《The Bee Dungeon》


 Glossar-Bee

    Glossar-Bee<table width="699"><tbody><tr><td colspan="6" width="98"><strong>Notable Non-Queens</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Name</td><td></td><td></td><td>Other titles/references</td><td>Current Location</td><td>Special Notes</td></tr><tr><td>Niobee</td><td></td><td></td><td>The Conduit</td><td>By Belissar''s side!</td><td>Belissar''s friend from before the Tower!</td></tr><tr><td>Beero</td><td></td><td></td><td>The wounded soldier</td><td>The Memorial</td><td>The first crippled soldier, personally saved by Belissar. Missing a pair of wings.</td></tr><tr><td>The Fourth of the Seventh''smuner</td><td></td><td></td><td>The Fourth of the Seventh''s worker</td><td>Orchard</td><td>The bee organizing the Fourth of the Seventh''s hive...instead of her queen.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="6" width="98"><strong>Notable Queens</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Full Title</td><td>Common Shorthand</td><td>Numeric Title</td><td>Other Names</td><td>Current Location</td><td>Special Notes</td></tr><tr><td>First Queen of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line</td><td>First of the First</td><td>1 of 1 of 1</td><td></td><td></td><td>Gave her life in the first initial purification</td></tr><tr><td>Second Queen of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line</td><td>Second of the First</td><td>2 of 1 of 1</td><td></td><td></td><td>Gave her life in the first initial purification</td></tr><tr><td>Third Queen of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line</td><td>Third of the First</td><td>3 of 1 of 1</td><td></td><td></td><td>Gave her life in the first initial purification, prototyped the rotating squad-wave attack</td></tr><tr><td>Fourth Queen of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line</td><td>Fourth of the First</td><td>4 of 1 of 1</td><td></td><td></td><td>Gave her life in the first initial purification</td></tr><tr><td>First Queen of the Second Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line</td><td>Second First of the First</td><td>1 of 2 of 1</td><td>The Firstborn</td><td>Flower Meadow</td><td>Leader of the Flower Meadow queens and the soldier bee army</td></tr><tr><td>First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Second Spawner, the first of her line</td><td>First of the Second</td><td>1 of 1 of 2</td><td></td><td>Flower Meadow</td><td>Discovered that spreading her own soldiers among the army to pass on hermands improved response time</td></tr><tr><td>First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Fourth Spawner, the first of her line</td><td>First of the Fourth</td><td>1 of 1 of 4</td><td></td><td>Flower Meadow</td><td>Commanded the army against a bird shade in a minor+ purification</td></tr><tr><td>First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Fifth Spawner, the first of her line</td><td>First of the Fifth</td><td>1 of 1 of 5</td><td></td><td>Apiary</td><td>Leader of the Apiary queens, top honey producer in both quality and quantity</td></tr><tr><td>Second Queen of the First Dynasty of the Sixth Spawner</td><td>Second of the Sixth</td><td>2 of 1 of 6</td><td></td><td>Apiary</td><td>First queen to change types, became a Medicinal Monster Bee Queen</td></tr><tr><td>Third Queen of the First Dynasty of the Sixth Spawner, the first of her line</td><td>Third of the Sixth</td><td>3 of 1 of 6</td><td></td><td>Apiary</td><td>First queen not to get one of the initial Apiary beehouses</td></tr><tr><td>Fourth Queen of the First Dynasty of the Seventh Spawner</td><td>Fourth of the Seventh</td><td>4 of 1 of 7</td><td></td><td>Orchard</td><td>¡­what hasn''t she done? Let''s just say likes exploring and trying new things</td></tr><tr><td>First Daughter of the First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Fifth Spawner, the second of her line</td><td>First of the Fifth''s First Daughter</td><td colspan="2">1 of 1 of 1 of 5</td><td>Orchard</td><td>The first queen born from a queen rather than a spawner, currently running a joint hive with the Fourth of the Seventh</td></tr></tbody></table>

 Chapter 1: The Bee-ginning

    Chapter 1: The Bee-ginning


    A young man stood in a dark cer, holding a small candle for light. This was Belissar, a man well past his second decade, dressed in the well-worn tunic and pants of any other frontier peasant. He was surrounded by barrels. He opened the top of one barrel and scooped out some of the liquid contents into a jar. Then he closed the barrel and walked towards the rickety stairs leading out of the cer. He extinguished the candle and then climbed back up.


    He made his way across his apiary, where wooden boxes stood in rows. Bees buzzed all around, climbing in and out of holes in the boxes. Belissar smiled and watched them work for a second, before making his way to his house.


    Once inside, Belissar poured a bit of the golden liquid from the jar and took a drink. He held it in his mouth, tilting his head before he swallowed and smacked his lips.


    ¡°Hm, a bit too many juniper berries, I think. I¡¯ll have to tone it down for the next batch.¡±


    He heaved a sigh as he put away the jar. That was thest jar of the batch, so it would take some time before the next attempt. Apparently, the local Tower Lord¡¯s son wasing to visit their little vige, and every household was required to donate tribute for the wee banquet. Losing entire barrels of mead for free would not help him survive the winter, so he¡¯d have to stick to tried and true recipes he knew he could sell for the foreseeable future.


    And, of course, the date for the visit hade and gone a week ago, and the Tower Lord¡¯s son was nowhere to be seen. And, of course, the vige chief hadn¡¯t returned any of the tribute, just in case the noble scion decided to show up at his own convenience. Some of the vigers had raised eyebrows at that, but Belissar just kept his head down. It wouldn¡¯t help for him toin; it never did. So, he just sighed and shook his head.


    He stretched and walked over to the window, where he had a few flowers growing in pots. A bee was hovering around the pots and flew to him when he walked over. He held out a finger, the bee obliged andnded on it. Belissar smiled as he noted the bee¡¯s lost antenna.


    ¡°Working hard, huh? Great job today.¡±


    The bee buzzed and spun around. Belissar had saved a bee with a lost antenna once, freeing her from a spider¡¯s web. He knew it was silly, but he liked to imagine it was the same bee that visited him, and that they were friends, even. Well, he knew the beesnded on him because he had coaxed them by dipping his finger in honey, but it didn¡¯t hurt anyone to pretend.It was then that Belissar heard shouting and screams.


    Belissar frowned and grabbed his spear by the door. Their vige was at the very edge of the local Tower¡¯s influence. Attacks by the Hunger were rare, but not unheard of. Belissar peaked his head out the window in the direction of the scream¡­


    And he gasped.


    The vige was on fire.


    Armored soldiers marched through the town, right over the bodies of the vige chief and those who had gathered with him. Hooded mages were setting fire to the buildings one by one, while the soldiers cut down the vigers trying to flee. The soldiers each bore the crest of the local Tower Lord on their armor, and a young man in te armor and a cape rode atop a horse at the center of the formation.


    Belissar turned and ran out the back door. He had no idea why the local Tower Lord would do such a thing, and he was of no mind to ponder it. He ran past his beehives, towards the tree line at the edge of his home.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Running off into the Hunger was not exactly a great idea, but Belissar was barely thinking at all at this point. All he wanted was to get as far away as possible.


    And he felt a sharp pain in his back and stumbled to the ground. An arrow lodged itself in his back. He fell into some overgrown fields leading to the forest.


    Tears ran down his face as he fell into the dirt and grit his teeth, trying not to scream from the pain. Maybe, if he was lucky, they¡¯d think he was dead. That is¡­if the wound wasn¡¯t bad enough to kill him as is.


    But¡­as hey there¡­slowly he began to rx. As he thought¡­he wondered why he was trying so hard. Bad break after bad break and for what? There was no one at home waiting for him, no one would even realize he was gone. The entire vige was gone too, and no one beyond even knew he existed. Nothing would change if he lived, and nothing would change if he died. So how was one better than the other? What was the point of fighting his fate?


    He felt his heart calm even as he began to feel cold. He went ahead and closed his eyes.


    Perhaps this was for the best.


    Only a slight murmur in his heart caused him to hesitate, to wonder if this was truly the end. But that, too, passed as all around him grew dim.


    It was at that moment that a little beended on his back. A bee with an antenna missing¡­and a slight glow around its body, too faint to be noticed in the afternoon sun. It buzzed and danced around Belissar¡¯s back, but the young man stirred no longer. The bee buzzed again, and again the many still.


    The bee¡¯s began dancing faster and faster, buzzing its wings more and more frantically. As it did, the glow around it began to pulse, growing brighter each time. Eventually, a small bit of the glow moved from it into Belissar¡¯s back¡­


    Ruckanos¡¯s face scrunched up as the smell of smoke and blood filled his nose. He was not fond of such things. Normally, he resented his lord father for forcing them upon him. But well¡­today was different.


    The augurs had spoken. It was time for a new Tower to rise, and it was time for a new Tower Lord to rise with it. The gaze of the gods turned towards his father¡¯snds, and so the day Ruckanos had long awaited had arrived. He would be the master of the new Tower, the chosen of the gods. Riches, power, and long life would be his, as well as grand armies loyal only to him, and he would finally be free from the authority of his father. He was not doomed tonguish as generations of his siblings had before him. He was the one who would ascend to greatness.


    So great was his joy that he threw a grand banquet thatsted for a week straight before his lord father intervened. His father¡­had not been pleased with the dy. So displeased, in fact, that he had ordered Ruckanos toe straight to the site himself. Normally, the Tower Guard would have cleared the way, ensuring the area was free from all riff-raff and obstructions. It would not do for an unworthy lesser to interfere with the ritual, after all. The gods themselves would be¡­displeased at such a turn of events. But Ruckanos nowcked the time to wait, and so he was here during the cleanup, waiting for his men to finish their dirty work so that the ritual couldmence.


    Just then, an old man to his side began to frown. This was one of the augurs, dressed in fine robes and carrying all sorts of tomes and crystals on his person.


    ¡°My Lord, the mana stirs, and the gods are on the move. We must hurry if we are to prepare the bindings.¡±


    Ruckanos scowled.


    ¡°Captain, what is taking so long? Do not tell me that my own guard cannot handle some dirty peasants?¡±


    His captain bowed his head.


    ¡°My apologies, My Lord. We should be finished up shortly. My men will be sweeping the perimeter, but I believe you should be able to proceed shortly.¡±


    Ruckanos sighed.


    ¡°You had better. This is the moment of my ascension, Captain. Nothing shall be permitted to go wrong¡­¡±


    It was then that the augur gasped. Before Ruckanos could react to the interruption, a bright column of light shot into the sky from behind one of the houses.


    ¡°We are toote, it has already begun!¡±


    Ruckanos dug his heels into his horse.


    ¡°Move, you fools! Whatever¡¯s happening there, stop it!¡±


    Ruckanos and his guard rushed towards the house in question. His horse galloped around back. Ruckanos arrived just in time to see a dirty peasant lying on the ground with an arrow in his back¡­and surrounded by the column of light.


    Then there was a crack of thunder, and a bright sh of light that blinded the Tower Lord to be.


    When it faded and his eyes could see again, the peasant was gone, and the column of light with him. The augur turned pale.


    ¡°We¡­were toote, My Lord. The Tower has been born¡­and the bindings were not prepared.¡±


    Ruckanos narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°What are you saying?¡±


    The augur gulped.


    ¡°If the bindings are not in ce for the Tower¡¯s birth¡­then we cannot adjust its course. We¡­have failed, for the first time in my career. For the first time since my grandfather¡¯s grandfather¡­¡±


    Ruckanos¡¯s eyes widened as he processed those statements.


    ¡°I-It was only moments ago, surely there is something you can do!¡±


    The augur slowly shook his head.


    ¡°The Tower has been born and moved beyond my sight. I know not where it has gone¡­and I can no longer bind it to you.¡±


    Ruckanos turned pale. The Tower¡­was gone? It¡­was not bound to him, and they didn¡¯t know where it went?


    But that meant¡­that he would not ascend today. And his lord father¡­would be most displeased¡­

 Chapter 2: Well, Ill Bee

    Chapter 2: Well, I''ll Bee


    Belissar awoke with a start, sitting upright. He blinked for a moment, then gasped and reached for his back. He didn¡¯t feel anything there. No arrow shaft, no wounds, no pain, not even blood. He blinked again.


    Had it all been a dream?


    Just then, vivid memories passed through his mind. He could smell the smoke of mes just outside his window...and the scent of blood. He heard the screams of the vigers, the roar of burning houses, and the angry shouts of soldiers. He could see sunlight reflecting off metal des before they plunged into his neighbors. He could remember the sharp pain stabbing into his back.


    He turned pale and began to sweat. No, he didn¡¯t think all that was a dream after all. Not to mention the fact that he apparently hadn¡¯t awoken in his bed...or on the ground where he had fallen.


    He finally thought to look at his surroundings. He was...well, he didn¡¯t know where. All around him was empty white space with only a single feature. A glowing sphere hovered in the air a bit in front of him.


    ¡°Am I...dead?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t think of any other exnation for his current surroundings, and the suddenck of mortal wounds on his back. But at the same time...this did not match anything he had been told. Where was the Hall of Judgement? Where was the God of Death?


    Just then, he heard a buzzing noise. He began ncing around until he saw it. A single bee, buzzing around the glowing sphere. She flew up to him and he held up his hand by reflex. His eyes widened as shended right on his finger. She was missing an antenna, just like the one from the spider web.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you died too?¡±That seemed impossible. Even if this was somehow the same bee, only humans went to the Hall of Judgement when they died...or so Belissar had been told. But on the other hand, this ce didn¡¯t match any description of the Hall of Judgement Belissar had heard. Not that any human had actually seen the Hall of Judgement and lived to talk about it. They couldn¡¯t, by definition, after all. There was also theck of the God of Death passing judgement on the events of his life.


    He looked at the bee on his finger. Unless...the God of Death was a bee?! Or did he somehow end up in the bee Hall of Judgement?! Did bees <em>have</em> a Hall of Judgement?!


    Said bee or potential god buzzed her wings and danced around, brushing his finger with her remaining antenna, before taking off. She hovered in front of his eyes and then flew in a figure eight, before turning and flying towards the sphere. Belissar blinked. The bee flew back in front of him and repeated her actions, then flew back towards the sphere.


    ¡°Um, do you want me to do something with this?¡±


    The bee buzzed her wings and began dancing on top of the sphere.


    ¡°Um, what exactly?¡±


    The bee just repeated her actions. Belissar gulped, and then stepped forward. He had no idea what was going on, but if a potential bee God of Death wanted him to act, then he¡¯d have to try his best. He looked at the sphere. Even though his surroundings were nothing but white light, he could somehow tell the sphere was faintly glowing. It was perfectly smooth, with no protrusions or marks anywhere. Which meant no hints whatsoever to what he was actually supposed to do with it. But the bee kept dancing and buzzing around on top of the sphere.


    ¡°Um, like this?¡±


    Belissar reached out to touch the sphere, forck of any better idea.


    And once he did...


    Belissar grunted and shielded his face as the sphere began to glow bright, to the point it hurt his eyes. He tried to pull the hand that touched it back...but his hand was apparently stuck to it. He felt the sphere heat up, hotter than anything he ever felt. Yet, he didn¡¯t feel any pain nor smell any smoke, so it didn¡¯t seem like it was burning him. The heat then passed from the sphere into his hand and traveled along his arm. It circted through his whole body, leaving his entire being feeling hot, burning without pain.


    And then...something appeared before his eyes.


    <em>Beginning Dungeon Binding.</em>


    Strange words began to appear before his eyes. He was blessed to have learned how to read, but knowing the words didn¡¯t help him make any sense of them. Dungeon...binding? Was he...was he in some sort of prison? Was this the Hall of Judgement after all...and was he just judged as wicked?!


    This novel''s true home is a different tform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Wait! This is some sort of mistake! I didn¡¯t break any of themandments!¡±


    Well, there was that one about not lying, and that time he snuck some cookies. And he didn¡¯t actually know all the doctrine, his vige was too small to have a dedicated priest after all, so he couldn¡¯t rule out that he had broken a rule he hadn¡¯t known about. But beyond that, he was pretty sure he had followed the rest! Don¡¯t murder, don¡¯t steal, pay taxes, obey everymand from any and all Tower Lords without question, etc.


    <em>Please select a starting defender:</em>


    <em>- Slime (Rarity: Common, Random Default Option)</em>


    <em>- Goblin (Rarity: Common, Random Default Option)</em>


    <em>- Zombie (Rarity: Common, Random Default Option)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Queen (Rarity: Rare, Unlocked by Dungeon Conduit¡¯s Records)</em>


    <em>- Clockwork Puppet (Rarity: Epic, Random Option)</em>


    Belissar blinked again.


    ¡°Um, what?¡±


    Select...a defender? From...a list of monsters? What did that mean? Was...this some kind of test? Was he choosing his own punishment?! Would whatever he picked arrive to eat him alive?! He nced at the bee who was still on top of the sphere, but she didn¡¯t react.


    Well...the choice should be obvious, right?


    Or rather, Belissar had only heard stories about the others, but he knew bees. Had worked with them for most of his life. He even pretended they were his friends and talked to them...when no one else was around. Or so he thought. He didn¡¯t be known as the ¡°weird bee guy¡± for nothing.


    He hung his head at that thought.


    In any case, if he had to be killed or tormented or whatever this was, he would prefer it be done by his long-timepanions.


    <em>Monster Bee Queen selected.</em>


    <em>Please select a starting room:</em>


    <em>- Flower Meadow (Rarity: Common, Unlocked by starting defender)</em>


    <em>- Forest (Rarity: Common, Unlocked by local environment)</em>


    <em>- Stone Labyrinth (Rarity: Common, Default Option)</em>


    <em>- Enchanter¡¯s Laboratory (Rarity: Umon, Random Option)</em>


    Belissar tilted his head. Ok, now he was getting <em>really</em> confused. Pick...a room? Was the God of Death was letting him choose where he would be punished? Why would he be allowed to choose that? Was it a constion prize for good behavior?


    Well, if that was the case, the choice was pretty obvious here too. Of all the ces he could be punished, a flower meadow sounded the least bad.


    <em>Flower Meadow selected.</em>


    <em>Completing Binding.</em>


    The heat from the sphere grew even hotter and began to change. Before his entire body had been filled with the same amount of heat all over. Now...it felt like the heat was concentrating down, focusing on his hand.


    And then it vanished all at once, leaving only a now dull warmth in his body. Belissar stumbled back as his hand was suddenly freed. He turned his palm toward him and blinked.


    There was now a glowing pattern on his hand, in the shape of a beending on a flower.


    And then...more words passed before his mind.


    <em>Constructing Dungeon.</em>


    Belissar stumbled as the ground began to tremble. He felt as though he was rising into the air. The sphere began to change as well. Colors began to swirl inside of it, and the warmth now inside his body grew hot once more.


    Eventually, the rumbling stopped. Belissar nced around...but he was still in the pure white space. And he was not, in fact, being eaten or tormented by monster bees. In fact, nothing had changed at all, save for the sphere. He stepped forward and peered inside of it...and blinked.


    Inside the sphere, he could see arge meadow full of flowers, a field of color broken up only by an asional tree. The sphere was blinking towards the top, which drew Belissar¡¯s attention. As he did, additional words appeared before his mind.


    <em>Please ce Monster Bee Queen Spawner(s). Upkeep: 20 Mana per active spawner.</em>


    <em>Mana: 95/100</em>


    Belissar blinked again.


    ¡°Um...just what is going on here?¡±


    As he spoke the words, the view in the sphere shifted, disying a small, circr building. It was a single story tall, and made of some kind of white stone, with perfectly smooth walls. All around it was a sea of an amorphous ck substance with faint rainbow undertones, constantly shifting and twisting like a stormy sea. Words again appeared before his eyes.


    <em>Dungeon Status:</em>


    <em>Rooms: 1*/1 (*Pending Completion)</em>


    <em>Floors: 1</em>


    <em>Mana: 95/100</em>


    <em>Avable Monster Types: Monster Queen Bee</em>


    <em>Avable Room Types: Flower Meadow</em>


    <em>Core Corruption: 0%</em>


    <em>Dungeon Master: Belissar</em>


    <em>Dungeon Conduit: Unnamed Bee</em>


    <em>Current Missions: Complete at least one room, Complete initial purification, Earn the favor of a patron</em>


    The words...did not help him understand the situation. But Belissar was hardly paying any attention to them, for his eyes were fixed upon the image inside the sphere. It was a sight he recognized. It was a sight that every person alive could recognize.


    ¡°It¡¯s...a Tower of the Gods?¡±


    Though he recognized the sight, Belissar found himself ever more confused.

 Chapter 3: Doth Quoth the Bee

    Chapter 3: Doth Quoth the Bee


    Well, calling a single story building a ¡°tower¡± was a bit of an exaggeration, but Belissar couldn¡¯t mistake the material, the perfectly smooth and round exterior, or the glowing sphere held by a ring of stone at the top. Descriptions of the Towers were taught to frontier children, illustrations filled every book on the subject, and stylized designs adorned the crests and banners of every Tower Lord.


    Moreover...the moment he saw it in the sphere, and the ¡°Dungeon Status¡± before his eyes, he knew. He could feel it...quite literally, in fact. The warmth inside him resonated and confirmed his thoughts. He was now aware that the Tower he viewed was the ce he was standing in. He could feel the boundaries of the Tower like the edges of his skin. He could even feel the empty spot the flower meadow was waiting to fill. It felt like he was on the verge of sneezing or had something stuck in his teeth as the room was somehow there but not. Every inch of it had the same warmth flowing through it as did through the sphere and his body.


    He, an unworthy peasant, was standing inside a Tower of the Gods...and yet he had not been smote.


    No...that wasn¡¯t all...


    He looked at his hand, searching for the symbol. It responded and began to glow. His eyes widened as he saw the same symbol in the ¡°Dungeon Status.¡± As he saw his name listed as the dungeon master.


    And if this ce was the dungeon...then a dungeon was what the strange words called a Tower. And if he was the master of the dungeon, then he was a...


    ¡°No no no, that¡¯s sphemy, Belissar!¡±


    He grabbed his head and turned away from the sphere. It didn¡¯t make any sense. The Towers of the Gods were special gifts granted to humanity to keep the Hunger at bay. And as gifts from the gods, only those specifically chosen by the gods were even allowed inside. And to be a Tower Lord? Only those truly favored by the gods were worthy of such an honor.


    So Belissar, a random peasant from the frontier, certainly could not have be a Tower Lord. Such an event would go against everything he had ever been taught about Towers, the world, the gods, everything! And yet...here he was. Everything he could see and feel told him that this was a Tower. And everything he could see and feel also told him...that this Tower was now connected to him.


    Belissar trembled and fell to the ground.


    This had to be a mistake. How could this even have happened? He was minding his own business and dying in the dirt and now he had somehow not merely defiled a Tower with his presence, but had gone and stolen it somehow? What would happen to him when everyone found out? What would the Tower Lords do to him? What would the gods do to him?


    Of all the unlucky things to happen to him in this life, this must have been the worst yet. How was he going to exin himself to the gods? If he hadn¡¯t been doomed at the Hall of Judgement before, he definitely was now.


    Just then, the bee buzzed and flew in front of his face. She flew around in different circr patterns, and Belissar froze.


    ¡°What wrong? Queen still hurt?¡±


    He heard...no, that was wrong. He didn¡¯t hear anything but buzzing. And yet...somehow...he could tell what the bee was saying. Well, that or his mind had broken under the strain.


    ¡°You can talk?!¡±


    The bee paused, and then began quickly zooming around.


    ¡°Queen can understand now?!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s jaw dropped.


    ¡°Wait...now?! You¡¯ve always been talking?!¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Belissar¡¯s mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he managed to make any noise. Eventually though, he shook his head. The bee talking now...or, rather, he now being able to interpret the bee¡¯s dancing and flying as words was...well deeply concerning but it paled inparison to the rest of the issues of the day. And the bee had seemed to want him to touch the sphere that led to all this...so perhaps she knew what had happened.


    And then Belissar froze again, and quickly scrambled to his feet. He rushed to bow towards the bee. Because if this was a Tower of the Gods and this bee was here from the start, and seemed to know how it worked, then wouldn¡¯t that mean she was a...


    ¡°A-Are you a god?¡±


    The bee buzzed and wobbled about on her flight. Belissar could perceive amusement.


    ¡°No? Am worker! Your worker, now!¡±


    Belissar blinked and exhaled his breath, standing back up.


    ¡°Well, um, if not...do you know what happened, then? How we ended up in a Tower of the Gods?¡±


    The bee began to dutifully weave her story through the air.


    ¡°Queen was hurt! Wanted to help, like Queen helped worker! Then moved here and became core! Core want choose queen, so made Queen queen!¡±


    Belissar blinked again.


    ¡°Wait...you became a...core? What¡¯s that?¡±


    The bee flew over to the sphere andnded on it.


    ¡°This!¡±


    Belissar blinked as the gears turned in his mind.


    ¡°Wait so...you became a Tower of the Gods?¡±


    The bee flew about a bit unsteadily.


    ¡°Tower...is dungeon? Then, yes?¡±


    Belissar¡¯s jaw dropped.


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±


    Belissar grunted and held his head at that. He took a deep breath.


    ¡°Um, look, Miss Bee, I¡¯m grateful that you helped me, and saved my life from the looks of it. But, um, this is a Tower of the Gods, and I¡¯m definitely not one of the chosen. It¡¯ll probably be a big problem once everyone finds out. So, um, could you...unconnect me, or something? Undo whatever happened?¡±


    The bee flew slowly.


    ¡°Can¡¯t.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s heart sank into his stomach.


    ¡°Can¡¯t?¡±


    The bee flew a little quicker.


    ¡°Can¡¯t. Core says once queen, always queen. And Queen is worker¡¯s queen! Can¡¯t make not queen!¡±


    Belissar held his head and sank to the ground again. He sat there as his heart pounded, before eventually taking a deep breath. He tried to organize his thoughts, and what he knew.


    Ok, first of all, he had almost been killed.


    Next, the bee, which apparently had been intelligent all along, tried to save him...and somehow seeded. Well, he could be grateful to her for that. In fact, didn¡¯t that confirm she actually was the same bee all along? That they were actually friends?


    Belissar shook his head. He was getting distracted.


    After that, they had somehow ended up here. The bee said she became the...core? Of a Tower of the Gods? How did that work? And then she got him to touch said core, and now the Tower was somehow connected to him and listed him as its master. Him. An unworthy peasant who definitely wasn¡¯t chosen by the gods to be here. Unless the bee was somehow connected to the gods? The Tower listed her as a ¡°Conduit¡± or something if that meant anything. And if true, it would exin the talking bee thing...and theck of smiting for his very presence defiling the gods¡¯ gift.


    And finally, the bee said whatever had happened could not be undone. The ¡°stealing the Tower¡± thing was permanent.


    Belissar nodded to himself.


    Yep.


    He still had absolutely no idea what was going on here.


    ¡°What do I do now?¡±


    Well, he was mostly speaking to himself, but there was someone in the room he could respond. And she did.


    ¡°Queen says, not worker!¡±


    He tilted his head.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    The bee was flying in front of him in excited loops.


    ¡°Queen is queen now! Queen of core! Queen leads, builds hive,ys brood! Worker listens!¡±


    Belissar heaved a sigh. Being in charge was exactly the issue here. And being told he was supposed to lead did not help him figure out what to do. Not to mention the whole ¡°build hive,y brood¡± thing. He was pretty sure the bee was under a fundamental misconception of his capabilities.


    Well, she was also calling him ¡°queen.¡± He should probably correct her on that. Eventually though, as he had to figure out how to avoid the wrath of the gods first.


    And also...something was drawing his attention and distracting him from solving his impending doom. The flower meadow room felt like it was poking at his side as a light kept blinking within the sphere...core...thing. Even if he turned away, it remained present on his mind and in his perception. He felt bloated, or maybe constipated?


    He sighed and stood up, walking over to the sphere. He looked over it once more, and the status that lingered before his eyes. He noticed something that he had seen before.


    Current Missions: Complete at least one room, Complete initial purification, Earn the favor of a patron


    Ok, so apparently Tower Lords had missions? That made sense, they had the duty of watching over the gifts of the gods. Which meant...these missions might be assigned by the gods to the Tower Lord.


    He crossed his arms and frowned.


    The question was...would the gods be angrier if he messed around with one of their Towers even more than he had...or if he neglected these missions and left them unfulfilled after stealing the ce of the chosen that was supposed to handle them?


    The bee flew over to the core andnded on top of it as he pondered which decision was less likely to lead to divine judgement. She looked up at him, faintly buzzing her little wings. Belissar looked at her for a moment and then sighed. Then he reached for the core...


    He really hoped he wouldn¡¯t regret this.

 Chapter 4: The Bee King

    Chapter 4: The Bee King


    Belissar touched the core and frowned.


    ¡°Ok then...we¡¯ll finish the, um, room or whatever. Now...how do I actually do that?¡±


    As he thought, his vision went white.


    A momentter, he found himself...<em>floating above</em> a field of flowers. He gasped, but he wasn¡¯t falling. He was...flying? How was that possible?


    He tried to look down at himself for any hints and gasped again. He...couldn¡¯t see his body. At all. But as he focused on it, he realized he could still feel it. As far as he was aware...he was still standing in the white room, with his hand on the core.


    Weird.


    But that was nothing new for this situation. This was a Tower of the Gods, after all! Who was he to say what was weird and what was normal? Maybe Tower Lords thought it weird that peasants had to walk around on their feet...and stay inside their bodies?


    In any case, he was getting distracted again, and the room was still poking him. So, he set out to get to work. And again, once he had that thought, something changed.


    <em>Please ce Monster Bee Queen Spawner(s). Upkeep: 20 Mana per active spawner.</em><em>Mana: 95/100</em>


    A tree with arger beehive than Belissar had ever seen appeared on the ground below. It was transparent, as if made of light.


    ¡°ce, huh? Does that mean it can move?¡±


    Belissar waved his hands around...or did the ghostly equivalent, he supposed. The tree moved as he did.


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    He moved it around a bit more. He spun it around. He tried to lift it into the sky, but that didn¡¯t work. He tried to sink it into the ground, but it turned red. It also turned red if he moved it on top of an existing tree.


    Eventually though, he got tired of moving it around. And with no better ideas, he just put it back where it first appeared.


    ¡°Ok, um, the Tower seems to respond to my thoughts, or something? In that case, ce it here?¡±


    The tree rooted into the ground, and then slowly grew solid from the top down.


    <em>Monster Bee Queen spawner ced.</em>


    <em>Mana: 75/100</em>


    <em>Flower Meadowpleted. Confirm?</em>


    Belissar blinked...or tried to as well as he could with his body elsewhere.


    ¡°Um, confirm?¡±


    And then he felt as if he were being pulled up into the sky...


    <em>Flower Meadow ced.</em>


    <em>Mission: Complete at least one roompleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: One room feature selection.</em>


    <em>Preparing for initial purification attempt. Next attempt in 2 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes...</em>


    Belissar found himself back in the room with the core and felt as the Tower shifted. A doorway appeared in the room he was in. He blinked at it, and then looked at the bee, and then back at the core.


    ¡°Um...should we check it out?¡±


    The bee flew up off of the core andnded on his shoulder.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    ¡°Right...¡±


    Belissar slowly began to step forward. He opened the door...and found the scene of a meadow before him, slightly shifting and distorting as if under a pool of water. He tried to stick his head through and peek outside...but his head passed right through the door and stayed in the white room. Belissar took a step back and frowned.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    A momentter he shook his head. The situation wasn¡¯t going to change if he just sat there pondering things he didn¡¯t understand. So, he might as well try something. He stepped through the door.


    He blinked at the sight before him.


