knew, like all bees, that drones were destined to die, and had no issue sending them out for that purpose. At the same time, though, she had watched the King save wounded soldiers who couldn¡¯t fight anymore. She had received access to flowers from the First of the Fifth when her hive was small and humble. And even now, the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter was watching over her hive on her behalf. So, if she saw a bee before her who needed help, she would not refuse it. Even if they were a drone doomed to die.
The drone shrunk down, lying on the ground.
¡°¡can¡¯t fly. Should leave here.¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh responded by crouching down in front of the drone, exchanging pheromones instead of dancing.
¡°Is ok! Climb on, will carry!¡±
The workers and soldiers began buzzing their wings while the drone shrank down even further. But the Fourth of the Seventh didn¡¯t move so, eventually, the drone slowly climbed on, nearly slipping and falling as he struggled to hold his grip. But, eventually, he was settled on her back, and the Fourth of the Seventh took off once again.
¡°Ok, let¡¯s go home everyone!¡±
The workers and soldiers glanced at the drone and then to their queen, but they said nothing more and followed as the Fourth of the Seventh took off. To be fair, this was not the craziest idea their queen had had before.
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s communer were waiting for her by the entrance and the three proceeded to crawl all over one another in happy dances. Only after all three had calmed down did the communer look at the bee on the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s back.
¡°Queen? Why carrying drone?¡±
¡°Saw on way here! Drone was born too late for mating, was starving. So brought back to help! Will help all bees, like King!¡±
The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter¡¯s antennae twitched again.
¡°Is drone but¡is also Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s drone so¡will take care! Will make sure is ok!¡±
The communer, for her part, stood completely still for a moment. The other workers all turned to her, uncertain how to respond. Eventually, the communer began to dance.
¡°I¡see. Well, queen is queen. Come, will have brood tender take a look and feed. Then will find¡something for drone to do.¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
The communer climbed onto the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s back to observe the drone and check for injuries while the Fourth of the Seventh carried them inside, and all the other workers went back to their jobs. The drone, who could hardly move at this point, could only emit some weak pheromones.
¡°Sorry¡¡±
But the communer just brushed his antennae.
¡°Queen has decided. And has had stranger ideas before that worked. So, get better and then find way for drone to help, ok?¡±
¡°¡ok¡¡±
The drone shrank down at the gazes of all the workers around them, but since both queens and the communer were there the workers figured it was handled and moved on. The drone was brought to the brood tenders, who managed to determine he was simply malnourished and running low on mana. He was led to a cell of mana honey and made to drink, slowly pulling him back from the brink.
And so, for the first time within the Tower, a drone survived past his first flight and returned to the hive of his birth¡
POBee 115.2 - The Last of Bees
The next day, Belissar spoke with the First of the Fifth and the Apiary queens on upgrading their beehouses into bee apartments. While they decided the general structure was fine, the First of the Fifth pointed out numerous small optimizations that would assist with better honey production. Multiple entrances so that foragers coming and going wouldn¡¯t get in each other¡¯s way, isolated trays for honey that could impact its surroundings like burning mana honey, slight rearrangements for better airflow, and other such improvements. Belissar took all of this into account and, once the structure had been fully planned out, began the construction work.
He actually had the DP to just upgrade the beehouses outright but decided to build them himself. Since they had wood trees in the Orchard and the Flower Meadow queens wanted to help with construction anyways, there was not point in spending extra DP cutting down on resources and effort. Besides, he also enjoyed having a personal hand in the bees¡¯ abode. It made them happy and it was the least he could do given all they were doing for him.
There was a question on the digging queen and burning queen¡¯s hives, seeing as they were dug into the ground instead of wooden structures, but the digging queen herself provided the solution. Her workers, as per their name, were quite good at digging, so they could easily expand the subterranean hives. Belissar would just need to provide them with additional frames and maybe an extra entrance or two and they could handle the rest. The queen offered to do so for the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive as well but both Belissar and the Third of the Sixth decided to wait. After all, he had plans for the future regarding her abode, so they both agreed to wait until Belissar could build his envisioned volcano room before making major expansions to her hive.
And so, Belissar set off on his task for the coming days or weeks until his Tower would be ready for the next expansion¡
It was not so, however, for one of the queens at the meeting with him. The Fourth Queen of the First Dynasty of the Eight Spawner, the first of her line, had the dubious distinction of being the last queen spawned in the Apiary. She had even been the lastborn in all of the King¡¯s realm until the King had raised the bumblebee queens.
But that had been little comfort for her. The bumblebee queens were an entirely different species from the rest of them¡and even now, they had begun to grow at a rapid pace. They were already larger than her at this point and showed no signs of slowing down. They, unlike her, appeared to possess a unique advantage.
Which left her, once again, as the least remarkable of the King¡¯s queens. Born last, the slowest to grow, the slowest to expand. The queen who lived furthest from the King in the Apiary, born too late to even participate when the prime territory was claimed. The queen least likely to receive a magical palace. The queen who, even after receiving a magical palace, still lagged behind the others.
And that was a problem, for she was about to be left behind once again.
The First of the Fifth went without saying, an existence beyond anything she could ever hope to achieve. The Fourth of the Seventh had set out and claimed an entire room to her name. The Second of the Sixth and others had now set themselves apart by evolving on the honey of special flowers, and received entire patches of flowers to themselves from the King as a result. The Third of the Sixth was going to receive an entire room like the Fourth of the Seventh.
New flowers had grown and were now available, but the Fourth of the Eighth would never reach them. The First of the Fifth assigned them out in order of productivity, granting them to the queens who donated most during the daily honey deliveries to the Flower Meadow. The Fourth of the Eight and her children worked as hard as they could, but so did all the others, and so her contributions always fell short of theirs. She would be the last to gain exclusive access to a special flower, if ever.
And now the King was expanding their hives, which would lead to an explosion of growth. The First of the Fifth and the other highly successful queens would form huge joint hives with their children, doubling or more in size and productivity nearly overnight. The queens of more middling success had gathered together and come up with a plan to respond: they would, like the Fourth of the Seventh and the First of the Fifth¡¯s first daughter, join their hives together, which would allow them to compete.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
None of them had invited the Fourth of the Eight to participate, of course.
So, for her the expansion would just be herself and however many queens she could raise. Which wasn¡¯t many, she needed donations from the First of the Fifth to even participate in the expansion in the first place. Which, of course, would likely cause the First of the Fifth to write her off completely when it came to acquiring special plants. So, she would have nothing to set herself apart, and her hive just didn¡¯t have the bee-power to keep up with either the powerful single queens or the newly forming joint hives.
Well, if that happened it happened. She was grateful that she was even allowed to participate in the expansion, so she couldn¡¯t particularly complain if she wasn¡¯t in a position to take advantage of it. And, as the lastborn, she was more than used to her own circumstances. At first, she had completely accepted her place in the world.
That had changed, though. The Fourth of the Seventh was once a queen in the very same position as herself. All it had taken was one set of flowers from the First of the Fifth to completely change the trajectory of her hive. And now, the Fourth of the Seventh was spoken of in the same vein as the Firstborn and the First of the Fifth, one of the great queens who ruled over the others. The Third of the Sixth was now set to do so as well after having spent so long as one of the queens without palaces like her. So now¡now the Fourth of the Eight couldn¡¯t help but imagine what could be. Couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there was any way she might be able to change her fate. Anyway she might be able to set herself apart from the others and become more than just the lastborn.
The obvious way to do so were the special flowers, but she couldn¡¯t think of any way to gain access to them. She needed the flowers to set herself apart, but she needed to set herself apart for the First of the Fifth to grant her the flowers. If only there was some way she could acquire special honey without the flowers¡
She froze. Because¡she now remembered that there was. The King, mighty and miraculous as he was, could create honey out of nothing but mana. He required no flowers and no nectar to do so. And while acquiring honey from the King himself was not something she could even imagine happening, he was not the only one who could do so. He was not the only one who had learned such a secret.
Before she knew it, the Fourth of the Eight was beating her wings and rising into the air. It was a long shot and required her to make an incredibly insolent request. And yet¡it was a chance to change the course of her hive. Maybe her only chance. So, before she knew it, she was flying towards the exit of the Apiary.
Beero was about to start another training session with the other wounded soldiers when one of them began dancing, signaling that someone was approaching her. Beero turned around and her antennae began to twitch. One of the queens was approaching her, and not one she recognized from the Flower Meadow.
¡°Hello, am Fourth of the Eight from the Apiary.¡±
¡°Hello, am Beero. How can help?¡±
The Fourth of the Eight slowly landed on the ground with her antennae twitching. Her wings buzzed a bit and she fidgeted in place, but, eventually, she began to dance.
¡°¡have¡request.¡±
¡°Ok, what request?¡±
The Fourth of the Eight paused¡and then began to dance rapidly with her wings beating.
¡°Beero can make magic honey, right? And can make tiny-lightnings? Can make honey with tiny-lightnings? If so, can get some? Know it¡¯s bad to ask for but could really, really use. Just a little bit, just enough for a worker. Will give honey in exchange, as much as can. Will help however can.¡±
The queen was dancing so rapidly Beero barely managed to catch what she was saying. But once she had processed what was going on¡Beero froze.
That¡was right, wasn¡¯t it? She could make honey now. She had been so focused on trying to get back into the fight that she had forgotten about that. Hadn¡¯t she already seen some of her sisters evolve into maddening soldiers by drinking special honey? That¡probably would have been a better way to give her comrades lightning than zapping them and hoping they¡¯d endure.
But what was done was done and they had all endured as well as she had, so Beero put that aside and considered the Fourth of the Eight¡¯s request. She needed only a moment to decide.
¡°Yes, can make honey with tiny lightnings. Will give as much as can make.¡±
There was no question at all. Beero had been supported by her own hive when there was nothing she could do at all. Even before she was injured she had relied on the workers for her meals, and afterwards she had been fed vast amounts of honey when she could neither work for nor protect the hive of hives. So, now that she could now do both, and a member of the hive of hives was asking for her help, she would never even consider turning them down. Indeed, it would be her honor to now provide honey for the workers as they had always done for her.
The Fourth of the Eight suddenly stopped her dance and stared at her.
¡°Wait¡what? Really? Really will give?!¡±
Beero danced a salute.
¡°Of course! All bees help hive of hives, however can!¡±
So today, instead of practicing their lightning sting, Beero led the wounded soldiers in the honey creating spell. And the Fourth of the Eight began to hope that maybe, just maybe, she might become more than the lastborn after all¡
Chapter 116 - Un-Bee-lievable Developments!
And so, several days passed. Belissar was currently checking in on the bumblebee meadow, as he had taken to calling it. Bumblebee workers buzzed and circled around him as he walked through the meadow. Belissar responded by creating some magic honey in his hand for them to take a sip of, smiling as he walked. Soon, he arrived by the nests and the queens crawled out to greet him.
Belissar felt a breeze blow into his face as large wings beat in the air, shadows passing over him as large shapes circled overhead. A moment later, huge balls of fuzz gently landed on his back and shoulders. He cupped his hand, filled it with honey, and lifted it up so the bumblebee queens could get a sip as well. The queens had grown dramatically over the past week, and were now the largest bees in the dungeon. They weren¡¯t yet as large as the incoming lancers would be¡but they were still growing.
So far, only the queens had grown to that extent. The workers were a bit larger than the bumblebees Belissar was used to, but still ultimately bee-sized. However¡Belissar had noticed that recently the bumblebees had started to build some larger wax cups. He couldn¡¯t wait to see what they planned to do with them.
But, most importantly, the bumblebees were happy, and growing well. And that was enough for Belissar. He laughed a bit as the queens crawled over him and he gently scratched their backs.
Belissar did not spend the entire week just checking on the bumblebee queens, however. The Apiary had been transformed. Previously, around fifteen beehouses were scattered around the area behind the farmhouse. Now¡now the Apiary looked like a small village, with ten structures even larger than the farmhouse now arranged around the flower patches and the hole leading to the third floor¡¯s Dirt Tunnels. Six of the queens had decided to join together in joint hives, so the total number of beehouses decreased to twelve, and then the digging and burning hives were both underground.
Belissar and the soldier bees had worked hard and now all of the Apiary beehouses were now upgraded to Bee Apartments. The soldier bees grew increasingly efficient at lifting and arranging the wood, to the point that Belissar requested karnuq help with the woodworking in order to keep pace. Fortunately, since they had been offering Belissar wood as his portion of their work, he had plenty of raw materials, so the work really took off.
As for the digging queen, her workers had managed to expand her home in the meantime. She even raised a few digging soldiers with thick, tough mandibles well-suited to larger scale excavation. Belissar had simply needed to fill in the space with some frames and add a few more doors to some new entrances and her home was eligible for upgrading as well.
Of course, the other Apiary queens were not idle, either. Another queen had evolved, this time into a sedative queen. But the greatest work was one they all performed together. While Belissar and the soldier bees expanded their homes, the Apiary queens had laid new queens and drones which had just hatched today.
Belissar frowned a bit as he saw the drones fall to the ground after completing their tasks. He thought of taking them to the Memorial¡only to watch their bodies fade into sparks of mana as their power was spent. But then he noticed the sparks were not moving at random, but rather drifting towards the nearest Shrine of Bees. He turned his tower sight to the Memorial off in the Flower Meadow¡and found new numbers written upon a new pillar. He took a deep breath and nodded.
After that night¡¯s daily purification, Belissar walked over to the Memorial.
¡°Let¡¯s thank the drones who gave their lives today.¡±
Niobee paused, and then began a slow, unsteady dance.
¡°King wants to honor¡drones? But¡drones don¡¯t fight. Don¡¯t help¡¡±
Belissar chuckled and held out his hand for Niobee to land on.
¡°No¡but they have an important job to do, you know? The new queens couldn¡¯t build hives without them, and they perish in the process. That, I think, deserves some recognition.¡±
Niobee spun around rapidly.
¡°Really?! Drones important?! Help queens?! How?!¡±
She turned to the queens. The Firstborn, the First of the Fifth, and the other queens danced their confirmation.
¡°Spawner queens fine, but new queens have to mate with drones before raising workers.¡±
Niobee continued rapidly dancing around in circles.
¡°Useless drones¡not useless? Drones¡important, even though don¡¯t work? Queen needs drones to raise workers?!¡±
Belissar chuckled and nodded, then pointed to the new pillar.
¡°Yep, the God of Bees says so too.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Niobee spun around a few more times and then came to a stop, lowering herself to lie on Belissar¡¯s hand for a moment before dancing slowly.
¡°¡ok. Then¡honor¡drone?¡±
Belissar nodded.