    He was standing in a meadow full of flowers, surrounded by a wall of trees. The sun was shining down on him, and yellow dandelions covered the ground. A gentle breeze blew across the field, causing the dandelions to sway. The asional tree provided a bit of shade. Behind him, a line of trees grew so closely together they formed a solid wall, preventing him from seeing or moving any further. A glowing doorway made of white light appeared within the tree wall. Far in front of him, arge wooden gate stood in a second wall of trees. Belissar nced around in a daze.


    It was exactly the field he had seen in the sphere.


    ¡°I...made this?¡±


    He bent down and picked up one of the dandelions. It looked real. It felt real. It smelt real. He stopped himself just before putting it in his mouth, as he recalled he did not particrly enjoy the taste of raw dandelion.


    ¡°...a Tower of the Gods, indeed.¡±


    After all, what else could he call something that could make an entire field like this out of nothing, and in moments? He gulped as his heart sank. This truly was the work of the gods...and that meant he had truly stolen said work from one of the chosen. To see the power of the gods at work made him dread to see their wrath.


    He slowly walked through the field until he came to the center, where the tree with the beehive stood. As he approached it, he felt the warmth inside of both him and the Tower began to concentrate within the hive. Soon, the entrance to the beehive began to glow, and then a bee emerged. She wasrger than any bee he had ever seen, about the length of his finger. As he looked over her, words appeared before him once again.


    <em>Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A honey bee queen that has umted enough mana to be something more. Mostly simr 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 bees.</em>


    As Belissar was trying to process the words, the monster bee queen shook herself, and then flew towards him. Belissar tensed for a moment, but she stopped in the air before him, watching his every move. He could...feel her intentions, somehow. She wanted...orders?


    ¡°Um...well...you¡¯re the bee. Go and do bee things, I guess.¡±


    The monster bee flew in a salute pattern and then flew off into the field. She began gathering pollen from the flowers, before flying off to one of the trees. There, she started building a small waxb, and startedying eggs.


    Belissar just watched in silence as the first bee flew off his shoulder and danced around in the air before him.


    ¡°Queen built hive,id brood!¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin before nodding. Now was as good a time as ever.


    ¡°Um, you know I¡¯m a guy, right?¡±


    The bee paused.


    ¡°Guy?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°A boy, a man, a male?¡±


    The bee¡¯s flight grew unsteady.


    ¡°Queen is...drone? But...Queen made hive,id brood? Drone can''t.¡±


    Belissar opened his mouth to object, but then nced around at the field of flowers he had apparently made...and the monster queen bee he had apparently chosen...and the monster bee queen spawner he had apparently ced.


    ¡°That¡¯s...um...well I guess that¡¯s true? But, like, I <em>am</em> still a guy, you know?¡±


    The bee shook in flight.


    ¡°But...how can Queen be a drone? Drone is not queen.¡±


    Belissar blinked.


    ¡°Um...then how about a king?¡±


    The bee flew unsteadily.


    ¡°King? What king?¡±


    Belissar nodded to himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s, um, like a queen, but male. Rules countries, raises armies? It¡¯s, um, a human thing.¡±


    The bee flew slowly.


    ¡°King like queen, but also drone? Do both job? Humans have drone queens?¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Um, kind of?¡±


    The bee continued her slow flight.


    ¡°Queen want call king?¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded.


    ¡°Yes please, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    The bee paused for a moment, then flew in a quick salute.


    ¡°Ok! Will call Queen King now!¡±


    Belissar gave her a small grin.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Well...he had a feeling he hadn¡¯t exactly resolved the fundamental misunderstanding, but close enough. As long as she didn¡¯t expect him toy eggs directly...


    With that situation...resolved...somewhat...Belissar made his way to the other unique feature in his field. Therge gate on the other side. Tworge wooden doors, standing alone in the middle of the field. Belissar walked around it and found nothing behind or around it. It truly appeared as just a door, randomly standing in the middle of nowhere. He frowned, and then shrugged.


    ¡°Might as well...¡±


    <em>Begin initial purification attempt? Time remaining: 2 days, 23 hours, and 37 minutes...</em>


    Belissar immediately shut the door and braced his body against it as he saw a writhing, amorphous ck mass outside.


    The Hunger.


    Outside the door was a <em>sea</em> of the Hunger.


    The doom that haunted the world. The punishment from the gods upon the wicked. It consumed everything that it touched, be it human, beast, nt, or even metal and stone, and turned them into twisted shadows of their former selves. Those shades would then assault the living and continue to spread the Hunger.


    Belissar would die in seconds if exposed to it. Even now his heart pounded as he slowly backed away from the gate. He waspletely surrounded...which meant soon, this ce would be corrupted too. There would be no escape.


    And then he paused.


    And remembered that he was standing inside a Tower of the Gods. The gift the gods had granted tobat that very Hunger. To protect the chosen from the doom.


    He watched the gate for a few more minutes, but it seemed the Hunger somehow couldn¡¯t make it past the wooden gates. He exhaled his breath. It seemed he was safe...for now.


    In fact...weren¡¯t Towers of the Gods supposed to purify the Hunger from their surroundings? Or had this one failed to do so because it was being defiled by him?


    Belissar gulped, and once again prayed that the gods might forgive him. And given what he saw outside that gate, hopefully sooner thanter...

 Chapter 5: Bee the Builder

    Chapter 5: Bee the Builder


    Belissar walked back over to where his monster bee was still making her first little hive. His heartbeat slowed and his mind calmed as he watched the bee buzz around, and littleb cells take shape.


    So, he was trapped here, waiting either for the gods to judge him or for the Tower to purify the Hunger surrounding it. Oh, and the local Tower Lord¡¯s son had burned his vige to the ground, cutting down everyone in it, including himself.


    Belissar frowned. He wasn¡¯t particrly close to anyone in the vige, not since the old beekeeper who took him in had died. And even before that, the rest of the vige had little interest in him after he lost his parents. But still, the idea that everyone he knew, good or bad, was gone...


    He shook his head. His had been an unlucky life, and now it seemed that misfortune had spread. Perhaps that was why he was now out here, besieged by the Hunger. But what could he do? The situation wouldn¡¯t change if he sat here moping about it. The gods hadn¡¯t smote him yet for defiling their gift, so he may as well do...something.


    He walked around the field, passing by the trees and scouring the field around them. He picked up whatever fallen branches he could find. He wasn¡¯t sure <em>why</em> there were fallen branches when the trees had just grown today, but he wasn¡¯t about toin. Especially not about the inner workings of a Tower of the Gods. He also began to pick some of the dandelions as he made his way back over to the monster bee¡¯s tree.


    And then, he got to work.


    He picked the flowers off of the dandelions and gathered their stems. He found a low-hanging branch and tied the dandelion stems together, hanging them from the branch. Now he just had to wait for the sun and the breeze to dry them out.


    And while he was waiting, he thought about what else he could do. He frowned as he realized his priorities were wrong. If he was going to be trapped here for who knows how long, he would need food, water, and shelter. So once again he walked through the field.


    When he was done, Belissar grimaced. There was nothing there but dandelions and a handful of trees. Well, hypothetically the bees would produce honey eventually, but that would take a while, and the bees would need it for themselves. He also didn¡¯t have any of the heavy robes needed to approach the hive safely. Well, since he could talk to a bee now, maybe he could just ask them for some?In any case, that was something for the future. Right now, all he had were dandelions for both food and drink, and he did not relish the idea of subsisting on them alone. But what choice did he have?


    He sighed once again and started to gather more dandelion stems. He would eat them once he got hungry or thirsty, but until then he¡¯d at least start gathering some material. Maybe he could make a cushion or something if he gathered enough...


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 2 days, 22 hours, and 41 minutes...</em>


    After gathering and hanging as many dandelion stems as he could, the first stems had dried out. Or close enough, as Belissar was getting tired of doing the same thing over and over and wanted to move on. So, he gathered the driest stems and began to make some basic cordage out of them. Then he took some sticks and started to tie them together into a basic square.


    It was something he had discovered back when he was young. The old beekeeper had shown him that hanging some branches from the top of a basket would help the bees shape their hive and give a way to pull out the honeb without destroying the entire colony. Belissar had experimented with different shapes and sizes in order to find what the bees liked best. He eventually found that if he put straight square boxes in rows, the bees would build theirb within the boxes. He especially liked that he could just pull the boxes out when he wanted the honeb, and so didn¡¯t have to destroy the hive.


    He looked at the rickety square made of twigs and dandelion rope and sighed. This...wasn¡¯t exactly what he had in mind. But he didn¡¯t exactly have his woodcutting axe with him, and the knife he kept on his person wasn¡¯t going to chop through a tree branch. He wasn¡¯t going to be making nice beehouses anytime soon, it seemed.


    He could see the bee watching him. He held up the square.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    The bee buzzed and flew around rapidly.


    ¡°King making hive! Worker help!¡±


    Belissar chuckled.


    ¡°Well, at least you like it.¡±


    He went ahead and made some more dandelion rope and then hung the square from the branch near the monster bee queen. She looked at it curiously, and then started to build her newb within the frame. Meanwhile, his other beepanion flew around the corners of the frame, adding some beeswax to hold the sticks together.


    Belissar blinked. That...definitely wasn¡¯t normal bee behavior. But well, these also weren¡¯t normal bees...


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    But he felt a smile grow on his face as he watched the two work. He went over to see if any of the other dandelion stems had dried yet.


    He ended up working up until the sun began to set, making as many frames as he could and hanging them together. He didn¡¯t even notice that he wasn¡¯t hungry, even after hours of work.


    Belissar frowned as the sun went down. How was there night when he was inside a Tower? In fact, why was there a sun and sky inside the Tower? But he shook his head. Such things were the purview of gods and Tower Lords, not of peasants like himself.


    So, he stretched, gathered what dandelion cords he had...


    And promptly realized that he had spent all day building improvised beehouse frames, and not actually preparing a shelter for himself. It was growing too dark to work on anything, as well.


    He sighed and made his way over to the other side of the field, where the door to the core room was. He stepped inside and found it just as he had left it. A room of pure white, where he had trouble distinguishing where the floors and walls even were...assuming there actually <em>were</em> floors and walls. Maybe he¡¯d try exploring the edges of the roomter.


    For now, he used the light of the room and the core to gather up some dandelion cords into something of a pillow, theny down and ced his head upon it. The ground felt like...well, it felt solid, but it didn¡¯t really feel like anything. Which was kind of weird to Belissar...and grew weirder the more he thought about it.


    So, he tried his best not to, and to close his eyes.


    Hested about half an hour before deciding that the weird floor that was there but not really and the white room that seemed the same color and brightness everywhere at all times were not conducive to his rest and stepped back out into the flower meadow. He ended up just lying down wherever and staring up at the night sky.


    Well, the meadow wasn¡¯t very cold, and the field of flowers was soft enough. He had slept on worse before. He sighed, and tried to get asfortable as he could...and put aside the thoughts of gods, Hunger, and burning viges...


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 2 days, 10 hours, and 23 minutes...</em>


    Belissar had a fitful sleep, and awoke as soon as the sun peaked over the horizon. Strangely, though, he didn¡¯t feel tired. Or hungry...or thirsty...or even the need to relieve himself. He narrowed his eyes.


    Ok, this was getting weird. Or not? The Tower Lords were supposed to be something beyond the ranks of mortal men. They lived ageless lives and wielded powers themon folk couldn¡¯tprehend.


    Belissar had always thought that was why they were chosen to rule the Towers...but maybe some of it was from the Towers themselves?


    He shook his head to clear his thoughts and rose to his feet. In the end, Belissar was no thinker or theologian. So, he¡¯d do what he did best.


    Keep his head down and take care of his bees.


    He walked over to the monster bee queen¡¯s tree...and gasped.


    Dozens of worker bees now buzzed around the frames. Some were filling the rows withb, others were forming wax into an outer wall around the edges. Still others were off harvesting from the flowers. The queen herself was now busyying eggs into the cells as the workers formed them.


    Belissar blinked. Bees grew quickly but he thought it took a few days for an egg to grow into an adult worker at least. Well, they <em>were</em> supposed to be monster bees. So, he supposed they might grow faster than a normal hive, or something?


    He crossed his arms and hummed. They honestly had enough frames...and he wasn¡¯t even sure they needed them, seeing as they could form their hives with those basic outlines on their own. In which case, what should he do today?


    At that moment, his beepanion buzzed in front of him.


    ¡°Oh, another one?¡±


    He walked over to the center tree, just in time to see another monster bee queen climb out of the spawner hive. She shook herself, then flew over to him.


    He made a small smile.


    ¡°Let¡¯s build you a hive.¡±


    The monster bee queen danced her salute and began gathering pollen as Belissar went to collect his frame materials. Another day saw another hive taking shape...and yet another day where Belissar forgot to build any amodations for himself.


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 1 days, 10 hours, and 15 minutes...</em>


    Belissar still tossed and turned at night, but still didn¡¯t feel that tired in the morning. So, he got to work as soon as it was light enough for him to see.


    Again, another day came and went, another hive was built, and he again forgot to prepare anything for himself.


    But he didn¡¯t mind. He apparently didn¡¯t really need much, and he preferred working on the hives in any case. In fact, as the sun set, a few of the bees from the first hive came and danced in front of him.


    ¡°You want to show me something?¡±


    Belissar followed the bees back to the first hive. It was very nearlyplete, a box shape very reminiscent of the beehouses he had back home, only made of wax and hanging from a tree branch. The queen bee came out and flew in front of Belissar.


    ¡°You want...to give me some honey?¡±


    The queen bee continued her dance.


    ¡°Tribute for the King.¡±


    A few workers guided him to one of the frames. He climbed up the tree, and pulled out the frame in question, filled to the brim with golden honey. He broke off a piece and took a bite, his eyes widening.


    ¡°Delicious.¡±


    A delectable sweetness graced his tongue. And more than that, he could feel warmth spreading through his body, of a simr sort as the core had filled him with at first.


    The entire hive began buzzing and dancing at his word, the queen bee most of all.


    Belissar felt a smile grow on his face and held out the frame.


    ¡°Please, have some too.¡±


    The queen bee began to refuse but Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°A diligent worker deserves her reward.¡±


    The queen bee hesitated, before slowly flying over to theb, and sipping from one of the cells. Belissar¡¯s smile grew.


    As the night grew dark, Belissar gathered his materials into the core room, and continued working on more frames with the light of the core.


    All other thoughts left his mind save for the task before him...


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 8 hours, and 51 minutes...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 2 hours, and 13 minutes...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 35 minutes...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 4 minutes...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 30 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 5 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 4 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 3 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 2 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 1 second...</em>

 Chapter 6: Initial Purification Attempt

    Chapter 6: Initial Purification Attempt


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 3 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 2 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 1 second...</em>


    Belissar was hanging another frame on a tree when suddenly his body went hot. His eyes widened as he realized it wasn¡¯t just him. The entire Tower had gone hot, he could feel streams of heat flowing through the ground and the air.


    <em>Initial Purification attemptmencing.</em>


    And then, the gates to the Hunger swung open.


    Belissar gasped as the ck, oil-like substance began to whip and reach into the flower meadow, only for the edges of the gates to begin glowing with bright light. The Hunger screeched and its tendrils retreated back through the gate.


    Then the ck substance began to condense and warp in the center of the gate. Belissar fell on his behind as he heard snarling and growling. A ck paw with rainbow highlights broke out of the writhing mass and stepped into the gate, ck mist emanating from it like tongues of fire as huge ws crushed the dandelions underfoot. A second paw stepped and then a snarling snout began to emerge above, with sharp fangs dripping with bits of the Hunger that melted into the ground, causing the flowers below to wilt in the process. Glowing red lights appeared where the creature may have had eyes...only that there were <em>six</em> of them in pairs climbing up its head.


    Belissar began scooting back through the dirt as the creature fully exited the hunger and stepped into the field. The ck mist emanating from it made its full body shape hard to distinguish, but it was vaguely in the shape of a canine, thoughrger than any dog or wolf Belissar had ever seen. What he could make out were the sharp ws on its feet, the fangs lining the snout that was a bit too long, and the sharp spike at the end of a snake-like tail.Belissar turned pale.


    ¡°A-A...shade?¡±


    The shade threw its head up into the sky and let out a roar. Belissar let out a whimper and then spun around, pulling on the dirt with his hands as he tried to stand up and start running at the same time.


    ¡°H-Help!¡±


    <em>Initial Purification attempt begun. Remaining hostiles: 1</em>


    The shade snarled and took off running, chasing after Belissar. The flowers wilted beneath its feet every time it stepped, leaving a trail of death in its wake. Belissar wasn¡¯t a stranger to violence, he had warded off wild animals and such as all rural vigers must. But this...this was a shade of the Hunger. The disaster that brought ruin to the wicked kings of old andid low the civilizations of the sub-humans. This was a threat that even the Tower Guard could not defeat without blood.


    It was far beyond a single farmer with a spear...and Belissar didn¡¯t even have his spear.


    Belissar could hear the snarling and growling behind him. He could feel bits of dirt collide with the back of his legs as the shade chased after him. He began to feel cold as bits of the dark mist flickered around him. He whimpered as he could feel the fell creature''s breath upon his back and could smell the stench of death.


    It was then that hispanion buzzed on his shoulder.


    ¡°King retreat. Worker save.¡±


    Belissar turned to nce at his shoulder.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    But the little bee didn¡¯t answer. Instead, a faint light began to glow around her and Belissar could feel a spot of heat growing on his shoulder. Before Belissar could say anything else, she flew off his shoulder...and straight towards the shade.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as the little bee flew straight into the shade¡¯s forehead.


    A momentter, there was a small flicker of light, and the shade roared. It skidded to a stop, letting Belissar gain some distance. He could see the small spark of light fly off the shade¡¯s head, and into the side of its torso. The shade roared again.


    The spark flew away once more, but this time the shade was ready. It whirled around...and its jaws snapped around the spark.


    ¡°No!¡±


    <em>Conduit Unnamed Bee has fallen.</em>


    Belissar grit his teeth and shut his eyes, but he kept running. There was nothing he could do now...and the shade had turned to face him once again. The shade started running towards him once more.


    Belissar could hear more buzzing, and his eyes shot open. Bees were turning away from the flowers and flying towards the shade. First one, and then two, and then a dozen. The shade growled and snapped around at the air, swatting with its paws and tail.


    Then Belissar saw a small cloud of bees approach from the nearest tree, where his first hive stood. He could feel his first monster queen bee as she rallied her forces and sallied out from the hive, urging him to move faster.


    The shade snarled and took a deep breath. It let out a cloud of ck mist from its mouth that surged forward. The bees dropped from the sky as the mist passed over them. The queen bee fell with them, and Belissar could feel as his bond with her faded.


    <em>Monster Bee Queen has fallen.</em>


    The shade then ran and pounced into the air towards the tree. It crushed the entire hive in a single bite.


    Belissar grit his teeth even harder as he pushed off the ground with all his strength. His legs were burning, his heart was pounding in his chest, and his eyes were growing blurry, but he kept running.


    On Belissar ran, and on the shade chased. He passed by the tree in the center, even as another monster bee queen was about to emerge, only for the shade to coat the hive in a breath of deadly mist once more.


    <em>Monster Bee Queen has fallen.</em>


    <em>Monster Bee Queen Spawner disabled.</em>


    The second hive then flew into battle, only to again be brought down by the mist. The shade was sprinting as fast as it could, and quickly gaining on Belissar. He saw the light of the second door just ahead of him...but his legs were slowing down. He ran as fast as he could, but he had no further strength to give. He could not move any faster than he already was.


    And the shade was about to reach him. It would catch him before he could reach the core room...


    But the third and final monster queen bee then arrived. Her hive was not yetplete, and her brood was the smallest of the bunch. But she had watched the second fall, and so she did not have her workers swarm the foe as her instincts demanded.


    Instead, small groups of the bees rushed in one by one, stinging and then fleeing. The shade snarled and bit at them, but they had already passed, and then another group stung its unprepared back. It whirled around but they too had fled.


    In the meantime, Belissar reached the door and leapt through with onest push of his legs. He tumbled into the room and willed the door shut, but it remained open. Belissar¡¯s eyes trembled as the core¡¯s interior shifted, showing the fight in the meadow.


    The shade let out a breath, but the bee groups scattered from one another, and only a few were caught. The shade snarled and snapped at the air, but the bees kept up their assault. With only a few of them falling at a time, Belissar began to hope.


    ¡°Come on, you can do it...¡±


    The queen bee paused at Belissar¡¯s words, and then the bees sprung into action, intensifying their assault. The groups were flying it at maximum speed, stinging the shade over and over. It growled, and then roared, and then took a deep breath.


    Suddenly a cloud of the mist burst out of the shade, surging in every direction. The bee groups fell one by one. The queen barely had time to react before the cloud passed over her too.


    <em>Monster Bee Queen has fallen.</em>


    Belissar¡¯s heart sank.


    The shade still stood. It stalked forward slowly, growling softly as it stepped towards the door of light in front of it. It did not seem to have forgotten him, nor lost his trail. Belissar thought of grabbing his knife, but what was the point? How could he dodge the breath of death that flying bees couldn¡¯t? How would his little knife fare against this shade¡¯s fangs and ws?


    He shut his eyes and whimpered, waiting for his death.


    The shade dug its ws into the ground and lowered its body. It then snarled and leapt towards the door of light.


    And the moment it touched the door...it exploded.


    The whole Tower rumbled and shook, startling Belissar and causing him to open his eyes. He gasped as he saw ck tendrils of the Hunger spread across the featureless white room. He could feel the heat running through the Tower go cold. He could see in his core as they spread across the flower meadow. He could see the Hunger pouring in through the gateway as the light around its edges faded.


    And then Belissar copsed to the ground.


    <em>Initial Purification attempt failed.</em>

 Chapter 7: Bee-come the Master

    Chapter 7: Beee the Master


    The gateway then mmed shut, locking the Hunger out once again.


    The ck tendrils'' spread through both the core room and the meadow began to slow down, until they eventually stopped. The entire Tower fell silent.


    <em>Beginning cleansing.</em>


    Belissar slowly rose to his feet as the rumbling stopped. He nced at the ck tendrils within the core room, but they didn¡¯t move any further. He nced in the core, but there was no sign of the monster. He crept to the door, and gingerly stepped outside.


    He gasped.


    The flower field was ck and wilted. Everywhere he looked, tendrils of the Hunger reached across the ground, leaving dead flowers in their wake. The breeze carried dead leaves through the air. The trees in the fields were ck and crumbling.


    And everywhere he looked on the ground, he saw dead bees.


    He walked through the field in a daze. The field was silent. Not a flower left to rustle in the wind. Not a single bee left to buzz about.


    Not even the one who had saved him.Belissar fell to his knees as he came to one of the trees. He reached out to a pile of debris under the branches. Therey the remains of one of his hives. He reached in and picked up two sticks. The wax and dandelion cords holding them together crumbled. He held a dead bee within his hand.


    He clutched his head.


    Something cracked inside of him.


    He let out a long scream, and then fell to the ground, curling up in the ashes. Tears streamed from his eyes as sobs wracked his body.


    Why?


    Why him?


    Why <em>always</em> him?


    He had lost his parents...


    He had nearly starved...


    He lost the old beekeeper who took him in...


    He lost his entire vige...


    And now he had lost his bees. Including perhaps the one real friend he had ever had. All because he, someone unworthy, had dared to take a Tower of the Gods from those who had been chosen.


    This dead and barren field was the result.


    His heart constricted at the thought of the little bee he had helped out of that spider web. Who had brought him to a Tower of the Gods just to save him. Who hadn¡¯t hesitated before jumping into the jaws of a monster, just to buy him a little time.


    And with those thoughts came the thoughts of others. The beekeeper, the old woman who had taken him in when he was lying in the dirt. All the days she spent showing him her bees, and how to care for them. And even further back...to a time when he rarely wept at all,forted in the arms of his mother and father.


    His sobs grew louder. He did his best. He never made a fuss. He kept his head down. He followed everyw. He gave honor to the gods and the Tower Lords. He was agreeable to everyone. He neverined no matter what they did. Not when they stole his food. Not when they trampled his fields. Not when they took his mead and his honey. Not when they left him to starve.


    And yet...


    Time and time again, more bad things happened. He brushed it off, he held his tears, he said that it was just in old bad luck.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    And yet, it only ever got worse.


    And now, even when the gods wereing for him, the world was not content to let him have <em>anything</em>. Everything he had, everyone he cared about, had to be stripped from him.


    ¡°Mom...Dad...Mrs. Imkomos...my friend...¡±


    He finally broke.


    Belissar didn¡¯t know how long hey there. He wept and he wept until he could weep no more, and then hey there, staring nkly at the dirt.


    But then...something changed. His body began to grow warm...in fact the whole Tower began to grow warm once more. The ground, the sky, the air, it all began to glow and shine. Belissar slowly sat back up and rubbed his eyes.


    His eyes widened at what he saw. The ck tendrils of the Hunger began to recede, shrinking and streaming towards the core room. Shoots of grass and dandelions broke through the dirt and began to bloom. Color returned to the tree branches, and green leaves began to cover them once more.


    <em>Cleansingplete. All spawners and features reenabled. Core corruption now at 37%. Core cannot be cleansed until dungeon is fully established.</em>


    <em>Next Initial Purification attempt in 3 days.</em>


    <em>Conduit respawning.</em>


    Belissar watched as the room returned to normal, the flowers returning as if nothing had ever happened. And as he read thest message before his eyes, his heart began to pound and his eyes began to tremble. He nced every which way until he looked back at the door to the core room once more. His eyes went as wide as they could go.


    A single bee flew out and towards him. He held his breath as she approached.


    ¡°King! You¡¯re alive!¡±


    He held up trembling hands as she danced in the air. Shended on his palms and began dancing happily. Tears filled Belissar¡¯s eyes once more.


    There she was, the bee with half her left antenna missing.


    His friend.


    He gently cupped his hands and brought them to his chest, hunching over to curl around them as best he could.


    ¡°Thank goodness...¡±


    Tears streamed down his face once again and he began to sob once again, only for a different reason.


    When Belissar had finally calmed down, he stood back up and looked over the flower meadow. The breeze began to blow in his face. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the flowers. He then opened his eyes.


    His friend had survived...or been brought back, more urately. The flowers had regrown, the meadow had healed, and the Tower still stood.


    But all was not as it was. The frames he had built were gone. The monster bee queens, the hives they had built, and all the workers they had borne were gone too. Belissar watched as a new one crawled out of the monster spawner, and he instantly knew. She was different, not one of the three who had perished. Only his friend had been brought back.


    <em>Next Initial Purification attempt in 2 days, 23 hours, and 47 minutes.</em>


    He knew now what those words meant. He knew now the process by which the Towers purified the Hunger. He knew now why the Tower Lords wielded such great powers. He knew now why only those chosen by the gods could take care of the Towers.


    And he knew now the consequences of someone unworthy taking that job. Like him.


    The shade would be back. It would once again seek his life. It would once again bring death and ruin to these fields.


    And as the Dungeon Master...it now fell upon him to fight it. To take up the mantle he had stolen and fulfill the duty issued by the gods to the chosen Tower Lords. A duty that he was entirely unprepared for. And one that would have deadly consequences if he failed, for every living thing that dwelt here.


    He looked at the monster bee queen as she shook herself and then flew in the air before him, waiting for him to speak. His friend buzzed and flew off his shoulder, joining the queen in watching him.


    A fire grew in chest, and he began to scowl. He grit his teeth as he remembered the sight of the dead bees littering the ground. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.


    Belissar decided no more.


    He no longer cared if he died.


    He no longer cared if the world wanted to crush him.


    He no longer cared if he had stolen from the Tower Lords.


    He no longer cared if he was one of the chosen.


    He no longer cared if he was prepared.


    He no longer cared if the gods would smite him for what he had done.


    The shade, the Hunger, would pay. And they would never again do what they did today. Belissar wouldn¡¯t let them. He would stop them, or he would die trying. And if he had truly defiled the Tower with his deeds, he would let the gods judge him. Until they did, he would use everything at his disposal, without worrying about whatws he broke in the process.


    At present, a Tower of the Gods obeyed hismand. And he would use it, as best he could.


    He looked at the two bees buzzing in the air.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving. We have a lot of work to do.¡±


    The two bees buzzed their salute and rushed off to begin building a new hive. Belissar nodded to himself as he watched them go. As they rushed to obey hismand withoutint or hesitation, he who had gotten they and their sisters killed.


    Belissar swore in his heart that day. The world had taken his mother. It had taken his father. It had taken the old beekeeper. It had taken his vige, his home. It had tried to take his very life.


    But from now on, whether they were man, beast, god, or Hunger...


    They would not take his bees. Not without all the fight he could muster.

 Chapter 8: So Whatll It Bee?

    Chapter 8: So What''ll It Bee?


    Belissar then stood and rubbed his chin. He may have made a bold statement, but implementing it was another matter. At the end of the day, he was still a peasant whose grandest deeds were warding off hungry wild animals. Tower Lords using the gifts of the gods to battle the Hunger was a bit outside his expertise.


    Eventually, he walked back to the core room. He decided to start where this all began, at the core. He ced his hand on the sphere once again...


    <em>Dungeon Status:</em>


    <em>Rooms: 1/1</em>


    <em>Floors: 1</em>


    <em>Mana: 75/100</em>


    <em>Avable Monster Types: Monster Queen Bee</em>


    <em>Avable Room Types: Flower Meadow</em>


    <em>Core Corruption: 37%</em><em>Dungeon Master: Belissar</em>


    <em>Dungeon Conduit: Unnamed Bee</em>


    <em>One room feature selection avable</em>


    Belissar hummed as he looked over his tower and the words appeared before his eyes once again. He noticed a new addition from thest time he checked and focused on it. As he did, the words shifted, spinning such that he could no longer read them. They then stopped, and re-arranged themselves:


    <em>Select Room Feature:</em>


    <em>- Basic Resource nts (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Resource)</em>


    <em>- Pit Trap (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Trap)</em>


    <em>- Thorned Roses (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Trap)</em>


    Belissar rubbed his chin. Room selection let him build a Flower Meadow within the Tower. Defender selection resulted in the monster bee queens appearing in that room, via a spawner he ced. So, he figured this choice would let him ce whatever he chose within the room as well.


    And all of this was to enable him to fight the Hunger, and the shades it would send to kill him. To purify the world, as a Tower Lord wasmanded by the gods.


    So, the question was...which of these would enable him and a few bee hives to kill that monster?


    His life, the life of his bees including his friend, and the very existence of a Tower of the Gods hung on the answer.


    Belissar turned his attention back to the original status, and the Flower Meadow. He wanted to see what else he could do with this Tower before he made his choice. He frowned at the monster bee queen spawner in the center of the room.


    The spawner had been disabled when that shade had reached it. Well, it only spawned one monster bee queen a day, and she would need time to start a colony, so it didn¡¯t matter much when the shade had torn through the Tower in a couple of minutes. But still, it was a mistake, if a small one, to have ced it right in between the gate to the Hunger and the door to the core room, right in the path the shade had taken. Another sign of how unprepared and unworthy Belissar was for this job.


    ¡°If only I could move it...¡±


    The moment he thought that, the core shifted its view to center on the tree.


    <em>Move Monster Bee Queen Spawner?</em>


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Belissar blinked.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Apparently, he <em>could </em>move it. He agreed to the question. A faint outline of light surrounded the tree, and a transparent image of the tree rose from the tree. Belissar blinked and shook his head. The tree moved with his vision.


    Belissar quickly willed the image to move. It flew across the meadow towards the door to the core room...and then halted. Try as he might, Belissar couldn¡¯t move it any further beyond the door. The trees there seemed to form a solid wall. Belissar frowned and sighed. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that a real Tower Lord would have known all of this already. But he didn¡¯t, so he had no choice but to try things and see what worked.


    He tried again in all the different directions, but the wall of trees remained solid. He decided to ce the spawner by the door. If the shade reached there...then he had lost anyways.


    But even if the spawner wasn¡¯t as far away as he had hoped, it had demonstrated something to Belissar. He apparently could make some adjustments to the room, at least to the spawner. So, what else could he do?


    He began to focus on different parts of the room, starting with the titr flowers...


    <em>Manage flower types? Avable Types:</em>


    <em>- Dandelion (Selected, Mana upkeep: 0)</em>


    Well, that was helpful. He tried the trees next.


    <em>Move tree?</em>


    ...slightly more helpful. Maybe. But at the very least, he could move some of the trees towards the back of the room, by the spawner and the core room door. The queens could then build their hives further away from where the Hunger would attack.


    Still, that wouldn¡¯t help them actually y the shade...


    Belissar found he could add a few more trees, though there seemed to be a maximum number allowed. Guess they didn¡¯t want him turning a Flower Meadow into a forest. Not that more trees would particrly help. He could also remove trees, but that would help even less than adding them.


    He sighed. With nothing better to do, he focused on the dirt.


    <em>Adjust terrain height?</em>


    Belissar pursed his lips. Surprisingly, the dirt was the right choice, as that might actually be helpful. Getting higher up always helped againstnd-based predators...though he wasn¡¯t sure if that helped against shades of the Hunger. Still, if he could make a wall, then maybe he wouldn¡¯t have to fight it directly...


    <em>Maximum height reached</em>


    Belissar sighed. Of course. Of course he couldn¡¯t raise it steeper than a gentle hill. This was a Flower Meadow, not a castle. For a gift from the gods that could creatend and life out of thin air, there sure were a lot of limits. Maybe he should¡¯ve picked one of the other options or something.


    That or there was something he was missing that a real Tower Lord would have known.


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 2 days, 23 hours, and 23 minutes...</em>


    But there was no time to wonder what a Tower Lord could do that he couldn¡¯t. Time was ticking, and it was up to him to use it well. He sighed and let go of the core. He should at least tell his bee queen to set up her hive on one of the far trees now...


    He paused.


    He <em>felt</em> her salute, somehow. He shook his head. He wasn¡¯t even in the same room as her, nor had he said anything. He had to have been imagining things.


    But...just in case he wasn¡¯t...he peeked back at the core.


    The core now showed the queen bee, dancing a salute and then flying towards one of the far trees. He blinked again.


    Ok, apparently, he could also talk to the bees with his mind now? And...somehow know their response?


    He shook his head. He had no time to get surprised at every little thing a Tower of the Gods could do. He would just have to figure things out as he went. And since he apparently didn¡¯t need to actually walk to the queen to talk to her, he had no reason to leave the core room anymore. He sighed and turned back to the core. He had its vision zip through the Flower Meadow once again, checking for anything else he could use while he tried to figure out how he would actually fight that shade, and which of the room features would help most with it.


    He caught a glimpse of one of the ruined hives from before, with twigs sticking haphazardly out of the mess. He sighed as he was once again reminded how out of his depth he was. A real Tower Lord would certainly have used the first three days to prepare their defenses. Meanwhile, Belissar had been trying to build beehouses out of twigs. Beehouses he didn¡¯t even need, since he could apparently just ask the monster bees to build their hives in the appropriate shape. His original little twig frames wouldn¡¯t even have worked had the monster bees not tried to follow his instructions on their own...


    Belissar paused and stared at the ruins of the hive.


    And many thoughts in his mind began to twist and swirl. He thought of how he, a weak and unworthy peasant, could fight a monstrous creature. He thought of the bees trying to build their hives ording to his shaky frames, clearly attempting to follow themands he didn¡¯t realize he could give them. He thought of his life before, and the various things he had made in his life as a beekeeper. He thought of what he had avable in the Flower Meadow, and the list of room features he could now choose. The different thoughts in his head began to intersect...


    ¡°I think...I have an idea.¡±


    Belissar was no Tower Lord, and he hadn¡¯t the first clue of how to fight like one. But he was a beekeeper and a farmer. And maybe, just maybe, with the help of the bees...he might be able to fight as what he actually was.


    In any case, time was ticking, and if he wanted to attempt what he was thinking, he would need all the time he could get. So, he brought up the list of room features once more, and made his choice...


    He could only pray it would work.

 Chapter 9: Bee Prepared

    Chapter 9: Bee Prepared


    Belissar ced the feature in question, adjusting it to his liking. He then tried to ce more monster bee queen spawners, and found it worked, cing a bunch more.


    <em>Mana: 14/100</em>


    He could ce another three, for four total before he ran out of mana. He then rearranged some of the trees and made a few hills, before letting go of the core. There was nothing left he knew how to do with the core that could help...so it was time to go to work with his hands.


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 2 days, 22 hours, and 38 minutes...</em>


    He walked outside just as the other three monster bee queens crawled out of their spawners. They flew in front of Belissar as he walked into the field, with the first queen and the conduit bee joining them.


    ¡°King, havemand?¡±


    He felt a sharp pain in his chest. He had gotten his friend killed, dying to save him, and yet still she asked him that. He took a deep breath and nodded his head.


    ¡°Yes, I have an idea. I...know I¡¯m not worthy of this tower, and you paid the price for it. You might still pay the price for it. But...I¡¯m going to try my best to protect you now. But I will need your help, all of you, to pull it off. I¡¯m sorry but...will you help me?¡±


    The conduit bee flew around rapidly.¡°Of course! King lead, worker help!¡±


    The queen bees danced their agreement. Belissar took a deep breath.


    ¡°Ok. Let¡¯s get to work then.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    And so, he did. The queen bees flew off to start their hives, and the conduit bee went to help them. Meanwhile, Belissar hunched over and moved through the field, picking as many dandelions as he could as he made his way over to the nearest tree. Once there, he began picking up sticks as well. He needed as many as he could find...


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 2 days, 5 hours, and 17 minutes...</em>


    Belissar continued working through the night. He thought he would be exhausted, but the warmth from the core and the Tower filled him whenever he thought he was getting tired. So, he was able to continue working with neither food nor sleep. Still, with the sun setting, it would be hard to do much. If only he could see in the dark...


    The moment he thought that his vision seemed to light up. The field was still as dark as ever but Belissar could somehow see it. Or rather...it felt like his vision was still dark but he somehow knew what was happening in the room. As he thought that, his vision seemed to float away from his body. He blinked.


    Apparently, he could see <em>anything</em> happening in the room, even when he wasn¡¯t touching the core.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s convenient. Yet another thing I wish I had known before...¡±


    He shook his head and went back to work tying some dandelion stems into a cord. It seemed he could work through the night after all...


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 1 days, 23 hours, and 45 minutes...</em>


    Belissar watched as the first round of worker bees hatched and got to work. A third of them flew to and from their hives, a third of them flew to greet the new queens from the spawners and help them get set up, and a third of them flew towards the gate to the Hunger, carrying dried out dandelion stems Belissar had picked yesterday. Belissar focused on one of them.


    <em>Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: Largely simr to a mundane honeybee, though the mana flowing through it improves the toxicity of its venom. Can be dangerous in numbers to the unprepared, but generally not meant forbat. Will be spawned by monster bee queens if avable.</em>


    Belissar nodded. The monster bee workers were about what he expected from what he saw earlier, and barely different from normal bees. He wondered what made them ¡°monsters¡± then? He wondered if he had made the wrong choice. Should he have chosen something else?


    But he shook his head. A Tower Lord might have, but a Belissar was a humble beekeeper. Maybe bees weren¡¯t the right choice, but at the very least they were something he knew. He didn¡¯t think he would havee up with his idea if he had slimes or clockwork puppets or whatever else.


    That is, assuming his idea would work...


    He bent down as he thought, picking more stems. Bees came to grab them from him andy them out in the sun to dry. The bees could carry the stems to and fro, but they had trouble cutting them, so it was up to Belissar to pick as many as he could. They had their jobs, and he had his.


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 1 day, 0 hours, and 22 minutes...</em>


    ¡°Hunger take you!¡±


    Yet another cord snapped as Belissar tried to pull his fire bow back and forth. He had gathered enough material and the bees were still hard at work, so now he was testing things to make sure he could pull it off.


    It...wasn¡¯t going particrly well, and he had only a day left to go. But he didn¡¯t have his flint with him and making a firebow with twigs and dandelion cords...wasn¡¯t proving to be easy. He had managed to saw through some of the thinner branches of the trees to get something a little more substantial than a twig, but the dandelion cords kept snapping.


    A real Tower Lord would have known some magic, or else had an artifact prepared to do this. But a real Tower Lord probably wouldn¡¯t need to start a fire like this either. Belissar sighed and shook his head.


    ¡°Guess I have no choice.¡±


    He grabbed the hem of his tunic and stretched it out. Then he took his knife and cut off a strip from the bottom. Hopefully it would hold up better to the task than tied dandelion stems did.


    His entire n depended on it, and time was ticking...


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 15 minutes...</em>


    The conduit bee buzzed and zipped around Belissar¡¯s head.


    ¡°King, sure?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°For the hundredth time, yes.¡±


    The bee picked up speed.


    ¡°But! Worker job to fight! King, queen stay in hive! Stay safe!¡±


    Belissar shook his head as he walked towards the gate. He held a branch with strips from his tunic wrapped around the top. A fire burned at the top of his makeshift torch.


    It was burning down the branch faster than he¡¯d like. He could only hope he timed it right...


    ¡°Not this time. I watched all of you die once because I¡¯m unworthy. I¡¯m not going to let that happen again.¡±


    The buzzing intensified.


    ¡°Worker job to fight! Worker job to die for hive! King must live!¡±


    Additional bees flew around him, buzzing and dancing their agreement. But Belissar continued walking forward until he reached the gate to the hunger. Two hills rose to either side of it with a small t path between them. Trees spread out along the path. Belissar had wanted two rows lining the path, but the maximum limit on the trees meant it was far sparser than he had hoped. Which is why he was standing before the gate himself.


    ¡°If everything goes well, no one will die at all, except that monster. You¡¯ve done your part, this is mine.¡±


    The conduit bee flew unsteadily before him.


    ¡°But...but...¡±


    Belissar smiled at her.


    ¡°You¡¯ve saved my life twice now. It¡¯s my turn to save yours.¡±


    The bee picked up a bit of speed.


    ¡°But...worker came back?¡±


    Belissar paused for a second but shook his head. That...was true, at least for the conduit bee, but it didn¡¯t change his mind.


    ¡°...I¡¯m not going to let it take anything else. Now, fall back. Please.¡±


    The bee buzzed a bit more before slowly flying back. The bees...weren¡¯t happy about this. Large clouds of them buzzed behind him, hovering at the exact distance he told them to stay at. Belissar sighed. He knew he was probably being foolish. The bees most likely could do this job, or at least part of it. And it was true that this was their normal role. Worker bees not only risked their lives, they <em>killed</em><em>themselves </em>to protect the hive. They ripped their bodies apart just to deal a small sting to any would-be invaders. As long as the queens remained, they could rece the losses, and the conduit bee herself apparently coulde back from the dead.


    But an image of bees dropping from the sky as a ck cloud passed over them shed before Belissar¡¯s eyes. It may have been foolish but...he didn¡¯t want to see them die like that again. So here he was, a mere peasant preparing to face the Hunger...


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 5 minutes...</em>


    Belissar took a deep breath as he arrived at his position in front of the gate, trying to slow his beating heart. He talked up a big game, but now, when he was here, waiting for that monster to approach...he couldn¡¯t help but have second thoughts. The mere idea of facing down the shade again sent a shiver down his spine. Sweat already drenched his body, and he couldn¡¯t help but gulp.


    But he calmed himself. He had already died once, or at leaste very close to it. Everyone in his life who knew him was already gone, save for the bee flying behind him. His life...had very little meaning. He was the weird guy nobody cared about, with nothing he wanted to achieve but to take care of his bees and improve his mead recipe.


    The bees were different. They lived selflessly, and with purpose. They would give their lives for each other, and now for him as well, without hesitation. They deserved to live, and to carry on their work. They did not deserve to be ughtered.


    Belissar wanted to protect them. He <em>needed</em> to protect them. He needed to prove that he had <em>some </em>value. That his life had been worth them saving, even if just a little.


    So, he calmed his beating heart and his trembling hand as he fixed his eye on the gate...


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 1 minute...</em>

 Chapter 10: Second Initial Purification Attempt

    Chapter 10: Second Initial Purification Attempt


    Belissar furrowed his brow as the timer counted down.


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 5 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 4 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 3 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 2 seconds...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attempt in 1 second...</em>


    <em>Initial Purification attemptmencing.</em>


    Once again Belissar and the Tower began to grow hot. Every part of the Tower began to shine. The sky, the trees, even the flowers glowed faintly.


    And the gates to the Hunger swung open once more.Belissar gulped as the ck mass surged into the Flower Meadow. The nightmare every mother frightened their children with, the horror that no man or woman dared to face.


    But once again, the edges of the gateway began to glow. Belissar heard a screeching noise as the tendrils of the Hunger fell back into the writhing mass. It condensed down as it did before, and once again, a ck paw with massive ws stepped out and dug into the dirt.


    Sweat dripped down Belissar¡¯s neck as the shade¡¯s long snout emerged, growling as it stepped into the dungeon. Belissar tightened his grip on his torch and pulled out his knife with his other hand. The shade lifted its head into the sky and roared.


    <em>Initial Purification attempt begun. Remaining hostiles: 1</em>


    Belissar lifted his torch with a shaky hand.


    ¡°C-Come and get me...¡±


    He winced as his voice cracked. The shade brought its head down to stare at him, then burst out running towards him with a snarl.


    Belissar turned and ran, his heart pounding. He was very much having second thoughts as to this n. What was he, a peasant who had never experienced an actual battle in his life, doing trying to confront a shade of the Hunger?! Those jaws could snap him in half! The ws on its paws were asrge as his hand! The barb on its tail would pierce right through him!


    This was a monstrosity that trained soldiers would break and run from. That even the most hardened of the Tower Guard would tremble at the thought of.


    And Belissar thought he could face it down?!


    He regretted every choice he had made as he ran. He felt a rumble in the ground as the shade¡¯s feet pounded behind him. He heard the snarling from behind. He thought he could feel the creature¡¯s breath on his back...


    But then he realized that was his imagination, for the creature¡¯s snarls weren¡¯ting from behind him. He nced over and his eyes widened.


    The monster had leapt through the trees and was running along the hill to Belissar¡¯s right, trying to run around him and head him off.


    ¡°N-No!¡±


    If the monster didn¡¯t follow him as he wanted, then his entire n would fail. He had failed. He should have known a couple of trees and a gentle slope wouldn¡¯t bother a monster like that. He should have known no n thought up by a peasant could match the might of a Tower Lord.


    He had no choice but to run now and abandon this foolish recklessness.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Until he heard the buzzing.


    ¡°King!¡±


    The conduit bee glowed once again as she flew towards the monster, a swarm of bees following behind her. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as the monster came to a halt, snapping and snarling as the bees buzzed around it, trying to sting through its ck and twisting fur. The monster took a deep breath...


    Images of dying bees raining from the sky filled Belissar¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Fall back!¡±


    Heat filled Belissar¡¯s chest and imbued his shout. The bees immediately began flying away even as ck misted surged out from the monster. But because of Belissar¡¯s shout, most of the bees escaped, only a small handful of stragglers were caught by the edge of the mist.


    Belissar grit his teeth and forced himself to breathe. No, this wasn¡¯t how he was going to let it end. Even if his n was going to fail, he wasn¡¯t going to just break and run. The bees wouldn¡¯t let him; they would sacrifice themselves if he did. And he wouldn¡¯t let that happen, not after all he had seen, not after all he had sworn.


    He waved the torch in the air.


    ¡°Come and get me, monster!¡±


    His voice held this time. The shade turned to him and snarled, then leapt at him with a roar. Belissar jumped back and turned to run. But since he had stopped to get the shade¡¯s attention, it would take him some time to build up speed, while the shade needed only a leap to do the same. It would catch him before he made it...


    Again, the conduit bee and the swarm swooped down from above. Belissar furrowed his brow. He had hoped he could keep the bees back...but at this point it was clear he could not seed alone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go all at once! Keep it moving in my direction!¡±


    The bees buzzed and began splitting up into smaller groups that swooped down one by one. The monster snapped at them but they would fly off immediately to be reced by the next group. And when the monster took a deep breath, they all flew back.


    Eventually, the monster began to bark. It took a deep breath and waved its head around, sending out clouds of ck mist billowing in a wave ahead. It didn¡¯t manage to catch thetest group osting it, but the next wave of bees was forced back, unable to approach through the wall of mist ahead of them. The monster then turned its eyes to Belissar. It roared and pounced towards him.


    And Belissar...stopped running. He stood still as the monster rushed towards him.


    His heart pounded in his chest. He felt his legs try to lift off the ground. He felt the sweat drip down his face, stinging his eyes. He felt faint and his vision swirled.


    But he forced himself to stand still. He resisted the urge to shut his eyes, even as he stared his death in the face. He held the torch in front of him, the me wavering as his arms trembled and the branch shook. The me had burned down low enough the branch that he could feel the heat on his hands.


    The monster had nearly reached him. It opened its jaws, its tail wrapped around its body to swing at Belissar, it lifted its paws and extended its ws.


    And then it vanished with a yelp as the ground vanished beneath its feet. Belissar heard a crash followed by a second yelp.


    His heart leapt in his chest and his legs turned to jelly but he resisted the urge to fall to the ground. The hardest part was over, but this battle wasn¡¯t finished yet.


    Belissar cautiously crept to the edge of the hole while the bees began to buzz overhead. He peered over the side.


    The monster was tangled at the bottom, twisting about to get back on its feet. It was surrounded by yellow walls as honeb lined the pit. The ck fur covered in mist glistened slightly as honey, twigs, and dandelion stems stuck to it, before turning ck and wilting. Honey, stems, and twigs covered the bottom in arge mat.


    The monster shook its head at it rose to its feet. It looked at Belissar and snarled. It stepped forward to the edge and tried to dig its ws into the wall.


    Belissar narrowed his eyes and held out his torch.


    ¡°This is for my bees.¡±


    He dropped the torch.


    The bottom of the pit burst into mes as honey and kindling caught fire. The mes spread to the monster¡¯s fur due to the honey and stems stuck to it. The monster roared and fell back. It tried to roll across the ground...only to set more of the honey and stems alight, spreading the fire.


    Belissar knew that one weapon a farmer had that every predator feared was fire. And as a beekeeper, he knew that beeswax made an excellent candle.


    The fire continued to grow as the twigs and the wax caught fire as well. The monster roared and raced along the edges, but the fire had spread to the entire pit, and even the walls thanks to the wax on it. The monster crouched down and tried to leap out of the pit, but Belissar had made it as deep as he could and it failed to reach the edge. It tried to dig its ws into the walls but they couldn¡¯t hold its weight, and it fell back once again.


    It tried to unleash the ck mist once again, but it had no effect on the mes, and there was nothing living for it to kill.


    Eventually, its movement slowed down, and its roars grew soft. Soon, it fell to the ground and moved no more. ck mist began to rise from the mes and mix with the smoke as the monster¡¯s body disintegrated.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    Belissar fell back onto his bottom as the message passed before his sight. His eyes began to grow wide.


    The monster...was dead?


    The n...had worked?


    ¡°We...won?¡±


    Belissar blinked, and then started to giggle. Soon, he began tough.


    And all around him, the Tower began to glow...

 Chapter 11: Blessed Victor-Bee

    Chapter 11: Blessed Victor-Bee


    Belissar took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.


    It worked.


    It actually worked.


    He figured he could start a fire with flowers, twigs, and honeb, which was even easier as he could directly ask the bees to line the walls and floors with wax. But none of that would burn particrly quickly and it would take a bit for the fire to get going. So, he needed a way to actually keep the monster in the mes.


    The Pit Trap seemed to offer a solution, but Belissar encountered a problem when he went to make it. It turned out he couldn¡¯t ce it directly in front of the gate. In fact, he couldn¡¯t ce the trees or the spawners there either. He didn¡¯t know why, but for one reason or another the gate had to remain clear. But it wasn¡¯t his ce to question the gods, so he could only ept the limitation.


    And that meant there was an issue of how to actually get the monster onto the trap. Since he couldn¡¯t make enough trees to form a path, either the bees would have to fight once again...or he would.


    But, against all odds, it had worked. He, a simple peasant beekeeper with no magic or might to his name, had in a shade of the Hunger. He had fulfilled the role of a mighty Tower Lord.


    And that wasn¡¯t all...


    As Belissarughed and rested on the ground, the Tower¡¯s shine intensified. Belissar felt the heat within the Tower grow red hot. Suddenly, a wave of light surged out from the core room and across the Flower Meadow. When it reached the Pit Trap, it burned away thest wisps of the ck mist. It shrank down as it approached the gateway, forming a tiny glowing ball as it passed out of the Tower¡¯s entrance.And then Belissar gasped. He could feel as a wave of power now surged out of the Tower itself, in every direction. When he nced outside the gateway, the Hunger was gone. He could see green shoots breaking through the ground in the wake of the purifying light. Twisted and ckened trees began to right themselves and grow green leaves once again as bushes grew underneath.


    The wave carried onward, slowing down over time. Eventually, it stopped. Belissar could still feel the Hunger at the edges, reaching its tendrils into the cleared area, but they burned away like they did in the Tower¡¯s gateway. A sphere of about one mile in diameter around the Tower was nowpletely free of the Hunger, and growing life once again.


    <em>Initial purification sessful. Dungeon B3353402X now established. Core corruption may now be purified.</em>


    <em>The following gods have noticed your victory and offer to be your patron:</em>


    <em>- The God of Fire</em>


    <em>- The God of Mischief</em>


    <em>- The God of Bees</em>


    <em>Please ept or deny the offered patrons before receiving additional rewards.</em>


    Belissar froze. He blinked. And then he began to tremble.


    The gods...had noticed him? And instead of smiting him, they were offering...to be his patron?


    ¡°W-What should I do? W-What''s going on? What...¡±


    At that moment, the conduit bee buzzed in front of his face. His eyes were drawn to her as she danced in the air.


    ¡°King? Need help?¡±


    His beating heart began to calm, and he nodded to himself. He held out his finger and his bee friendnded on it, staring up at him with her little eyes.


    No, he knew what to do. There was only one thing to do.


    <em>The God of Bees is now your patron. Applying Blessing of Bees.</em>


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    He had never even heard of the God of Bees before, but he knew this was the right choice. It was his bee friend who had saved his life and brought him here. It was she who got him to take control of this Tower in the first ce. It was the bees who had saved his life at the cost of their own when the first shade appeared, and he was entirely unprepared. It was the efforts of the bees that prepared the pit that slew the shade now. And it was their aid that enabled him to lure the shade to the pit when he had nearly broken in panic.


    He would not be here if it were not for them.


    A surge of heat passed through him and the dungeon. A statue rose by the gateway, depicting a bee asrge as a person, standing on her hind legs as a human would, with smaller bees all around and on top of her. She held a small sphere with her four other legs that began to glow with soft light. A pile of honebs surrounded her feet. Two banners rose to either side of the statue, with the image of a bee on top of a yellow field. Arge chest made of wax appeared at the foot of the statue.


    A second such statue appeared at the other end of the Flower Meadow, just outside the entrance to the core room.


    All his bees began to buzz, and the dandelions began to sway. He could feel the heat make its way to his core room and he turned his attention there. His eyes widened.


    The room was no longer an empty white space with neither floors nor walls. Yellow honeb now crisscrossed along the edges of the space. Golden honey dripped from the walls. A wax pir rose in the center with the same giant bee carved into it, lifting her hands up and around the floating core.


    Outside the Tower also shifted. It maintained the same overall shape and color, but now yellow banners unfurled along its sides, depicting a bee upon a yellow field.


    <em>Blessing of Bees applied.</em>


    <em>Effects:</em>


    <em>- Bee-rted options significantly more frequent.</em>


    <em>- Bee-rted option rarity increased</em>


    <em>- Special bee-rted options are unlocked and may now appear</em>


    <em>- Bee monster upgrades and evolutions are now cheaper and easier to unlock</em>


    <em>- Bee monster mana upkeep reduced</em>


    <em>- All bee monsters receive a medium boost to all stats</em>


    <em>- Non-bee options significantly less frequent</em>


    <em>- Non-bee option rarity decreased</em>


    <em>- Some non-bee options have been restricted and will no longer appear</em>


    <em>- Non-bee monster mana upkeep increased</em>


    Belissar had but a moment to process it all before the messages continued.


    <em>Mission: </em><em>Complete initial purificationpleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: Room limit increased to 2. Mana increased to 200. Receive one room selection, one monster selection, and one room feature selection.</em>


    <em>Mission: Earn the favor of a patronpleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: One dungeon perk selection.</em>


    Belissar stood up and walked over to the statue. He stared at it for a moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s...a god. And you gave me...a blessing?¡±


    He looked at the banners next to the statue. He looked down at his hand. The symbol engraved their appeared again, adjusting slightly to match the banner.


    His eyes widened, and then he fell to his knees, bowing his head.


    ¡°T-Thank you, for choosing me.¡±


    One of the gods had chosen him. He who was unworthy, who was unprepared. He who had not descended from the lines of the Tower Lords. He who was but a mere peasant. He who had no family or friends. He who had no value.


    And now, he had been chosen as a Tower Lord. The blessed of the gods meant for great deeds and glorious purpose.


    He felt his eyes grow moist.


    ¡°I-I will do my best.¡±


    The sphere held by the statue began to glow softly, bathing Belissar in warm light. His bees gathered around him, buzzing and hovering in the air. Then they split off and returned to the flowers, continuing in their work. Belissar watched them for a moment, before he nodded and stood to his feet.


    That was right. If this was the God of Bees...then the best way to repay the trust imbued in him would be to work as a bee would. Probably. Maybe. Belissar still didn¡¯t actually know anything about gods or towers. But that didn¡¯t seem to bother the gods as far as he could tell, so he¡¯d try not to let it bother him.


    Whether he liked it or not, whether he was prepared or not, he was a Tower Lord now. It was his job to manage this Tower, to purify the Hunger, and to protect thend. He could not sit back and keep his head down any longer. He would have to figure things out and find a way when challenges arose.


    He turned to watch his bees as they spread across the field, gathering nectar for their hives once again. He furrowed his brow.


    And...he would have to lead and protect his bees. They were counting on him, even more than the bees at home ever did. They would follow his lead, and they would live...and die...by his decisions. They would pay for every mistake he made.


    He truly was the king of the hive now, with all that such a title entailed. Belissar gripped his hands into fists and nodded.


    He swore that they would not die in vain. That he would repay their trust. That he would protect them as best he could. And that he would make his life one worth saving.

 Chapter 12: Dont Bee Confused!

    Chapter 12: Don''t Bee Confused!


    First things first, Belissar apparently had some decisions to make.


    <em>Please select a room:</em>


    <em>- Forest (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Field)</em>


    <em>- Apiary (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee, Resource, Settlement)</em>


    <em>- Dirt Tunnels (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Labyrinth)</em>


    Part of him wanted to make a choice immediately but he held himself back. He had made his first choices haphazardly, and while it had worked out who knows what might have happened if he had known what he was doing? Maybe zombies or clockwork puppets could have killed that monster with ease. Maybe an enchanter¡¯sb would have had features he could have used to defend himself without days of prep work.


    Belissar had long lived a life of shutting up and getting to work, but now his job was to think and make decisions. So, think he did.


    Forests were good habitats for bees, their natural environment, even. And greater ess to wood might increase his options if Belissar had to build another fire. He could also build other structures as well, maybe some walls or fences might help? Well, that was assuming he could get his hands on some actual tools...


    An apiary was where he grew up, and obviously having a ce for his bees to call home should help. Especially now that he was blessed by the God of Bees and was going to be relying on bee monsters.And then dirt tunnels...yeah, Belissar didn¡¯t really know what to make of that. He did know there were wild bees that dug in the dirt, if he got monster bees that did something simr maybe they¡¯d like a ce like that?


    So, the question was which of these options would be the most helpful for his bees...and which of these options would help him fight off the Hunger?


    Belissar looked up and found the conduit bee hovering around him.


    ¡°What do you think? A forest, an apiary, or some dirt tunnels? What sounds good to you?¡±


    The bee answered without hesitation.


    ¡°Whatever King chooses!¡±


    Belissar resisted a sigh. He should have expected that.


    So, saddled with the burden of leadership, Belissar thought...and thought...and thought until his head hurt. And he thought...that maybe he should check the other options first.


    He definitely wasn¡¯t just putting it off because he had no idea what to pick yet.


    <em>Please select a monster:</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Soldier (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Carpenter Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Nature)</em>


    <em>- Monster Digger Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Ground)</em>


    Belissar rubbed his chin as he looked over the options. Soldier bees...definitely were something that could fight. Carpenter bees sounded like something that would like a forest, while digger bees were exactly the bees he was thinking about for the tunnels. But...what would monster versions of those bees actually be? Would they be like the monster bee queens, practically normal bees save for their ability to understand his words and intentions? Or would they be something else entirely?


    Belissar sighed. If only he had some way to check them beforehand...


    As he thought that, the words shifted. He saw the image of a bee about the size of his hand.


    <em>Monster Bee Soldier</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minor</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minor</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Death Blow, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 10 (5 with Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee specialized forbat. Significantlyrger than a regr bee, with a stingerrge enough to deal physical damage, and has more dangerous venom as well. Still weak alone but dangerous in numbers. Note: Monster bee queens with developed hives may spawn monster bee soldiers once unlocked.</em>


    Belissar blinked and then smacked his forehead with his palm. Once again, his ignorance of all things Tower-rted came back to haunt him. He apparently <em>could</em> gain more information on these choices, if he bothered to ask.


    Well, it was better to learnte than never. He went ahead and checked the next option. He saw a ck bee just a bitrger than his current monster bee workers, with sharper mandibles.


    <em>Monster Carpenter Bee</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal+</em>


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the vition.


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Wood Cut</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 1</em>


    <em>Description: A carpenter bee that has umted enough Nature mana to be something more. Sharp mandibles meant for boring into wood allow for painful, if small, bites.</em>


    Next came the digger bees. They were, like the carpenter bees, a bit bigger than the worker bees but stillrgely bee-sized. They were brown and gray and very fuzzy, with short little wings and thicker mandibles.


    <em>Monster Digger Bee</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Below Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Dig</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 1</em>


    <em>Description: A digger bee that has umted enough Ground mana to be something more. Likes to burrow and tunnel, may ambush enemies from the ground. </em>


    That...actually helped quite a bit. It seemed monster bee soldiers were rted to the monster bee queens and workers, while the carpenter and digger bees were different sorts altogether, each specialized to certain environments. So, Belissar could now choose between strengthening his current hives withbat-specialized members, or gaining new and more versatile bee types that were about the same as his current bee workers in terms of fighting.


    Well, the monster bee soldiers had the obvious advantage of being something that could fight more directly. They were the first bee Belissar had seen that justified the name ¡°monster bee.¡± Yet, the choice wasn¡¯t so clear when Belissar thought about it. The descriptions of their stats didn¡¯t seem that powerful and they were still quite smallpared to a human...or a shade of the Hunger. So, would they have been enough to take down a beast like that? Their stingers looked like they would definitely hurt, but would they be enough to kill?