¡°We¡¯ll honor all bees.¡±
Belissar and a hesitant Niobee then led the bees in one of their memorials for the bees who had given their lives for the hive of hives, though not in any battle. And, unbeknownst to Belissar, a certain bee dragged along by the Fourth of the Seventh was present as well, his eyes fixed upon Belissar, the memorial, and the dance of honor.
The rest of the Tower continued working as well. The new queens raised by the Fourth of the Seventh and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter had grown and begun to raise workers of their own. Worker bees now spread out from beyond the grove where they lived, visiting the rows of apple trees beyond. And exchanging pollen between those trees and the mana flowers in the grove.
The Fourth of the Seventh began the scouting missions in earnest now that the mini-hive was established. Niobee now included bees from her hive in the morning reports to Belissar, so he was receiving daily reports from the scouts. So far, they mostly just told him about finding more trees and flowers, but Belissar preferred that to finding anything dramatic¡and potentially dangerous. Additionally, the scouts had begun to identify the different flowers and trees Belissar didn¡¯t have in the Tower. The Fourth of the Seventh and her escort soldiers were then gathering seeds and samples to carry back whenever she returned to her hive. It¡would still be a while before Belissar could spawn a pine tree, but he¡¯d eventually be able to increase the diversity of the Tower¡¯s flora.
And, of course, the karnuq were not idle either. Chief Rohsuak¡¯s new blessings improved the amount of mana she could use each day, increasing the amount of wood she could dry. This, combined with Muuraqi¡¯s growing ability to manipulate stone, boosted the karnuq¡¯s construction efforts, and they had a small village going by now. Additionally, they had started on metal working. At the moment it mostly consisted of cold working copper into simple tools, but they had also started constructing a stone furnace for some more sophisticated techniques. They were also arranging a new expedition to the Underway, largely for scouting and hunting, but also to try and pick up some clay they had passed previously. If Belissar could absorb and create some, pottery would be in the works as well.
But, ultimately, the greatest growth came not from any of them, but from the Flower Meadow¡
The Firstborn, and indeed all the Flower Meadow queens, gathered together now before a new tray, a brand new addition to the Bee Barracks. The Flower Meadow queens had requested the material, and then had their soldiers assemble the tray themselves, not wanting to distract the King from his work on the Apiary queens¡¯ homes. And, as more and more of their soldiers participated in the construction work elsewhere, they found they had the bee-power to make something simple like this themselves.
The tray was the same shape as any other built by the King, but with a very key difference: it was far larger. Not only did it frame a larger area, the frames themselves were also noticeably wider. When filled with wax, it became more of a box than a tray, expanding out in all three dimensions as the combs were built far deeper than normal.
It took great efforts to build and even greater efforts to fill, but the Flower Meadow hives had seen it done. They had made a radical decision and ceased laying soldier eggs altogether. The queens had concluded that, at the moment, the soldier bee army was large enough. They had enough to completely encircle an invader while keeping several additional encirclements worth of soldiers in the reserve force. More soldiers would not make them much stronger¡and they needed the honey.
They instead focused on reorganizing and expanding their workers. The First of the Fifth¡¯s feedback had been¡incredibly enlightening. The Firstborn knew honey-making wasn¡¯t her forte, but she hadn¡¯t realized just how far behind she had fallen on account of her negligence. Their production dipped a bit as they had much to reorganize, but once they had implemented the First of the Fifth¡¯s feedback they saw their honey output soar. They then all agreed to expand their worker numbers to a level that would keep the workers from scrambling and becoming disorganized in the future.
And since they weren¡¯t raising more soldiers, they took all that additional honey and stockpiled it. The Apiary hadn¡¯t cut its donations either, so combined with their own increases in production their combs were soon overflowing with honey.
And that brought them to today. Each of the queens had taken the oldest, strongest, and most experienced of her soldiers and encased them in the cells far too large for any existing bee, packed with the richest mana honey available in the Bee Barracks. They had slept away in their sealed-up cells for several days now¡but the Firstborn sensed that the time was near.
The sheer amount of work had taken her mind off of it, but now that things were winding down her failure weighed on her once more. Their army had failed more than once against the intruders. Would that continue in the future? Would they always remain one step behind the invaders threatening the hive of hives? Was it impossible for them to defend the King?
The Firstborn didn¡¯t know. Her record wasn¡¯t the greatest, so she could not claim confidence in facing whatever lay ahead. But all she knew was that, even if it was impossible, even if she would fail, she would not stop trying. Beero, a soldier from her own hive, had gone from a cripple no longer fit for battle to a warrior who could bring lightning itself down upon their foes. The Firstborn would do no less. She would spare no effort to overturn their present weakness.
And the first of those efforts would show themselves today.
The wax covering one of the cells began to bulge. Workers and even soldier bees moved to tear open the huge cap covering an equally huge cell. A moment later¡a bee even larger than the Firstborn began to crawl out. The Flower Meadow queens stood in silence, eyes poring over the new bee even as the workers cleaned off the last remnants of honey sticking to her body. This¡this was a larger bee than any of them had ever seen, as large as the smallest invaders even. Her chitin was sleek, her wings long and firm, but it was her abdomen that drew the Firstborn¡¯s attention. Her stinger was not retracted and hidden like the rest of theirs. No, it couldn¡¯t have been hidden even had the bee tried. The stinger was built into the back of the abdomen across its entire width, extending out in a long and sleek clone ending in a sharp tip. It alone was as long as an entire soldier bee.
The Firstborn would not content herself into believing that this alone was enough. But she did allow herself to hope that it was a strong step in the right direction.
Especially as the other cells in the massive tray began to bulge out as well¡
Chapter 117 - Bee-gin the Expansion
Belissar watched as eight lancer bees climbed high into the sky. They then angled themselves so that their stingers were facing down, and then began beating their wings in the other direction. They fell from the sky like arrows from a bow, plunging down as fast as they could. In but a moment, they struck and plunged their stingers deep into the ground.
Belissar crossed his arms and grunted. This was what he said he was waiting for, and indeed the lancers seem quite powerful. They were far larger than any other bee, even the bumblebee queens. They were even as larger or larger than the mini-shades that the karnuq challengers faced. He guessed they could match any shade he¡¯d seen before¡most likely. They might have trouble hitting a cat or bird shade depending on how fast it was moving. But anything they did hit would likely not survive¡or at least not emerge unscathed.
And yet, he couldn¡¯t rid himself of that last, lingering anxiety. Every expansion purification shade was a shade he had never seen before, so who knew what this next one would do? Would it be another shade that could defeat everything he could throw at it?
But he shook his head and forced himself to uncross his arms. The fact was he didn¡¯t know, and couldn¡¯t. His bees and his Tower had reached the point he had wanted, so there was nothing for it but to trust in them now. He turned to Niobee and the Firstborn and nodded.
¡°Well done, I wasn¡¯t expecting you to evolve these until later so, um, nice work. We¡¯ll go ahead and fight an expansion purification then, let¡¯s tell everyone to prepare. Now¡um¡do your best.¡±
Belissar was about to warn the Firstborn that this would be a shade they had never seen before and to be careful¡but he decided against it. The Flower Meadow queens were the experts at this point and had seen more than enough new shades to know that would be the case. So, he decided just to trust them to know what to do.
The Firstborn danced a solemn salute dance and flew off to the Bee Barracks, while Niobee flew off to inform the Orchard and Apiary bees. Belissar himself went to speak with the karnuq and let them know as well.
He hoped they wouldn¡¯t need Chief Rohsuak¡¯s help this time, but he was going to make sure they had were ready for anything.
Later on in the day, everyone finished their preparations. The soldier bee army was arranged in front of the first floor Flower Meadow¡¯s entrance, while Beero and her wounded lightning bees stood on top of their platform. Chief Rohsuak and the karnuq were waiting by the Bee Barracks, with Chief Rohsuak standing next to a couple mana honeycomb trays delivered by the Apiary queens. The Second of the Sixth, the medicinal queen, had brought most of her hive and was waiting on standby with medicinal honey.
Belissar had even removed the bees¡¯ secret tunnel that linked the Bee Barracks to the Tower exit in the first floor Dirt Tunnels. He didn¡¯t think a shade would find it, and the bees should be able to handle anything small enough to fit in it, but he didn¡¯t want to leave anything to chance. Anything he could do to ensure the bees¡¯ safety, he did.
He considered deploying the new digging soldiers to the Dirt Tunnels but decided against it. There were only a handful of them at the moment and he somewhat doubted this purification could be handled by a single squad of soldier bees. Likewise, the burning, sedative, and bumblebee queens were still limited to workers at the moment, so wouldn¡¯t be participating except in emergencies. The slime flower had also not spawned any slimes yet. Belissar was curious about that but now was not the time to think on it.
For the time had come to launch the purification.
¡°Everyone ready?¡±
The bees and karnuq alike all saluted in their fashion. Belissar took a deep breath.
Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small+.
¡°Ok, here we go.¡±
He confirmed, and once again the Tower¡¯s mana lit up, and the doors swung open as the Tower¡¯s might poured out to confront the Hunger once more.
Expansion purification attempt commencing.
As would its defenders. Without missing a beat, the Hunger crawled up the Tower¡¯s mana to the gateway. Even though he was expecting it this time, Belissar still couldn¡¯t help a shiver. The Hunger wasted no time in coalescing. The shade was low to the ground this time, shorter than the turtle-shade had been, though wide enough around to match the wolf-shades despite its short legs. It had a smooth head with blazing orbs for eyes and a toothless set of jaws. It wiggled its body as it crawled on smooth, squat legs. Belissar, to his surprise, recognized the shape of the creature immediately. It was a salamander, no different than any other save for its enormous size relative to those Belissar knew. It didn¡¯t have any spikes or wings or extra fangs and claws. It didn¡¯t have an extra limbs or even an extra set of eyes.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
But that did not mean it was normal. The mist of the Hunger surrounding it swirled and and flowed with far greater speed than with the other shades. It flickered and lashed in ephemeral tongues. It appeared like¡fire. As if black flames wrapped every inch of the shade¡¯s body. It even made the appropriate crackling noise.
Belissar gulped. If he was seeing what he thought he was seeing, Chief Rohsuak might not be able to help this time.
Expansion purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 1
The shade let out a roar and then began scrambling across the ground. Black flames were left in its trail, appearing to scorch the very dirt as the Hunger spread where the flames burned. Belissar held his breath as the shade approached the first Pit Trap. If they were lucky, maybe it would fall in¡though he might not be able to set this shade on fire even if it did.
But he wouldn¡¯t find out. Upon stepping into the Pit, the shade just placed its feet on the walls¡and stuck right to them. It thus crawled along the walls over the pit without slowing down. It seemed they would have to fight after all¡
Belissar began to confer with Chief Rohsuak, Metsaitti, and the bees as the shade made its way through the Dirt Tunnels. It was faster than the turtle shade¡but slower than all the rest that had come before it, so they had plenty of time. Chief Rohsuak stated she had burned Fire typed creatures in the past, so it wasn¡¯t guaranteed it would be immune to her¡but that was in her prime, and always took a lot out of her even back then. Her latest blessing from the God of Fire aside, she couldn¡¯t state with confidence that she¡¯d be able to deal with this shade. So, it might be up to his bees to handle it.
Belissar wasn¡¯t sure if they could. He wasn¡¯t sure how powerful those flames were in general; the first floor Dirt Tunnels didn¡¯t have much flammable material in it so they had no baseline. At least, not until the shade passed by one of the wall-mounted Sticky Honey Traps. The shade was not moving fast enough to escape the flow of honey and so was caught dead on.
The honey caught fire and began to burn before it even touched the shade. Some of the honey managed to splatter on its body, causing it to growl, but was quickly burned away. The shade was only slowed down for a moment¡and showed no signs of intoxication from the loaded maddening honey as it continued through the Dirt Tunnels.
Belissar was not encouraged by this turn of events.
Eventually, the shade made its way to the final stretch. As it neared the exit to the tunnels, a squad of sprayers took up positions and launched their attack across the entire tunnel. Once again, even their venom started to burn in the air as it approached the shade. And since they sprayed less and less thick fluid than the Sticky Honey Traps, none of it managed to hit the shade proper.
And then the shade responded by unleashing an attack of its own. It opened its mouth and a clone of black flames filled the tunnel. The sprayers were forced to flee at maximum speed as the fire burst from the tunnel, setting the Flower Meadow beyond ablaze. A brush fire started up and was soon spreading across the first quarter of the Flower Meadow.
The Flower Meadow queens were all gathered together. Since each queen could order her soldiers through her communers now, they all worked together to command the soldier bee army during battle, with one queen appointed to make overall decisions. They all danced their commands and all the sprayers in the army pulled back. The soldiers bees moved forward in their place.
Soon, the shade stepped out into Flower Meadow itself, wading into the burning flowers without pause. A squad of soldier bees attempted an attack run and managed to push through the smoke, their new fire resistance proving invaluable. But it was fire resistance, not immunity, so once the bees approached the shade its own flames began to assault them. The soldier bees did not immediately burn or catch fire, but pulled back as they realized the danger.
The Flower Meadow queen in charge for today, the First of the Fourth, turned towards Belissar and began to dance.
¡°Soldiers can¡¯t reach without taking losses. Want to send lancers but might get hurt. Can?¡±
Belissar frowned as he watched the shade crawl through the burning Flower Meadow. So, the soldiers couldn¡¯t approach and the sprayers¡¯ attack couldn¡¯t make it through the flames. There was still Beero¡¯s lightning bees they could try. But that was risky as well since the shade could breathe fire at a distance. If the wooden platform caught fire, Beero and the others would not have much time to even flee, much less pull off their lightning dance.
¡°Do you think the lancers will survive?¡±
The First of the Fourth didn¡¯t hesitate.
¡°Should, bigger and faster than soldiers so should hit enemy before hurt too bad.¡±
Belissar took a deep breath. The lancers might not die, but they¡¯d certainly be hurt diving right into fire like that. It would probably be safer to see if Beero and the others could hit the shade with lightning first.
Or¡would it? Belissar considered the fire breath attack, how far and how quickly it had moved. If the shade sent it directly towards the top of the wooden platform¡could Beero and the others really finish their dance before then? If not, would the soldier bees even be able to evacuate them before the fire hit?
It seemed either way, his bees were going to have to brave the flames if they wanted to take this shade down¡
Chapter 118 - Reject Fear, Embrace Braver-Bee
Belissar furrowed his brow, but the shade continued its advance in the meantime so he tried to think as quickly as he could. He ended up sighing and shaking his head. At the end of the day, it was just too risky. Why would he allow the lancers to jump into a literal fire, or for the wounded and immobile lightning bees to face a fire breath, when he had another option. He opened his eyes and turned to ask Chief Rohsuak to intervene.