    On the other hand, carpenter bees could apparently cut through wood. If Belissar had those and they could listen to him like the other bees could, he could gain a lot of options. They could cut through dandelion stems and twigs on their own, so that Belissar wouldn¡¯t need to pick each one personally. Depending on how good they were at cutting wood, maybe they could even cut through branches, or process wood further. If so, that would make it much easier for Belissar to build a fire next time. Or maybe even more. Maybe he could build fences and walls...or a wooden spear.


    He...wasn¡¯t sure any of that would stop a shade like he had faced, but it was something to consider.


    He wasn¡¯t so sure about digger bees. Sure, they could definitely dig, it was in the name after all, but would they be able to dig something like a pit trap? That seemed....like It would take quite a while for little bees to aplish. But still...Belissar¡¯s n wouldn¡¯t have been even remotely possible if it weren¡¯t for the pit trap, so there was merit to digging holes.


    He didn¡¯t feel ready to make a choice there yet, so he went back to the room choices. He tried to see if he could bring up more information on each...


    <em>Forest</em>


    <em>Type: Nature, Field</em>


    <em>Innate Features: Wild nt Growth Boost</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 10</em>


    <em>Description: An open area filled with trees that restrict visibility and provide cover. Excellent for Nature type monsters and features. Excellent for resource production.</em>


    <em>Apiary</em>


    <em>Type: Bee, Resource, Settlement</em>


    <em>Innate Features: Beehives</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 10 (5 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Description: A farm dedicated to beekeeping. Comes with beehive nodes that produce honeb. If Bee type monsters are avable, may settle in beehives for a slight boost in brood growth and beehive productivity.</em>


    <em>Dirt Tunnels</em>


    <em>Type: Ground, Labyrinth</em>


    <em>Innate Features: None</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 5</em>


    <em>Description: Awork of tunnels dug directly into the ground. Soft walls mean new tunnels may be dug by defenders and invaders alike, and that nts and fungus may take root with ease. Excellent environment for Ground type monsters and features.</em>


    The room descriptions didn¡¯t give as <em>much</em> detail as the monster ones, but it was something. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t answer Belissar¡¯s current conundrums. Apiaries, like he thought, were specialized for Bee monsters but not in the way he thought. They appeared to be more focused on the production of honey than on the growth of the bees themselves. Which...would be excellent if he was still a beekeeper but didn¡¯t seem that useful against the Hunger.


    Unless, again, he was missing something about being a Tower Lord? Why would the gods include such an option? Could he somehow sate a shade¡¯s hunger with honey?


    He thought back to what he knew of the Tower of the Gods and the Tower Lords. The Tower Lords certainly were said to have great wealth, but every story he was told of the Towers depicted them as defending against the Hunger and protecting thend. Were options like this just a reward for the Tower Lords themselves? Or would the production of honey y some role in the defense he couldn¡¯t see?


    Belissar shook his head. He didn¡¯t know what he didn¡¯t know. And he still didn¡¯t know what to choose. It sounded like a forest might be more useful for the defense, if only to have ess to more firewood, but maybe the slight boost in brood growth of the apiary might be more useful? He still wasn¡¯t sure.


    And well, he still had some more choices to view.


    <em>Please select a room feature:</em>


    <em>- Basic Resource nts (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Resource)</em>


    <em>- Sticky Honey Trap (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Trap)</em>


    <em>- Rest Zone (Rarity: Common, Type: Recovery, Zone)</em>


    Belissar blinked repeatedly, as thistest set of choices came with yet another set of questions. First of all, some kind of...honey trap? Was that an answer to why the apiary was a room choice? Could he use his own bees¡¯ honey in the honey trap?


    And then...what was a rest zone?


    <em>Rest Zone</em>


    <em>Type: Recovery, Zone</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 5</em>


    <em>Description: A safe zone where challengers can rest. Remnants won¡¯t pass into the zones, and zones provide slight healing, as well as slightly boosted stamina and mana recovery.</em>


    Belissar held his head. Challengers? Remnants? What did any of that mean? Were they supposed to be something important? Were challengers his monsters...or the shades from the Hunger? That...that couldn¡¯t be right. Why in the gods¡¯ names would he ever want to let a shade rest and recover?!


    It felt like the more information he learned, the more questions he had. He was no closer to making a decision than he was when he first started. If anything, he was more confused, and far less certain in his ability to make the right call.


    And he still had one more choice he hadn¡¯t even checked. Belissar groaned.

 Chapter 13: Just Bee Yourself!

    Chapter 13: Just Bee Yourself!


    Belissar took a deep breath. He could do this. He slew a monster of the Hunger! He was chosen by a god, even! He was a Tower Lord now, one of the pinnacles of humanity that guided the course of civilization!


    So, he definitely couldn¡¯t be afraid of looking at the next choice! Maybe it would even help him make all his other choices!


    Such was Belissar¡¯s hope and prayer...


    <em>Please select a perk:</em>


    <em>- Bee Specialist (Rarity: Common)</em>


    <em>- Bee Breeder (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    <em>- Enhanced Toxins (Rarity: Common)</em>


    Having no idea what any of that meant from first nce, Belissar looked over each option in turn.


    <em>Bee Specialist</em><em>- Bee type options offered more frequently</em>


    <em>- Bee type monsters gain slight boost to all stats if moremon than all other types</em>


    That seemed useful. He was blessed by the God of Bees, so he would be using more of them than anything else. Probably. As far as Belissar knew...which wasn¡¯t very.


    <em>Bee Breeder</em>


    <em>- Small increase to the rate monster bee queens produce offspring</em>


    Well, more bees wouldn¡¯t hurt.


    <em>Enhanced Toxins</em>


    <em>- Small damage and duration increase for all toxins</em>


    So that would make his bees¡¯ stings hurt more. Belissar could choose between slightly stronger bees, some more bees, or bees that stung harder. Belissar rubbed his chin. He then grunted, crossed his arms, and nodded.


    ¡°Yep. I have no idea what to do.¡±


    Then he held his head and groaned.


    Belissar thought and he thought until the sun went down, but still he had no idea what to pick. He just didn¡¯t know enough about Towers to know what he was even supposed to aim for.


    The conduit bee then flew by once again, after a hard day helping the other bees no doubt. He lifted his finger and shended on it.


    ¡°King, need help?¡±


    Belissar sighed.


    ¡°I just...I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing, or what I should even do. I¡¯m sorry, I just...I don¡¯t know how to be a good Tower Lord.¡±


    The bee danced around unsteadily.


    ¡°Tower Lord?¡±


    Belissar sighed.


    ¡°Or a good king, if that makes more sense. Or queen, for you? I don¡¯t know.¡±


    The bee began dancing excitedly.


    ¡°King good king! Best king!¡±


    Belissar chuckled at the sight, then shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m really not. I just...I wish there was another Tower Lord here. Someone who could teach me what to do...¡±


    The bee kept dancing rapidly.


    ¡°King not need other king! King knows! King make best choice! King build best hives!¡±


    Belissar shook his head again.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°You and the queens built the hives, not me.¡±


    The bee began to buzz loudly.


    ¡°King build all hives! Built hives without core!¡±


    Belissar blinked, and then tilted his head.


    ¡°Are you talking about the old beehouses?¡±


    ¡°Yes, those! Warm, safe, good for hive! Old queen said were best!¡±


    Belissar blinked, and then chuckled. He guessed a little bee might indeed be impressed by something like that. But making a wooden box and running a Tower of the Gods were two entirely different things.


    Still...it didn¡¯t feel bad to have someone who believed in him. He only hoped he could live up to that trust.


    He then rubbed his chin and hummed. Well, he still didn¡¯t know much about being a Tower Lord, and he didn¡¯t know what the right choices here were. He was but a humble beekeeper. But...that was apparently why his friend wanted him in charge...and his patron <em>was</em> the God of Bees. Maybe he should just focus on what he knew?


    After all, he figured out how to fight the Hunger when thinking as a farmer and a beekeeper. Maybe he should forget being a good Tower Lord, and just go with his gut? Well, in any case, making <em>some</em> choice was better than none. Hopefully. Maybe. There wasn¡¯t another countdown for a purification at the moment, but Belissar couldn¡¯t be certain if or when another would appear. And the one thing he knew is that he¡¯d certainly like to have more to fight it with than a field of dandelions.


    Belissar sighed and stood up, and then looked at the conduit bee again. He made a small smile.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m ready to choose. Thanks for your help.¡±


    ¡°Worker always help King!¡±


    Belissar paused at that. It seemed there was something important he had forgotten in all this chaos.


    ¡°You know, I never got your name.¡±


    The bee paused, and then danced slowly.


    ¡°What name?¡±


    Belissar frowned. He guessed...the bees didn¡¯t have names for themselves?


    ¡°No name, huh. In that case, why don¡¯t I give you one?¡±


    The bee just stared at Belissar as he thought.


    ¡°How about...Niobee?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    <em>Conduit Unnamed Bee is now named Niobee.</em>


    Belissar smiled as he watched Niobee dance about, before returning to his task. He took a deep breath, and then opened the windows, making his choices as they came to him.


    <em>Monster bee soldier spawner now avable. Monster bee queens may now spawn monster bee soldiers.</em>


    Belissar would love to keep his bees from harm, never letting them fight again...but that simply wasn¡¯t reasonable. He was no fighter and had no confidence he could continue to protect the bees with his own hands. Equally as important, it was in the bees¡¯ own nature to protect their hives, and Belissar couldn¡¯t stop them from doing so forever. He had chosen them as the defenders of the Tower, after all. So, the next best thing he could do was make sure they could fight effectively, so that the next time he would not need to watch the hives destroyed and the colonies fall from the sky en masse.


    As such, he went with the monster bee soldiers. Dedicated warrior bees might be capable of taking on an enemy on their own...and at the very least should do better than the workers who were practically normal bees. The soldiers would fight and the workers would gather, as was their intended roles.


    And with that in mind...


    <em>Apiary is now avable.</em>


    The monster bee soldier description stated the queens could spawn them once their hives were more developed...so Belissar hoped an Apiary would help them reach that stage more quickly. And, if it didn¡¯t, he could still benefit from the honey it produced...


    <em>Sticky Honey Trap is now avable.</em>


    <em>Sticky Honey Trap</em>


    <em>Type: Bee, Trap</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 3 (1 if honey provided)</em>


    <em>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.</em>


    With this, he would have a way to weaponize the honey more directly. That would allow his worker bees to contribute to the defense by doing what they did best, the Apiary¡¯s honeb production as well. Perhaps if he couldbine this trap and the pit trap, he could repeat his fire pit strategy without needing three days of setup.


    The note about effects varying with the type of honey was also interesting. Could his bees make more than just regr honey? Would different types of bees make different types of honey, then? The old beekeeper had told him stories as a child about fire bees that could make spicy honey or ice bees that could survive in the winter and made honey as cool as snow. Up till now he had thought they were just stories...but with a Tower of the Gods, who knew what was possible?


    Belissar even smiled. He was starting to look forward to the next monster choice...


    And finally, to round it all off...


    <em>Bee Breeder selected.</em>


    This was the hardest of the choices. All of them were helpful to his bees and he still didn¡¯t know enough to know which was more important. But at the end of the day, the strength of bees was their numbers. Bees worked together, living in colonies of thousands acting as one single being. They could drive away animals thousands of times their size by swarming as a group. So, Belissar figured the more bees, the better.


    Stronger bees from Bee Specialist might have been helpful...but he didn¡¯t know how much stronger it would actually make them. Even the monster bee soldier wasn¡¯t listed as ¡°strong¡± after all, so how much would the perk actually boost them? He didn¡¯t feel like something described as a ¡°slight¡± boost would enable a bee the size of his hand to take on the Hunger¡¯s shades alone, at the very least. And as for getting more bee options...well, the Blessing of Bees was already doing that.


    Stronger venom was also useful, but, again, Belissar didn¡¯t know exactly how useful. The monster from the Hunger clearly felt pain from the worker bee stings but it didn¡¯t seem to slow down much. And, thinking of normal bees, a single bee sting generally wasn¡¯t that dangerous, unless you were allergic. But a hundred or a thousand bee stings was a different story. So, again, Belissar figured having more stingers would help as much or more as stronger venom.


    And, ultimately, Belissar¡¯s goal now was to help his hives develop as fast as possible so that they could get ess to the soldier bees. So, he figured Bee Breeder was his best bet.


    With that, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. He had made his choices. He didn¡¯t know if they were the right choices, but for better or for worse he had made them.


    Now he just had to go and actually ce some of his new options...

 Chapter 14: A Home to Bee

    Chapter 14: A Home to Bee


    The first thing Belissar did was check his Tower¡¯s mana.


    Mana: 164/200


    It was a lot more than he expected. Not only had he gained another two hundred mana to work with, but the Blessing of Bees also reduced the cost of his existing monster bee queen spawners. A quick check of their information revealed their upkeep had gone down from twenty down to ten, a reduction by half. And given that he had spent most of the mana he previously had on those spawners, that freed up a massive amount for him now.


    With plenty to spare, he proceeded to ce the Apiary, walking back over to the core room to do so. He stepped inside the newly decorated room and took a moment to look around. He knelt down and felt the wax on the floor and nodded. It was much less unnerving than the sort of but also kind of not floor that was there before, or the endless white space everywhere he looked...as long as he ignored the ck tendrils of the Hunger still lingering on some of the walls...


    He then walked over the core and got to work. Or tried to. He furrowed his brow and crossed his arms as he stared at the core.


    ¡°Ok. So...how exactly do I add a new room?¡±


    The first one had just sort of...added itself, after all. But fortunately, the core reacted to his intention. The image inside it zoomed out, showing an angled top-down view of the Flower Meadow, as well as the core room.


    Current rooms: 1/2. Add room?


    Belissar blinked a few times.¡°Um, yes?¡±


    <em>Avable Rooms:</em>


    <em>- Flower Meadow (Type: Nature, Field)</em>


    <em>- Apiary (Type: Bee, Resource, Settlement)</em>


    ¡°Um, Apiary, please.¡±


    A transparent room now appeared before his eyes. It featured a small farmhouse in a small field surrounded by flowers and a handful of trees, like miniature version of the Flower Meadow. In a fenced yard in front of the house were a handful of tree trunks, each with a basket beehive on top. There were three rows of three beehives each.


    Belissar found he could adjust various features of the room as with the Flower Meadow, but he couldn¡¯t change the number of beehives at the moment. He went ahead and moved them behind the farmhouse, to give them as much protection as he could. Beyond that, he didn¡¯t have anything he wanted to change.


    Once he thought that, the view zoomed out again. A transparent image of the room now appeared in between the Flower Meadow and the core room. Belissar found he could move the room around the Flower Meadow. He could put the Apiary in-between it and the core room, between it and the gateway, or off to one of the sides. He could also rotate the rooms and move the doors along their walls as he pleased.


    Well, it was all very interesting, but Belissar still had no idea what he was doing or why. So, he ended up putting the Apiary where it had first appeared, in between the Flower Meadow and the core room. He figured that if his bees were going to set up there, he¡¯d rather have their hives further away from the gateway. He even considered putting them off to the side and trying to keep them out of harm¡¯s way entirely...but during the failed purification attempt the monster had attacked the door to the core room, and then bits of Hunger spread across all of the Tower and the core room.


    Even an untrained peasant like Belissar could tell that was a bad thing. So, he figured the core room should probably be as far away from the gateway as possible.


    He did, however, move the door to the core room to the far-left side of the Apiary, while he put the hives to the right. He still didn¡¯t want them in the direct path of the monsters if he could help it. He heaved a sigh.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Ok, I think that¡¯s it...¡±


    Once he signaled he was done, he felt the warmth inside the Tower stir once more. The doorway to the Flower Meadow shifted, now showing the Apiary. Once the Tower calmed down, he stepped through.


    For a moment, he simply stared at the sight before him. He was standing in another clearing surrounded by walls of trees with two doors on either end. Another statue of the God of Bees now stood next to the door leading to the core room. The Apiary itself filled the clearing ahead of him. The little house he saw in the core¡¯s vision was now a full-sized dwelling standing before him, a house about the same size as his own had been. He could see the basket hives in the yard to the right of it. He...frowned at that sight. They were the traditional beehouse that generally involved destroying the entire hive to gather honey.


    He did not like that method, and he and the old beekeeper had worked hard developing their own beehouses to avoid such violent waste. He would have to build some once he had the chance. But this would suffice for now, he wasn¡¯t as concerned about gathering the honey when the bees themselves could move it for him. Besides, it wasn¡¯t like he had to pay tribute to the Tower Lord this year, seeing as his vige burned to the ground and all. And that the Tower Lord¡¯s son had been the one to do it, nearly killing him in the process.


    Belissar also remembered that, technically, he <em>was</em> the local Tower Lord now. Well, for whatever locale this tower was in, that was. He didn¡¯t imagine there were many viges in an area that was covered by the Hunger until very recently.


    Shaking his head, he walked into the house. It was furnished with some basic furniture, though it wasrgely empty otherwise. Belissar nodded as he noted a storage area with a lot of jars for honey. He then found a bedroom, with a very simple mattress and sheet.


    On a whim, hey down on it. It...wasn¡¯t asfortable as his bed back home had been, but it was worlds better than trying toy down in the original core room had been.


    Belissar yawned as he had that thought. He closed his eyes for a but a moment...


    Belissar slowly opened his eyes as the sun filtered through the window and lit his face. He rose and stretched his arms. He stood up and walked over to the window.


    He blinked.


    Those...were not his beehouses, but rather, a bunch of basket hives. Belissar had a brief moment of panic before his mind full woke up, and he remembered the events of the past few days.


    ¡°Right. I don¡¯t live in the vige anymore. And...I¡¯m a Tower Lord now, or something. And this is the Tower.¡±


    He inhaled sharply as his mind processed the wordsing out of his very own mouth. Then he shook his head and walked out of the room.


    He had not intended to sleep, as it had seemed that his body remained in good condition regardless. However, it seemed that his mind was not entirely free from exhaustion and, well, he had <em>certainly </em>had a lot to think about recently. He furrowed his brow and checked the dungeon status again...but fortunately, he couldn¡¯t find any ¡°purification attempt¡± timers. It seemed his little unnned nap wouldn¡¯t hurt him, for now.


    Sighing at his own inability to focus, he tried to recall what he was doing when he fell asleep. He nodded as it came to him.


    ¡°Right, traps, or something.¡±


    His vision floated out of his body to view the room as a hole. He found he could also move his sight to the Flower Meadow if he wanted. He went ahead a ced a couple more pit traps, as well as some of the new sticky honey traps, little holes that would spray out a bunch of the sticky honey when something passed in front of them. He found he could, in fact, ce them inside of the pit traps and did so.


    He also found that while he couldn¡¯t put pit traps, or any traps, right in front of either the gateway or the core room, he could put them in front of the door between the flower meadow and the apiary, so he did that. He let out a sigh of relief. If he had to face another monster, it now couldn¡¯t reach the apiary without stepping on a trap, so he wouldn¡¯t have to lure it with either his bees or his body. All he needed to do was make sure there was a fire set up by the Apiary entrance and he would be good to go.


    With the traps in ce, it was time to address the spawners.


    First of all, he focused on the monster bee queen spawners he had in ce and tried to move them through the rooms. He found there was no issue in doing that, and so he moved all four of them into the apiary, cing them in the small field around the hives. He then considered what else to ce...


    <em>Mana: 121/200</em>


    The Apiary itself cost him five mana, while the pit traps and sticky honey traps cost one mana a piece. He had made...neen of them, if he recalled correctly, which came out to...


    Belissar soon ran out of fingers. With nothing to write on, he stepped outside of the farmhouse, and found some dirt to scratch marks into.


    ...thirty-eight mana. He...didn¡¯t really know if that was a lot or not. And with the mana he had left he could make...


    ...a lot more spawners. But how many should he make? And also...should he make more of the monster bee queen spawners, or should he add in some monster bee soldier spawners? The monster bee queens could supposedly spawn monster bee soldiers on their own, but maybe it might be better to get some directly, and right away?


    Belissar had no idea.


    And then, a swirl of the Tower¡¯s heat caught his attention and he nodded. With the sun now rising in the sky, it was about time for the monster bee queen spawners to activate. He guessed he could decide after getting the neers limated.


    He definitely wasn¡¯t just pushing off the decision...

 Chapter 15: Bee the Magic?

    Chapter 15: Bee the Magic?


    ¡°One, two, three...¡±


    Belissar counted once. He counted twice. He counted thrice. He counted with his fingers. He counted with his toes. He counted with the dirt. He counted with some stones. He frowned.


    No matter how many times or by what method he counted, he came up with the same answer.


    There were three monster bee queens hovering before him. Despite there being four monster bee queen spawners. Belissar would admit he wasn¡¯t the greatest at math, but he figured those numbers should add up, like they did every other day before this.


    With no other way to resolve this conundrum, he focused on one of the monster bee queen spawners. The one that hadn¡¯t seemed to work today.


    <em>Monster Bee Queen Spawner</em>


    <em>Monsters: Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Cooldown: 0/24 hours</em>


    <em>Current Monsters Spawned: 4/4</em>¡°Oh.¡±


    It seemed this was, again, something he could¡¯ve learned ahead of time if he had known to check. Apparently, the spawners could only have so many monsters spawned at a time. And this particr spawner had reached its maximum.


    Belissar furrowed his brow as he rubbed his chin. That certainly changed things. He would need to think carefully now about which spawners to make, if the ultimate number of monsters was fixed.


    Belissar thought carefully for a couple more minutes before sighing and shrugging. In the end...he didn¡¯t really know what exactly that change meant for him, any more than he knew anything else about running a Tower. So, again, he was left with little choice but to go with his gut feeling.


    <em>Mana: 81/200</em>


    He went ahead and doubled the number of monster bee queen spawners. He figured that the monster bee queens could eventually spawn monster bee soldiers on their own, so it was probably better to focus on those. Maybe. But at the very least, he wouldn¡¯t use up all of his mana right away. If another purification countdown started and his hives didn¡¯t have any soldiers yet, he¡¯d at least have the option of spawning some directly. He also wanted to save some of his mana in general, in case more options appeared. He didn¡¯t know if these choices were permanent, after all...


    <em>Remove Monster Bee Queen Spawner? Note that mana will remain reserved while spawned monsters remain, amount reserved is proportional to the fraction of maximum monsters currently spawned.</em>


    Belissar paused again. Well, that answered that, apparently monster spawners weren¡¯t permanent after all. Belissar let out another sigh. It was good that he was learning more...but every bit he learned just made him more aware of how much he didn¡¯t know.


    At the very least, this bit of information didn¡¯t change his decisions. It boosted his confidence knowing he could adjust the spawners if he needed to, though.


    With that in mind, he walked over to the beehives, frowning again as he saw their basket shapes. He focused on one as he got closer.


    <em>Apiary Beehive</em>


    <em>upant: None</em>


    <em>Current Product: Honeb</em>


    <em>Base Production Rate: 1 honeb per 24 hours</em>


    The beehive had arge hole on the bottom, and arge hexagonal honeb got pushed out to rest on the tree trunk. Belissar blinked and picked it up. He observed it from every angle, and even sniffed it. As far as he could tell, it was honeb, purely honey storage free from any eggs orrva. Belissar tilted his head, and then nced inside the beehive hole. He heard buzzing, yet he couldn¡¯t actually see any bees inside of it.


    ¡°Ok, this is kind of weird. So, these beehives just...make honeb? Without any bees?¡±


    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Belissar shook his head. It just didn¡¯t seem right. But then again...he was standing in the outside daylight despite being indoors. He supposed a Tower of the Gods didn¡¯t have to y by the rules.


    He nced over as the new monster bee queens flew over to him. They hovered around the beehives, observing them. Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°What do you think? I¡¯m sorry they aren¡¯t the nicest but...do you want to use them?¡±


    The nearest monster bee queen danced a salute and then flew into the hive. Belissar watched as the Beehive¡¯s information changed.


    <em>Apiary Beehive</em>


    <em>upant: Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Current Product: Mana Honeb</em>


    <em>Base Production Rate: 1 honeb per 24 hours</em>


    <em>Slight boost to monster bee growth rate</em>


    Belissar tilted his head. He was a little disappointed the base production rate didn¡¯t improve, but he supposed the queen didn¡¯t have any workers yet, so maybe that would change. The slight boost to the bees¡¯ growth rate was something he knew from the Apiary¡¯s description, so not a surprise.


    What was a surprise was the current product.


    ¡°Mana...honeb?¡±


    Mana. Magical power. The fuel that granted the Tower Guard powers beyond mortal men. Belissar had heard stories of it but had never encountered it before. No one in his vige had. After all, it was a power reserved only for the Tower Guard, granted to them by their lords for the defense of humanity.


    It was also stated to be highly dangerous in the wrong hands. It was said a peasant who tried to dabble in such a power could blow apart their entire vige, or set themselves on fire, or turn themselves into a frog, or other such horrors. That was why any use of mana was to be reported to the local Tower Lord immediately.


    So, of course, Belissar had never heard of bees using it. Much less somehow putting it into honey? What would that even look like? Some kind of magical honey? Would it make him explode? Would it turn him into a bee?


    Then, Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as he had a thought.


    If the monster bee queen entering the beehive made it produce mana honeb...then didn¡¯t that mean it was the monster bees who made mana honey? Didn¡¯t their description say something about them gathering mana?


    <em>Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Description: A honey bee queen that has umted enough mana to be something more. Mostly simr 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 bees.</em>


    Oh. It did.Belissar frowned and his eyes trembled. Didn¡¯t that mean...the honey the monster bee queens had offered to him was mana honey?!


    He quickly felt his stomach, searching for anything wrong. But everything was as it should be and as far as he could tell, he hadn¡¯t turned into anything...unnatural.


    ...ignoring for a moment the part about him being a Tower Lord who didn¡¯t seem to need to eat or drink or even sleep unless he felt like it...


    He thought over the moment when he had eaten the honey and furrowed his brow. He couldn¡¯t think of anything strange, besides that sense of warmth filling him that was a lot like the warmth he felt from the Tower itself...


    He paused, his eyes going even wider.Wait...was that heat he felt...mana?!


    That would....actually make a lot of sense once Belissar thought about it. If the Tower Guards received mana from the Tower Lords...then it just made sense that the Tower itself would have mana in it, right?


    And...it would also make sense for the Tower Lord to have mana too. Belissar looked at his hands as he felt the warmth that had suffused his body since the Tower was bound to him.


    ¡°I...have mana now?¡±


    His first instinct was to report it to the local Tower Guard before remembering that he was, in fact, a Tower Lord now. He focused on the mana, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brow as he concentrated.


    A few minutester, he shrugged. Well, that was all incredible to think about...but he still didn¡¯t actually know <em>how</em> to use mana or whatever. Not to mention the potential dangers of doing so haphazardly, even if he did figure it out. Maybe the mana honey would make a shade explode if they ate it or something. But beyond that, this revtion didn¡¯t seem to change much. Mostly because Belissar didn¡¯t know how it could actually change things.


    He sighed.


    ¡°Is there, like, a guide for Tower Lords or something?¡±


    But no one responded to his words, and no strange words appeared before his eyes. He sighed again. The one time he wished there was something there...


    But it seemed he was still on his own as he dabbled in these powers he didn¡¯tprehend. He could only hope it wouldn¡¯t explode in his face...possibly literally...


    Shocking revtions about his powers and bees aside, Belissar did still have some work to do. He walked back to the Flower Meadow and to the hives on the trees by the door to the Apiary. The monster bee queens came out of their hives and flew before him, dancing in a salute pattern. Belissar nodded.


    ¡°So, we only have about nine of the beehives in the Apiary. You girls were first, so do you want to move there? You could also just move your hives to the trees there if you don¡¯t like the houses.¡±


    The monster bee queens remained still for a moment, before starting a slow refusal pattern. Belissar frowned.


    ¡°Are you sure? I know your hives are set up already but...don¡¯t you want to move further back? It could be dangerous to keep your hives here.¡±


    The monster bee queens picked up speed. Belissar frowned. They seemed quite resolute in their decision to remain here, indicating that they wished to defend the gateway. Belissar didn¡¯t want them to...but it wouldn¡¯t actually help to have more rooms if he moved all the bees to the end of the Tower. At the end of the day, they were supposed to be the Tower¡¯s defenders. Belissar would just have to hope that his newest defenses would hold next time...

 Chapter 16: A Mission Bee-queathed

    Chapter 16: A Mission Bee-queathed


    Belissar sat back against one of the trees in the Flower Meadow, taking a deep breath as breeze spread the scent of flowers through the air. He watched as bees moved from flower to flower, carrying nectar back to their hives. He watched as they flew in and out of the pit traps, coating the floors and walls in wax in case Belissar needed to light them on fire again.


    ¡°Well...now what?¡±


    He had spent as much of his mana as he was willing to at the moment. He couldn¡¯t make any more rooms at present. He had a bunch of traps already. He had eight monster bee queen spawners, and the queens were hard at work setting up their colonies. The Apiary had made some honeb, but Belissar didn¡¯t really know what to do with them.


    Well, as a beekeeper he knew plenty of things he could do with them. The honey had a lot of culinary and even medicinal uses, while beeswax could be used to make sents, salves, candles, and other products. He even heard some of the Tower Lords¡¯ wives could use it for beauty products.


    But most of those weren¡¯t useful for the defense, save for the candles. Maybe he could use the honey as bait for a trap if the shades of the Hunger found it appetizing. But the Hunger itself would consume everything, the trap included, so he wasn¡¯t sure if its shades cared about food specifically.


    Without anything better to do, he went ahead and checked the dungeon status. Maybe there was something else there he had missed.


    <em>Dungeon Status:</em>


    <em>Rooms: 2/2</em>


    <em>Floors: 1</em><em>Mana: 81/200</em>


    <em>DP: 1</em>


    <em>Avable Monster Types: Monster Bee Queen, Monster Bee Soldier</em>


    <em>Avable Room Types: Flower Meadow, Apiary</em>


    <em>Core Corruption: 36%</em>


    <em>Dungeon Master: Belissar</em>


    <em>Dungeon Conduit: Niobee</em>


    <em>Current Missions: None</em>


    Belissar blinked. There were, in fact, some changes from thest time he had checked. The core corruption had gone down by a percent, which was a relief as core corruption didn¡¯t sound like anything good. But more importantly, there was a new value that wasn¡¯t there before.


    ¡°DP? What¡¯s that?¡±


    <em>Dungeon Points: Used for various upgrades or to acquire more choices. Awarded for ongoing purification, remnant defeat, challenger activity, or at the discretion of the dungeon¡¯s patron god.</em>


    Belissar tilted his head. He, again, had more questions. Upgrades? Choices? And then remnants and challengers were mentioned once again. Not to mention...the patron god.


    Belissar frowned. He hadn¡¯t really thought about it with everything going on but...the God of Bees had chosen him and be this Tower¡¯s patron. He wondered if he should do something for her...or him? He didn¡¯t know anything about the God of Bees but her seemed more likely given what he knew of bees. Should he be worshiping somehow? Offering sacrifices? Praying?


    His little vige had their rituals and whatnot, but they were too small for a priest or anything. The worship of the gods was centralized around the Towers, so a vige on the far frontier like his own was thest one on the minds of the faithful. Besides, it was not the ce of the unwashed masses toe before the gods. That was the role of the chosen Tower Lords and the devoted priests, to act as the bridge between the gods above and themon folk below. So, the only thing Belissar¡¯s vige was ever told about the gods was that the Tower Lords required extra tribute from them, so they could make the appropriate offerings.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Except...now Belissar was one of those Tower Lords...and he had no idea what to do. He wished he did. Beyond just the general avoidance of smiting, the God of Bees had chosen him. She believed in him enough to forgive his defilement of a Tower and had granted him her blessing. Belissar thought he should thank her somehow, at the very least.


    Just then, he heard a sound directly in his head. A chime, like the sound of a bell.


    <em>New mission received: Pray at a Shrine of Bees</em>


    Belissar blinked at the words in front of his eyes...and then began to tremble. That...that mission had to be from the God of Bees, right? Did she hear him? Was she listening to his thoughts? Was she listening to him right now?!


    But in any case, she had given him a task, apparently, one that seemed to answer his question. So, he stood up, and made his way to one of the statues that had appeared when he received the Blessing of Bees. He figured that had to be what ¡°Shrine of Bees¡± referred to.


    He then paused and made his way to the Apiary. He gathered up a bunch of the honeb produced by the beehives. He didn¡¯t really know how to pray to a god or anything, but he figured he at least shouldn¡¯t show up empty handed, since the Tower Lords mentioned offering tribute and all. He didn¡¯t know if the honeb produced by the Apiary would be to her liking, but it was the best thing he had at present. He then walked to the Shrine of Bees in the Apiary and ced the honeb in the chest before the statue. He then knelt down on his knees and bowed his head.


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t really know how this is supposed to go but, um, God of Bees, if you can hear me? Um, thank you for your Blessing, and not smiting me for defiling one of your Towers. I¡¯m, uh, not really sure what I¡¯m doing here but I¡¯ll,try my best?¡±


    Belissar winced with each word he spoke. Even he could tell that was no prayer anyone would approve of.


    But the sphere held by the statue started to glow softly, bathing Belissar in warm light. The chest began to shine bright for a moment, shed once, and then fell dark. Belissar slowly reached for it and opened the lid.


    He blinked. The honeb had all disappeared. Lying in the chest in their ce was...an axe and a saw?


    <em>Mission: Pray at the Shrine of Beespleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: One Woodcutting Axe, One Woodcutting Saw</em>


    <em>New mission received: Build a beehouse</em>


    Belissar lifted the axe up out of the chest with both of his hands. He looked at the words before his eyes, then down at the axe, then up at the Shrine of Bees. He nced back and forth several more times.


    ¡°You want me, to build a beehouse? You mean like...the ones I used to?¡±


    The shrine glowed a bit brighter. Belissar blinked a few more times. That...was not the mission he expected to receive. His first purification had failed because he had spent his time trying to make beehouses instead of doing Tower Lord things. Shouldn¡¯t he continue doing Tower Lord things now? Worshiping the gods, purifying thends, defeating the Hunger, mustering the troops?


    But the Shrine continued glowing, the axe remained in his hand, and the mission stayed unchanged in the dungeon status. Belissar looked up at the statue above him and then nodded.


    ¡°Um, ok. I¡¯ll, uh, do my best?¡±


    The Shrine grew bright once more in a sh of light, and then fell dim. Belissar took a deep breath and then rose to his feet, picking up the axe and the saw. Well, at least this was something he knew how to do, if not why he was doing it. Besides, if this is what the God of Bees said she wanted, then who was he to question her? So, he grabbed his tools and got to work. He found a tree none of the bees were using and began to chop away at it.


    While Belissar began working to acquire some wood, the bees spread across the Flower Meadow. With over a dozen colonies at this point, the field was getting rather crowded, and so the workers spread out further and further. Eventually, they began to reach the edges of the field in all directions and reached the two doors on either side. Those that reached the Apiary door went no further, for such was the territory of the next generation and so not a good direction to expand their efforts.


    But the ones who reached the gateway leading outside the Tower had no such qualms. A group of scouts gathered in the air before the gates...and the gates began to open on their own, leading to the outside world. The scouts flew outside...and found a world of plenty. Green grass now covered the ground, shoots of various nts continued to grow, and even some flowers had started to bloom. Flowers of colors and shapes the bees had never seen before, far different from the dandelion field that was all they had ever known. The workers began to fly around excitedly andnd on each of the flowers in turn, sampling the nectar and its suitability for honey-making. Some flew back to report their findings, while others spread out even further, exploring thend the Tower had purified and reimed from the Hunger...

 Chapter 17: A Bee-nificial Find

    Chapter 17: A Bee-nificial Find


    Belissar grunted as he hauled branches and logs back towards the farmhouse. Fortunately, this was something he had done before. Everyone in his vige was capable of some basic logging and woodwork, as no one had such abundance that they could hire a specialist at any given time. This went doubly so for Belissar and the old beekeeper, neither of whom had extensive family assets or extensive families who coulde and help.


    Unfortunately, Belissar found that whatever Tower magic, and magic it was now that he realized it was mana flowing through his body, kept him free of food and drink did not extend to muscle fatigue from extensive exertion. He could very much feel the burn all across his body as he plopped anotherrge piece of wood onto the pile he had gathered. The pile that still needed to be dried and processed into usable shapes before he could even begin to work on one of his old beehouses.


    This may have been a task he was used to...but that didn¡¯t mean easy.


    The gates of the Tower opened up into the world beyond once again, and a swarm of bees flew out in a buzzing cloud. The scouts had reported back on their findings, and the queens now sent out a full wave of harvesters to gather from the flowers outside. The scouts themselves continued onward, searching for even more locations to gather from as the harvesters availed themselves of the first finds. The scouts flew beyond the immediate area around the Tower, into a more heavily forested area. The flowers were more difficult to find here with the trees and brush barring the way, but still the scouts found much to report. Some of the trees and bushes had flowers of their own, as well.


    But a few of the scouts did not settle for these finds, pushing far into the forest instead. They had detected something, their antenna twitching as they caught faint wisps of a scent on the wind. As small lights seem to flicker just beyond the sight of their eyes. As something resonated with the mana flowing within them. It was almost as if something called to them.


    Eventually, a handful of the scouts came across something. Something beyond the simple nts and trees that had regrown in the light of the Tower. Something far older, something that had existed in ages past, before the Hunger had ever swallowed this ce.


    Ancient stone ruins rose above the brush, covered in moss and vines. Stone arches and pirs crumbled, the walls and roofs they supported long gone. Ancient markings faded on the stone, wind and rain leveling out the grooves carved into the surfaces. Small flickers of light were all that remained of ancient enchantments, the barest hints of mana that had once powered wonders.


    And yet...something still lingered in this ce. The air held still, the leaves fell around the structure, the rot and decay seemed to hesitate. It was as if this ce was pushing against time, as if something remained that wanted to preserve what memories still endured.


    And the bees...ignored it entirely and flew instead to the flowers growing on the outskirts of the ruins. They began to buzz and dance about as they sampled the nectar, and then flew back towards the Tower at maximum speed. Belissar ended up taking a rest in the farmhouse once again afterying out some sawed nks to dry. He chewed some honeb from the Apiary beehouses and then turned in for the night. He slept better than he had ever since his vige burned down.


    He stretched his arms as he awoke. He smiled as he moved about and found no pain in any part of his body. The magic of the Tower may not have prevented exhaustion, but it sure did an excellent job of repairing it.


    He stretched one more time and then prepared to resume his work for the day when Niobee came buzzing into the door. She flew about at maximum speed.


    ¡°King,e quick!¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred tform. Support original creators!


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Niobee? What¡¯s the matter? Did something happen?!¡±


    Niobee just kept telling him toe and then zoomed out the door. Belissar grabbed the woodcutting axe and then hurried after her. He ran out through the Apiary and into the Flower Meadow. Niobee led him onward, until they arrived at the gate of the Tower itself. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as he saw that the gate was open, and yet he didn¡¯t see any of the Hunger trying to force its way inside.


    ¡°Come quick!¡±


    Belissar gasped as Niobee zoomed out the gate. He noticed dozens of other bees flying in and out as well. His eyes widened for a second, then he gulped and followed after them.


    He blinked as the sun shone down on his face. The <em>real</em> sun.


    Before him was a small clearing in the middle of a forest, covered in grass with flowers adding asional specks of color. Bees flew everywhere in the field,nding on each of the flowers in turn. Belissar stood still, taking in the scene for a moment.


    ¡°What...is this?¡±


    He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Previously, he had seen nothing but the Hunger behind the gate. He knew the Tower had pushed it back but...the scene before him was more than that. He had expected barren rock, maybe some dirt and lichens at most. But instead, thend was filled with life and color, with his bees happily buzzing and gathering the bounty of nature. It was like the Hunger had never been there.


    Belissar slowly turned around. He walked to the edge of the gateway and ced a hand on the walls of the Tower. <em>His</em> Tower.


    ¡°Tower of the Gods indeed...¡±


    For what else could this be but a miracle? The Tower of the Gods had not only pushed back the Hunger, but it had also reimed the world from it. It had restored what had been lost and healed what had been twisted.


    And it had been his work, his victory over the shade that had made this possible.


    So long did Belissar stand staring at the scene that Niobee flew back and buzzed in front of his face.


    ¡°King,e quick!¡±


    Belissar shook himself out of his daze and followed after Niobee once more. He narrowed his eyes as he followed.


    ¡°Can you tell me what¡¯s going on now?¡±


    ¡°Scouts find something! Something important!¡±


    Belissar nodded and followed after her, before promptly tripping over a lifted root and falling into a bush.


    ¡°Ouch...¡±


    ¡°King! King ok?!¡±


    Belissar slowed down a bit, carefully making his way through the forest after that. He even had to hack his way through some particrly thick bushes when he couldn¡¯t find a path forward. Eventually, he rounded a final tree and found what the bees wanted him to see.


    HIs eyes widened as he saw the ruins. The ancient stone still standing tall even as it crumbled. The faint buzzing and heat from the mana remaining in long faded enchantments. He could still make out nearly faded markings, messages of an ancient script he couldn¡¯t decipher. He saw a once towering statue, now but a crumbling torso as its head and arms had long since broken apart.


    He stepped forward.


    ¡°What...is this ce?¡±


    And then Niobee buzzed before him.


    ¡°King! This way!¡±


    Belissar blinked and turned his head as Niobee flew...off to the side. He nced at her, then back to the ruins, shaking his head back and forth between them.


    ¡°Are....you sure? Not these?¡±


    ¡°This way!¡±


    She seemed very insistent, so Belissar shrugged and turned to follow her.


    ¡°Here! Look!¡±


    Belissar followed until he arrived at a small bunch of flowers, with several of his bees hovering around them. At first, he tilted his head. They were pretty, pale blue flowers, but they seemed little different from any of the others in the field around him. He was about to question the bees when he saw it.


    A faint shimmer of light passed through the petals. Belissar nearly thought it was simply the sunlight passing through the canopy above...except that he felt a slight warmth. He crouched down and reached for one of the flowers, gently holding one of its pedals in his fingers. His eyes widened. He could feel a slight warmth from the flowers. A warmth he now recognized. He knew immediately what it was. And he knew immediately why the bees were drawn to it.


    These flowers contained mana. He already knew that a bee colony¡¯s honey could vary slightly based on what flowers they gathered nectar from. Likewise, his bees were monster bees who could produce mana honey. So...what would happen if they gathered nectar from a flower filled with mana?


    ...well, Belissar had no idea. But...his intuition told him it was something he wanted to find out. The bees also seemed very excited about this.


    ¡°Good flowers! Queens think we should bring home but workers couldn¡¯t lift. King can?¡±


    Belissar nodded. In fact, they were so excited that they hade to find him and ask for his help.


    ¡°Good idea.¡±


    He crouched down and began to dig into the dirt with his hands, careful not to tear up any of the roots he encountered. Soon, he lifted a handful of dirt held together by the roots of the flower, carrying the whole nt with it. He gave onest nce at the ruins before he set off back towards his Tower.


    Whatever was there could wait. His bees had made a request of him, and he would deliver. He was...a bit excited to see what would result...

 Chapter 18: Curiosi-bee

    Chapter 18: Curiosi-bee


    Belissar brought the flower back to the Tower. He originally nned to carry it to the far corner of the Flower Meadow, but a message popped before his eyes the moment he stepped inside.


    <em>Absorb Mana Flower? Current samples: 0/5</em>


    Belissar stared at the message for a bit. He had a feeling that this was yet another important Tower Lord thing that he didn¡¯t know about. He had no idea what would happen if he absorbed the flower...but he felt the Tower wouldn¡¯t have prompted him if it wasn¡¯t something important.


    He thought for a minute, and then put the flower to the side. He then stepped outside the gate and crouched down in the grass, picking some of the other flowers in the area until he had five of the same one. He brought them back inside...and again, a message appeared before him.


    <em>Absorb Lily? Current samples: 0/3</em>


    It turned out the sample number wasn¡¯t consistent. Belissar shrugged and confirmed. Three of the lilies in his hands were covered in glowing light, and then vanished.


    <em>Lily absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Lily now avable.</em>


    <em>Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.</em>Belissar then crouched down and focused on the dandelions in the Flower Meadow once more. He had a hunch as to what had just urred...


    <em>Manage flower types? Avable types:</em>


    <em>- Dandelion (*Selected, Mana upkeep: 0)</em>


    <em>- Lily (Mana upkeep: 0)</em>


    He smiled slightly. It seemed his hunch was correct. He went ahead and selected lilies...


    <em>Flower types:</em>


    <em>- Dandelion (*Selected, Mana upkeep: 0)</em>


    <em>- Lily (*Selected, Mana upkeep: 0)</em>


    Belissar watched as new shoots began to pop out of his flower field. White lilies began to grow among the dandelions, adding a new shade of color that spread across the Flower Meadow. The bees gathering nectar all paused, and then many of their number began to fly to the new flowers. Belissar nodded in satisfaction. It was nice to have correctly guessed what the Tower was trying to do. He then focused on the Apiary. There weren¡¯t as many flowers there, but there was a small field he was able to manage as well along with flowers growing around the beehouses, so he went ahead and added lilies there too.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m getting the hang of this.¡±


    ¡°King is best king!¡±


    He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as Niobee danced before him. Then he stepped outside the Tower, walking back towards the forest. Now that he had confirmed what was going on, he <em>definitely</em> wanted these mana flowers...


    A short whileter, Belissar returned, several more mana flowers in his arms.


    <em>Mana Flower absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Mana Flower now avable.</em>


    <em>Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.</em>


    He again focused on the Flower Field...


    <em>Manage flower types? Avable types:</em>


    <em>- Dandelion (*Selected, Mana upkeep: 0)</em>


    <em>- Lily (*Selected, Mana upkeep: 0)</em>


    <em>- Mana Flower (Mana upkeep: 3)</em>


    He paused and frowned. The mana flowers were apparently a bit different from the normal ones and were going to cost him. Three was a lot when the entire Flower Meadow only cost him five previously. He crossed his arms and hummed.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    He...honestly didn¡¯t have enough information to make a decision. Mana-filled nts were legends and stories to a former peasant like him, so he had no idea what this flower was or how valuable it would be. But...he nced at his bees. They were extremely excited about this flower, enough to report it to him immediately. And to Belissar...that was reason enough. He didn¡¯t want to be wasteful...but the bees were the ones who were going to work and fight and die for this Tower. They deserved whatever consideration he could give them.


    And if it turned out the mana flowers had other uses...then all the better. He went ahead and selected it.


    This time, the changes were more subtle. The field itself didn¡¯t change in color. Belissar frowned at first, but the words confirmed he had selected the mana flowers. And then...he felt it. A light current of what he now knew was mana, flowing through the field unlike before. He followed the current and eventually, he found a spot of blue in the field of yellow, green, and white. A subtle thing, easy to miss. A lone mana flower growing amidst the dandelions and lilies.


    Walking around the field, he found a few more. He did wonder if such a small and sparse number of flowers was worth the mana upkeep. But...all the bees nearby stopped what they were doing and began to congregate around the flowers, wherever they grew. One of the queens herself flew over and froze midair at the sight. She turned to him, and simply hovered in the air, watching him. Belissar motioned to the flower.


    ¡°Go ahead, I made them for you girls, after all.¡±


    The queen dipped in her flight, and began a dance of gratitude...and respect? Or something more...


    And then the bees swarmed the flower, quickly forming a long line of workers to gather as much nectar from it as possible.


    Belissar nodded and his face rxed. If his bees liked them that much, then he considered it a worthwhile expense.


    With that, he moved on to his next task...


    Belissar made his way through the forest once again,ing before the ruins. He couldn¡¯t help himself, he was curious about them.


    ¡°King, what doing?¡±


    Niobee buzzed around him, along with several of the other bees who had followed him when he left the tower. Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m...not sure. But I wanted to check this ce out. It looks like people lived here, other humans like me.¡±


    ¡°Ok! We help!¡±


    Belissar smiled as the bees spread out and began to fly around the Tower. Even when neither he nor they knew what he was doing, they never hesitated to help out. They really were the best.


    But Belissar wasn¡¯t about to let them do all the work, so he got to exploring as well. He stepped forward to the stone and traced his hand upon some engraved words. But he still couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of them, so he moved on.


    The ruins were arranged in a small circle that rose into the air. The stones that remained reached about two stories, but Belissar thought they might have gone higher. He couldn¡¯t say for sure, as everything above that point was long gone.


    As he walked through, he could feel small spots of warmth. Small bits of mana still imbued the stone, and asionally he could feel it move about slowly. He rubbed his chin.


    ¡°How did this stuff survive the Hunger? I thought it consumed everything...¡±


    At first, he thought the Tower of the Gods had simply grown everything back from scratch...but then why would there be ruins? Why wouldn¡¯t the Tower just rebuild a brand new structure if that was the case? Or did the gods want to restore things exactly as they were when the Hunger arrived? Were these ruins already like this before the Hunger got there?


    But well, Belissar didn¡¯t have even the beginnings of the knowledge required to answer those questions, so he shook his head and kept exploring.


    The ruins were mostly empty. Little remained besides the stone itself, either time, nature, or the Hunger having imed everything else. There was a stone path leading out from the far side of the structure, but the structure was close to the edge of the safe zone around the Tower, so right now the path just led to the Hunger. So Belissar found himself back towards the entrance, where the broken statue was. He then noticed something lying behind the statue. A rectangr stone, a bit on the t side. He thought it was just another piece of debris at first but on closer inspection its shape was too neat, too regr. And most of all...there was a faint hint of mana inside of it.


    He picked it up and dusted it off, flipping it over.


    It turned out it was some sort of thick stone tablet, engraved with the same letters on it as were carved into the ruins themselves. There was also a carving, showing some sort of soldier and a crest he didn¡¯t recognize.


    Belissar nced at it for a couple of minutes before he shrugged. It didn¡¯t mean anything more to him than any of the other carvings had. And even though he felt hints of mana inside, they didn¡¯t seem to do anything. He may have been able to feel mana now, but he didn¡¯t know how to actually do anything with it...and wasn¡¯t willing to risk spontaneousbustion figuring it out with trial and error.


    He picked up the tablet. He figured if nothing else, maybe the Tower would try to absorb it if it was anything useful. He nodded at Niobee as she flew over to rejoin him.


    ¡°Find anything?¡±


    ¡°Sorry...couldn¡¯t...¡±


    Belissar smiled and held his hand out for her tond on.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be. I was just curious about this ce. Besides, you girls were the ones who found it, and the mana flowers too.¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond but her wings buzzed a bit. The rest of the bees began to rejoin them, and Belissar nodded at them all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    Belissar took the tablet back to the Tower, but nothing happened when he passed through the gateway. He shrugged, and carried it over to the Apiary, cing it inside the farmhouse. It was an easier walk than trekking back through the forest would be. After that, he stepped outside and gathered a bunch of the flowers surrounding the Tower, absorbing them and applying them to the Flower Meadow and the Apiary.


    He smiled as he looked over the now colorful field filled with bees. He felt that, honestly, this sight was much better than some dusty old ruins would ever be.

 Side Story 18.1 - The Firstborn

    Side Story 18.1 - The Firstborn


    Back in one of the hives in the Flower Meadow, a monster bee queen watched as her workers processed the new honey. She was the Firstborn of the Second Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line. The first guardian of the gate to the Beyond. Her children finished their work, leaving a cell full of glistening honey. Honey that asionally shimmered with a subtle glow, a golden light lost in the yellow colors of the wax and the bees all around it.


    The queen felt the warmth of mana stir within the cell, resonating with the mana inside of her. She felt a heat grow within her torso.


    It was time.


    She and her siblings from her spawner were the only ones to bear the title of the Second Dynasty. But every bee of the dungeon knew the reason why. Back when she was born, she thought she was the first of the King¡¯s defenders...but she was quickly dissuaded of that notion. She felt the bond with her King moments after her birth. Her King was a being beyond mere bees, with depths of emotion and existence she couldn¡¯t yet fullyprehend. She was nearly overwhelmed by the sensations of that moment. But there were two things she could understand.


    Loss. And a desire to protect.


    The Conduit hadter exined to them what had happened. An entire dynasty of queens had lived before them. They spread across the King¡¯s fields and formed their civilization upon his generosity. They grew their colonies in grand constructions formed by the King¡¯s own hands. They were the first to offer their tribute to the King.


    And then, the invader came.


    And the armies of the First Dynasty rose to meet it, led by the Conduit herself.


    But...they failed.The armies of the First Dynasty had fallen in droves. They gave their lives in the multitudes as was their duty, but it was not enough. The invader had torn through them all the same, andid waste to their civilization. The mighty structures the King had forged, the pirs upon which the hives were built were crushed in the jaws of the enemy. The queens themselves had fallen, leading thest of their armies in a final, desperate stand.


    It was not enough.


    Only the King and the Conduit had survived, and the Conduit only by her bond to the dungeon and the King. And in the aftermath, the King had changed. No longer did he build the hives by his own hand. No longer did he use his wisdom for prosperity and shelter. No longer did he leave the defense to the queens.


    The bees had proven too weak to do as he required, and so the King himself was forced to intervene.


    At first, the Firstborn of the Second Dynasty had been pleased to serve as her King hadmanded. She devoted her workers to the tasks hemanded, though she understood not the meaning behind them. She sent her workers to aid her siblings and those of the other spawners, gifting resources to what would have been rival hives under any other circumstances. She had her workers carry the stems of the flowers instead of the nectar. She had constructed a hive that was not a hive, leaving empty cells deep within the ground. She had not understood these things, but she saw the intensity and the drive of her King as he worked. She heard from the Conduit that he had devised a grand n, and she was honored to have been a part of it, even as she drilled her hive with the lessons of the first battle.


    And then, the day arrived. The invader returned, and the Second Dynasty would be put to the test. Or so the Firstborn thought.


    The King¡¯s wisdom was revealed. The invader was lured into a trap. The empty hive the Second Dynasty had built was set aze, and the invader joined the ashes. The battle was won without the loss of a single hive, and only token casualties amongst the assembled armies.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    And the Firstborn¡¯s heart <em>burned.</em>


    The King himself had stood before the invader, cing his own life before its jaws. He had not permitted them to fight. Nay, he had <em>forbade</em> them from doing so. The Firstborn did not lead her army into battle, only permitted to contribute a token diversion from her scouts.


    As the invader burned within the mes, the Firstborn realized the truth. The Second Dynasty was no better than the First. They, too, had failed.


    The King did not trust them to fight the invader. He could not. The Conduit spoke of the sheer casualties the First Dynasty had experienced, all in vain. The Firstborn herself had felt the deep pain of the King at those losses. He resolved to avoid the needless death and destruction of the First Invasion. He turned his hand to war; his wisdom, his ns, and his grand constructions were devoted to the delivery of death.


    All because they were too weak to defend their King and his realm. No, they could not even defend themselves. Their King risked himself to protect <em>them</em>. He who should have been thest to face danger.


    The Firstborn would not let it stand. Her entire hive redoubled its efforts. All of her children devoted themselves to their work even more than before. Her scouts flew into the Beyond, past the sight and protection of their King in search of newnds and resources.


    She thought they had found a shining treasure, a worthy tribute to offer to the King. But once again, he had demonstrated his power and his charity. He did not take the sweetest of flowers for his own but spread them across hisnds. And he offered them to her, freely.


    His generosity knew no bounds, but she could not help but feel disappointed. Once again, she had failed to be of use to her King, who continued to sacrifice for the sake of those who should protect him.


    But now...that was about to change.


    She dunked her head into the cell before her and drank deeply. The warmth of mana filled her body and set it aze. For the first time since her birth, she had more mana than could be spent on theying of her brood. Monster bees required mana to birth and even more mana to grow; the small amounts of mana they received from mundane honey and their own bodies were barely enough to sustain the colony¡¯s growth. But now, thanks to the King¡¯s generosity, they had more than enough. That mana began to fill her body, and push against her chitin. She buzzed as she began to glow with light.


    A few minutester the light died down and a new queen stepped forward, several times the size she was before. She drank more of the mana honey to fill her reserves, and then strode over to a new section of the hive. One with cells farrger than before.


    The King had not rejected them entirely. The Firstborn had felt as his power stirred within them, changing them. She saw visions of mighty warriors, giants bred for battle who stood tall and strong among all of bee-kind. Soldiers withnces long and sharp, d in armor so thick even the deadly ho could not pierce it.


    Warriors of the kind who could face muchrger enemies directly. Who could defeat the invader without sacrificing their entire civilization in the process. Who would not require the protection of the very King they were born to defend.


    She knew then that her King still believed in them. That he had seen beyond their present weakness. She understood now his generosity, for it would take far more mana to birth these children than the Firstborn had ever possessed. With the mundane flowers, she would have had to cut an entire generation of workers to store up the power for even one of these giants. Even her hive, the most developed and numerous of all, could not ept such an interruption in its present state. It would have taken a long time before she was established enough to do so.


    But now that her King had granted them ess to nectar overflowing with mana, she had power in abundance. She herself had advanced to a new stage and grown beyond the limits of her mundane ancestors. Her body produced ten times as much mana as before and she would scarcely require external nutrients to expand the ranks of her children. She couldy dozens of worker eggs at a time and still devote all of the honey they produced to grow and sustain them.


    And most importantly, a giant egg packed with mana would be no great burden to her now.


    She came to arge cell even as the workers lined the sides with mana honey. And then she began toy her army. The first true army amongst any dynasty of her King¡¯s dungeon. And with them, her hive would prove its might to the King. They would take up their role as the dungeon¡¯s defenders. They would defend the King and all that belonged to him. They would be weak and helpless no longer.

 Chapter 19: Gotta Bee Diligent!

    Chapter 19: Gotta Bee Diligent!


    After gathering the flowers, Belissar returned to his woodworking. He did think about searching the forest for more flowers, or maybe trying to absorb other nts like bushes and trees, but ultimately decided to prioritize the beehouse construction. He figured the bees would let him know if they found a flower they really liked and moving bushes, much less trees, into the Tower seemed...difficult. Besides, this was a mission tasked to him by the God of Bees herself, so he figured he should focus on it if there were no other pressing matters.


    He had cut some nks and set them out to dry. Now, all he had to do was wait six months to a year.


    Belissar paused, and then sighed. At home they had stocks of wood to work with, but since he was starting from scratch there wasn¡¯t much he could do but wait if he wanted quality wood to work with. Well, in his vige people couldn¡¯t always wait for the best of things, so he also knew how to build with freshly cut wood, so he didn¡¯t <em>have</em> to wait for fully dried nks. But...this was a mission from a god! How could he ept any cut corners?!


    Well...he was already going to cut some corners, since all he had was an axe, a saw, and his knife. He didn¡¯t have all the tools a true woodworker might use at the moment, after all, so some of the details and finish might be a bit rough by necessity. And, well, the God of Bees had epted his mess of a prayer for the ¡°Pray at the Shrine¡± mission. In fact...he could argue the God of Bees had epted cut corners by blessing some peasant beekeeper instead of a chosen Tower Lord.


    Belissar thought for a moment before he stood up and went to grab his axe and saw. Yeah, he had no idea what quality of a job was eptable for this mission...but there was no sense sitting around for six months doing nothing. He figured he¡¯d make one now with green wood, and if it wasn¡¯t eptable then he¡¯d wait for fully dried nks. Worst came to worst, he¡¯d have an extra beehouse, which might be a bit rough around the edges but would still be a roof over his bees¡¯ heads.


    Belissar then tilted his head as he wondered if it would rain in his Tower. There was a sky with a sun, there was also night and day, so maybe? And what about seasons, was wintering?


    <em>Flower Meadow Upgrades</em>


    <em>- Randomized Weather (Cost: 100 DP)</em>


    <em>- Weather Control (Cost: 1000 DP)</em><em>- Seasonal Cycle (Cost: 500 DP)</em>


    Belissar nodded. Of course, there were upgrades for those he didn¡¯t know about. At this point, it just made sense. Well, at least he knew something he could use the DP on now.


    <em>DP: 2</em>


    He pursed his lip. Yes. The DP he was currently getting at a rate of one per day. Well, he could randomize the weather before the nks finished drying, at least? And it¡¯d only take over a year and a half to get seasons! Less than three years if he wanted to control the weather, apparently!


    He decided he was fine with things as they were. Who wouldn¡¯t want a nice and sunny Flower Meadow with a pleasant breeze? Why would he want a winter anyways? His bees would have to go and hibernate...maybe, if monster bees still had to do that.


    ...in any case, Belissar decided he would save the DP for something else. After all, who knew what else he might need it for?


    <em>DP Shop</em>


    <em>- Extra Room Feature Choice (Cost: 1000 DP)</em>


    <em>- Extra Monster Choice (Cost: 3000 DP)</em>


    <em>- Extra Room Choice (Cost: 3000 DP)</em>


    <em>- Extra Perk Choice (Cost: 10000 DP)</em>


    This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    <em>- Additional Room Slot (Cost: 5000 DP)</em>


    <em>- Boost Maximum Mana (Cost: 5000 DP)</em>


    ...now Belissar did, apparently. And apparently 100 DP was really cheap? He had a feeling the one DP per day may not be what other Tower Lords relied on. But well, he¡¯d worry about that when he figured out how to actually get any more. Ongoing purification...didn¡¯t sound like something he was ready for if it was anything like the initial purification. Remnants and challengers were still terms he didn¡¯t know about. And at the discretion of his patron...meant that he should keep focusing on the mission assigned to him by the God of Bees.


    <em>Remnant: A portion of corruption condensed into corporeal form. Allows challengers to assist in ongoing purification.</em>


    <em>Challenger: A being independent from the dungeon with enough intelligence to acknowledge the patron god.</em>


    ...and now Belissar technically knew what those terms meant. Not that the descriptions made him any less confused. Condensed corruption so that challengers could assist with purification? Um, ok? And beings with enough intelligence to acknowledge the patron god...did that mean people? Then why didn¡¯t it just say that? Maybe that¡¯s supposed to be the Tower Guard specifically? After all, peasants weren¡¯t supposed to be capable of entering a Tower without defiling it so there should be some sort of distinguishing feature...right?


    And then there was Belissar, who had not only entered a Tower but takenmand of it without being smote by the gods. He...wasn¡¯t sure if his Tower was defiled or not but it seemed to still work fine as far as he could tell. If a god was blessing it than surely it should be fine?


    In any case, the information still didn¡¯t really answer Belissar¡¯s original question of how to get more DP, so he put it aside as he originally intended and moved on to his task. He left the Tower and headed towards the tree line, figuring that he may as well take some wood from outside so that his bees could use all his trees for their hives. And who knows, maybe the Tower would absorb the tree?


    So, he went to work and began chopping at the tree...


    <em>Absorb Pinecone? Samples: 0/100</em>


    It turned out the Tower didn¡¯t absorb the wood itself, but could absorb the pinecones from the tree he cut. Maybe because he only brought part of the tree instead of the whole thing? Well, it was nice to know he could just carry pinecones instead. Even uprooting an entire tree intact was beyond Belissar, much less carrying it on his own.


    It would, however, take a lot of samples to produce any results. Belissar decided he¡¯d absorb them here and there but wouldn¡¯t go out of his way for the moment. The Flower Field and Apiary couldn¡¯t have that many trees to begin with, so switching up the tree types wasn¡¯t all that impactful. Maybe if the bees found one with flowers they liked he¡¯d work at it a bit more diligently.