Until he caught sight of the bees.
The First of the Fourth was dipping, her wings beating slower and slower the longer he remained silent. She was about to land on the ground at this point. The other bees were faltering as well, all of them either hovering as motionless as they could or else slowly dropping from the air. Even Niobee was uncharacteristically still, with only a slight sway to her hovering. Belissar frowned.
He recalled the past few weeks. He recalled how subdued the Firstborn and the Flower Meadow queens had been after the emergency purification. He recalled how hard Beero and the others had worked just to take part in the fighting once again.
He now thought of how they all would feel and act should Chief Rohsuak handle this purification as well. The bees who had made it their main mission to defend the Tower from intruders, who devoted all of their efforts to strengthening their army¡held back from the fight without even deploying the newest bees.
He held his tongue and rubbed his chin once again. What was the right move here? Should he protect his bees no matter how it made them feel¡or should he let them face unnecessary danger and harm so that they could feel useful? He closed his eyes and grunted to himself.
Well, the truth was he already knew the answer. He had had this argument with himself before, after all. He already knew what the bees wanted. He already knew what the God of Bees wanted. He already knew what he was supposed to do. What the master and defender of a Tower had to do. He just didn¡¯t want to do it.
He opened his eyes and turned to his bees, looking over the First of the Fourth. Her drooping paused at his attention. He took a deep breath.
¡°¡do it. Send in the lancers. Second of the Sixth, get your medicinal workers ready, we¡¯ll probably need them soon. Niobee, ask Beero if they can prepare their spell ahead of time. If so, have them get started.¡±
The First of the Fourth immediately shot up into the air, her wings once again beating fast as she quickly saluted and began relaying commands. The Second of the Sixth did likewise and then began arranging her workers. Niobee was already dancing with a communer. Belissar slowly exhaled his breath.
At the end of the day, the only reason not to use the lancers was his own desire to avoid seeing bees hurt. Chief Rohsuak may have gotten a new blessing but she also hadn¡¯t gotten any younger, so she would strain herself if she had to keep handling purifications on his behalf. Likewise, there was no guarantee her fire would even work this time¡and no guarantee the shade wouldn¡¯t attack her in the meantime. Additionally, it was important to find out exactly how strong the lancers were, and to allow the soldier bee army to continue fighting and growing.
And well¡would he depress the bees for his own desire? Would he prioritize his own wants over the wants of both the bees and their god? Was it truly kinder to hold them back from the fight they desperately wanted?
Was it that he was worried for the bees¡¯ sake, or was it that he just didn¡¯t want to lose anything more himself?
So, he gave the order. He had told himself he trusted in his bees, so that is what he would do.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Behind him, Chief Rohsuak made a sad smile and whispered to herself.
¡°Well done, Sacred Den Master. Not everyone can bear the burden of leadership.¡±
The bees soon responded. The Second of the Sixth led her medicinal workers closer to the battlefield, while the Orchard hive¡¯s soldiers carried trays of medicinal honey for them. Beero and the lightning bees began their dance, holding a comb of lightning above their heads as they paused on the final step.
The lancers, meanwhile, flew high into the sky, with the soldier bees clearing the area so they could get an unobstructed view. They looked down with their large eyes to observe their target¡¯s location, size, speed, and direction, as well as how quickly it could turn. They swayed about in the air, testing how it moved against their wings and chitin and checking for wind. They then began to dance to one another and arranged themselves into a cross formation centered on the target. One bee in the center, aiming directly at the target¡¯s core. Two bees in front and behind, two bees to either side, all aiming at an angle.
With all calculations concluded, the bees turned so that their abdomens faced down and their wings and heads were up and far away.
And then, as one, they stopped beating their wings. Their wing joints twisted to reverse the wings¡¯ angles, and then they swung them in the other direction. The five lancers plunged from the sky, beating their wings in reverse to increase their speed further. The air blew past them like gusts of wind and the view from their main eyes became a blur of golden light from the sun, blue skies that reflected it, and yellow and black streaks as they rushed past their smaller sisters, until special plates of chitin extended out to protect the big eyes. A small protrusion extended on the back of their heads, holding two smaller eyes held just above the rest of their body. These eyes focused in on the shade, allowing them to adjust their aim. Their legs pressed tight against their bodies, but sometimes shifted and extended out, causing them to change angle as needed.
Down, down they dove as the smoke from the fires rose into their path. They ignored it, their antennae already safely tucked into special grooves on their faces to protect them mid-dive. Smoke burned through their trachea but their speed was such that it left as quickly as it came, and they had all taken a deep breath before the dive began in any case. They did lose sight of the target but mana helped them stabilize their path, ensuring that they would not drift off-course so long as the target didn¡¯t either.
A moment later, they passed out of the smoke. The target had shifted slightly to the right so all the lancers spread out their legs to tilt in that direction. Another moment later, they felt heat flicker against their chitin as they passed the first tongues of fire, but warm mana rose within them to counteract it.
And then, they struck.
The lancer to the left could not change her course quickly enough and overshot the shade. The lancer to the right overadjusted to avoid colliding with the center bee, and so fell short of the target. Both of these plunged into the ground. But the three bees on the center line all struck true. Their stingers plunged deep¡and then out the other side of the shade. One in the center of its torso, one where the tail connected to the main body, and one right on its neck.
The shade didn¡¯t have time to even let out a sound as it crashed into the ground from the impact.
The lancers had no time to even verify the effect of their attack, however, for fire burned all around them. And this close to the center of the blaze, neither their thick chitin nor the warm mana within them proved a sufficient defense. The two side lancers pulled out of the ground fairly easily and took off quickly, with only minor singes and ash on their chitin.
The three center lancers found it more difficult. Black flames surged around them from the shade, engulfing and lashing at their bodies. The warm mana concentrated on their wings and faces, leaving the rest of their body dependent solely on their chitin. They scrambled to take off again, but the shade dispersed underneath them, giving them nothing solid to push off of. They slowly rose to the air as a result as the flames assaulted them, leaving parts of their chitin black and smoking. Every inch of their bodies burned.
But, they pressed on, beating their wings as quickly as they could. Slowly, ever so slowly they rose, but bit by bit they gained a bit of speed. And then, all of a sudden, they broke out of the flames and back into smoke-filled air. Their bodies now burned from the lack of oxygen as their pre-dive breathes began to run out, but they had passed out of the fire.
They had made it.
And if the black fires dying down were any indication¡they had won.
Chapter 119 - Definitely Random Bee-wards
Belissar gulped as the lancers began their dive. He held his breath as they passed into the smoke, and then into the fire. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to watch them burn through his tower sight, so he just froze, not even breathing as they disappeared into the inferno and as a surge of black flames shot into the sky.
And then¡the black flames began to die down. Two lancers pulled out of the fire from either side.
And then¡finally¡Belissar caught a glimpse of the other three. Burned and smoking, but still flying. He finally exhaled his breath and nearly fell to the ground, placing his hand on the wall of the Bee Barracks to steady himself.
¡°They made it.¡±
And then, a moment later, he felt the Tower¡¯s mana surging.
Expansion successful.
Reward: Floor limit increased to 4. Receive one perk choice, and two random reward choices.
He allowed himself a small smile.
¡°In fact¡we won.¡±
The bees began celebration dances, zipping through the air. The First of the Fourth began zipping around him in a ¡°King is best king!¡± dance. Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti both smiled.
But Belissar¡¯s attention turned away from them all to the lancers. They were flagging and dropping out of the air at the moment. The nearest soldiers bees moved in and began pushing and pulling at them, helping to prop them up until they were clear of the flames below. The moment they cleared the first fire break they all but crashed into the ground. Belissar took off running in their direction, monitoring the situation with his tower sight until he could arrive.
The Second of the Sixth¡¯s workers immediate swarmed over the lancers, flaring their mana and giving the lancers their healing stings. Belissar could tell from the lancers¡¯ mana that they weren¡¯t in immediate danger of dying, but they were not in good condition otherwise. Their chitin was burned, their wings were singed, and smoke still leaked out of their bodies. His heart began to pound as the scene came within sight of his eyes. Medicinal workers continued to rotate in and out as their mana and medicinal stings depleted, while the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s soldiers placed trays of medicinal honey in front of the lancers to drink. The three most heavily injured barely had the strength to suck up the honey.
Belissar finally arrived and walked over to them. They tried to salute but he immediately shook his head.
¡°Don¡¯t get up. Rest, and let the medicinal bees do their thing.¡±
He then forced himself to smile.
¡°And¡great work. You won.¡±
The lancers beat their wings and tried to stir, but the medicinal workers all buzzed at them so they stopped. Belissar couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at that. He then made some honey in his hand, pouring as much mana as he could, and gave each of the lancer¡¯s a drink. He didn¡¯t know if it would heal them like the medicinal honey would, but it helped restore their mana reserves and made them happy, and he wanted to do whatever he could. They deserved no less from him.
Belissar held a grand victory celebration as soon as the lancers were safe to move. The lancers were at the center of it all, with a tray each of the First of the Fifth¡¯s finest honey spread out before them at Belissar¡¯s request. Eventually, though, the Second of the Sixth noted that they needed to rest and heal, and the celebrations came to a close. Belissar once again thanked the God of Bees and the now the God of Fire for their help. Thanks to the fire resistance from their cross-perk, he did not need to hold a memorial today.
Afterwards, the queens and Chief Rohsuak all gathered once again. It was now time to determine the fruits of their victory. Belissar first checked the two reward choices.
Please select a reward:This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
- Uncommon Room Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- Uncommon Monster Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- Common Perk Choice
Please select a reward:
- Uncommon Perk Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- Uncommon Room Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)
- +150 max mana
Belissar turned to the bees and Chief Rohsuak.
¡°So, what does everyone think?¡±
The bees immediately replied with ¡°whatever King chooses!¡± while Chief Rohsuak chuckled.
¡°I think you already have a plan, don¡¯t you?¡±
Belissar stared at her, then sighed and nodded. Well, since she had him figured out already and the bees didn¡¯t have a preference for the choices, he might as well go with his own desires. He now had another floor with three more rooms to work with. So, he very much wanted to build a fire room for the mini-volcano and the Third of the Sixth. However, he had noticed by now that he didn¡¯t always get the choices he wanted when he wanted them. So, his plan this time was to pick one room choice¡and if he didn¡¯t get anything suitable for a fire room to possibly pick a second. And even in the worst case where he didn¡¯t get what he wanted, he¡¯d at least have two new rooms to fill up the new room slots with. His DP was nearly at three thousand, so he¡¯d then be able to buy a new monster or a couple of new room features on that front. Well, if he had the option of a rare monster or room feature he might have gone with that, but he did not so that was a moot point.
With no objections, he went ahead and enacted his plan.
Uncommon Room Choice selected.
Please select a room:
- Lava Field (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Fire, Field)
- Hedge Maze (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Labyrinth)
- Fungal Tunnels (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Ground, Fungi, Labyrinth, Resource)
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but crack a smile as he read the first option highlighted in bright red. He guessed the God of Fire approved of his current plans. Still, he at least read out the descriptions of the options.
Lava Field
Type: Fire, Field
Innate Features: Lava Flows
Mana upkeep: 20
Description: An open area where lava flows both on and beneath the surface. Newly formed rock creates a bumpy and shifting surface, which can be hazardous given the lava flowing about¡or bursting out from a seemingly solid crust.
¡°Lava is¡what¡¯s in volcanoes, right?¡±
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
¡°It¡¯s actually a type of liquid stone, so hot even rock has melted into a river of liquid fire.¡±
Belissar couldn¡¯t help but glance at the Third of the Sixth, who was fidgeting and dancing about. So¡a room that was practically a volcano already, filled with rivers of liquid fire? Belissar didn¡¯t know much about volcanoes but he couldn¡¯t have imagined a better room for his current purposes.
¡°So, um, anyone want to hear about the others? Fungal Tunnels? They¡¯re, um, tunnels¡with fungi. Mushrooms and stuff¡¡±
Chief Rohsuak just gave him an amused smile. The digging queen actually looked a little interested in the Fungal Tunnels but, well, at this point the bees also knew what he was going to choose. The Third of the Sixth was struggling not to break out into a happy dance. And Belissar wasn¡¯t going to disappoint her.
Lava Field is now available.
And that meant that Belissar didn¡¯t need to use the second choice for a room either. He could pick from another perk, another room, or an extra hundred and fifty mana. Which¡he actually needed to stop and think about, since he hadn¡¯t expected to actually need to pick between them.
Perks¡could be anything. It could unlock powerful new options like cross-pollination had. It could be something that empowered his entire Tower, like Fire Resistant Bees had. Or, on the other hand, it could be just a small buff to one type of bee, like the various monster bee worker, queen, and soldier buffs he had acquired from daily purifications. It was hard for him to say and he already had a perk choice waiting. On the other hand, perks had a notable advantage: most of them didn¡¯t take any work to implement. He didn¡¯t have to spend any mana or build anything new like with rooms, room features, and monster spawners. The perks just sort of¡did whatever they did. He was going to focus his mana and attention on setting up the new lava field, so something he didn¡¯t have to think about might be nice.
Or he could go with his original idea and get another room. He did have three room slots to use and only one new room so far to fill them with. A new room could mean new flowers, which would also mean new bees. There was also the fact that the Hunger had just sent a fire shade, so adding something else besides a lava field might be a good idea. He wouldn¡¯t want to spend everything on the new fire room only to face more shades that were already immune to it.
Or he could grab more mana. More mana never hurt and he was going to have to spend a lot on the new room. Though, daily purifications largely had that covered.
As he rubbed his chin, part of him wished the Lava Fields had come in the second choice¡
Chapter 120 - Bee Perked Up!
And so, Belissar decided¡to check out the waiting perk choice first. Maybe whatever he got there might sway his decision¡
Please select a perk:
- Piercing Stingers (Rarity: Uncommon)
- Gardener Planting (Rarity: Rare)
- Hardened Wax (Rarity: Common)
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. A rare perk? Most of the perks he had seen were limited to common or uncommon, so this was unexpected. Still, he wanted to consider his choice carefully, so he put aside the desire to select it immediately and read out the perks in order.
Piercing Stingers
- All stingers gain increased penetration
Well, he wasn¡¯t sure what he expected, but that description still seemed a bit¡brief. He supposed though that little more needed to be said. He had learned firsthand with the turtle shade that his bees had trouble fighting anything their stingers couldn¡¯t pierce. This perk would directly address that issue. It needed nothing else to appeal to him.