    Belissar instead busied himself by carrying pieces of wood across the Flower Field and to the Apiary, almost dumping them on the ground as he arrived by the farmhouse. He rubbed his aching arms as he looked at the pile of wood on the ground...and thought about therger pile of wood still out in the forest. He grimaced.


    For a brief moment, he wondered what might have been if he had chosen a human-sized defending monster. But he quickly banished those thoughts. He was doing this for the bees, and they deserved his best. He certainly wouldn¡¯t fault them for being unable to help with his current task.


    So, he told himself as he dragged his feet back out towards the Flower Meadow and the exit to the Tower.


    It took a couple more trips to get all the wood inside, after which Belissar stumbled into the farmhouse and copsed on the bed, trying to ignore his burning muscles...


    Belissar woke up the next morning and stretched his arms. He smiled as once again, he had made a full recovery. Sometimes, this Tower business wasn¡¯t half bad. He had a quick breakfast of honeb before stepping outside.


    He blinked at the sight before him.


    One of the monster bee queens hovered in the air before him...only she had somehow grown <em>significantly</em>rger, now the size of a hand and a half. And hovering in the air behind her was half a dozen monster bee soldiers, hand-sized bees with solid-looking chitin and stingers like small daggers. Once Belissar stepped outside, the queen made a motion, and then the soldier bees performed a salute dance, all moving in sync. The queen bee joined them in the motion, and then they all hovered motionless before Belissar.


    ¡°King!¡±


    Niobee flew over and greeted him as well.


    ¡°Niobee, this is...the soldier bees?¡±


    The little bee flew around happily.


    ¡°Yes! Hive now has soldiers! Will fight for King next time!¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow at that but looked over the monster bee soldiers. He imagined the shade from the Hunger attacking again...only this time, it wasn¡¯t tiny bees flying to their deaths. This time, he imagined the bees before him, theirrge stingers plunging into the shade¡¯s side. He imagined a swarm of bees like that meeting the monster as it arrived.


    The shade was still terrifying to Belissar, and he couldn¡¯t help but think of the fallen hives when he thought of it. But with the bees before him now...it didn¡¯t seem so unthinkable that they could face such a monster directly.


    He smiled.


    ¡°Well done. I think we¡¯ll be much better prepared if we have to fight again.¡±


    The queen bee buzzed and made another salute, the soldier bees following suit.

 Chapter 20: Belissars Beehouse

    Chapter 20: Belissar''s Beehouse


    Belissar sawed away as best he could at the piece of wood before him. He was working on one of the beehouse walls at the moment, trying to cut some grooves he could slot the trays into. He looked at it and sighed.


    It...was not his finest work, a rough cut that looked more like some creature had taken a bite out of the wood than a detailed woodworker. But that was the limit of his current tools and material. Since he was working with wet wood, he would have to leave room for the wood to bend or shrink or any number of other such things he couldn¡¯t necessarily predict. He just wasn¡¯t going to get it to fit perfectly together. He was just hoping he could get it to fit together, period.


    He sighed and put it aside and began working on the next wall. He wanted to make sure all this would actually work before he went and cut a bunch of the grooves. A whileter he had a basic three-sided box that fit together...sort of. There were holes and gaps and what not, but at the very least it stood up without copsing. Belissar then went and cut out a floor piece, seeing if he could get it to fit in. It did...sort of. Again, there were gaps on the edges Belissar would have preferred to do without, so he tried to cut some pieces to line the edges.


    Next, he began to cut some thinner long pieces for the frames. Getting the grooves and shapes so the frame parts would fit together was...challenging, but eventually Belissar got one assembled. He ced it down into the box...and it managed to fit into the grooves he had carved in the wall. He heaved a sigh of relief.


    With the proof of concept confirmed, he could begin to assemble the rest of it...


    It took most of the day, but eventually Belissar finished. He took a step back and beheld the work of his hands.


    ...it was a rickety thing, leaning to one side where he misjudged the length of one of the legs, and with gaps all over the ce. But it was aplete box, with some frames to guide the bees that could be pulled out...with a lot of effort and grunting. Belissar sighed.


    And then he heard a chime.


    <em>Mission: Build a beehousepleted!</em><em>Reward: 225 DP</em>


    He blinked and looked over the beehouse again. The God of Bees...approved of this work? Belissar frowned, but then he nced over at the existing beehives and his face rxed.


    Maybe the point wasn¡¯t to get the best that Belissar could produce, but just to get something that would work without having to destroy an entire bee colony with each harvest. He...could understand why the God of Bees would prefer even the rough construction he had made.


    But in the end, it was neither his nor the God of Bees'' opinion that would truly determine if the hive was sufficient.


    ¡°Well, ok then. What do you think?¡±


    He nced over at some of the bees circling around him. He caught sight of Niobee...and the queen from the nearest basket hive. Both of the bees began buzzing and flying around the house at maximum speed.


    ¡°Great! Amazing! King is best king!¡±


    Belissar chuckled at that and then nodded.


    ¡°As long as you girls like it.¡±


    He then moved to pick up the hive...grunting at the weight of the wood. The rough construction meant he made things a bit thicker than normal...and he was paying for that now. But eventually, he moved it over to the closest basket hive, intending to make it as easy as possible for the queen to transfer over.


    But it was then that the beehive and the basket hive began to glow.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    <em>Compatible design confirmed. Upgrade Apiary Beehive to Belissar¡¯s Beehouse? Cost: 25 DP</em>


    ¡°Oh, sure? That would be helpful.¡±


    Light covered the two hives and shed, and then the basket hive vanished. Belissar¡¯s beehouse moved in its ce, sitting on top of the tree trunk now. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened, and he rushed over to it.


    Recing the basket hive was all well and good...but that queen had been working hard in the basket hive. The veryst thing Belissar wanted was for her to lose her brood growing inside. So, he quickly removed the lid of the beehouse and began pulling out the frames. He then exhaled his breath.


    Honeb now filled the frames...and Belissar could see little eggs andrva in some of them. The queen herself flew in front of Belissar and began a dance of happiness and gratitude. It seemed the process had transferred over the queen¡¯s brood to the new house without issue. A smile grew on Belissar¡¯s face as he put the frame and the lid back where they belonged.


    ¡°Enjoy.¡±


    The queen gave her gratitude oncest time, saluted to Belissar, and then flew into the beehouse to continue her work. Belissar then turned his attention to the words he had ignored in his panic.


    <em>Apiary Beehive upgraded to Belissar¡¯s Beehouse!</em>


    <em>Product Mana Honeb changed to Mana Honeb Tray.</em>


    <em>Maximum products stored increased from 1 to 3.</em>


    <em>Bee productivity increased.</em>


    <em><strong>Bee happiness increased!</strong></em>


    Belissar blinked. Thest line was written in glowing yellow letters. Soon though, he began to grin. That alone made all this effort worthwhile to him. He went and focused on the next basket hive. Since the Tower could upgrade them, he figured he wanted all his bees to have one.


    <em>Upgrade Apiary Beehive to Belissar¡¯s Beehouse? Cost: 100 DP (25 if beehouse provided)</em>


    Belissar frowned and rubbed his chin. It seemed it would be a bit more expensive to upgrade if he didn¡¯t build the beehouses himself. He did some...as quick as he could manage math in the dirt and determined that if he built all of the beehouses personally, he could just afford to upgrade the entire Apiary, while if he didn¡¯t, he could only afford to upgrade two more.


    There was no choice to Belissar, especially after he heard another chime.


    <em>Mission received: Upgrade all Apiary Beehives to Belissar¡¯s Beehouses.</em>


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Absolutely.¡±


    Belissar spent the rest of the week working on the beehouses. With each one he made, he was able to adjust a bit more, both improving the quality of the construction and decreasing the build time. He noticed a curious phenomenon: every time he upgraded an Apiary Beehive with a new and improved beehouse, the other upgraded beehouses would adjust themselves to match. It wasn¡¯t an identical copy of thetest one; rather, it seemed to average out between the quality of the first one and the best one avable but either way Belissar was d. He was happy to know the first queen wouldn¡¯t be left high and dry.


    Of course, that wasn¡¯t all he did. As much as Belissar enjoyed working entirely on the beehouses, the whole purification business still weighed on the edge of his mind. So, he also spent some time making whatever preparations he happened to think of. He gathered and chopped a bunch of firewood throughout the week, since it would also need time to dry.


    Once some of the firewood had dried, he could start to do some work with beeswax. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have a strainer or any pots, but he could do some basics. He managed to carve some grooves into a log to melt the beeswax in, and then dipped some branches he gathered from the outside forest into the grooves. That way, he managed to make some beeswax torches that were a bit better crafted than wrapping a strip of his tunic around a stick.


    ...A tunic that now left a bit of his stomach exposed thanks to the strips he cut off the bottom earlier. He sighed and shook his head. Fortunately, the climate in the Tower seemed very pleasant at the moment...or perhaps it was the mana of the Tower protecting his body? In any case, it was fine since his onlypany at present were the bees, but he should probably keep an eye out for any nts he could use to make repairs.


    Fortunately, he knew a bit of textile work. Some of the vige boys called it women¡¯s work but in a vige of their size most people knew how to do most jobs that needed doing. That went doubly so for Belissar, growing up first with just the old beekeeper, andter livingpletely on his own. Unfortunately, those skills wouldn¡¯t matter unless he could acquire some suitable materials, so Belissar just resolved to keep an eye out for now.


    In any case, he now had a stockpile of firewood and kindling to make fires of various sizes as necessary, as well as some torches to light. He assembled another gathering of kindling, firewood, wax, and honey in the pit traps on either side of the door between the Flower Meadow and the Apiary, as well as in the pit trap closest to the gate to outside. Then he built a campfire pit on the Apiary side and stored the torches and his fire bow around it.


    He was thus ready to make a fire he could use to light torches in case he needed to use the pit traps like he did before. The work slowed down his beehouse making, but he felt it was necessary. If and when the Hunger returned to his Tower, he would be ready.

 Chapter 21: Bee Resolved

    Chapter 21: Bee Resolved


    Belissar was resting in his room after a long day of woodworking. Niobee flew inside. Belissar smiled and held his finger out for her. Shended on it.


    ¡°King, ok?¡±


    Belissar turned thoughtful for a second, and then nodded with a smile.


    ¡°You know what? I am.¡±


    He nced 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 honeb, smiling as the warmth of mana spread through his body. Once his fears of spontaneousbustion had faded, he realized he had been eating the honey all along with no ill effect. In fact, he hade to enjoy the mana honey, it was quite pleasant.


    He then exited the house and began carrying some wood over to thest 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.


    <em>Ongoing purification limit reached. Minor purification required.</em>


    <em>Minor purification attempt in 3 days...</em>


    Belissar slowly rose back to his feet, his spine goingpletely straight. Niobee flew over to him.


    ¡°King, ok?¡±


    Belissar¡¯s face turned grim.


    ¡°It¡¯s time, Niobee. The Hunger ising 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 y out, and if all his decisions had been correct.


    <em>Minor purification attempt in 2 days, 23 hours, and 58 minutes...</em>


    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 firewoody inrge 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 iing, he nned 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 ze further, after all.


    He would also need to prepare campfire pits near the other Pit Traps so he could be ready to set them aze. 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 ck as a sea of chitin spread out above. An army of monster bee soldiers hovered before him, led by a dozenrge 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, disying their dagger-like stingers. Belissar felt a slight breeze from over a hundred simultaneous thrusts.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    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 ce, 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 toy 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 ns, 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 toy even one more soldier egg. If the cold of winter were toe, 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 absolutest resort. Each one of them was precious, each one of them necessary if they were to achieve victory. For the fight toe, 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 seed. 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 workerined about the strict rationing. Not a soldierined about the endless drills. Not a queenined 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 stopying soldier eggs, or else their hives would copse. 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 toy 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 formationnded 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 andid 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

    Chapter 22: First Minor Purification


    <em>Minor purification attempt in 4 minutes 23 seconds...</em>


    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 aze.


    Around him buzzed the workers from the Apiary hives...along with some neers. 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 wereplete. 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 seed.


    But the timer counted down regardless and soon, the moment was upon them.


    <em>Minor purification attemptmencing.</em>


    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.


    This novel is published on a different tform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    <em>Minor purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 1</em>


    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 mmed 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 ck 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 nks 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, ck 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 oue he had thought about and nned 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 ck 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 oues the soldier bees trained for, they had not anticipated the shade might <em>run </em>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 ck 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 ws took one of the wings off a bee, sending her falling to the ground. Its tail pierced through another two while its jaws mped 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 shecked 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 ces. She was bleeding heavily and could barely wiggle about at this point. There was no chance of escape.


    However, escape was not her n.


    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 sh 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 copsed into a dissipating cloud of ck mist.


    Back in the Apiary, Belissar just stared at the sight.


    ¡°We...won?¡±


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>

 Chapter 23: Bee Grateful

    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 particrly 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 ept the situation.


    <em>Minor Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +50 DP</em>


    <em>- +10 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Soldier Strength Boost (Minimal)</em>


    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 borate aerial dances as they celebrated the victory. He took a deep breath, rxing 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 nced 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 note 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 ced 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,ying 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 ced 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 honeb sculpture, carving some bees into it as best he could, before propping it up over the grave.


    This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    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 thergest 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 nks of wood and ced 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 nks.


    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 <em>something</em> 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 difort. He would do this for them, at the very least. He took the wounded bee soldier on his shoulder and gently ced 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 Niobeepleted 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 <em>her own title</em> 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 rm. She began to dance rapidly as thoughts raced through her mind.


    This would only be the beginning. They had defeated one invader but more woulde, 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

    Chapter 24: Bee Rewarded


    Belissar walked back towards the Apiary farmhouse once the ceremony was done. Niobee came and flew alongside him in silence as well. Once back inside he exhaled his breath and sat down. Niobee came andnded on his finger.


    ¡°King, ok?¡±


    Belissar made a soft smile at her.


    ¡°Yes it¡¯s just...¡±


    He took another deep breath and let it out slowly, ncing out the window. Thoughts of the lost passed through his mind and he felt pain in his chest once again.


    ¡°...I¡¯m remembering a lot of things. A lot of things I try not to think about.¡±


    Niobee looked up at him.


    ¡°Niobee help?¡±


    Belissar smiled at her and brushed her back with one of his fingers. ¡°You already do. You already have.¡±


    Belissar thought back to the past, to the days where he would talk and talk to the little bee drinking honey off his finger, saying all the things he couldn¡¯t tell anyone else. His heart grew warm as he remembered that said bee was Niobee all along, and she really was his friend just like he had imagined.


    Niobee buzzed and Belissar found himself chuckling. The painful memories were still there...but didn¡¯t feel as sharp anymore. Belissar shook his head and cleared his mind. In any case, there was something more he could do now to protect his friend and his bees.


    <em>Minor Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +50 DP</em>


    <em>- +10 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Soldier Strength Boost (Minimal)</em>


    Another choice, another reward for a battle won. This one...didn¡¯t seem as dramatic as thest, all things considered, but Belissar didn¡¯t mind. He¡¯d prefer an easy battle with minimal sacrifice to massive gains, so to him it was good that the fight was smaller this time around. But the size of the rewards didn¡¯t mean he shouldn¡¯t put some thought into it.


    ¡°DP, mana, or a buff to the soldiers, huh? What do you think, Niobee?¡±


    ¡°Whatever King chooses!¡±


    Belissar chuckled as she gave him the exact answer he was expecting, and then began to consider the choices. Fifty DP wasn¡¯t enough to really afford anything on its own, so felt a bit underwhelming. On the other hand, at one DP a day that was fifty days worth; when viewed that way it would dramatically cut the time he needed to wait until he could afford something. Ten max mana was smallpared to his current two hundred, on the other hand, it alone was enough for a monster bee queen spawner, which would mean another four hives. Finally, he could improve his soldier bees, giving them a bit of strength. It wasn¡¯t much, but every little bit would help.


    Belissar rubbed his chin. He should also consider how this all had happened. The message that first announced this battle specifically stated a minor purification was required because the ongoing purification limit was reached. The exact wording still confused Belissar, but it did shed some light on other questions he had. Ongoing purification limit reached meant that ongoing purification had been...well, ongoing. So...perhaps that was something the Tower was doing on its own, rather than an attack by the Hunger like Belissar feared?


    If he focused, he could still feel the Hunger at the edges of the Tower¡¯s influence, reaching in towards the purifiednd beyond. So, maybe ongoing purification meant the Tower holding it back? If so...there was apparently a limit to which the Tower could resist the Hunger, at which point Belissar was required to purify it more directly. That limit had apparently been a week, or ten days if he included the countdown time, though Belissar didn¡¯t know yet if that was just for this time or a consistent thing.


    But the important part was that the wording of all this implied that it would happen again. In fact, ongoing purification implied it would continue happening for as long as the Tower needed to resist the Hunger. Battles were going toe consistently...and if he continued to win them, so would the rewards.


    That made this choice all the more important. What would best defend his bees in perpetuity? The soldier buff would obviously improve their ability to fight. The max mana would allow for more bees or more traps. But, if he were going to be facing one of these minor purifications every ten days, then he could also take the DP and try to save up for a bigger purchase. Maybe he could get a deadlier trap, or a new bee type that would let his bees fight and win with no losses at all...if he were willing to let them handle things for the time it took to get to that stage.


    Belissar thought for a bit and then made his choice. At this stage, he knew that overthinking it would get him nowhere. So, if nothing he knew would inform his choice one way or another, he¡¯d follow his gut.


    <em>Monster Bee Soldier Strength Boost (Minimum) selected.</em>


    <em>Monster Bee Soldiers receive a slight boost to Strength!</em>


    What settled things for him this time was the memory of the soldier bees themselves. Several of them gave their lives to earn this victory and Belissar wanted to reward them for their efforts. Maybe he couldn¡¯t make that choice every time, maybe he¡¯d need to save up DPter or expand his mana. But today, for this first choice, it was appropriate to grant the boon to the ones who had earned it.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Belissar nodded, satisfied, and then headed off to bed.


    The next day, Belissar took a bit of time to think as he munched on a bit of honeb. He would have to keep track of the days to confirm, but he figured he should assume that another minor purification wasing in a week or so. So, he figured he should consider how to use that time.


    All in all, the defense had gone very well, and no major weaknesses had been revealed. The death of soldier bees was regrettable to Belissar but he was aware he was being a bit silly. Regr bees died all the time, sacrificing themselves was their main form of defense, he reminded himself. So, he should not let the death of a handful in the process detract from their victory. The hives of the Flower Meadow had proven capable of handling shades with their monster bee soldiers, and their numbers would only grow.


    In the end, Belissar couldn¡¯t think of anything he specifically needed to do to prepare for the next minor purification, besides ensure the Flower Meadow hives were taken care of. He <em>did</em> notice the Apiary hives donating honey to them during the preparations, so he may need to check on them. The soldier bees didn¡¯t seem to do much nectar gathering, after all.


    Belissar himself returned to his task from before the minor purification was announced. The God of Bees had given him a mission, after all, and he was one beehouse away frompleting it. And now that he had confirmed his defenses were solid, he had no reason not to finish up.


    Belissar watched as the final Apiary beehive converted to one of his own.


    <em>Mission: Upgrade all Apiary Beehives to Belissar¡¯s Beehousespleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: One room feature choice</em>


    <em>Select Room Feature:</em>


    <em>- Basic Resource nts (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Resource)</em>


    <em>- Beehive (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee, Resource, Monster Nest)</em>


    <em>- Hidden Wax Cell (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Trap)</em>


    He smiled as the queen of that hive began a dance of gratitude and joy.


    ¡°Enjoy.¡±


    She repeated her happy dance and then climbed into the beehouse to resume her work. Belissar then walked back through the Apiary, gathering some mana honeb trays from the other beehouses. The lids of the houses would pop up slightly whenever one was ready, when Belissar would lift the lid the tray would slide itself up and a rectangr piece of honeb would pop right out. Belissar didn¡¯t know exactly how all that worked, he knew for sure that his roughly constructed trays didn¡¯t slide that easily. And he also knew that normal bees would not be producing this much honey.


    The Tower of the Gods was powerful indeed.


    Which is why he thought carefully about the choice before him as he gathered the honeb. He reviewed each option in turn, hoping for more information.


    <em>Basic Resource nts</em>


    <em>- Type: Nature, Resource</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: Depends on resource selected</em>


    <em>- Description: A spot where resource producing nts can be easily grown and harvested. Compatible nts will depend on the Room. Existingpatible nts may be converted to nodes.</em>


    Belissar hummed as he read it over. He was a bit worried that the description didn¡¯t specify what kind of nts or resources he would get. In fact, that would apparently change based on what room he ced it in...though he wasn¡¯t certain that the Flower Meadow and the Apiary would be much different given they had very simr nts to begin with. But depending on what he got...nt-based resources could be very useful. If he got something appropriate for textiles, he could fix his tunic or make a new one. If he got more wood then he could expand his construction efforts and prepare more firepits. Medicinal herbs would be a priority as well...though he wasn¡¯t sure if Tower Lords or monster bees actually got sick. Fruit and vegetables...wouldn¡¯t change much beyond adding variety to his diet, given that he didn¡¯t seem to actually need food after bing a Tower Lord. However, they would at minimum add more flowering nts for his bees to gather from. No matter what nts he received, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be a loss.


    Still, there were two more options to consider.


    <em>Beehive</em>


    <em>- Type: Bee, Resource, Monster Nest</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 5 per hive (2 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>- Description: A hive where bees and bee monsters may build their colonies. Produces honeb at a steady rate, and boosts productivity and growth of any bees dwelling inside.</em>


    Belissar furrowed his brow. It seemed by all ounts to be the same basket hives as he found in the Apiary, so Belissar knew what to expect and how useful they would be. The Apiary had nine beehouses at present, while he had eight monster bee queen spawners that would spawn four monster bee queens each, so the other queens would certainly be happy if he had some more. The question was how did it work with the Apiary? At present, Belissar couldn¡¯t actually change the number of beehives, so would this choice allow for that? He guessed that it would, it didn¡¯t seem a useful choice if not.


    Well, assuming it was, there were clear reasons to take this choice. But...it wasn¡¯t as clear cut as the choice might seem. Belissar could build beehouses himself, after all, and was nning to do so for the other queens as time permitted, so he tried to focus on what the Tower option would provide on top of that. Which was the magical daily production of honeb, and the boost to productivity and growth. The growth was a bit subtle at the moment, while the productivity just meant more honey. That could help with more Sticky Honey Traps, but Belissar hadn¡¯t even seen one of those in action yet.


    He shook his head and moved on to the final choice.


    <em>Hidden Wax Cell</em>


    <em>- Type: Bee, Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 1 per cell (0.5 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>- Description: A camouged cell a monster bee may ambush foes from. Can resize to fitrger monster bee species.</em>


    This was the more directbat option. Belissar tried to imagine what it might look like. Perhaps soldier bees stinging a shade¡¯s feet while their sisters buzzed above it? That could be useful, though it seemed a bit straight forward. Besides, couldn¡¯t the monster bee soldiers wait inside one of the pit traps? Or couldn¡¯t he dig them some holes to do the same thing? Well, it <em>was</em> a cheaper option in terms of mana upkeep, so perhaps that was by design.


    Belissar continued to look over the options as he carried the honeb inside the farmhouse...

 Chapter 25: Bee Resourceful!

    Chapter 25: Bee Resourceful!


    <em>Basic Resource nts selected.</em>


    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, honeb was beginning to umte 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 nts 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 nts 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.


    <em>Compatible nt: Mana Flower. Upgrade to resource nt node?</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 5 per Mana Flower node</em>


    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 avable mana:


    <em>Mana: 69/200</em>


    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...<em>Avable Resource nts for Flower Meadow:</em>


    <em>- Basic Healing Herbs (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Basic Poisonous Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Basic Textile Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)</em>


    Belissar smiled. It turned out resource nts not only had one, but nearly all of the different resources he had guessed, plus a few more. He could gain ess to both medicine and textiles with the right nodes. Poisonous flowers also made sense, since quite a fewmon 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 <em>did</em> 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.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    And that was only for the Flower Meadow...


    <em>Avable Resource nts for Apiary:</em>


    <em>- Basic Healing Herbs (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Basic Poisonous Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)</em>


    Belissar tilted his head at that. Seemed there wasn¡¯t anything new for the Apiary. Less options, even, as textile flowers weren¡¯t avable there. But he just shrugged. It...made sense that a Flower Meadow would have more nt options than an Apiary, he supposed. Bees seemed to like most flowering nts, after all, so perhaps there wasn¡¯t anything particrly 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 ced 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 nts going from brand new shoots to fully budded flowers in seconds. His eyes went wide he watched the disy 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 particrly 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 nced at the herb now in his hand and rubbed his chin. The Apiary beehives also pushed honeb out where it would be easily harvested, even before they had bees or the beehouse trays, so Belissar guessed this was simr.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s convenient. Should help with the textiles, I hope.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t looking forward to trying to process and weave fabricpletely 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 <em>monster bees</em> were the most polite people he had ever known.


    In any case, he made his way to the textile nt node. He found a bunch of x flowers there, several of which were glowing. He went ahead and harvested them...and sighed. The nts 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 nts could be useful as well, but this was a job he never particrly enjoyed.


    Still, he <em>would</em> 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

    POBee 25.1 - The Favor of the King


    The Firstborn of the First Dynasty of the Fifth Spawner, the first of her line, paced about afterying another egg. She was...troubled by recent events.


    She was the favored of the King, that was the truth. He had granted her rulership of a mighty keep just beyond the gates of his own abode. She was the first of the queens to offer him tribute, each and every day. It was the honey of her children that graced his table. And she was the first queen that he greeted each and every day.


    And she had been the first to receive his blessing. He crafted for her a hive with his very own hands, turning towering trees into a dwelling without equal. When he was finished, he inspected her brood personally to ensure their safety andfort. Ultimately, he was not satisfied, and spawned guards of his own, tasked with the defense of his favored queens.


    She was truly the most favored of all bee-kind. The first queen, above all others. Well, the Conduit had the honor of serving the King directly and spoke with his voice, but in the end, she was not a queen. The Conduit was the King¡¯s worker, and the First of the Fifth was his queen, and the queen knew which was preferable.


    And yet...she had recently learned of troubling developments.


    The queens of the First through Forth Spawners were not like her, or any of her siblings and peers. They were simple, barbaric even. They lived on the outskirts, far beyond the King¡¯s abode at the very edges of his territory. They lived in humble hives of their own make, blessed not by the constructions of the King. They dwelled not within his sight. They rarely offered tribute, he never dined upon theirbor.


    And it was only natural. They produced the barest fraction of even the least of the Apiary queens. They barely produced enough honey to feed themselves! And moreover...the First of them bore the title of the Second Dynasty. A deration of shame, a reminder that it was the bees of their spawner who had failed to defend the King, and perished in vain. And to make it worse, those of the First through Forth spawners had been present for the Second Invasion. It was said that the King fought personally in that dreadful time and slew the invader with his own hand. A testament to the might of the King...and to the weakness of all the queens that lived then. Where were their hives when the King was threatened? Where were their armies when the invader assaulted his realm? It was little wonder they had been cast from the King¡¯s sight, exiled to the outskirts of his domain.


    Or so the First of the Fifth had thought.


    That the queens of the Flower Meadow had produced soldiers of their own was known to the First of the Fifth. She had assumed this was a desperate act of necessity. Those who were not blessed with the protection of the King had to fend for themselves. It was yet another sign of their impoverishment. The First of the Fifth would admit the soldiers were an impressive sight...but a wasteful one. They could not gather the nectar. They could not process the honey. They could not take care of the brood. They were nothing but a drain upon their colony, they consumed that which should be offered to the King. The First of the Fifth would not make that mistake. And she was proven right. Word of the Third Invasion came...and the bees of the Flower Meadow were utterly unprepared. In their panic to boost their defenses, their meager stores ran dry, long before the invader was due to arrive. They would have starved, had the Conduit not convinced the First of the Fifth to offer charity. It was only by her grace that they survived, for it would not do for any imed by the King to perish against hismand. And as she opened the endless stores of her hive and let the honey flow, she demonstrated once and for all the diligence and strength of her offspring, the reason why she was the favored queen.


    It was when her workers returned that she learned of the first doubt.


    She had not bothered to scout the outer realm, for why would she? Surely there was little there that would matter to her, the one who dwelt in the abundance of the King¡¯s own home. Surely the impoverished queens there required every meager scrap they could find.


    The reports of her workers told a different story. They spoke of and of plenty, flowers as far as the eye could see. And worse...they spoke of a treasure beyond imagining. Mana flowers whose nectar overflowed with power, that did not require the mana of the workers to produce honey suitable for the brood.


    This novel is published on a different tform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    The First of the Fifth was confused by this. A treasure such as that should have enabled anypetent queen to match...or maybe even <em>surpass</em> her own brood. They should have been capable of fielding an endless tide of workers, and with the abundant fields her workers reported they should have been able to construct truly grand hives. She did not believe that even those disgraced queens would be so ipetent as to starve when they had ess to such a treasure. She assumed they had warred amongst themselves for control of it...but the reports indicated their brood were working together.


    Even the First of the Fifth had to wonder...had the King truly exiled them into a ce of such abundance?


    And then came the battle.


    The First of the Fifth had her scouts observe. They returned and gushed with fantastic tales of giant bee warriors flying circles around a monster more terrible than even the spider or the ho. The creature was felled before it even reached any of the King¡¯s defenses. The armies of the Flower Meadow queens had stopped it all on their own.


    And then came the ceremony.


    The King gathered the fallen with his own hands and gave what he called ¡°honor¡± to them. He carved the titles of the Flower Meadow queens into towering monuments. He carried a wounded soldier on his own shoulder.


    The First of the Fifth was despondent at this. The exiled ones had received honors even she, the favored queen, had not. The strength of their arms and the gratitude they had earned called into question all she had ever known. At best...the queens of the Flower Meadows had redeemed themselves and more in the eyes of the King. Perhaps they would even be weed back into his abode.


    At worst...she was wrong about their exile in the first ce. Perhaps they did not dwell in the outskirts because the King was disappointed in them...but because he trusted them the most. Because he believed that they could defend themselves, a trust they had fulfilled. Why else would he grant them such grand treasures such as the mana flowers? Why else would he show them such honor when it was all said and done?


    Had she been wrong all along? Did the King care more about stingers than honey? Was she kept near to him not because she was favored...but because she was weak? Untrustworthy?


    The First of the Fifth could not remain still. She paced about every moment she was awake, even as her workers tried to calm her. But how could she be calm? All that she had worked for, all that she had built may have been for naught if she had misunderstood so greatly!


    Until...she felt it. The rumblings in the ground and sky, the mana of the King stirring to create wonders. She flew out of her hive, wishing to see what had urred with her own eyes.


    And what she saw did not disappoint.


    A glowing field of flowers stretched out before her. Countless mana flowers grew before her, nothing like the lone flower here or there the Flower Meadow queens scrounged from. No, there were so many of them their mana began to coalesce and shimmer in the air.


    This...this was an abundance an entire dynasty could be built upon.


    She nced at the King. Before, she would have had no question as to his intent to favor her. But now...she could not help the creeping doubt. Was this a boon for them? Or did the King have other intentions with all this she could not see?


    But he smiled at her, a sight that brightened the world like the dawn.


    ¡°Go ahead, I made it for you all.¡±


    The First of the Fifth nearly fell from the sky as she ordered her hive to swarm upon the flowers below.


    Shortly thereafter, the First of the Fifth watched as her workers filled row after row of wax cells with glistening honey. She danced about happily as she drank from the honey packed to the brim with mana and felt her own reserves grow.


    She had not been wrong. She was truly the favored of the King. She saw now his wisdom, the intent of his designs. She was the favored...and that meant that she was precious. She had to be protected. So, the King had grown the Flower Meadow queens, such that they might sacrifice in her defense. And he tested the mana flowers upon them, to ensure the gift was suitable for her. Once he had, he had granted her an abundance of the treasures beyond the Flower Meadow queen¡¯s wildest dreams.


    And that wasn¡¯t all.


    He had also created fields of new flowers, types the queen had never seen. And as her workers processed the nectar from these new nts, she found the honey they produced possessed new and mysterious qualities, types entirely unlike the honey they had produced before now.


    As she had expected, it was honey that ruled all. The King wanted her to expand her production in ways never before conceived. And he had granted them an overabundance of the mana flowers so that she would have as many workers as she needed to do it. Her wings buzzed as she looked over the different trays of honey, each possessing honey made from a different source.


    She truly was favored above all. She would go forth and work without doubts from now on, confident that she, more than any other, understood the King.


    ...at least until the scouts returned with reports that the King had done the same thing in the Flower Meadow, that is...

 Chapter 26: Youll Bee Going Mad!

    Chapter 26: You''ll 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 x 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 whocked the normal tools one might use for the job.


    And the little scrapes and scratches he got processing the x 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 <em>did</em> miss being able to trade wax and mead for already processed cloth.


    He broke up the monotony with some construction nning. 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 farrger than any mundane bee could ever grow. At the very minimum, Belissar would need to build the houses farrger to amodate 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 honeb 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 essible 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 ce, 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 somerger branches and smaller tree trunks into tall stakes, and nt 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 particrly well, if he was entirely honest. Digging a deep enough hole with a small enough diameter was proving difficult for a solo worker whocked 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 toorge for this case. He couldn¡¯t put them close to the entrance in any case.


    So, Belissar was left back at his x processing for the most part. That is...until one morning when he went to gather honeb 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 honeb 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.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The first tray was a tray of mana honeb 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.


    <em>Healing Herb Mana Honeb Tray</em>


    <em>- Description: A tray of honeb containing healing herb mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of healing herbs, this honey has a slight medicinal and healing effects.</em>


    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 <em>was</em> 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 d to have something like this avable 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.


    <em>Mad Mana Honey Honeb Tray</em>


    <em>- Description: A tray of honeb containing mad mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of toxic flowers, this honey has umted a significant concentration of neurotoxins. Causes intoxication and hallucinogenic effects when consumed, in excessive quantities may cause paralysis as well.</em>


    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 honeb inside the house, then took the healing herb and mad honey trays with him. He had some ideas he wanted to try...


    <em>Sticky Mad Honey Trap</em>


    <em>Type: Bee, Trap</em>


    <em>Honey equipped: Mad Mana Honey</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 3 (1 if honey provided)</em>


    <em>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.</em>


    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 extrayer 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 honeb 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 honeb.


    ¡°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 honeb. 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 x processing...

 Chapter 27: Bee Honey Trapped

    Chapter 27: Bee Honey Trapped


    Belissar sighed as he checked the first set of x he had prepped. Retting was slow going given theck of water in his Tower. There <em>was</em> some dew in the morning, and the flowers were clearly getting water from <em>somewhere</em>, but there were no bodies of water he could leave the x in. Drying them afterwards would likewise take a while since the only thing he could do was leave it out in the sun.


    So, the first set he had prepped wasn¡¯t ready for further processing yet. Which meant...his task today would be prepping more batches. Yet another day of picking apart the stems and leaves and seeds by hand.


    Belissar heaved another sigh.


    But there was nothing for it. The textile nt node produced more x each day. And since Belissar would prefer not to wait for this entire process every time he needed fabric, he needed to at least build up a decent stockpile. So, he had no choice but to keep at it.


    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if other Tower Lords went through all this.


    But fortunately for Belissar, something was about to change.


    <em>Ongoing purification limit reached. Minor purification required. </em>


    <em>Minor purification attempt in 3 days...</em>


    It wasn¡¯t exactly a week since thest time, but close enough apparently. Belissar smiled and leapt up...before frowning and shaking his head. Right, a purification attempt meant a battle, and meant more of his bees would likely perish. It was not a happy thing. That he would have to put aside his x work to prepare for theing fight was a small silver lining, but he¡¯d rather do x work the rest of his life than see his beese to harm. But, well, he didn¡¯t have that choice so he¡¯d just have to put aside his other tasks and focus on keeping the Tower safe.


    Belissar went around checking the various defenses. He prepped the Pit Trap closest to the gate with wood and kindling. He had not done sost time to give the soldier bees their chance to fight, but now that they had proven they could do so there was no reason not to use every tool at his disposal. He prepped a campfire site by the front and stuck some extra torches into the ground around it.


    He was going to upgrade the Sticky Honey Traps with more mad mana honey...but he found his bees had already started doing that. It turned out they could ferry the honey directly to the traps and had started doing so after they saw him upgrade the first one. And here Belissar wondered why they hadn¡¯t produced many mad honey trays since then.


    So, after that...his task wasrgelyplete. Belissar crossed his arms and hummed.


    The soldier bee army continued to train, and their numbers had even grown sincest time. Not as dramatically, it turned out the Flower Meadow queens had cut workers and run into problems as a result, so they dialed it back a bit, but still the army was even stronger than it had beenst purification. In all honesty, Belissar was pretty sure they¡¯d be able to handle it without issue.


    The Pit Traps by the Flower Meadow hives and the Apiary entrance were already stocked and ready. Belissar could prep more of them but the others were scattered about the Flower Meadow at random. Belissar could certainly stock them with kindling and wood, but building a campfire next to each was of questionable benefit. After all, Belissar couldn¡¯t light and manage more than one or two fires at a time and didn¡¯t want to risk burning the field down by leaving one unattended.


    He could work on the entrance fence...but that still wasn¡¯t going well, and Belissar didn¡¯t think he could make meaningful progress on it in the next three days. He nodded to himself.


    Yep. Nothing he could think of would make a significant difference in the next three days. If the bees could handle a shade right in the entrance, then nothing further in felt that important.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Belissar shook his head and then got to work gathering kindling and firewood. Even if prepping the other Pit Traps wasn¡¯t that helpful, it was something, and it was better to have them ready than not.


    Besides, it beat another day of picking apart x...


    <em>Minor purification attempt in 2 days, 1 hour, and 12 minutes...</em>


    Filling up the rest of the Pit Traps took Belissar all of...one day. He crossed his arms, tapped his foot, and hummed before sighing. Yep, there wasn¡¯t much left for him to do at this stage. So, he guessed he would have to just work on x again for the next two days. It...felt wrong to do something else with an attack iing. He wondered if there was anything he could do about that...


    <em>Begin minor purification immediately?</em>


    Belissar shook his head to deny the question, then smiled. Looks like the countdown was a maximum time, not a minimum. And so Belissar...did nothing. He returned to the farmhouse and resumed work on the x.


    His preparations might be done, but his bees still had more they could do. Each day meant another day of training for the soldier bees, and so reduced the chance they would be caught by the shade. Each day meant more soldier bees born, and so a greater advantage for the army. Belissar may have wanted to get it over with for himself, but he would not deny his bees any advantage he could grant them. He was not the one who had to fight the shade, after all.


    So, he put aside his restlessness and tried his best to focus on his task as he waited for the countdown to finish...


    Two dayster, Belissar once again stood by a roaring me next to the Apiary entrance, holding a torch in his hand. The soldier bees assembled in the sky above the gateway, waiting as thest few minutes passed.


    <em>Minor purification attemptmencing.</em>


    Another shade formed again, this one the same size as the minor purification before it. And once again, a squad of soldier bees dove down and stung it, all of them hitting their mark. The shade roared and snapped at them as predicted, but again the soldier bees flew just out of its reach.


    But this time, no second wave came.


    Instead, the first squad paced their retreat, flying just outside the range of the shade¡¯s tail and jaws. The shade snarled and ran after them, pouncing and whipping its tail around to try and catch the bees buzzing around it. But the four soldiers dodged and weaved together, passing each other by in different directions and confusing the shade¡¯s aim. Still, the storm of fang and w and sharp tail meant the single squad couldn¡¯tunch any attacks of their own, giving up ground as they were forced to retreat back.


    And that was exactly the n.


    Suddenly the shade yelped as the ground vanished beneath it. It fell into the Pit Trap with a crash, and then sticky honey with a slightly purple tint sprayed all over it from a nozzle in the wall. Belissar smirked.


    He wanted to test the effectiveness of the Pit Trap and Sticky Honey Trapbo, so he asked the bees to adjust their strategy this time. The bees were tasked with luring the shade onto the nearest trap...and they had seeded. The rest of the soldier bees now sprung into action and began hovering around the pit. Belissar himself lit the torch in his hand and began walking forward.


    Even as the monster was collecting itself, another squad of bees dove down into the pit and stung its back. The shade roared and swiped its tail at them...but the honey stuck it to the ground. It only took a moment for the shade to break its tail free, but that moment was more than enough for the bees to have escaped.


    The tail strike was slow as well, weighed down by the honey and kindling stuck to it. So, the next squad of bees had little issue evading and striking their mark was well. The shade thrashed about but it couldn¡¯t reach the honey stuck to its sides.


    So, it took a deep breath instead.


    The next squad of bees prepared to scatter before noticing the walls of the Pit Trap all around them. They had no choice but to fly straight up at maximum speed as a cloud of ck mist filled the Pit Trap. Belissar frowned.


    That was...not something he or the bees had thought of. The confined space was working against them now. The bees couldn¡¯t approach as long as the ck mist was present.


    But that was fine.


    The ck mist began to wobble as the shade began to stagger and sway. Belissar figured that was the mad mana honey getting to work. Between the height of the pit, the intoxication of the mad honey, and the extra weight of honey and kindling stuck all over, the shade wasn¡¯t climbing out of the pit anytime soon. In fact, it wasn¡¯t even trying, perhaps realizing that the bees couldn¡¯t attack it down there.


    What it did not ount for was Belissar arriving at the pit and tossing his torch inside, lighting the whole trap up.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    Belissar smiled as the words appeared before his eyes. Another shade handled, and this time with zero bee casualties. Exactly as nned.


    He was starting to get the hang of this Tower Lord business.

 Chapter 28: To Bee Favored

    Chapter 28: To Bee Favored


    <em>Minor Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +50 DP</em>


    <em>- +10 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Dirt Trail Minor Room Feature</em>


    Belissar nodded as he looked things over. He didn¡¯t need long to make his choice this time.


    <em>+10 Max Mana selected. </em>


    <em>Max mana increased by 10 to 210!</em>


    At the end of the day, Belissar felt mana was pretty important. More mana meant more spawners, more traps, and more resource nodes. That meant more hives, more flowers for them to gather from, and more defenses to keep them safe. Even if he got something with DP, he¡¯d probably need mana to actually implement it. Besides, he was gaining DP each day, if extremely slowly, while his mana stayed the same.


    A new room feature was interesting...but dirt trails didn¡¯t seem that impactful. After all, his bees could fly, so he and the shades were the only things walking around the Tower. Well, there was the wounded soldier, but she stood guard by her hive most of the time and so wasn¡¯t making long trips in the first ce. All in all, it wasn¡¯t something Belissar needed right now, so he took the extra mana instead.


    With that settled and a celebratory dance by the bees underway, the second minor purification came to a close.


    The First of the Fifth danced and buzzed as she climbed through her hive. Things were finally looking up again.


    She...would admit (if only after significant prompting by her workers) that she was not at her best recently. The truth had unfortunately been undeniable. The King considered the Flower Meadow queens to be on par with those of the Apiary and cared for them as deeply as any other. They had not been exiled, and proximity to the King¡¯s abode was not the defining metric of his favor.


    So, she had been...distracted by the idea that her daily tribute to the King¡¯s meals was not proof of any special favor. Or the unspeakable idea that her tributes of honey might even be considered less vital than the defense of the King¡¯s realm. After all, when word of the next invasion came, the King put aside all other tasks to secure the defense. Would that not then mean that the most favored queens in his sight...were those who contributed most to that defense?


    The First of the Fifth...may have consumed more honey than usual as that thought passed through her mind.


    But now, all was returning to as it should be.


    The true wisdom of the King¡¯s gifts had been revealed, and it was the First of the Fifth who uncovered their purpose. She was upromising in the quality of her honey. She separated the honey from different sources: different flowers, different workers, even different times. She categorized and evaluated each so that only the finest of her hive¡¯sbor would be offered to the King. So, when the King had gifted them with new flowers with exotic properties, it had only been natural for the First of the Fifth to separate, concentrate, and categorize these as well. In doing so, she was the one who discovered that the properties of honey could be changed dramatically based on their source. By the wisdom of the King and the ceaseless efforts of her and her offspring, they turned honey from a meal into a weapon.


    And when she saw the King carry that weapon to one of his chasms, she knew that he hade up with another grand n. And she knew that she now had the opportunity to be a part of it. The key part of it, even, for none of the Flower Meadow hives could produce the surplus of honey her hive could.


    So, her hive had worked tirelessly. They produced as much of the mad honey as they could and carried it to each of the chasms her King had dug.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    And then the invasion came, and the First of the Fifth saw thepletion of the King¡¯s design. Her scouts reported how her honey had struck the critical blow and brought the enemy to its knees. It may have been the soldiers of the Flower Meadow who had danced with the invader, but it had been her honey that itid it low and left it defenseless before the King. He had struck it down, with her help, and without a single sacrifice by the queens of the Flower Meadow. She could now contribute to defense as much as they...nay, more, even, for she did not need to spend a single life to do so.


    The First of the Fifth had been ecstatic. The King had thanked her and her workers personally for their efforts. The whole hive had celebrated for longer than they would care to admit.


    But it could not be helped, for they knew they were once again the favored ones above all others.


    Still, the First of the Fifth was not content to rest upon that achievement. She may have been favored, but she was a bee still. She knew that even a favored worker that ceased to produce would not remain so, therefore she and her children pressed on, searching for new ways they could aid their King and bring his designs to fruition.


    And this time, she had an idea as to his purposes.


    As her workers had produced the specialized honey from the new nts, the First of the Fifth noticed a curious phenomenon. As she inspected the honey, she found that the mana her workers imbued into it resonated with certainpounds from the nts. She theorized that this was why those honey types differed so dramatically from the norm.


    She arrived at her destination, where cells of mad honey and healing herb honeyy open. She looked within and found the pupae resting there, some with a slight green and blue tint, others with a slight purple tint. She could see their heads and bodies take shape, gaining more color by the day. Her antenna twitched in satisfaction. Her newest children were growing well, and soon would hatch.


    Monster beerva did not merely feed upon honey. They absorbed the mana from within it and used it to stimte the growth of their own. It was why mana flowers were so valuable to them, as otherwise the worker bees needed to imbue that mana into the honey themselves. So, when the First of the Fifth saw the mana in the new honey types resonating with the variouspounds contained within, she could not help but wonder what might result if she raised a worker fed purely with one of those honey types? Would they grow as normal? Would they fail to grow at all?


    Or perhaps...they would grow differently. As differently as the honey they fed upon?


    It took a bit of time. These workers had not grown in a single day as normal, which had worried the First of the Fifth. But as time went on, they grew and developed at their own pace, so the queen let them be, waiting to see if they would eventually hatch.


    And now, her patience was rewarded.


    She noticed one of the them begin to twitch, and thrash about. It tore through the thin cocoon covering its cell and then climbed out. The bee shook about and buzzed its wings, beating them for the first time. Its antenna twitched as it nced around for the first time. The First of the Fifth stepped forward, gently brushing her antenna against her child¡¯s. The worker froze at first, then danced before her queen.


    The First of the Fifth noted with pleasure that this bee was far different from the others. Her shape and size were the same, but she had bluish-green stripes where a normal bee would have yellow. The First of the Fifth could also feel the new worker¡¯s mana, of a different quality than all the others¡¯. She noted the worker¡¯s stinger, thinner than normal and without barbs.


    And, most importantly of all, this worker was still <em>hers</em>. The worker¡¯s mana was different but registered as part of her hive, the same as of her children. The new worker stood before her, eagerly awaiting her assignment as any good worker would. The other workers nearby began to brush along her as they would any other of their siblings, and the new worker soon joined them in their work. She began to tend to the others of her generation that had yet to be born.


    And then, the First of the Fifth noticed something different. The new worker red her mana as she walked over each of the cells, in a way the queen had not seen her workers do before. Eventually, she stopped on one, one that seemed to be growing more slowly than the rest.


    The First of the Fifth froze as the new worker lifted her abdomen and extended her stinger. The First of the Fifth then moved to intervene, but she was toote. The new worker stabbed down into the cell...but gently, and precisely, and did not pierce therva within. She released a cloud of bluish-green liquid from her stinger...and contrary to the queen¡¯s fears, therva did not thrash about in response. No, rather, the First of the Fifth felt the newrva¡¯s mana begin to settle down...and grow stronger.


    She watched in silence as the new worker then moved on to the next cell, using her mana to check therva within. Slowly, the queen¡¯s wings began to buzz.


    She had seeded. She had born a brand new type of bee, all on her own. The Flower Meadow queens may have birthed the first soldiers, but those were a gift from the King. They could noty im to an achievement such as this. The First of the Fifth would not only receive from the King, she would participate in his work and give something <em>to</em> him. She would participate in his grand designs more than anyone else.


    For that is what it meant to be the favored queen.

 POBee 28.1 - The Hive of Hives

    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, nked 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 ck stripes, while the other alternated purple and ck. He took a closer look...


    <em>Medicinal Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em><em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Herbal Shot, Poison Sting, Brood Offspring, Brood Tender</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker raised on the nectar of healing herbs. It produces healingpounds 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, atbat.</em>


    <em>Maddening Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Mad Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker raised on mad honey. It now produces the neurotoxins present in the honey in its own venom nds. Its stings, in addition to the normal bee toxin effects, may cause intoxication, hallucination, and in very high dosages paralysis.</em>


    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 againstrger 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...<em>without</em> 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?


    This novel is published on a different tform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    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 nts next time...¡±


    The Firstborn frozepletely as her mind processed the report. The First of the Fifth had sent her new workers across the King¡¯snds, dering 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 toe.


    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 d 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 provenrgely wrong.


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s efforts had paid off inpletely unanticipated ways. Her honey from the new nts 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 everyrva of her brood grew healthy and strong.


    And she had done all of this with the nts 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 asrge and powerful as possible with as little work as possible. So, when the other new nts 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 nts to produce even a single worker of the types the First of the Fifth had disyed, 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 nts...it was that she <em>couldn¡¯t</em> have. Her focus on the soldiers prevented her from taking the steps necessary to ever discover such a thing.


    It was <em>only</em> the First of the Fifth, and her obsession with honey quality, that could have produced this oue. 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 y. Each of them had their own mission to fulfill. Each of them was vital for the sess of the whole.


    The Firstborn thanked the First of the Fifth in her mind as she began toy a new generation. And for once, shey 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 soldierrva 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

    POBee 28.2 - The Army of the Apiary


    The First of the Fifth watched the scout¡¯s report dance as she drank some more mana honey. So, the Firstborn was increasing her worker count and gathering from the healing and toxic flowers now. No doubt a desperate attempt to match her own hive, now that her achievements had been revealed.


    But that was to be expected. The First of the Fifth dismissed the scouts and made her way to a new section of her hive. The queens of the Flower Meadow would have to do better than that if they wished to earn the favor of the King. The First of the Fifth had obviously known everyone would follow after her once she announced her achievement, if they did not realize she was well on her way to the next, then they were truly foolish.


    But that is why she was the favored queen. She would never be content to rest on herurels again but would work ceaselessly for the sake of the King. And that was why no one woulde to match her in the end.


    So, she arrived at the site of her next project. A new bee was just breaking free of its cocoon and climbing out of its cell, surrounded by medicinal workers brushing every inch of its chitin with their antenna. One of them turned to the queen and danced a confirmation. The First of the Fifth acknowledged her and then stepped forward to address her newest child.


    A child nearly the same size as her. Her first soldier.


    Even after growing to the next stage, the First of the Fifth had not born any soldiers bees. She saw no need to do so, after all. Soldier bees could not gather nectar nor process honey, yet theirrge size demanded excessive quantities of it to grow. They were naught but a drain when it came to the production of the hive.


    Of course, they had obvious uses regarding the defense, but such was unnecessary for the First of the Fifth. The King himself had assigned soldiers of his own to guard his treasured Apiary hives, yet another sign of his favor. She would not squander such a gift by spending her honey and mana on guards of her own.


    Likewise, it was clear that soldiers were necessary for the King¡¯s designs, and the defense of hisnds. The queens of the Flower Meadow had earned great favor, and that new favor known as honor, by the deeds of their warriors. There was a part of the First of the Fifth that wished to supnt them in that field as well, to send warriors of her own to strike down the King¡¯s enemies.


    But she was not so foolish as to ignore that she was at a disadvantage in that mission. The queens of the Flower Meadow may not have been as productive or favored as she, but they were bee queens still. They did not shirk their duty and worked tirelessly to fulfill their role. The First of the Fifth would admit that their armies were impressive, and their soldiers spent every waking moment preparing for battle. It would be difficult for even her to catch up to them. And most egregiously of all, it would require her to cut the quality and quantity of her daily tribute to the King. That was simply uneptable.


    So, the First of the Fifth had forgone soldiers, having no use for them, no way they could help their hive earn the favor of the King. Until now.


    The First of the Fifth brushed the new soldier with her antenna. The soldier instantly stood up to her full height and began a salute dance. The First of the Fifth then gave her orders.


    The soldier seemed confused, but the First of the Fifth was firm in hermand. The soldier gave another salute, and then set out to obey, even as she beat her wings for the first time. The First of the Fifth watched with satisfaction, and theny another soldier egg in the now vacant cell.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the vition.


    Mighty the hives of the Flower Meadow may be, but the First of the Fifth was confident in her position and in her ns. For she, above all others, knew the designs of the King...


    Belissar sighed as his hand slipped and the weave untangled. Again. Some of the x had finally dried enough to work with and so Belissar was now trying to weave a strip he could use to fix his tunic. It...wasn¡¯t going particrly well. Not only was Belissar not the best at this sort of thing, but the x itself had not been processed well. Normally there are a number of tools, such as rakes and stands, that a farmer would use to process the x and remove the unwanted pieces of the nt. Belissar, havingpleted those stepsrgely by hand, had not ended up with as clean a product as normal. The pieces of debris still stuck to the fibers thus were getting in the way here and there, forcing him to pick them off before continuing.


    Belissar then froze. He...had done all this work by hand because he didn¡¯t have any of the tools, and knew this job he didn¡¯t enjoy was going to take a long time because of that, so he had gotten to work immediately with the intention of getting it over with as quickly as possible.


    So...he hadn¡¯t considered...that with the axe, saw, and the trees in the forest beyond...he could have made some basic tools. They wouldn¡¯t match up to what he had at home, but even rough and simple implements would have been <em>far</em> easier than doing this entire process by hand.


    Belissar stared into the air with a faraway look for quite some time.


    It was then that he heard buzzing. He turned to face the window he left open for Niobee toe and go and tilted his head. One of the soldier bees was hovering there.


    ¡°Um,e on in?¡±


    She danced a salute and then flew inside. Shended on the table in front of Belissar, looking at the weave in front of him. She slowly began a dance.


    ¡°Hm? Oh, you¡¯re from the close hive, not the spawners or the Flower Meadow? Was wondering how you got here. You...want to help?¡±


    The soldier bee¡¯s dance was a bit unsteady but she confirmed. Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Thanks, the gods know I need a hand with this. Let¡¯s see, um, how about you grab hold of this?¡±


    Belissar held up thetest fiber of the weave. The soldier bee slowly stepped forward and gently grabbed it with her mandibles.


    ¡°Good, can you move it here?¡±


    The soldier bee nodded and moved as he motioned. With her holding it in ce, Belissar was able to easily thread the fiber into its ce in the weave.


    ¡°Ok, you can let go now.¡±


    Once she did, he pulled it tight. He smiled.


    ¡°Thank you, that¡¯s much easier. Can I count on your help?¡±


    The soldier bee did a rapid dance and then moved to grab the fiber once again. Belissar chuckled and then his smile grew.


    Working together directly with the bees was something he once dreamed of. With them...well even this job didn¡¯t seem so bad.


    The First of the Fifth danced about happily as her scouts reported back. Her n had been a sess. Long had the King been working at his current task, and long had her scouts observed. The First of the Fifth wished to help him directly, as she had with the honey traps, but there was a bit of a problem. The tasks he was performing were on a scale beyond normal bees. He uprooted entire nts and worked with bunches of them all at once. Her workers could have helped, but it would have taken dozens or even hundreds of them to move a single nt.


    And so, the First of the Fifth saw a use for soldiers.


    With their muchrger size, they could better aid the King in hisrge-scale tasks. They could carry nts and fibers all on their own. They could work with the King without cutting into the production of his tribute.


    And the King had been well pleased by this. Even now, he worked with the soldier she had provided, showering the lucky child with praise. The First of the Fifth had no doubt she had surged ahead in his favor with this.


    And so, with the confirmation that her soldiers could assist the King with the grand andplex designs he built, she was ready to move on to the next stage of her n. This one would not be as pleasant or as satisfying. This one would require her to humble herself and sacrifice the efforts of her hive. But she was the favored queen, the most productive and blessed of them all. For the sake of the King, she would do anything.


    Which is why it was time for her to speak with the Firstborn, directly.

 POBee 28.3 - The Negotiations

    POBee 28.3 - The Negotiations


    The First of the Fifth sent word to the Conduit, and asked if she would arrange a meeting with the Firstborn. The Conduit agreed and off she flew.


    While the First of the Fifth was confident she was favored above all, given that the Conduit was not a queen, there was no doubt among any bee of the hive that the Conduit had a special ce among them all. Even the First of the Fifth could not and would not contest that. She was connected to the core the same as the King, she shared in his power and in that of the realm. If the King were the ruler of all thend, then the Conduit was thend itself.


    It was even whispered that the Conduit existed before the King¡¯s realm was even forged, as unthinkable as that thought was. That she knew the King in some sort of past life, from before the birth of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner. The First of the Fifth didn¡¯t know how much stock she ced in such things, for a world where her King was not king was not one she cared to imagine. And yet, she could not help but notice the Conduit¡¯s familiarity with the King, as if they had known each other for far longer than the First of the Fifth had seen.


    But now was not the time to think of such things, for the First of the Fifth already had an unpleasant task before her. The point was that the Conduit danced with special authority, nearly equal to that of the King himself. No bee, whether worker or soldier or queen, would deny her save by the King¡¯s own order.


    And that made her the perfect mediator for this discussion. The only mediator the First of the Fifth would ept, in fact. She and the Firstborn had each been established as the most powerful queens of the Flower Meadow and the Apiary respectively, and none of the others could be trusted to remain impartial. And it would not do to trouble the King with such matters, seeing as this was all for his sake to begin with.


    So, the First of the Fifth took her guards and flew through the Apiary, passing into the Flower Meadow. She then waited at the Shrine of the Goddess at the end of the Flower Meadow, the Queen of all bees. She dislikeding all the way to the Firstborn¡¯snds, but the Goddess belonged to all, so her shrine was the most appropriate as neutral ground. And, well, the shrine in the Apiary stood next to the core itself, and the First of the Fifth would not have this discussion in that sacred ce. So, she would concede the journey to the Firstborn.


    Soon, the Conduit came flying over, and the Firstborn with her,ing without guard or escort. The First of the Fifth wasn¡¯t sure how to take that. Was the Firstborn¡¯s hive stretched so thin that none could be spared? Or was it a sign that the Firstborn was not taking her seriously?


    ¡°Hi! Firstborn of Second Dynasty of First Spawner here, like Firstborn of First Dynasty of Fifth Spawner asked! Queens talk!¡±


    The Conduit danced about rapidly, in the manner an excited worker would. The Firstborn began a dance of greeting. ¡°Hello, First of the Fifth. You want to talk?¡±


    The First of the Fifth resisted the urge to buzz her wings. So, the Firstborn wanted to get this over with, when she was the one who made the First of the Fifth wait? Did she not know they were both wasting valuable timeing here? But the First of the Fifth wouldn¡¯t waste her own time on suchints and sounched right into it.


    ¡°Yes. Need ess to gathering fields.¡±


    The Firstborn¡¯s antenna swayed about as she processed that.


    ¡°Why? Apiary running out?¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s wings began to beat before she took control of them. The Firstborn would dare to imply that her Apiarycked? When it was the Firstborn who required her aid to avoid starvation?


    ¡°Just one. New nts that King gathers.¡±


    Yes, the First of the Fifth knew the Flower Meadow had ess to a kind of flower that the Apiarycked, the same one the King worked on even now. She knew not why the King had granted them ess to it and not her, only that in his wisdom he had. Perhaps he was testing it before gifting it to her as he had with the mana flowers. In any case, however, the First of the Fifth could not wait for him to gift her with her own, not if she were to help him with his designs. So, here she was, speaking with the Firstborn instead of growing her hive.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The Firstborn danced inprehension, finally understanding the request. Took her long enough. And now the First of the Fifth pressed her attack, hopefully before the Firstborn could take control of the battlefield.


    ¡°Will give honey in exchange. New kinds. Know you need.¡±


    The Firstborn paused for a moment, no doubt in shock of the First of the Fifth¡¯s proposal. Even the First of the Fifth was shocked at herself. To share her honey, the fruits of her children¡¯sbor, the tribute meant for their king, with a major rival? An emergency donation to prepare for an invasion was one thing, but in all other situations it was unthinkable. But so was granting a rival hive ess to one¡¯s own gathering grounds, and the First of the Fifth needed those flowers. So, she had no choice but to make an unthinkable offer for an unthinkable request.


    But such was the will of the First of the Fifth, who would stop at nothing for the sake of the King. Besides, Firstborn needed such assistance merely to catch up to what the FIrst of the Fifth had already achieved, all while she would be pulling ahead even further.


    She watched as the Firstborn paused, no doubt working to understand her purposes. But the First of the Fifth knew she had the advantage here. She knew the Firstborn was trying to replicate her healing herb honey and mad honey production, and then to apply that honey to her own brood. If the First of the Fifth guessed correctly, the battle-focused Firstborn would probably try to raise soldiers on the honey. But it would take even the First of the Fifth a huge chunk of her honey production to raise a soldier on such fare, the Firstborn could not possibly pull it off with her hive¡¯s current worker base.


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s offer would be too tempting for her. And the Firstborn did not know of the King¡¯s current designs, living as far away from his abode as she did. She would not know the opportunity she was giving up in the process. So, there could only be one answer.


    The Firstborn appeared surprised, and then gave her reply.


    ¡°Thanks. Helps a lot.¡±


    The First of the Fifth resisted the urge to dance happily, and instead turned to the Conduit, signaling that was it. The Firstborn followed suit, and the Conduit began to dance.


    ¡°Great! First of the Second First lets First of Fifth gather! First of Fifth gives honey to First of the Second First! Bees help each other and help King!¡±


    The Firstborn gave a salute dance at that.


    ¡°For the King.¡±


    That was the one thing that the First of the Fifth could agree with both of them on...though she was a bit upset the Firstborn had beaten her to the punch as she danced her own agreement.


    ¡°For the King.¡±


    With that, the three bees parted ways, returning to their work. The First of the Fifth passed through the door to the Apiary. There, she found tworge gatherings of her own workers, one holding wax cells full of honey, the other preparing for a harvest. Shemanded them to begin their tasks, and into the Flower Meadow they flew.