The Flower Meadow queens need no encouragement either. They perked up and began fidgeting as Belissar read out the perk. Belissar didn¡¯t need to ask why. They felt bad after the soldiers proved unable to pierce the turtle-shade¡¯s defenses. This perk would help prevent that from ever recurring, make the soldier bee army strong and more capable of handing new threats in the future. It was certainly something to consider.
But well¡it was the next perk he had his eyes on.
Gardener Planting
- Gardeners not only pollinate plants but carry and plant their seeds.
- Boosts seed growth of plants pollinated by gardeners.
- Boosts rate of cross-pollination of plants pollinated by gardeners.
Belissar rubbed his chin. On the one hand, for a rare perk to only affect one type of bee, the gardeners, seemed a bit limited in Belissar¡¯s eyes. And it wouldn¡¯t even make them any stronger for fighting shades. That made sense since gardeners were a worker evolution not meant for combat, but it still stood out to Belissar given his recent concerns regarding purifications.
But at the same time, it was a rare perk! Rare! Belissar figured there had to be some reason this one wasn¡¯t common or uncommon. Besides, the Apiary queens seemed interested in it as well. So, Belissar took his time and thought about what he had read.
Then, he froze and his eyes went wide.
Gardeners would now help plants make more seeds and more cross-pollinated seeds, and then carry and plant them. What came to Belissar¡¯s mind¡was the recent slime flower. The slime flower that was a non-bee monster spawner. It was something he was unlikely to find in the reward choices, and even now that he had access to it the Blessing of Bees made it quite expensive. However¡he had received it without spending a choice at all, and paid no mana upkeep for it. And that¡was because it had grown on its own. And that meant that¡plants could and had grown without Belissar spawning them directly, either as a resource node, trap, or general room feature.
So, for example, what if the gardeners helped the slime flower make seeds¡and then carried and planted them elsewhere in his Tower? Could he get more slime flowers¡and therefore monster spawners¡without expending any mana whatsoever? What about mana flowers and their Ground and Fire versions? Additionally, if the gardeners were carrying them around¡could he have them carry the seeds to other rooms? Could he put slime flowers in the Flower Meadow to reinforce the defense? What about the gravilion flowers or the thorny roses? Could he get free traps spread across the Bee Barracks and beyond? If he got new flowers, could he place just a single node and then let the gardeners spread them all across his Tower so that every hive could access them without him spending vast amounts of mana? If he made new rooms and had this perk, maybe he wouldn¡¯t have to add as many flower nodes to them, if any.
When he thought of it that way¡this perk seemed powerful indeed. The growth of his bees was tied to the quantity and variety of flowers he could offer them. An option to expand that quantity and variety with no further investment of the Tower¡¯s resources could not be overlooked.
It was still true, however, that this perk would not increase the strength of the bee army directly. Additionally, it would take time to take effect, much like Cross-Pollination had. This perk was an investment for the future that would leave the present up to Belissar and the bees and defenders he already had.
Additionally, there was one final option.
Hardened Wax
- Monsters and room features may produce harder and denser waxThis book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Belissar¡didn¡¯t want to discount this one out of hand. Harder wax meant stronger hives, right? That could certainly prove useful. This perk was certainly not a bad one. But well, he couldn¡¯t help but feel it was not as impressive as the other two offered here.
So, should he strengthen the stingers to address the growing defenses of the latest shades? Or should he enable monster bee gardeners to spread flowers beyond their nodes? Additionally, he felt he should not consider the choice alone. He already had chosen a new room, the Lava Field, for his first choice. He had a second choice to make which could provide a second new room, a second perk, or more mana. Additionally, his current DP income would soon enable him to purchase a new monster, new room, or several new room features as soon as tomorrow. So, what would be the best choice not only out of these options but considering all the others?
For the Lava Field, the choice was obvious. A new room would very much appreciate new flowers. The same went for it he chose a second room choice. And new rooms could mean new flowers to cross-pollinate, so speeding up that process would also help.
For a second perk¡it could go either way? He¡¯d just have to hope that the second perk choice contained an option to match whatever he chose? And then the DP purchase¡well, since he¡¯d first have to decide what to purchase, that choice would largely depend on what he decided here, and so what he thought his Tower needed most. Although¡if he thought about it that way, a perk choice in the DP store was far more expensive than a room choice.
That ended up settling it for Belissar. If perks were harder to come by and he was undecided what to do otherwise, he may as well pick up another one now. He could go for new rooms from the DP shop and more mana from the daily purification. And in that case, he may as well see what other choice he would have before he decided on the first perk.
Uncommon Perk Choice selected.
Please select a perk:
- Enhanced Toxins (Rarity: Common)
- Alluring Honey (Rarity: Uncommon)
- Bee-type Strength Boost (Minor) (Rarity: Uncommon)
Well, no rare choices this time. The first was a repeat, a general buff to toxins. It may have been common and humble¡but Belissar realized it shouldn¡¯t be dismissed out of hand. After all, he had a lot of toxins now. Most of his bees had their stingers, from workers and queens to soldiers and lancers. The sprayers attacked solely through toxins as well. And then there were the various poisonous plants and mushrooms he had, and the poisonous honey that resulted. Could Enhanced Toxins boost a Sticky Honey Trap equipped with Maddening Honey, for example? Even though the perk itself was not that impressive, it would impact most of his Tower¡¯s defenses on account of the abundance of toxins, and that made it worth considering.
Alluring Honey
- Honey may be given an enticing scent that makes it more appealing, especially to corrupted entities. Impact on non-corrupted entities depends on type of honey used and the nature of the entity in question.
Belissar found that one curious until he read the line about corrupted entities. So, if he was reading this correctly, this made the shades want his honey? At first he wondered why he would want that¡until he realized that would mean he could use honey as bait for traps against shades. Or¡perhaps he could use it to draw shades in different directions? Thus far, all the shades had moved straight towards the exit of any given room, save in the Dirt Tunnels where the twisting maze made it unclear which way was forward. That was ultimately why he cut down some of the Pit Traps in the Flower Meadow, since the shades just didn¡¯t venture off to the sides.
But what if he could entice them that way? That alone could allow him to buy additional time during purifications. It would also make his traps more reliable to boot, taking some of the pressure off the soldier bee army.
Bee-Type Strength Boost (Minor)
- All Bee-type monsters receive a minor boost to strength
Belissar was about to gloss over this one¡until he realized that it was not the average boost perks he saw in the daily purifications. No, this one specified that it applied not to a specific bee, but to all bee-type monsters. So, all of his monsters, at least until the slime flower did its thing.
Belissar nodded his head as his plan coalesced.
¡°So, I¡¯m thinking of taking Gardener Planting for more flowers, and then one of the other perks to strengthen our defenses. Um, does anyone have another ideas? And do you like any of the next three perks in particular?¡±
Of course, the bees did not have any other ideas, for once he stated his the only answer he got was ¡°whatever King chooses!¡± Chief Rohsuak shook her head as well. Belissar still wished she¡¯d just tell him what she thought outright, but she apparently had no intention of defying his decision here, so he¡¯d just go with what he thought best. As for the second choice¡the Flower Meadow queens were split between Enhanced Toxins and Bee-Type Strength Boost. The First of the Fifth flew a bit unsteadily, on the other hand.
¡°Honey¡more appealing? Make enemies want? Why want that?¡±
Belissar nodded at her.
¡°If it draws a shade¡¯s attention, we can use it to draw it into traps.¡±
The First of the Fifth picked up speed, dancing to indicate her understanding¡and following with a ¡°King best king!¡± dance. She did not, however, indicate any specific preference for the perk after understanding it.
Belissar rubbed his chin once more, taking his bees preferences into account. Alluring Honey would work well with his traps. He hadn¡¯t been able to rely on them in a while now¡but perhaps Alluring Honey would change that? Especially if the gardeners started to spread some of the trap plants around. On the other hand, either of the other two perks would strengthen his bees directly. As powerful as traps might be, it generally came down to his bees, especially since the Hunger would ultimately adapt to the traps over time. And then, finally, Enhanced Toxins could improve both bees and traps, though it was a common perk.
Belissar glanced once more at his bees, then made his choice.
Gardener Planting selected.
Bee-Type Strength Boost (Minor) selected.
All Bee-type monsters receive a minor boost to strength!
The bees had been concerned and subdued due to the turtle-shade. They had been worried about their inability to fight. So, Belissar wanted to both make them stronger and to cheer them up. He was going to reward them for their efforts and reassure them that he believed in them. And he felt that boosting all of their strength directly was the best way to do that.
The bees all began to stir as the Tower¡¯s mana flowed through them, the Flower Meadow queens in particular. Belissar looked directly at them and smiled.
¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡±
The Flower Meadow queens joined together in a salute dance, followed by all the rest.
POBee 120.1 - Bee-focus Your Efforts!
Down in the Underway, just past the rot cap field in a tunnel with no light, two pairs of eyes lit up in the dark, barely reflecting the faintest hints of light. A soft voice drifted on the air, a faint whisp that would not be heard over the rustling of the stink bugs in the field beyond.
¡°Are you certain this is the place?¡±
¡°Positive.¡±
¡°And you¡¯re certain you saw people here? Not just another cave bear, right?¡±
There was a low growl.
¡°You think I would mistake an entire hunting band? That I¡¯d just make that up? They were here. That¡¯s a fact. Look, the stink bug numbers still haven¡¯t recovered.¡±
The first voice gained volume, letting a sigh pierce the quiet.
¡°So? A cave bear could¡¯ve done that too. And it¡¯s been days and we haven¡¯t seen any sign of anything but stink bugs here.¡±
The second voice hissed.
¡°And we won¡¯t if you keep yapping! Quiet down before we¡¯re discovered¡¡±
But both voices were cut off in that moment. Neither could miss the surge of mana flowing past them, causing both eyes to tremble for a bit. The second voice spoke first.
¡°T-That was¡?¡±
The first voice replied, tone now fully serious and with no hint of their earlier annoyance.
¡°There¡¯s no mistaking it. That¡¯s a purification wave. And that means there¡¯s a Sacred Den in the area now. Let¡¯s go, we need to report this right away.¡±
The Firstborn slowly crawled through her trays, her daughter following along. Her daughter brushed her antennae with a slow dance.
¡°Queen Mother, ok?¡±
The Firstborn, while slow, responded immediately.
¡°Yes, just¡lots to think about.¡±
Indeed she did for, despite everything, the King still trusted them. Still counted on them. She felt the mana of the realm surging through her body, strengthening her muscles. And they had managed to win a significant victory without the aid of the karnuq.
Yet, she could not simply rejoice. She knew from the past that a victory here did not mean a victory tomorrow. Their work had only begun, their army needed to continue growing. And, most of all, she thought that the King had not trusted them, but had chosen to trust them. She saw the moment of hesitation before deploying the lancers, the creases on his face that signaled deep thought. She believed that he had other plans in mind but had changed them in order to let them have a chance.
She did not know what to think of that. Should she be happy and grateful that the King considered them so, and still planned to rely on them as he could? That they were strong enough to win the victory he needed? Or should she be regretful that the King had been forced to reconsider his plans because of them? That they were too weak to be his first thought?
Well, such questions, no matter how she answered them, would not improve her hive, so she continued crawling, arriving at the worker cells. She turned to face her daughter, who was still watching her with concern.
¡°I think¡should be patient. Army still too weak but¡King trusts to grow. Wants to grow. So should do what can now and trust King to help.¡±
Yes, that was her conclusion. She knew from the failure with the bird-shade that the King was not going to abandon or replace them. That was not his way. She knew from the new strength she now felt in her legs that the King planned to continue growing them. In fact¡she may have been looking at this wrong from the start. It had been the King who had given them soldiers, sprayers, and lancers in the first place. The army was, therefore, not something they build for the King, but something they built with the King. It was as much his efforts as theirs, if not more.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
In that regard, she would be patient, and would not rush to try and grow the army beyond its present limits. She knew that in time the King would provide them with new options himself. What the army needed to do was make the most of what the King gave them, and ensure they were prepared when new options came. They needed to trust in the King¡¯s design. They needed to consider themselves as a part of the greater hive of hives.
Her daughter danced a salute.
¡°Ok, what can do now? More lancers? More soldiers?¡±
But the Firstborn danced the negative.
¡°Not this time.¡±
And then Firstborn began to lay some new worker eggs¡and then gathered together her oldest and most experienced foragers, who crawled into glowing cells packed with honey. Her daughter saluted and followed suit with her own workers.
The Firstborn had originally planned to raise more lancers¡but had changed her mind. The mana of the realm did more than strengthen her muscles, it had carried knowledge that one of the latest bee types had been improved. A bee type that she had thought intended for the Apiary queens, a worker evolution focused on foraging rather than fighting. Something that would help the Bee Barracks as well but would require them to cease raising soldiers while their limited foragers took the time to evolve. So, something the Flower Meadow queens had not gotten around to yet.
But now the Firstborn had decided to adjust her priorities. The honey to evolve a single lancer could not only evolve several gardeners; the remainder could also serve as a stockpile that would cover the hive while its most productive foragers rested in their cells. Taking this step now would improve their honey production, not only allowing them to afford more lancers and other soldier types, but to have the extra honey necessary if and when the King provided them with new options. While the hive of hives would support one another, it was not good to rely solely on the Apiary whenever they needed more honey.
Additionally, this new bee not only improved foraging, they would also improve the health of the flowers themselves¡and would now work to spread the flowers as well. New mana flowers were obviously useful to improve honey production, but that was not the Firstborn¡¯s only thought. If she considered herself as part of the greater hive of hives, the soldier bee army as just one part of the King¡¯s design, then she should consider her surroundings as well, and the King¡¯s other efforts to defend the hive of hives. The great chasms and fire sticks, the underground tunnels that bought time, and the honey sprayers could all be considered part of the army in that manner.
And then¡there were the plants. On the palisade outside of the Bee Barracks grew vine covered in sharp thorns. Further on in the Flower Meadow was a flower her foragers didn¡¯t like to gather from. They said it disrupted their flight and was difficult to approach. One moment, it would randomly make them heavier, forcing them to fly with all their might not to crash into the ground. The next, it would make them even lighter than usual, causing them fly above and beyond their target. It was therefore not very popular among the Flower Meadow¡¯s foragers, despite its high mana-density.
But what if those effects applied to the enemy as well? What if the new bees not only improved foraging, but spread those two types of flowers across the Meadow? In that regard, there might be more ways for the Flower Meadow army to fight, ways they could start fighting right now, before the enemy ever arrived.
And what if they combined those efforts with the soldiers they sent to help the King? Could they one day build a wall of their own, maybe one extending across the entire length of the Flower Meadow? And then, perhaps, spread the thorny roses across the entire thing, so that no enemy could advance along the ground without tearing down tree-trunk like stakes while thorns ripped into them? With countless of those other flowers to randomly make everything heavier or lighter, disrupting the flight of any enemy trying to pass over the barrier? All the while sprayers could attack safely from behind and above the walls, while lancers adjusted their aim with leisure? If the wall held the enemy back well enough, maybe Beero and her squad could get involved as well.
Well, those ideas were distant and vague, but they informed the Firstborn of an important point. There was more the Flower Meadow could do than just practicing dives to prepare for the next battle.
It was for these reasons the Firstborn made the call to raise gardeners instead of more lancers. The King would expand the army¡¯s options when he felt they needed more, and they had a lancer squad ready, once the wounded had recovered. So, she felt their goal in the immediate future¡should be to prepare, and to join themselves ever more with the hive of hives. Not just with their fellow Flower Meadow queens, but with those of the Orchard and the Apiary. With the King¡¯s flowers and traps and constructions. Maybe even with the karnuq as well, for while the bees kept an eye on them the Firstborn had noted their willingness to defend the King¡¯s realm.
And everything within the realm, be it bee, flower, or even the land itself, would fight for the King.
POBee 120.2 - Bee-ficient Specialization
The First of the Fifth stood in her home. Her new, spacious home that she was certain was larger than any constructed by any bee in the Beyond. Her new home with rows upon rows of trays, more than her hive could ever fill, that were precisely placed to allow ideal airflow that could be adjusted on a per-tray basis for different processing needs. Her home with numerous entrances that the King had made on her suggestion, allowing her to precisely organize the flow of her workers so that not a single moment would be loss to confusion or traffic jams.
Before she knew it, she had started another happy dance. But she caught herself and stopped. While the new palace certainly deserved the celebration, she had another task at present. She was currently standing before her new children, a line of queens watching her with just a hint of confusion over her sudden outburst. She gathered herself with just the slightest twitch of her antennae before dancing.
¡°All daughters should focus on workers for now. Will provide honey to do so. Will assign brood tenders to help. Will also assign tasks, and workers. Queens should listen to workers and get used to tasks so can do once own workers ready. Understand?¡±
¡°Yes, Queen Mother!¡±
Once she was satisfied with their response, she turned to one of the queens.
¡°Second Daughter, build in sector one. Job is to arrange honey delivery to other hives. Need to grow and raise soldiers for this.¡±
The new queen saluted and then the First of the Fifth¡¯s workers led her to her assigned trays while the First of the Fifth turned to the next.
¡°Third Daughter, build in sector five. Job is to investigate new honey processing methods. Will need to scout dangerous karnuq. Work with scouts, they will explain.¡±
Her third daughter danced an unsteady salute, apparently confused about the order. The First of the Fifth would follow up and explain in more detail. She would also need to determine if her daughters could connect to her scouts via communers, or if they would need scouts and communers of their own. In truth, the First of the Fifth was unsure about handing this task off. She currently only knew about the possibility of processing already finished honey, but had not made any progress on the details, so the only instruction she could give was to watch the dangerous karnuq for clues. However, there were, at present, just too many draws on the First of the Fifth¡¯s attention, and this task would require a great deal of time and focus. It would require extensively monitoring the dangerous karnuq for clues, and then likely many failed attempts to map out new production methods from that knowledge. It, simply, required more attention and time than the First of the Fifth was willing to spend on it, though the possibilities were too great to simply pass up. So, she would have one of her daughters take up the mantle, and trust that her offspring would be up to the task.
Just like the next two.
¡°Fourth Daughter and Fifth Daughters, job is honey production for other hives. Goal is quantity, though expect thorough processing. Workers will teach methods.¡±
The two queens saluted. They had perhaps the most straightforward and natural task, but by no means the easy one. There was ever greater demand for the First of the Fifth¡¯s honey these days. The Flower Meadow went without saying, the First of the Fifth shuddered when she thought of the Firstborn''s honey-making¡¡®process,¡¯ if it could be called such a thing. The bumblebee queens too, who seemed infuriatingly happy to just let their workers build their haphazard wax cells anywhere they pleased, without any attention to organization or hive flow, which only compounded their already lesser honey production. At this point, the First of the Fifth had largely resigned herself to providing for both those groups.
The Apiary hives themselves needed her help as well. Not all the queens had the reserves to raise new queens and drones, so the First of the Fifth¡¯s stockpiles had taken a dip so that they all could participate. She would need to monitor their hives over the near future as well to ensure that all the new queens could grow without threatening their mothers¡¯ honey balance. The digging and burning queens had just finished evolving their hives and were just working their operations back up to full. The new sedative queen was just starting the process of converting her workers to her own type, so her operations would take a dip as well. And the medicinal Second of the Sixth had and was still donating notable quantities of her own honey for the sake of the lancer bees¡¯ recovery. Not to mention the karnuq, who apparently needed her honey to fight. She also had to ensure she had a sufficient stockpile of adequately mana-rich honey in case of another sudden attack that required the karnuq¡¯s power.
And, of course, the First of the Fifth would allow none of this to cut into her donations to the King himself. The very best honey she could produce would always go to his table. That was one thing she refused to give up on, even knowing that the King himself would probably want the honey distributed among the bees.
So, her hive needed to produce more honey, and fast. Her fourth and fifth daughters had the most straightforward tasks, but they would be pushed the hardest to achieve the goals set forth. The First of the Fifth had learned her lesson after her first daughter, however, and would be closely monitoring them to ensure healthy brood growth. And since they would remain in her new palace, they shouldn¡¯t be under any threat of hive collapse.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
And with that, all her daughters were now ready to begin their work. It would take them some time to get up and running, but once they did the demands on the First of the Fifth¡¯s attention would lessen. It was not easy monitoring and supporting all the other hives like she was, but with the help of her daughters it should be possible. And, likewise, it should be possible to make progress on her next plans.
The First of the Fifth was finally ready to evolve some gardeners. It was a travesty that she hadn¡¯t been able to do so for this long. They, after all, would support one of her main duties, the task that she insisted on keeping for herself.
Cross-pollination and testing new nectar types was the first direct collaboration between herself and the King. Additionally, he had directly asked her to help coordinate the specialization of the hives. So, on that regard, her most important tasks were to keep track of the hive of hives and the status of all the hives within it, to raise and identify new flower types, and then to allocate flowers suitable for specialization to the queens ready to convert their hives. Additionally, now that gardeners could directly assist the spread of flowers, she could start raising more flower patches to ensure all queens had sufficient resources, taking some of the burden of that duty off of the King.
So, raising gardeners was now her top priority, and she arranged for as many workers as she could to evolve without excessively interrupting production.
Once that was completed, she turned to her other priority task: testing the new honey types. She had two trays that were nearly empty save for a small group of cells in the corner of each. She shuttered a bit as she approached one as she suddenly dropped to the floor one moment, and then felt like she was floating away the next despite her wings remaining still. Her foragers hadn¡¯t enjoyed collecting the nectar of this one, but they had pressed on and now had a sample. The inefficiency of gathering nearly had her call off the effort¡but the sheer mana density of the flower in question was too tempting.
The processing had been difficult as well. The nectar had constantly shifted its own viscosity, density, and even volume. Her workers struggled to measure its water content and determine how to fan it for the drying stage. The First of the Fifth had to intervene directly to determine the process, and even then she had to resort to watching the mana rather than the physical honey itself. She was, therefore, not at all confident in the quality and consistency of this batch and would not be serving any of it to even another hive, much less the King.
But they had managed to make some¡gravity honey. She believe that was what the King had named this type of flower, so that is what she would call it.
She would taste it herself, however, to analyze it and determine what to do with it. As she expected, each cell of gravity honey varied wildly in quality and consistency. She would have been ashamed of such an effort had she not known the difficulties involved in getting it to even this state. The gravity honey itself did not taste all that different from the usual dandelion honey¡but as during its processing the honey continued to vary its consistency within her proboscis and her stomach. One moment it was a dense, almost solid sticky mass that nearly got stuck in place. The next it was a thin and runny liquid she might have mistaken for raw nectar¡that had been diluted by rain. She¡didn¡¯t think she enjoyed the experience.
And the gravity honey had other effects besides consistency. The same weight-shifting effect the flower had applied to the honey as well. With the honey inside of her stomach, one moment she would feel so heavy she wanted to lie on the ground. The next she felt she would float away if she didn¡¯t latch onto the honeycomb.
And this¡was why she decided to lay an egg in the cell with the densest mana-concentration.
These gravity flowers and the honey made from their nectar were clearly not normal, and their mana was excessively active even after being stabilized into mana-honey. It was to the point that, like the burning honey from the flame radishes, she didn¡¯t want to gather too much of it lest it impact the rest of her hive. And that, in turn, made it a prime candidate for brood specialization. There was little doubt in her mind that this honey would certainly affect a bee growing within it. The only question was would the egg and larvae survive to adulthood under those conditions¡and what sort of bee might result. Maybe, if it was like the burning honey, a worker raised on the honey might prove more suitable to producing more?
Well, she didn¡¯t envy the queen that tried to evolve on such a honey type. Her task was complete, however, so she crawled to the next tray. That is, when the gravity honey finally decided to stop making her feel so heavy.
The next honey was¡curious. The nectar started extremely viscous, nearly at a honey-like level before any processing at all. It was also highly mana-dense, on par with a mana flower, or perhaps even more. She couldn¡¯t say exactly because of a curious effect of the nectar, and the honey made from it. This honey, despite being so mana-dense already, acted like a mana sponge and absorbed as much mana as was pushed into it. Normally, she had her workers fill up any nectar with as much mana as it could take, but this nectar did not seem to have a reasonable limit. She might try to find it later, but for this first batch she ended up telling her workers to move on to the drying stage before that point. Additionally, as more cells filled up, the honey seemed to¡gravitate towards itself. It was like it was trying to link up and then condense down even further.
This was strange behavior, not least of which because honey wasn¡¯t supposed to have a behavior. This honey was active in a way no other had been. The burning honey had simply raised the temperature around it, but that was just a side effect of the mana within it. Even the gravity honey, for all of its constant changes, was still just honey. She could follow the flow of its mana and see the effects that resulted. This honey¡was different. Its mana flowed in¡unexpected ways, without a clear reason for doing so. There was something different to its movements, something the other honeys lacked.
So, of course, she laid an egg in the center cell, where the honey was trying to concentrate. Between the honey¡¯s unique behavior and its ability to absorb an unheard of quantity of mana, she couldn¡¯t wait to see if a bee could be raised on it¡and what might result. Even now, she watched as the honey now tried to condense itself and found an egg in the way. And then¡the egg began to absorb the honey, and the honey began flowing faster, its mana condensing and merging with the egg¡¯s.
The First of the Fifth was satisfied, and assigned brood tenders to watch the two eggs, then left to check on her daughters and further explain their tasks. A bee¡¯s work was never done.
Chapter 121 - Fier-Bee Experiments!
The next day, Belissar made a quick stop to the Slime Flower, since it had been on his mind. He rubbed his chin as he looked it over. Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t find any slimes either nearby or throughout his Tower.
¡°Does it need more time? Or¡¡±
He noticed a worker bee land on the flower¡and then pulled up the Slime Flower¡¯s description once more.
Slime Flower
- Type: Slime, Nature, Trap, Spawner
- Mana Upkeep: 20 per node (40 due to Blessing of Bees), 10 (20 due to Blessing of Bees) to enable in compatible rooms
- Description: A flower that concentrates its mana into thickening its sap, which will spill out and engulf any creature that damages it. This effect extends partially to its nectar as well, which if left to pool in sufficient quantities may eventually condense into a slime core. The slime will then carry the flower¡¯s seeds along with it as it begins to move, spreading the seeds around while also hunting nearby pests, further protecting the flower.
He confirmed that the description mentioned slimes spawning¡if the flower¡¯s nectar was left to pool in sufficient quantities. So, if the bees were consistently gathering that nectar¡maybe slimes would never spawn?
Belissar briefly considered whether he should ask the bees to hold off and test the theory before shaking his head. At the end of the day, the bees were the priority. If they wanted to gather this flower¡¯s nectar in quantities that prevented slimes from spawning, then that is what they would do. Belissar was curious about the slimes and how the flower worked, but not so curious that he¡¯d interrupt the bees¡¯ work to find out.
With that out of the way for now, he turned to his goal for the day: building the fire room. He walked over to the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive. The queen flew up and out of the hole where her hive was before he even arrived, zipping around him. Belissar chuckled.
¡°Ready to make your new home?¡±
Her happy dance increased in intensity, creating little sparks of flame all around him as her temperature spiked. Belissar smiled and then lead the dancing queen to the core room. He wanted the Third of the Sixth¡¯s input on the new room and recalled that the core could show the image of a new room before he placed it.
Belissar himself blinked a few times as he stepped into the core room. He hadn¡¯t been there since realizing his Tower sight could do the same thing as the core, so he hadn¡¯t noticed that there had been some changes. First of all, the room had grown dramatically in size, now four times larger than it originally had been. The core was still held up by a statue of a bee, but both the core and the statue had grown. The core used to be about the size of his head and the statue about the height of his chest. Now, the core was twice the size and the statue reached up to his neck, holding the core at eye level. One of the bee statue¡¯s legs now also held a lit candle.
The walls had seen the most dramatic change. They were still made of honeycomb dripping honey, but the honeycomb was no longer a single color. Different colored cells joined together to form images all along the walls, displaying the different types of bees he had in his Tower. He even saw some images of the karnuq, including one covered in flames, one mixing a large pot, and one crouching and holding a large stinger.
It took Belissar a moment before he shrugged. He guessed the core room reflected the current Tower? That made sense. In any case, he had a job to do. He turned to Niobee.
¡°Can you let the other queens know the Tower¡¯s about to change like we discussed last night?¡±
¡°Ok!¡±
In addition to the new room, Belissar would need to rearrange some of the other rooms. He figured he¡¯d put the new fire room on the First Floor, between the Dirt Tunnels and the Flower Meadow. He¡¯d put the new floor as the second floor of the Tower so the Orchard could go there and still stay connected to the Flower Meadow. The current second floor holding the karnuq would become the third floor, while the current third floor with the Apiary and bumblebees would become the fourth floor.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The view of the Tower¡¯s room and floors as a whole appeared within the core. Belissar moved about the existing rooms as planned, then placed the new room in its place. The view zoomed in on the new room, displaying what it would look like for him and the Third of the Sixth.
A field of black rock stretched out before them, broken up by bright red rivers. A small hill pushed up in the center and lava flowed out of it into the rivers. Lava oozed and solidified into new rock along the backs of the river, while elsewhere seemingly solid rock cracked open so that lava could pour out. The air across the entire room shimmered from the heat. The field was not entirely flat, either. There were dips and small ridges and outcroppings. Some of these outcroppings had alcoves. The room¡¯s borders were marked by particularly tall cliffs.
Belissar tested what he could adjust, finding he could move the lava hill at the center, change the course of the rivers, and move some of the outcroppings, ridges, and alcoves. He nodded and turned to the Third of the Sixth as he pointed at the image.
¡°Ok, so I think we put the entrance and exit to the room on either side of the right wall, so that the shades will move through there, and then we put an alcove for your hive on the opposite side. How does that sound?¡±
The Third of the Sixth responded with a nearly unintelligible ¡°King best King!¡± dance. Belissar shook his head with a smile as he set up a large ridge near the left wall, building a large alcove into it that faced the left wall and so away from the rest of the room.
¡°Ok, ok. Um, do you have any suggestions? How would you like your hive¡¯s alcove to look?¡±
In this case, the Third of the Sixth mostly just continued praising him. She did mention, as part of her praise, how the rivers looked nice and warm and how that made him the best, so Belissar went ahead and moved one of the rivers so it would pass in front of the alcove¡¯s entrance.
From then on, he tried to adjust the room as best he knew for defense. He made as big a river of lava as he could stretching across the room from left to right, and made as many lava rivers as he could. He made the ground move up and down with as many ridges and outcroppings in the way as he could. He placed the parts where lava just oozed out of rocks right along the path in the space in between the rivers.
And then, he reached out to Niobee.
¡°Is everyone ready for the changes?¡±
¡°Ready!¡±
Once she replied, he confirmed and placed the room. The core began to glow and the Tower¡¯s mana surged as it applied his changes to the room. The image within the core seemed to grow more solid, he could almost feel the heat of the room.
And now that the room was placed came the final touch.
Compatible feature detected. Swap Lava Source to Mini-Volcano?
Belissar went ahead and confirmed, turning the hill at the center of the room into a mini-volcano. The hill began to rumble and smoke and ash began to belch out of its center as the flow of lava grew a bit more rapid.
Belissar waited for the volcano to launch its boulders. He wanted to see if the ridge and alcove would hold up to the volcano before he moved the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive there, to ensure that they¡¯d be safe. Otherwise, he¡¯d just have to place them in an adjacent room. However, the volcano didn¡¯t seem to want to erupt just yet. He frowned and brought up the description.
Mini-Volcano
Type: Fire, Ground, Trap
Mana Upkeep: 50
Description: A small volcano just peeking out of the ground. Will launch burning rocks in the direction of invaders. May also emit ash clouds and slowly flowing lava.
Belissar frowned. So¡it would launch in the direction of invaders? And not just randomly everywhere? That was convenient in general¡but could be a problem for the current test. Would he have to wait until a purification? And then lead a shade to the alcove?
As he focused in, a new message arrived.
Launch boulders for a one-time cost of ten mana?
¡°Ah, that¡¯s convenient¡or is it?¡±
At first, that seemed an immediate solution to Belissar¡¯s worries¡until he saw the mana cost. Paying mana for a one-time test didn¡¯t seem like a good idea¡although the message did say one time. Would he get the mana back then?
Unfortunately, no new messages appeared in response to Belissar¡¯s questions, so he¡¯d either have to test it himself or just wait for a purification. He decided that ten mana, less than a minor+ purification reward, was an acceptable price to find out what the Tower meant. So, he went ahead and confirmed.
Currently available mana: 9(19)/770
A large circle made of red light appeared on the ground in the lava field, and Belissar found he could move it. Was this where the boulders were going to land? Belissar hoped so, then moved the circle to center on the alcove and thought about boulders launching.
¡°Um, here?¡±
The volcano then erupted. Belissar, even safe in the core room, couldn¡¯t help but stumble back as a blast of smoke and light shot from the mini-volcano, shaking the lava field. Rocks the size of Belissar¡¯s torso covered in bright flames shot into the sky, with long tails of smoke trailing behind them. They arced through the air, flames burning bright as they started descending on the ground.
They hit the ridge with a crash, shattering and spreading flames and puddles of lava across the black and rocky ground.
And, most importantly, the ridge held with no particular damage. A few scattered pebbles and rocks fell over the edge and in front of the alcove but did not enter the alcove proper. A hive built inside would be safe.
Belissar stared at it for a bit before he started to grin. It seems this plan was coming together after all.
Chapter 122 - A Bee-utiful Home?
Juosiutik yawned and she stepped out of her house and then stretched her arms out, rolling her shoulders. And then, for the first time in a while, she didn¡¯t immediately zip to her pot, but instead looked up at the sun. She took in a deep breath and smiled.
¡°Welcome back.¡±
She whipped around and found Chief Rohsuak smiling at her. She flushed.
¡°Oh, um, sorry. Um, how long has it¡¡±
Chief Rohsuak just chuckled and Juosiutik¡¯s flush grew deeper. She¡may have gotten a bit focused exploring her new abilities. She¡wasn¡¯t actually sure for how long she had been working, as she hadn¡¯t paid attention to anything else, including the passing of time. Or even¡
She jumped a bit and her eyes widened.
¡°Wait¡the Sacred Den Master! He, um, hasn¡¯t been waiting on this time, has he?¡±
Chief Rohsuak chuckled again and shook her head.
¡°He has had projects of his own. Speaking of which, you may wish to explore the settlement a bit.¡±
Chief Rohsuak waved her arm. Juosiutik glanced around and her eyes went even wider.
¡°Wait, since when did we start building things out of stone?¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled.
¡°Much has happened. You should speak to Muuraqi before you begin any new experiments. You might benefit from a fireproof structure.¡±
Juosiutik hung her head.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just got so excited¡¡±
But Chief Rohsuak cut her off by patting her shoulder, making a smirk.
¡°Everyone¡¯s that way with their first blessing, it¡¯s fine. I would have interrupted if we truly needed you. Just tell me this¡was your time productive?¡±
Juosiutik made a small, sheepish smile.
¡°Well¡yes. Very.¡±
Her eyes gained a bit of light.
¡°I¡¯ve been testing all the different recipes with magic honey and it works with all of them! Not only that but it makes all of them better, and I can even substitute it for a few ingredients we don¡¯t have anymore. Plus, they taste much better, so maybe the hunters can finally stop complaining.¡±
Chief Rohsuak chuckled.
¡°Good, glad to hear you¡¯ve made some progress. Now, may I assume you¡¯ve made usable amounts of everything you¡¯ve worked on?¡±
Juosiutik nodded and Chief Rohsuak patted her shoulder once again.
¡°Good. Now that you¡¯re ready, we¡¯ll have need of you. Let¡¯s discuss supplies with Metsaitti later, shall we? And maybe you can show the Sacred Den Master what you can do as well.¡±
Chief Rohsuak chuckled to herself as Juosiutik hung her head. In truth, this was only the beginning of the rampages she expected from Juosiutik. And if she got this way just using her blessing on old recipes¡how would she be when she saw the other materials the Sacred Den Master had available? Chief Rohsuak wasn¡¯t entirely sure about the details of the cross-pollination the Sacred Den Master had mentioned during her meetings with him and the bee queens¡but if she had to guess, she¡¯d say Juosiutik¡¯s world would soon expand dramatically.
She¡should probably have Muuraqi prioritize a stone house for Juosiutik¡
Belissar double checked his mana again.
Currently Available Mana: 10(19)/770If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
He let out a light sigh. It took a few minutes, but the mana went back up, so it seemed launching the mini-volcano attack had not been a permanent expenditure. It was also quite good to know he could trigger it manually if he needed to.
He paused, and then checked one of the Sticky Honey Traps.
Activate Sticky Honey Trap for a one-time cost of one mana?
It seemed it would work for those as well, though they only aimed in one direction so he couldn¡¯t adjust the aim. He wasn¡¯t sure why he¡¯d want to, though. Still, it was good to know for future traps.
He then had a thought and tried focusing on the Slime Flower¡but no messages appeared. Maybe it didn¡¯t work on spawners? He tried focusing on one of the monster bee queen spawners with the thought of activating it.
Max spawns active.
Well, it turned out he couldn¡¯t activate the spawners past their limit¡and all his current spawners had hit their limit a while ago. But a message had at least appeared, so maybe it would work with new spawners?
That also confirmed that it specifically didn¡¯t work with the Slime Flower. Maybe it was because he got it for free and didn¡¯t spend any mana on it to begin with? Well, if he ever made a Slime Flower through the Tower¡¯s abilities, he¡¯d check that. If he remembered.
He decided to stop being distracted and get on with his day. He and the Third of the Sixth left the core room and moved back to her hive. The Third of the Sixth then evacuated most of her workers and brood, just leaving one worker and one egg back inside, as Belissar wanted to test what would happen to them if he moved the feature with the bees inside of it. He didn¡¯t expect an issue since he had upgraded beehives into other features with them inside without any problem, but he wasn¡¯t going to chance a whole hive on it without confirmation.
He moved the hive around to the other side of its hole. The hive glowed, vanished, and reappeared where he indicated. The worker then flew out and confirmed that she was alright, and the egg as well.
Satisfied, Belissar had the Third of the Sixth move her hive back inside, and then moved the whole hive to the alcove in the Lava Field. He then moved the flame radish and fire mana flower nodes there as well.
Currently Available Mana: 33(39)/770
He nodded. As expected, the Lava Field was a far more suitable environment for those flowers. They were not only no longer costing him extra mana but had an additional discount due to the suitable environment.
Available Resource Plants for Lava Field:
- Flame Radish (Mana Upkeep: 10 per node, 5 due to suitable environment)
- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)
-Fire Mana Flower (10 per node, 5 due to suitable environment)
-Ground Mana Flower (10 per node)
He double checked the resource plant menu for the Lava Fields but didn¡¯t find anything new. Maybe because he already had flame radishes? Besides, he couldn¡¯t imagine any of his other flowers growing here, so that made sense. The only surprise was that Ground mana flowers were available here too¡and didn¡¯t even cost any extra, though didn¡¯t get the suitability bonus from the Dirt Tunnels. He wondered why¡maybe all of the rocks? Didn¡¯t Chief Rohsuak say something about lava being liquid rock?
Belissar shrugged and then made his way through the Tower, passing through the new staircase between the Orchard and the Flower Meadow. Since the Tower just sort of skipped stairs, it was more like just a small room than a staircase, but it still added a small amount of distance between the Orchard and the Tower exit¡which would only grow if he added more rooms for defense later. He wondered if there¡¯d be a good way to let the Orchard bees exit the Tower quickly, since they were the ones scouting outside.
In any case, he continued on his way and soon stood outside of the door to the Lava Field. He was vaguely aware that the Tower would keep him safe from his own features¡he could walk over Pit Traps without issue, after all, but he still needed a moment before stepping into the new room. Every other room up to this point had been fairly normal, and nothing he hadn¡¯t encountered in his life beforehand. This one was not.
So, he paced a bit, took one final deep breath, and then stepped inside. He was immediately hit by a blast of hot air as the temperature rose dramatically. His ears were assaulted by crackling, hissing, and roaring noises, something he hadn¡¯t noticed from the core¡¯s quiet view of the room. His nose was likewise assaulted by noxious fumes that smelled like rotten eggs. He immediately covered his nose¡but the moment he thought that the smell faded. He could still detect it, but it didn¡¯t completely overwhelm his nose like before. The heat faded as well, to the point he could tell it wasn¡¯t comfortable but that wasn¡¯t causing him active discomfort.
He once again thanked Tower magic and the gods as he climbed through the lava fields. The rocky floor was not a smooth surface but covered in small ripples and curves and sometimes jagged edges. He had to be careful not to lose his balance, particularly when he jumped over the lava rivers. While he trusted the Tower not to kill him, he did not particularly want to touch the hissing, crackling, and glowing red rivers.
Eventually, though, he made his way to the left edge of the room and climbed down the ridge he had set up. He made his way to the alcove, where he found the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive buzzing and swarming over their new surroundings. The red burning bees were flying over the surface of the lava river, apparently not at all bothered by the heat that made the air shimmer. They were also swarming over the fire mana flowers, which were glowing brighter than Belissar had ever seen them. The Third of the Sixth rushed out and began zipping around him once more.
Apparently, he didn¡¯t even need to ask. He chuckled instead.
¡°Guess you like it?¡±
A swarm of burning bees dancing ¡°King best king!¡± at maximum speed was his answer.
Chapter 123 - Ready for a Bee-match?
For most of the rest of the day, Belissar watched the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive acclimate to their new home, checking if there was anything he might adjust to help them. The burning bees were flying faster than ever before, the air shimmering around their wings, and drinking deeply from the glowing fire mana flowers.
Eventually, though it was time for the next daily purification. Belissar thought about giving the bees a break¡but the soldier bee army started forming up at the regular time without any prompting, along with the karnuq contingent. Only the lancers had been involved in the last fight, so the rest of the army was still ready to go. In fact, even the two more lightly wounded lancers had recovered enough to join the formation. Belissar nodded his head and brought up the purification message. In the spirit of trusting his bees more, he would acknowledge their willingness to fight. Besides, they had long proved capable of handling minor+ purifications without any¡
Please select a purification strength:
- Minor (Cooldown: 12 hours)
- Minor+ (Cooldown: 16 hours)
- Small (Cooldown: 24 hours)
Belissar¡¯s mind came to halt. Right, he had forgotten since it didn¡¯t happen last time, but the first expansion purification unlocked larger daily purifications. Apparently this last one had as well. Belissar could now choose small purifications for the daily fights, while the cooldown on the other two minor purification strengths had dropped as well. He could even do two minor purifications a day if he so chose.
Which meant he now had a choice to make. Have his bees face a small purification, which up to this point were the big expansion fights, or stick with what they knew? Previously he would have just gone with the minor+ to be safe, but since he was trying to put aside his own fears and trust the bees, he felt he should at least consider the big one.
Small purifications. So far, that had been the bird-shade and the two cat-shades. He¡wasn¡¯t sure about the turtle shade, since that had been an emergency purification so he hadn¡¯t chosen a specific strength for it, but he figured to be safe he¡¯d included that as well. The good news was that, as far as he could tell, no new shades appeared in the daily purifications so far. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure if that was because they were daily purifications or because they had been minor and minor+, though, but if it was the former case then he could at least count on seeing something he had seen before.
The bird and cat-shades were fine. The bees had proven capable of taking them on without issue, though they would have to take on either a bigger bird-shade or two cat-shades this time. The Dirt Tunnels would help with that as well. The question was would the bees be able to take on a turtle shade? Chief Rohsuak could help out again, but even with her new blessing Belissar didn¡¯t want to exhaust her on a daily purification.
But, well, they had the Lava Field now, so the Tower had significant fire defenses of its own. And they had two of the lancers up. Belissar wasn¡¯t sure how they¡¯d match up against the turtle shade, but since a full speed dive from a soldier nearly pierced the turtle¡¯s tail he imagined a lancer should be capable of much more.
Slowly, he nodded his head, and then made his way to the Flower Meadow. The queen in charge for the day flew to meet him, along with Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti. Once he had greeted them all, he turned to the queen.
¡°Hello, looks like you¡¯re ready for the daily purification?¡±
The queen saluted to confirm.
¡°Then¡is the army ready to face a stronger one? Like, a big bird shade, two cat shades, or a turtle shade?¡±
The queen paused, and then quickly began to salute.
¡°Bees ready. Will stop all enemies and protect hive of hives.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Belissar slowly nodded and turned to the karnuq.
¡°How about you? Um, would you be ready to help if we needed it again?¡±
Chief Rohsuak smiled and nodded.
¡°Of course, Sacred Den Master. We are ready to defend our home anytime.¡±
Belissar took a deep breath.
¡°Ok, then that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡±
The queen and the karnuq both saluted once more. Belissar then made one last change before triggering the purification. He took the Lava Field from its position between the first floor Dirt Tunnels and the Flower Meadow and moved it behind the Flower Meadow. He couldn¡¯t help it. The Third of the Sixth had just set up her hive there today. And while most shades had made a beeline straight for the room exit, he didn¡¯t want to risk the Third of the Sixth on them changing strategy, at least not until her hive was better prepared to fight. If a turtle shade showed up that needed fire to deal with, he¡¯d move it back, otherwise he¡¯d let the proven defenses do their thing.
With that, he triggered the purification and the Hunger began to coalesce. Soon, a screech from a massive beak pierced the air of the Dirt Tunnels. The bird shade had returned once more. Belissar couldn¡¯t help but gulp. He knew his bees had figured out how to deal with bird shades¡but all of the ones they handled easily had been smaller. They were now facing the full-size, full-power bird shade for the first time since the expansion purification when it had first appeared.
But his Tower had brought one down before, so he trusted them to bring it down again. He just hoped there wouldn¡¯t be as many casualties this time.
The bird shade fully emerged and let out another screech. It extended and beat its wings, kicking up gusts of dirt as it launched into the air¡and promptly landed. The entrance room of the Dirt Tunnels was wide enough for it to spread its wings¡but apparently the first tunnel was not. It could just about spread its wings but it would have had very little room to flap them or maneuver about¡so it landed, folded its wings, and began walking. Belissar blinked¡and even giggled a bit. The bird shade, so terrifying when soaring through the skies, was far less intimidating while hobbling on the ground. In fact, it had gone from one of the fastest shades to one of the slowest, only faster than the turtle shade.
So, while it could still use its wings to hop and glide over the Pit Traps, it had no means of evading the first wall-mounted Sticky Honey Trap. The shade screeched and unleashed its black lightning attack¡but there was nothing to zap and it was still left drenched in thick maddening honey. The shade¡¯s pace slowed to an absolute crawl as the honey weighed it down and stuck to the ground every time it lowered its feet¡and as time went on the shade began to sway as the toxins began to take effect.
And then it encountered the next Pit Trap.
It leapt and extended its wings out once again¡only to plummet into the trap as its drenched and stuck wings couldn¡¯t provide sufficient lift. Whereupon it was sprayed yet again by the Sticky Honey Trap inside the pit.
Belissar could only stare and blink repeatedly at this turn of events. He had chosen the Dirt Tunnels largely for the effect it would have on the bird shade, but he hadn¡¯t expected this. Even the smaller bird shades from the minor+ purifications did better than this!
But well, he could only be happy that no bees would be hurt today. He grabbed a torch, used a bit of flame radish and mana honey to light it, and then made his way into the Dirt Tunnels, escorted by soldier bees and karnuq alike. They came to the pit in question to find black lightning surging up from it on occasion. Belissar frowned¡before remembering he was holding a torch in his hand already. It had been so long since they had swapped over to bee-carried flame radish slivers that it had slipped his mind.
So, he tossed the torch into the pit from a safe distance.
All hostiles defeated. Purification successful.
And in the end, the bird shade that once soared past his defenses was purified without a fuss. Belissar couldn¡¯t help but flush a bit at how much he had worried about it¡and at the sight of the soldier bees swaying in the air, facing no fight at all after he told them there¡¯d be a tough one.
In the end though, a victory was a victory, and a victory without sacrifice the best of all. Belissar and the Apiary queens still brought out the honey for a celebration. And then, once it was over, it was time for Belissar to consider the rewards.
Small Purification completed! Please select a reward:
- +100 DP
- +20 Max Mana
- Bee-type Vitality Boost (Minor)
Belissar had to pause for a moment. The higher DP and max mana offers were to be expected. But¡a bee-type perk? One that matched the uncommon one he had just received from the expansion purification choices? Well, he supposed the purification was a match for an earlier expansion purification, but it was still a surprise.
He did have a brief thought to his dwindling available mana, especially as he was ready for another DP shop purchase, but at the end of the day a vitality boost to all of his bees was too good to pass up.
Bee-type Vitality Boost (Minor) selected.
All Bee-type monsters receive a minor boost to vitality!
It seemed his Tower would have many opportunities to grow very soon.
Chapter 124 - A New Round of New-Bees
The Fourth of the Eighth stood in front of a cell in her hive. The cell was crackling, with tiny-lightnings occasionally crossing the wax cover and zapping any bee that got too close. It was not particularly popular among her workers, but the Fourth of the Eighth couldn¡¯t take her eyes off of it.
The honey made by the soldiers was¡strange. It looked like honey, acted like honey, and tasted like honey. By all accounts, it was honey. And yet¡there was something ephemeral about it. Quite literally. On her first attempts to store it, she found the honey evaporated away if left alone for too long. Mana compromised far more of its structure than mana honey made by the normal process, and so would unravel over time.
It was a problem, as the honey needed to last long enough for an egg to hatch and a larva to morph into full adult worker. The Fourth of the Eighth had to conduct numerous experiments to get it to work. Adding more mana to the honey extended its lifespan but with diminishing returns, and adding too much would only accelerate its decomposition. Mixing it with regular honey just diluted them both until the lightning honey faded away. Eventually, she had her workers consume it outright and reprocess it. This managed to produce a stable honey with some amount of tiny lightnings, but in far lower quantities than the original lightning honey. It was also unpleasant for her workers, many of whom continued to tremble even after finishing the process.
But it had succeeded, and, with time and effort, they had managed to accumulate enough to fill a worker cell. The very cell she now watched with every moment she had to spare.
Had it been enough? Had they provided enough honey for a worker to grow? Had they maintained enough of the lightning to change the worker? Would the egg and the larva survive growing in such honey? Would any of these efforts have any payoff?
She did not know. She couldn¡¯t, until the brood growing with this cell finally stirred¡or failed to. It had already spent longer under its cap than a normal worker, causing the Fourth of the Eighth to pace around. She knew from speaking with some of the other queens that bees raised on special honeys took longer to grow, but she could not help but worry. Just when would this worker¡
She paused. She thought¡she saw the cap shift a bit. But she fluttered her wings and then groomed her antennae. She had been deceived before, but every previous time it had simply been a trick of the light, the shadow of a passing worker.
Until she saw it again.
Her eyes instantly locked to the spot in question. There, she saw cracks form in the wax cover as it bulged out slightly.
She nearly leapt to tear open the cap herself, had her workers not beat her to the punch. They ignored the tiny lightnings jumping to their hairs as they chewed open the cap, freeing the bee within.
And then, out crawled a new, healthy, fully-formed worker. A worker whose yellow hairs seemed a bit brighter, whose wings shimmered with dancing yellow lights, and who had tiny lightning jump between her antennae.
The Fourth of the Eighth slowly crawled to the new worker, who began a salute dance. The Fourth of the Eighth brushed the worker with her antennae, getting a tiny zap from the lightning in the process, pulling her from her shock.
This¡was a new worker. A special worker, raised on special honey. Her special worker, a member of her own hive.
They had done it.
A moment later, she broke out into a happy dance of her own.
The First of the Fifth watched her communers give their report dances. So, the Fourth of the Eighth had apparently raised a new kind of worker with help from the wounded soldiers? With honey that came not from any extant flower in the King¡¯s realm but with the lightning that Beero and her comrades commanded?
That was impressive. Even the First of the Fifth had not considered such a method¡and may not have attempted it even if she had. The lack of supporting flowers would hamper scaling up a hive based on such honey. But¡now that the Fourth of the Eighth had successfully raised a new type of worker who presumably would be able to produce new types of honey with normal mana flower nectar¡it might just be possible.
She would have to reconsider her evaluation of the Fourth of the Eighth. She had considered giving the lastborn a bit of assistance to bring her up to par with the others, now that she had gone and created a new type of bee all on her own the First of the Fifth would accelerate those plans. A new type of bee needed as much support as needed to spread.
More immediately, there would now be three new bee types to present to the King today, in addition to the two standing before her now. The First of the Fifth instructed the communers to send word to the Fourth of the Eighth, inviting her to join the First of the Fifth in greeting the King¡Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
Belissar made his way over to the First of the Fifth¡¯s hive, hearing there were new bee types to see. The First of the Fifth was waiting for him there, along with another queen. After happily greeting him, she danced towards the other queen.
¡°This is Fourth of the Eighth, also has new bee to show.¡±
The other queen flew unsteadily as she greeted him. Belissar gave her a smile.
¡°Great work, I can¡¯t wait to see the new one.¡±
The Fourth of the Eighth nearly dropped from the air, causing Belissar to reach his hand out. She landed on his hand¡then quickly buzzed her wings and took off as quickly as she could. Belissar just shook his head and chuckled.
¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±
He held out his other hand to the First of the Fifth as well. She nearly dropped out of the air too, but managed to catch herself. Then she slowly and gingerly hovered forward until she very slowly came to rest in his hand. His smile grew.
¡°Let¡¯s see the new bees then?¡±
The First of the Fifth saluted, then turned to face her bees and danced for them to come forward. The first was a worker bee with purple hair. Beyond that, she seemed normal at first glance. At least, until Belissar focused on her more closely.
Gravity Monster Bee Worker
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal+
Defense: Minimal+
Resistance: Minimal+
Special: Minor
Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Minor Gravity Manipulation, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring
Description: A monster bee worker raised on honey infused with Gravity attribute mana. Can generate small gravitational fields, which it generally uses to carry more nectar and pollen, as well as modifying its own honey and wax.
Belissar tilted his head. He vaguely knew from the gravilion flower that gravity had something to do with making things lighter and heavier, but that was still the extent of his knowledge. Therefore¡he didn¡¯t really know what this bee could do, and the description didn¡¯t really help him figure it out. Something about carrying more nectar and pollen¡so maybe the bee would make the nectar and pollen it carried lighter?
Well, he¡¯d keep an eye on it and watch it in action. Maybe that would shed some light on what gravity actually was. But either way, it was a new bee, which alone was enough to make Belissar happy.
So, it was great that there were two more! The next worker bee was light blue and black, and glowing slightly, with smooth and solid-looking chitin. Her chitin was also oozing drops of liquid, and she was carrying a small ball of honey with her front two legs.
Slime Bee Worker
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minor
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal
Special: Minor
Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Slime Core, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring
Description: A monster bee that acts as a slime core. Will surround itself in a type of slime-honey to act as a slime body. Even if the slime body is destroyed, the slime bee will survive and reform if its bee core escapes. This one is a worker, using its slime body to help gather nectar and pollen, and to harden into wax.
Belissar¡¯s eyes widened slightly. So that was where all the slime flower nectar had gone¡and boy had it paid off. Now, instead of slimes formed by the flower, he had a bee that could make a slime around itself!
¡well, Belissar didn¡¯t really know enough about slimes to know what the difference was, but he figured he¡¯d like a bee slime better. And it was nice to know that his Tower would still have slimes of a sort even if the bees gathering prevented the slime flower from ever accumulating enough nectar. He was very much curious to see the slime bee in action.
Finally, the Fourth of the Eighth managed to eke out a dance and the final worker came forward. The First of the Fifth danced as well.
¡°This one raised by Fourth of the Eighth.¡±
The Fourth of the Eighth quickly began tapping out a dance.
¡°W-With help! F-From soldiers!¡±
And looking at this next bee, Belissar had a guess as to which soldiers helped.
Shocking Monster Bee Worker
Vitality: Minimal
Strength: Minimal
Speed: Average
Magic: Minimal+
Defense: Minimal
Resistance: Minimal+
Special: Minor
Notable Skills: Shocking Poison Sting, Lightning Resistance, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring
Description: A monster bee worker raised on honey infused with Lightning attribute mana. Lightning infuses both its body and its venom, boosting both its ability to gather pollen and to defend itself. Stings will cause minor electric shocks.
¡°So, I¡¯m guessing Beero and her friends helped you with this one?¡±
¡°Y-Yes!¡±
Belissar nodded and smiled.
¡°Great work you both. I¡¯m excited to see how they work.¡±
Belissar chuckled as the two queens and their three workers took off and began zipping ¡°King best king!¡± dances. Then he rubbed his chin.
The gravity and slime bees were somewhat expected, as that was Belissar¡¯s hope with the special flowers in the first place. The shocking bee was not, for there were, as of yet, no lightning flowers in the Tower.
And yet, here the bee was, which must have evolved with honey created by Beero and the others through magic. Which caused Belissar to realize something big.
He didn¡¯t need to wait for new flowers to raise new bees. If he had a way to create special honey types without a flower, they could then raise new bees. He looked down at his hand and formed a honeycomb pattern out of his mana.
All he had to do, then, was figure out how to make new kinds of honey types¡
POBee 124.1 - Bee-ing Useful
After checking the new bees in the Apiary, Belissar made his way to the bumblebee meadow, both to check on things and because he just liked watching the bumblebees zip around him. He approached to find the workers as usual, leisurely making their way from flower to flower. Each one he approached stopped to fly a few circles around him before resuming their work.
Still, he didn¡¯t want to disrupt them too much, so he quickly made his way to the nests to greet the queens and then move on with his day. As he did, though he heard a loud thrumming noise. Less like the buzz of normal bees, and more like tree leaves rustling in heavy winds. He looked up to find a large shadow blocking out the sun, and then four heavy shapes landed before him with a thud. His eyes widened.
Several massive bumblebees now stood on the ground before him. They were different sizes, but even the smallest was as large as a lancer, while the largest was even bigger than a large dog. They had their stingers extended, each as large as a dagger¡or larger.
The queens flew out of their nests shortly after. Belissar turned to them in a daze.
¡°Are these¡bumblebee soldiers?¡±
The oldest queen flew one circle around him to confirm.
¡°Wow¡they¡¯re big.¡±
The queen flew one more circle around him before releasing some mana-laden pheromones to convey additional information. Belissar¡¯s eyes went even wider.
¡°They¡¯re¡not done growing? Even the big one?¡±
The queen flew one more circle around him. Belissar could only nod blankly for a bit¡then started to grin.
¡°These are really going to help, I think. Great work everyone.¡±
After that, he was treated to four queens zipping circles around him repeatedly. The four soldiers spread out their wings, beating the air with heavy thuds as they slowly took off. They then flew around him in circles as well, kicking up gusts of wind around him in the process.
Belissar continued to grin. The largest bees he had ever seen¡and they weren¡¯t even done growing yet. At this rate, his bees might be able to face the next shade on even footing. It seemed that monster bumblebees had been an excellent choice after all.
Things, however, were not going as well for the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s drone. The drone had done his best to be useful for his kind and merciful queen mother, and the first communer and the other queen of the hive had done their best to support him, but it hadn¡¯t worked out so far.
The first communer and the other queen had tried to teach him how to forage, noting his larger eyes and better senses. However, it turned out he lacked a honey stomach to begin with, so while he could drink nectar he couldn¡¯t store it or pass it along. That also meant that he couldn¡¯t help to process the nectar into honey either.
Scouting was the next option¡but it turned out his senses were tuned to one thing only. He could find and identify other bees easily enough¡but had no instincts for flowers or hive locations. They would be teaching him from scratch for that task.
Next, they thought about having him help dry honey and infuse it with mana¡but this did not work out either. He did not have the instincts to analyze the honey¡¯s current state, so could not adjust his drying on his own. He could do it by watching the other bees, but he was less efficient at it than them. And, unfortunately, his mana was not regenerating like the worker bees¡¯ did, so they considered it too dangerous for him to infuse the honey with it. He would end up having to drink more honey to compensate, so it would defeat the purpose.
And the brood tenders flat out refused to have a bee without the appropriate instincts handle the brood. Even guard duty wasn¡¯t viable due to his lack of a stinger.
It turned out that he was built for a single task only. And since that task was currently unnecessary, there wasn¡¯t much he was especially suited for. Even the first communer and the other queen were a bit at a loss of what else to do with him at the moment, so they just had him fanning the hive to help regulate overall temperatures. A task that was largely unnecessary in the perfect and totally stable climate of the King¡¯s realm.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
He still conducted that task with all the effort he could muster, but he could not help but wish he could do more. He had failed at his one task, the task his brothers had nobly given their lives to achieve. Whereas they had sacrificed for the good of hive of hives, an effort acknowledged by even the King himself, he had done no such thing, and yet continued to drain his mother¡¯s resources. He had even offered to leave again, now that they had taught him to forage he could at least survive on his own, but the other queen and the first communer would have none of it. His kind and gracious mother had saved his life, and so they would not allow him to struggle alone.
So, if he wanted to stop being a burden and pay back the hive of hives for even a little of the honey they spent on him, he had to find something to do. But what, exactly? What could he achieve without instincts or a honey stomach or a stinger or regenerating mana? His sisters could do anything he could and much better. Was he doomed to just wait around for the next wave of queens?
He didn¡¯t know, and so he kept his eyes open and his antennae swaying. He at least had better senses than his sisters, so maybe he¡¯d catch something they wouldn¡¯t. Though, without the instincts to actually identify anything other than a queen, he wasn¡¯t sure what exactly to look for. All he could really see were his sisters hard at work, and the swirling patterns of their mana throughout the hive.
He couldn¡¯t bear to watch his sisters do all that he couldn¡¯t so he kept his focus on the mana instead. The mana of the hive was no still, homogenous pool, but a whirling river flowing in cycles. Each worker within the hive absorbed and released their own mana, pulling the mana of the hive towards them while pushing their own mana into the flow. The new nectar brought in released mana of different sorts which was then processed and homogenized the by the workers as they made honey from it. The eggs and the larvae released mana of their own, calling for their tenders whenever a problem arose. And above all the various swirls were the large currents released by the queen herself, the main pathway that carried the mana of all the other bees throughout the hive, with the smaller rivers of the communers breaking off and joining back with the main flower as necessary.
The mana of his home hive was particularly chaotic. The river from his queen mother was weaker than usual, flowing much further away as she was currently out of the hive. The mana of his worker sisters, however, were stronger than normal to compensate, while the first communer was keeping up a main river in the queen¡¯s absence. Their system, therefore, was more like a system of smaller rivers than a single circuit, many smaller cycles joining together into a larger whole.
This, however, was in contrast to the other queen and her kin. The other queen kept up a powerful and orderly flow, with each worker joining and breaking off at specific points. A well-ordered circuit without a bee out of place, where even the eggs and the larva were strategically placed to help the river flow.
Or at least, those ideas were what the first communer and the queen was trying to do. The two river systems were colliding as the joint hive mixed and interacted. Sometimes the flows were able to mix together without too much trouble, but in other places they collided and formed whirling rapids. The communers seemed to congregate at those locations, giving instructions through physical dances rather than via mana. One such location was right by the drone, in fact.
His eyes fixed upon the chaotic swirl. There was something about it that drew his attention, something that triggered the few instincts he was born with. Before he knew it, he found himself crawling towards the swirl. His antennae twitched and then stretched out in the direction of heaviest mana concentration.
And then, suddenly, a bit of the mana swirl brushed against his antennae¡and locked onto it. Mana from the swirl began to split, mana from the two hives now separating and streaming into his two antennae, one type of mana for each. The drone panicked and crawled back, the last thing he wanted was to take the hive¡¯s mana on top of its honey. Unfortunately, he could not stop whatever process had begun as the mana stream only intensified, the swirl unraveling into two separate streams flowing into him.
The chaotic whirl reappeared within his body as the two streams collided within him, with his own mana joining in and twisting around them, condensing them down. And then¡mana began to flow from his body, surging back out into the hive¡¯s flow of mana. A single stream of mana instead of two.
The drone fell flat against the hive, hoping that whatever he did had not disrupted the hive. Unfortunately, those hopes were quickly dashed as he saw the first communer and the other queen rushing towards him. The queen started dancing before she even fully arrived.
¡°Drone! You did this?!¡±
The drone wanted to fly away but he managed to dance out a confirmation. The queen whirled towards the arriving communer.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s communer, can feel?!¡±
The first communer stumbled as she slowly danced.
¡°Yes can feel¡other queen? Can see other workers¡¡±
The other queen, the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter, suddenly burst out into a rapid dance.
¡°Amazing! Incredible! Can feel Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive! No¡AM part of Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive now!¡±
The drone froze, uncertain what to make of this turn of events. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter then rushed over to him, practically twisting their antennae together.
¡°Drone! You did, right? Can do again?!¡±
¡°T-Think so?¡±
She nearly began dragging him as she turned.
¡°Good! Then do! Help join hives together!¡±
He managed to glance at the communer, who danced her confirmation as well.
¡°Already asked queen, she says yes. And, good work, drone. Will help a lot.¡±
The drone paused at that, and then did his best to dance a salute as the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter dragged him along. It seemed he had found a job to do after all.
POBee 124.2 - The First Ex-Bee-dition!
The Fourth of the Seventh paused. She was currently in the mini-hive beyond the King¡¯s realm, preparing to set out, but something shifted in the back of her mind. There, in the link to the children back in her main hive, she felt a new presence.
¡°Fourth of the Seventh?! Can hear?!¡±
A huge chunk of mana reached her, twisted into a dance by the communer that sent it. The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s antennae twitched and then she began to dance, the communer beside her converting the dance into mana to send back.
¡°First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter?¡±
¡°Yes! It worked! Joined Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive¡¯s mana thanks to drone! All thanks to Fourth of Seventh! Amazing, incredible!¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh began a happy dance. She wasn¡¯t entirely sure what was going on, but it seemed the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter was happy, so that was reason enough to celebrate. And it sounded like the drone she rescued did something too? She was happy he found something to do then!
And when she looked more closely, she found she could now see through the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter¡¯s eyes, just like with her own workers! She could see her first communer glowing and passing along the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter¡¯s mana. The drone was there too, taking mana from both hives¡¯ workers and twisting it together. She sent her mana to them all.
¡°Amazing! Incredible! Great work!¡±
She then turned back to focus on her present surroundings. Her workers and soldiers were formed up outside. One flew in and danced a salute to her, the signal that all was clear. With that, the Fourth of the Seventh crawled out of the mini-hive, started beating her wings, and took off into the air. For today, she was joining the scouting party.
The Fourth of the Seventh initially planned to rely on her communers to watch the scouts, but with all the efforts her hive and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter had made to let her come here, she and her scouts decided that she would join the sweep in person. The scouts had done a preliminary sweep to ensure the area was safe and then set a perimeter to keep it that way, and so now it was time for her to move. Her soldiers took up their formation around her, ready to respond to any threats, another group of scouts made a smaller perimeter around her in case the outer scouts missed anything, and a group of tenders flew next to her and monitored her own condition.
As for the queen herself?
She flew about at random, letting herself drift to anything that drew her attention. She found a particularly conspicuous pile of rocks on the ground. Conspicuous because they featured the same angular edges and uniform size of the rocks that she had built the mini-hive in, in a way that vaguely reminded her of the King¡¯s own constructions. Also, the rocks were connected right to the fallen structure and extended out flat along the ground, in a line extending off into the forest.
If she had to guess¡this was a guide to the fallen rock hive. If whoever built that hive were like the karnuq, then they wouldn¡¯t have had wings or the ability to fly. It was hard to imagine lacking such a fundamental skill, how would they get anywhere? How would they orient themselves within the landscape? How would they spot flowers from a distance? So¡she guessed that maybe this flat pile of rocks was to help them find their hive even if they couldn¡¯t see the landscape from above.
Which, of course, made her wonder where exactly it headed. Maybe to a major flower patch to forage from? She couldn¡¯t wait to find out!The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
And so, the Fourth of the Seventh led her party along the flat rock pile. They flew at a leisurely pace, drifting on and off the path as they went. She landed on flowers she had never seen before and drunk from their nectar directly, making note of their locations for the return trip. Before this trip, she and her soldiers had weaved some new stem ropes, but that grew wider in the middle. A basic sling, like she had seen some of the karnuq use, that would wrap around a soldier bee and hand below its torso. She had seen the karnuq give flowers to the King and that made the King happy, so she figured they¡¯d try to bring back anything interesting they found on their way home.
But first, she¡¯d fly as far as she could and see all that she could see. Everything, from the air to the dirt to the plants themselves, was of a different quality than those made by the King. None of them had the warmth and abundance of mana that his realm offered, yet all of them were different, even from each other. There was a diversity of different plants here that the Fourth of the Seventh had never seen before, from towering trees with thin needles for leaves, to squat bushes that still towered above flowers, to vines that wrapped around other plants. And she took it all in with her own eyes, felt the cool breeze across her own chitin, smelt the scents of sap and nectar with her own antennae. She¡¯d have burst into a happy dance if she weren¡¯t flying forward at the moment.
Soon, the Fourth of the Seventh noticed that the forest was beginning to thin out. A short while later, they arrived at a clearing. The Fourth of the Seventh landed and tree branch and paused.
At the edge of the clearing they could see the dark and writhing mass of the intruders, what the King and the karnuq referred to as the Hunger. It appeared they had reached the edge of the Beyond, at least until the King took the fight to the Hunger once more. Her workers and soldiers grew agitated, fidgeting about. One of the scouts landed before her.
¡°Queen, should turn back. Not safe.¡±
But the Fourth of the Seventh hesitated. For there, in the middle of the clearing between her and the Hunger, was another hive of rock and stone. And this one¡this one was far larger than the one she built her mini-hive in. It was even larger than the King¡¯s Tower if she wasn¡¯t mistaken. It had a crumbling wall surrounding its exterior, with not just one but several crumbling towers like the one she had built her mini-hive in placed along the edges. Behind that was the remains of yet a second wall, with additional towers of its own. And in the center of it all, she could see the remains of an even larger structure peeking up over the walls.
¡°Want to scout that.¡±
The worker danced the negative.
¡°Not safe. Too close to enemy. And¡is just rock? Not important?¡±
The Fourth of the Seventh paused to think for a moment. The worker was right on most counts. It was most assuredly not safe moving that close to the Hunger. And it was, after all, just a pile of rocks. If whoever built the rock hive wasn¡¯t around anymore, then just an empty one.
And yet, she couldn¡¯t take her eyes off of it. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder what sort of being built such a hive. Were they like the karnuq? Maybe like the King, though how a being on par with the King could have lost a hive like this she couldn¡¯t fathom.
¡°Can wait. King will push back Hunger eventually.¡±
But the worker was still correct. She was a queen, and her hive was already making great compromises allowing her out this far. She would not risk herself or them by flying into the jaws of the Hunger. One day, the King¡¯s power would push the Hunger even further and then she¡¯d be able to scout the rock hive to her heart¡¯s content. Today it would be a flight too far.
So, she turned around.
¡°Let¡¯s go back, get flowers for King!¡±
Thanks to the communer, she could see her workers and soldiers conduct a small relief dance, even though her back was turned. She buzzed her wings. Did they really think she would just fly right into danger like that? She only¡slightly thought about it!
As she left, the scouts made a note of the rock hive¡¯s location. They had noted it as a landmark, but previously hadn¡¯t considered investigating it in full. After all, the field and forest around it were far more likely to hold ideal foraging spots. But the queen had marked it as a feature of importance. Her scouts, therefore, decided to pay a bit more attention to it, as well as to keep their eyes out for anything like it.
And indeed, while the writing of the Hunger occupied most of their attention at this distance, one scouted noted a faint hum of mana on the air, something other than the Hunger in the distance¡
Chapter 125 - The Start of Colla-Bee-ration