    She could not help a happy dance as she flew back to her hive. All had gone ording to n. And the Firstborn had clearly had no idea what she had agreed to. She would now receive the First of the Fifth¡¯s honey and use it in her attempts to raise new soldier bees. A task she could not possiblyplete with her own assets at present. And that meant that even should she seed, it would not be her achievement alone. All would know that the First of the Fifth¡¯s aid had been crucial to the effort. All would see the First of the Fifth¡¯s workers bringing honey to the Firstborn¡¯s hive.


    By epting her aid, the Firstborn had granted the First of the Fifth im to her efforts.


    And on the other hand, the only thing the Firstborn had granted her was permission. Her workers would now gather the honey from the new nts on their own. The nectar would be processed in her own hive, and anything new that resulted would be hidden there. As far as anyone would be able to see, the Firstborn would have given the First of the Fifth nothing in that process. In fact, by allowing foreign workers into her own territory, if anything the Firstborn would appear subservient to the First of the Fifth.


    In one fell swoop, she had positioned herself as the top of the queens, and there was nothing the Firstborn could now do to usurp her. If the First of the Fifth achieved anything with the new flowers, she would pull ahead. And if the Firstborn managed to raise new soldiers, they would both rise together with a joint aplishment. There was now no way she could possibly lose.


    Such was to be expected from the most favored of the King.


    There was only one variable she couldn¡¯t fully address. She didn¡¯t know how much the Conduit understood of her intent, but it wouldn¡¯t matter. The Conduit was not a part of thepetition between the queens, for her role was unique. And the Conduit¡¯s goal, first and foremost, was the growth of the King¡¯s realm. If something benefited the King, the Conduit wouldn¡¯t question it. So, the First of the Fifth was confident she would not interfere.


    Yes, it had all gone ording to n.

 Chapter 29: A Shocking Bee-vent!

    Chapter 29: A Shocking Bee-vent!


    It was a peaceful day in the forest around Belissar¡¯s Tower. The sun was shining, the bees were buzzing, and there was even a bird singing. A neer who had recently flown in.


    But then, the ground began to rumble, and group of bushes began to rustle. A momentter, the ground burst open, overturning the bushes above. A dark hole opened up in the forest, leading to parts unknown...


    With the soldier bee¡¯s help, Belissar was able to finish his work sooner than expected. A simple strip of rough linen cloth, not exactly anything anyone would want, but enough to patch up his tunic.


    Belissar subsequently did what would have been the smart thing to start with and made some tools for x processing. Coarse rakes andbs to help separate out the seeds and other material, a board and a wooden implement he could use to scutch, and anything else he could think of that might make the process easier.


    Doing so used up a bit of his avable wood, so the next day he headed out into the forest to gather some more. He was just chopping a small tree when Niobee began buzzing around him.


    ¡°King! Scouts say somethinging!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°It is the Hunger again?¡±


    ¡°No, different!¡± Belissar blinked and tilted his head. Something...other than the Hunger? But what could it be?


    ¡°Do they mean like a bird?¡±


    Niobee repeated her same dance.


    ¡°Different!¡±


    That had Belissar puzzled. The bird that had recently arrived was about the only thing he could think of besides the Hunger. After all, whatever it was, it had to have flown, for nothing could simply walk through the Hunger on the ground.


    Right?


    In any case, Belissar decided it would be best to act cautiously.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the Tower and prepare our defenses, just in case. Have the scouts keep an eye on it but let everyone outside know to run if it¡¯s hostile.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    With that, Belissar returned to the Tower. He didn¡¯t know what was going on...but he knew that whatever it was, he wouldn¡¯t let it take his bees...


    Belissar stoked the campfire by the Apiary entrance once again, then grabbed hold of one of the torches. Meanwhile, the Flower Meadow queens were assembling their army in the sky above the gate to the outside world. Niobee finished dancing with some worker bees and then flew over to him.


    ¡°Scouts say approaching.¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Is it hostile?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin. The bees reported an animal of some kind, with lots of brown and ck color, but he still didn¡¯t have any idea of what it could be. But well, whatever it was, his Tower was ready.


    Or so Belissar thought.


    The gates of the Tower opened up. Belissar narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Get ready...¡±


    And then he gasped.


    <em>Challenger detected, enabling Remnants</em>


    <em>Challengers Present: 1</em>


    This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    In walked...a person? A man, judging by the body shape and facial features.


    He was tall, taller than anyone Belissar had ever seen, with the broad shoulders and thick arms and legs to match. His clothing was abination of ck leather and brown fur, with some light armor over their torso, waist, and upper limbs while the fur covered the extremities. He carried a short spear and a shield, both of which were made out of bone of some sort.


    And then...Belissar¡¯s eyes went wide as he focused in. He realized...the brown fur wasn¡¯t clothing at all.


    The man¡¯s legs and arms were covered in thick, brown fur. His hands were a bit wider than normal, and his fingers were tipped withrge ws. And while his face was human, his hair was more like a mane of furbining with his beard.


    And most surprising of all were the two bear ears popping out of the top of his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s a...demi-human?¡±


    The bear man looked up and narrowed his eyes at the soldier bee army arranged in the sky. He slowly lowered his weapons and rxed his stance, though he still held them in his hands.


    And then what happened next shocked Belissar to his very core.


    ¡°Peace, Sacred Den-Master. We mean you no harm, if you mean us none.¡±


    The soldier bees swayed a bit in the air, unsure of what to do, but Belissar was in no state tomand them. His jaw dropped.


    Because...the demi-human had <em>talked</em>.


    The bear-man turned to face the Shrine of Bees while keeping an eye on the army overhead. He bowed his head for a moment. Then he rested his spear against his shoulder and reached for his belt, taking a small pouch tied there. He opened the wax chest and ced the pouch inside.


    ¡°A gift, for you and your patron. I pray for peaceful and fruitful cooperation, Sacred Den-Master.¡±


    He inclined his head once more towards the Shrine, which glowed softly in response, and then slowly backed out of the Tower.


    Some words passed before Belissar¡¯s eyes and Niobee was asking him something in a slow and shaky dance, but Belissar wasn¡¯t paying attention.


    Because the demi-human had talked. And that...went against everything Belissar had ever been taught.


    For long ago, the wicked kings of old had defied the gods, and brought upon themselves great wrath. The Hunger consumed thend, destroying every vestige of their civilization and tearing down all they had built. But such was not the extent of the gods¡¯ wrath, for the wicked kings were as cunning and cowardly as they were cruel. They abandoned their people to doom and fled alone, racing ahead of the death they rightfully deserved.


    So, the gods cursed them. They grew bestial features and lost their humanity, in more ways than one. They lost their tongues, the means by which tomunicate. They lost their ability to participate in society and became like beasts. But the gods were not so kind as to let them fallpletely. They retained their spark, their intelligence, so that they might know what they had be and what they had lost. They were doomed to exist between worlds, never to be content with the life of a beast butcking the means to live the life of a man.


    Such was the tale of the demi-human, the cursed descendants of those wicked kings. A living warning against all who might defy the gods.


    Or so Belissar had been taught, all his life.


    And yet...here was a demi-human, the first he had ever seen. And said demi-human apparently could speak with no problems whatsoever. Even had clothes and weapons like a regr person would. Moreover, said demi-human had respected one of the gods, who had not smote him for daring to set foot in one of the sacred Towers. Nor had Belissar received any missions from his patron to that effect.


    None of this recent turn of events made any sense to Belissar whatsoever.


    He began to pace about, staring at the ground and groaning. He dropped his axe and his torch and rubbed his chin, then crossed his arms. He furrowed his brow and concentrated.


    But think as he might, he coulde up with no resolution for this quandary. It was confusing enough when he wasn¡¯t smote for setting foot in a Tower back when he was a mere peasant, but a demi-human? Every story he had ever heard implied a demi-human wouldn¡¯t be permitted anywhere <em>near</em> a Tower, much less to set foot inside of one. And yet one had, and the gods had not responded in any way.


    No...that was wrong.


    The God of Bees <em>had</em> responded...


    <em>Tribute received. Your patron grants you this portion:</em>


    <em>- Cave Mushroom x3</em>


    <em>- Cave Carrot x3</em>


    <em>- Cave Potato x3</em>


    She had...epted the demi-human''s gift? Just like that?


    Belissar sat on the ground, practically copsing down on his backside. He held his head as his heart pounded in his chest.


    A peasant like him bing a Tower Lord was already unthinkable, but he could handle that. He figured that Niobee, as the Conduit or whatever, had interceded on his behalf to prevent the gods from smiting him outright. Then, he had proven himself capable enough in the second purification, and the gods had subsequently approved of him, making an exception for him since he was already in charge of the Tower. Those discrepancies could be exined away.


    But this? This was not so simple. The demi-humans were intimately connected with the fall of the wicked kings of old and the Hunger itself. The tale was central to all others, the very reason the world was the way it was.


    So, what would it mean if it were wrong?


    If the demi-humans could speak and were not doomed to live as beasts...if the gods had no quarrel with them and no issues with their presence...then wouldn¡¯t that mean Belissar was wrong about the origin of the Hunger and the intentions of the gods?


    And if he was wrong about that...then wouldn¡¯t he be wrong about...well, <em>everything</em>?


    Belissar groaned. Whatever the case was, things had gotten a <em>lot</em> moreplicated...

 Chapter 30: The Epipha-Bee

    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 bynding 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 honeb to snack on, and sat down at the table.


    This was all <em>way</em> 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 ced 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...<em>were</em> they special at all? If <em>Belissar</em>, 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 particrly bad year. He remembered the vigers raiding his mead on orders of the vige elder, for the local Tower Lord had requested it.


    He remembered begging for help as his parents came down with the gue. A gue heter 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 note to that conclusion on his own. He felt he needed more information, more confirmation before he could ept 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 ry hismand. 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 <em>were</em> 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, thest 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.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Likewise, Belissar was not particrly 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 dopared 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 andpletely 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 in.


    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 particr desire to do so until now. Even when the bees reported the mana flowers, they had asked him toe 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 arge 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 arge 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 arge 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.


    <em>All</em> of them.

 Chapter 31: Bee-hold the Truth

    Chapter 31: Bee-hold the Truth


    Belissar paced about and clutched his head. His entire body was trembling, and his heart felt like it was about to burst from his chest.


    Everything bad that had happened to the vige...


    Everything bad that had happened to him and the people he cared about...


    It was all for nothing?


    Belissar grit his teeth. No...it was worse. It was because the Tower Lords had <em>lied</em>. The lords...the priests...the guard...all of them. Mana couldn¡¯t poison a peasant when a humble bee could absorb it no problem. Potions couldn¡¯t be that dangerous, or even hard to make when a monster bee could make one out of honey and a couple ofmon medicinal herbs.


    And if Belissar had achieved all of this as a humble beekeeper in under a month, what could a full-on, prepared Tower Lord have achieved over decades, or even centuries if the rumors were true? Why did even a small vige like his own struggle when a Tower could do such miraculous deeds?


    And then Belissar froze, goingpletely still.


    He thought of the day his vige burned...


    He remembered Niobee¡¯s words to him...that he was hurt and that she tried to help him. And in the process made him a Tower Lord... A dark thought crept into his mind.


    What if...


    It wasn¡¯t that only Tower Lords could rule a Tower...but that only Tower Lords were <em>permitted</em> to rule a Tower?


    Not because they were chosen by the gods...but because they <em>killed</em> anyone else who tried?


    What if the point of the Tower Lord¡¯s son¡¯s visit that day was specifically to be the lord of the Tower Belissar now ruled? And he had burned down the vige to prevent any of them from interfering?


    Such was Belissar¡¯s thoughts when Niobeended on his hand and began dancing frantically.


    ¡°King! King not ok?! Need help?!¡±


    Belissar blinked as he was shaken out of his thoughts. He looked down at Niobee frantically dancing on his hand.


    He took a deep breath.


    He then made as much of smile as he could manage and brushed her back with his finger. He pushed the dark thoughts out of his mind for a moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m...fine. Well...maybe not, but I will be. Because...I have you now.¡±


    Yes, in the end, he realized that those dark thoughts were all spection. He knew all his prior knowledge was wrong, but he didn¡¯t know how much of it were lies, how much of it were misunderstandings, and how much of it was simply ignorance. He didn¡¯t know if all that was intentional or not. He had also seen the Hunger as well, and the devastation it could bring. Maybe the Tower Lords <em>needed</em> to keep the magic and the potions to themselves just to hold the line?


    Belissar couldn¡¯t say right now. He couldn¡¯t change the past, either. And he couldn¡¯t do anything about the Tower Lords one way or another, seeing as he was surrounded by the Hunger at the moment.


    And most of all...whatever the Tower Lords had intended...<em>he</em> hadmand of this Tower now, the one his friend Niobee was connected to. She had not been taken under their control, and he had not been killed before interfering. She was here with him now, and as long as he retained control of the Tower, she would remain.


    So, he tried to put it out of his mind. Stewing on what the Tower Lords had done and what they may or may not have intended achieved nothing for him now. But Niobee and the other bees were counting on him, so he would focus on them.


    And so, Belissar decided what to do. He would not dwell on the Tower Lords...and he would not take their words asw. Whether they had lied or simply been mistaken, the truth was that most of what Belissar had been taught had been proven wrong. He could no longer count on the tales and thews and doctrines he had grown up with.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    But...he didn¡¯t need to anymore. Niobee and the others would follow and support him in whatever he did. Together, they had conquered the shades of the Hunger. The God of Bees had acknowledged and blessed him, and now sent him guidance. Belissar¡¯s heart slowed back down. He took another deep breath and exhaled slowly, rxing his whole body as he did.


    He felt that...even if he had to forget all that he had learned before...that it would work out somehow this time. Between him, the bees, the Tower, and their patron gods...they could figure things out. For he was no longer Belissar, the orphaned peasant. He was a...


    He was about to say Tower Lord...but the thought of them was unpleasant at the moment. But Belissar thought of something else, written upon his status. He narrowed his eyes and nodded his head.


    Yes...he was Belissar, a Dungeon Master blessed by the Goddess of Bees. And from now on, he would face life with his eyes wide open, judging for himself what the world was really like.


    And as for the Tower Lords...well, if Belissar ever encountered them again, he had already decided on his resolution before.


    No one, be they man, beast, Tower Lord, or Hunger, would take his bees.


    He looked down at Niobee and actually smiled this time.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for worrying you, but I¡¯m ok now. Thank you for choosing and staying with me, Niobee.¡±


    Niobee looked up at him for a second and then began dancing rapidly.


    ¡°King is best king! Niobee always choose king!¡±


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at that, and the knot in his heart loosened just a bit...


    Well, Belissar had been distracted by the emotional shattering of his entire worldview, but once he had calmed down, he found out that...nothing much changed. At this point he had no idea where the Tower Lords or his former vige even were, much less any interactions with them. He had already determined the gods weren¡¯t going to smite him for his control of this dungeon previously. So, while the news severely changed the context of his past, it had little relevance to his current, Tower Lord-free life. The only serious change was that he wasn¡¯t going to call himself a Tower Lord from now on.


    And while Belissar <em>did</em> want to think through ande to terms with all the various implications of the shocking revtion, he had something he needed to address in the immediate short term. Which was, now that he had determined that demi-humans weren¡¯t actually monsters cursed by the gods, how should he actually deal with a group of them setting up near his dungeon?


    On the one hand, they were normal people from what Belissar could tell, and so didn¡¯t need to be treated any different from humans or anything. On the other hand...Belissar didn¡¯t have ns for how to treat humans in the first ce. He was a dungeon master now, so his former behavior around others didn''t exactly match his current circumstances. And after histest revtions, he <em>definitely</em> wasn¡¯t going to act like the Tower Lords had. Maybe there were reasons for their actions but Belissar was simply too upset to even think about them.


    But that meant Belissar now had to chart out his own path. And, well, he hadn¡¯t made any ns for this circumstance. He hadn¡¯t even thought about meeting people again. He was perfectly content living with just himself and his bees. His past interactions with most other people had not exactly been positive, especially after the old beekeeper died.


    Belissar thought of these bear people stomping into his dungeon, stealing his honey, or worse, setting fire to his home...or his hives. His eyes narrowed and he clenched his fist.


    But he took a deep breath and shook his head. The bear man who had visited had done nothing of the sort, and even left tribute at the Shrine of Bees. That much of what the Tower Lords said actually had some truth to it after all. The God of Bees had shared it with him, even. And, if Belissar remembered correctly, he may have seen some sort of message about challengers or something, though he had been distracted very soon after that and so wasn¡¯t sure if he was remembering correctly.


    So, while a part of him wanted to have nothing to do with other people, bear or otherwise, there were apparently benefits to interacting with them. Not to mention that he might be able to trade for things like cloth and tools, and so avoid having to make everything himself.


    Belissar heaved a sigh. It seemed there was no choice but to give it a shot. The possibility of figuring out what challengers were, the possibility of trade, and the apparent approval of the God of Bees outweighed any fears he had regarding people. After all...


    <em>Cave Mushroom absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Cave Mushroom now avable.</em>


    <em>No applications avable.</em>


    <em>Cave Carrot absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Cave Carrot now avable.</em>


    <em>No applications avable.</em>


    <em>Cave Potato absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Cave Potato now avable.</em>


    <em>No applications avable.</em>


    ...even his first interaction with these people had borne fruit. None of these particr nts and fungi were usable at the moment...but Belissar guessed from the names and the holes in the ground that these ones needed an underground environment. So, if he had gone for dirt tunnels and digger bees, he may have now had at least two new nts for them to gather from.


    So...if these people could potentially aid his dungeon and his bees...then Belissar just might have to put up with them.

 Chapter 32: Attempting Diploma-Bee

    Chapter 32: Attempting Diploma-Bee


    Belissar had his bees fly around the outskirts of the tribe¡¯s camp, keeping an eye on them and learning whatever he could, but he did not have to wait long. The group spent the rest of the day making camp, but when Belissar¡¯s scouts arrived the next morning, they found a group of the bear people preparing to move. A young man and a woman with a child were arguing with the old woman who had spoken to one of his bees.


    ¡°I¡¯m against this. What will we do if something happens? If they decided to attack us?¡±


    The old woman shook her head.


    ¡°They need toe so that the Sacred Den master does not attack. We cannot show up with nothing but warriors if we wish for peace.¡±


    The young woman nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Is?ppak, we¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Another armed man, the one who had visited Belissar¡¯s dungeon previously, ced his hand on the young man¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°And we¡¯ll look after them. I swear no harm wille to your family.¡±


    The young man hung his head and took a deep breath, and then nodded his head. The old woman smiled. ¡°You¡¯re a good father, Is?ppak. And that is what we must convey to the Sacred Den, if we wish for this to be our home.¡±


    Belissar watched as the group gathered their things and then began moving towards his dungeon. He took a deep breath.


    ¡°Niobee.¡±


    Niobee flew around in front of him.


    ¡°Yes, King?¡±


    ¡°Let the Flower Meadow queens know I¡¯ll be heading to the gate. I¡¯d like to bring their soldiers with me.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Niobee flew off immediately as Belissar rose to his feet. He grabbed his axe, then looked down at himself and grimaced. A worn tunic patched up by his less than ster linen weave did not exactly present an imposing figure. But he didn¡¯t have anything else, so there was no helping it.


    Besides, the bees were the most important part of the dungeon, anyways. And Belissar figured they would be impressive enough on their own.


    Belissar stood just in front of the entrance to his dungeon, watching as the group made their way towards him through the eyes of his scouts. He did not have to wait long before they reached the edge of the clearing around the dungeon. Belissar nodded as they stepped out of the tree line.


    ¡°Ok, now.¡±


    A heavy buzzing sound resounded through the clearing as hundreds of wings began to beat. An army of soldier bees rose from the ground and from among the flowers, filling the sky with buzzing and chitin. They flew just above Belissar, forming up into their squads as they hovered overhead.


    The bear people stopped and tensed. About half of their number were armed and took up positions around the rest with their weapons raised. The other half, consisting of elderly and families with children, huddled together in the center.


    The old woman stepped forward and said something to the man leading them. He motioned and then lowered his weapons. The others eyed him and the bees for a bit longer before they slowly lowered theirs. The old woman and the lead man then began walking slowly across the clearing. The others nced at each other before slowly beginning to follow.


    Belissar crossed his arms as they approached.


    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s close enough. Why are you here?¡±


    He resisted the urge to wince. That came out a bit harsher than he wanted...but he was trying to project confidence here. Even if every instinct in his body wanted to apologize and keep his head down.


    Fortunately, the old woman took it in stride.


    ¡°Greetings, master of this Sacred Den. I am Chief Rohsuak, and these are my people. We havee to request your blessing to settle here.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You want to live here?¡±


    She nodded her head.


    ¡°We have been wandering for a long time, yours is the first unupiednd with a Sacred Den we have found. Should you find it in your heart to ept, we would like to make our home here.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak motioned and some people from the center stepped forward. They spread out a mat on the ground before Belissar. On it theyid all sorts of goods, from seeds and preserved foods to textiles and crafts to tools made of bone...and even metal.


    ¡°Of course, we shall offer you and your patron a portion of ourbor, and our warriors will challenge themselves before your god if you wish.¡±


    Belissar looked down at the stuff on the ground, then up at Chief Rohsuak, then to her people watching him.


    Yep.


    He had no idea what to say.


    Tribute? Challenging themselves before his god? Belissar¡¯s experience with negotiations was pretty much limited to acting grateful when the other vigers handed him trinkets and almost-rotten food in exchange for a barrel of fine mead. He had to catch himself from thanking the old woman by reflex. So, he had no experience with people asking <em>him</em> for permission to do something, much less offering stuff to him.


    But...this was good, right? They weren¡¯t trying to kill him, they weren¡¯t trying to break in and steal his stuff, and they were offering him their own stuff just to live in the area. Seemed like a good deal to him. And, well, the only other example he had of dungeon-people rtions were those Tower Lords he was trying not to think about, so if he thought it was good that was fine, right?


    ¡°Um, ok. That¡¯s fine, I guess.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled.


    ¡°Thank you for your generosity.¡±


    Then Belissar narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Just one thing. Don¡¯t hurt my bees.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Of course. We will treat all of your Den¡¯s residents with the utmost respect.¡±


    Belissar nodded and then turned to leave.


    ¡°Sacred Den master, will you ept our gift?¡±


    Belissar stopped and then turned around, pointing at the stuff on the mat.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s for me?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Yes, we brought it for you, after all.¡±


    Belissar felt his cheeks grow warm.


    ¡°Oh. Um, right.¡±


    He stepped forward and tried to scoop up the mat as quickly as he could, stepping back as he tried to hold it all in his arms.


    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s everything?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Thank you for your time and generosity, Sacred Den master.¡±


    ¡°Right...let¡¯s go.¡±


    With that, Belissar beat a hasty retreat into the dungeon, the soldier bee army following after him.


    Belissar groaned once he got inside.


    ¡°Well, that was awkward...¡±


    How was he supposed to know they were offering this stuff to him, and not just showing off their wares? No one had ever just...given things to him before! No one in the past had even acknowledged his presence if he didn¡¯t show up with a jar of mead!


    He groaned again as he adjusted the weight of the stuff in his arms. Well, at least he got a bunch of free stuff out of all of this. He turned to the soldier bees flying around him.


    ¡°Thanks for the good work, everyone. You can go back to training now. And, um, if those people arrive, I guess don¡¯t attack them unless they attack you or try to steal your honey or anything like that?¡±


    The air roared with the beating of bee wings as the soldier bees all performed an aerial salute dance and then flew back towards their hives. Belissar cracked a smile at the sight. It was still quite impressive to see the army of giant bees flying as one.


    He then made his way back to the farmhouse and spread the mat across the table to check what he had received more closely. The food was mostly the same cave mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes the first man had brought, along with some sort of hardened cake that also appeared to have some meat in it. The seeds were mostly the same...but also included some above-ground species. Unfortunately, as with the pinecones it took more than just a few seeds to unlock any new nts.


    But there was one nt that made Belissar¡¯s eyes go wide. A flower that had been dried for preservation. One that may not have registered as a flower at first, given its brown petals and stem, but that had a very familiar shape.


    <em>Absorb Ground Mana Flower?</em>


    A Mana Flower that was brown instead of blue...and apparently had something to do with ground? Maybe the bear people had found it while underground? And if Belissar remembered correctly...the digger bee description had said something about Ground mana. So, if he unlocked this flower and the bees made honey from it...perhaps they woulde up with another new bee type.


    <em>Ground </em><em>Mana Flower absorbed.</em>


    <em>Samples: 1/5</em>


    Well, he only had the one, but he would have to ask the bear people if they had any more. If he was willing to talk to them again, that was...


    Beyond that, the bear people had given him some other useful things. The cloths meant he didn¡¯t have to process as much x to get the stockpile he wanted, a y bowl would be useful if he made anything other than straight honeb. And then there were the tools. A set of butchery knives, mostly made of bone but including one made of metal. His own knife was getting dull at this point, so that was honestly a big help.


    All in all, it was a big boon. And they had just...given it to him, freely?


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but be confused for a while after. His mind might know that he was now a dungeon master with a powerful monster bee army, but his heart was still surprised by thepletely different interactions he had with these people...

 Chapter 33: Bee Challenged!

    Chapter 33: Bee Challenged!


    While Belissar attempted toprehend the meaning of people giving him stuff, the bear people headed on back to their camp. The bee scouts kept an eye on them as they reorganized, with the children and young parents returning to the camp and a few other folk cycling in. As such, Belissar caught wind of them heading back towards the Tower when he turned his attention back their way.


    Belissar kept watch in silence. He wanted to know more about these people and what more they might want from him. If he could at least figure that out, he would be able to understand their actions to a degree. He had dealt with plenty of ulterior motives, it was those he was unaware of that concerned him.


    He, perhaps, had not yet epted how other people would now view him.


    So, he watched through the eyes of his scouts as Chief Rohsuak and the man who first scouted his dungeon led another group up to the gates of the Tower and stepped inside. He signaled to his Flower Meadow queens to keep an eye out but not to interfere for now.


    <em>Challenger detected, enabling Remnants</em>


    <em>Challengers Present: 12</em>


    Again, he saw a message from his Tower, again confirming that the Tower considered the bear people as intelligent beings that could acknowledge the God of Bees. The bear folk then split into two groups. Chief Rohsuak gathered a group in front of the Shrine of Bees, while the man led four armed individuals that stood off to the side and watched. Chief Rohsuak made a small smile as she walked up to the statue.


    ¡°Bees, huh? In all my years and travels, I have never seen a shrine dedicated to bees. A most curious Sacred Den indeed.¡±


    She then turned around and faced her group. ¡°Remember: the gods are weing, but they are not blind. They will acknowledge sincerity andmitment, but they will respond to deceit in kind, and your actions today will reflect upon all of us. Step forward only if you are ready to acknowledge this god as yours and have brought the best you are capable of.¡±


    The group nodded, and then one of the bear people stepped forward, walking up to the Shrine of Bees. She took out a pouch from her belt. She knelt before the statue and spoke in a soft voice that for some reason Belissar couldn¡¯t hear. She then ced the pouch inside of the wax chest and waited, closing her eyes.


    The chest and the statue lit up, bathing the area and the woman with soft, yellow light. The light seemed to wrap around the woman, and Belissar could feel mana flow through the Tower into the Shrine and then into the woman. Her eyes shot open and began to moisten as she stared up at the Shrine. She said something again before rising to her feet, staring at her hands as she stepped back.


    <em>Challenger blessed.</em>


    <em>Gained 10 DP.</em>


    Belissar stared at the message before him. He just gained ten days'' worth of DP...for letting someone pray at the Shrine of Bees?


    Five more bear people prayed at the Shrine while Belissar¡¯s mind wrapped around the implications of what he was seeing. Two more of them did the same as the first woman, and Belissar gained another twenty DP. Two more acted the same, but Belissar gained only five DP from each of them.


    The final one, a young man, ced his offering inside the chest and prayed...but nothing happened. The Shrine did not light up, Belissar did not feel any mana move, and no messages about DP appeared.


    Chief Rohsuak began to frown as she watched. A few minutes passed and then she stepped forward, inclining her head towards the Shrine.


    ¡°Please excuse me.¡±


    And then she stepped over to the chest and opened it up. The young man nced up and began to sweat.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Wait...¡±


    He reached out but the chief sidestepped him and looked into the chest. She reached in and pulled it out, holding a metal dagger in her hand. She narrowed her eyes.


    And then she knocked the young man over the head with her staff.


    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this, Toivenaq? I told you, onlye if you¡¯re ready to be judged on your <em>own</em> efforts! You think a <em>god</em> wouldn¡¯t know that your grandfather made this?!¡±


    Toivenaq averted his gaze while Chief Rohsuak sighed. She waved her staff at him and he quickly fell back. She turned to the Shrine and bowed her head.


    ¡°Please forgive us for the insult. That boy has greater ambitions than his patience would warrant. And thank you, for epting those of our people who came in good faith.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak then took a small dried flower and ced it inside the box.


    ¡°I hope this pleases you, God of Bees, as well as your Sacred Den Master.¡±


    <em>Tribute received. Your patron grants you this portion:</em>


    <em>- Ground Mana Flower x1</em>


    She then stepped away from the Shrine and nodded at the man leading the armed group.


    ¡°All yours, Metsaitti. May your hunt be fruitful.¡±


    The lead armed man, Metsaitti, nodded and turned to the group of four armed individuals, two men and two women.


    ¡°Remember, this is the domain of the Sacred Den Master and his patron god, and we are guests. Do not harm his bees, and do not do anything to provoke them. Am I understood?¡±


    The four nodded at him and then Metsaitti turned around.


    ¡°Good. Then, let¡¯s move.¡±


    The group began to walk through the Flower Meadow with their weapons raised. Two of them, a man and a woman carried spears, while the other two held bows with spears tied to their backs. They sniffed the air and nced every which way as they made their way forward.


    Not even a short way in and Metsaitti paused, ncing at the ground. He quietly stepped to the side. The spearwoman in front noticed and followed in his footsteps. The spearman kept walking straight ahead...


    And stepped right onto the first Pit Trap.


    He let out a cry but Metsaitti moved quickly. He jumped to the edge of the Pit and caught the young man¡¯s arm, leaving him dangling over the edge. The spearwoman and the two archers rushed over as well and grabbed the spearman¡¯s arms, pulling him back up.


    ¡°Watch your step.¡±


    The spearman gasped for breath, and then frowned.


    ¡°How did you even notice? It looked exactly like regr ground!¡±


    Metsaitti shrugged.


    ¡°Experience. You need to watch with more than just your eyes. I¡¯ll show you on the next one.¡±


    The spearman balked.


    ¡°<em>Next</em> one?¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°There¡¯s never just one.¡±


    With that, the group made their way deeper in, with the four younger folk staring at the ground ahead of them. Belissar had only been half paying attention to them up until now, as stunned as he was by the sudden DP gain, but now something urred that drew his attention.


    No, something that <em>demanded </em>his attention. He felt something cold move through the Tower¡¯s mana...which he knew to be the Hunger.


    Belissar leapt up with his eyes going wide. He was not prepared for a purification, for he had received no notice of it up to this point. Sure, the amount of Hunger he was feeling was even less than that of the minor purification, but the bees weren¡¯t in position. Even worse, the first group of the bear people were still gathered around the entrance to the Tower. Belissar might have been wary of their intentions, but that didn¡¯t mean he wanted to see them get torn apart by a shade.


    The queens of the Flower Meadow responded to his panickedmands and the soldier bee army stopped training, forming up into their squads and flying across the Flower Meadow at maximum speed. Belissar turned his attention to the gate, hoping they would make it time.


    It was then that he froze, and blinked. He was watching the gate...but the Hunger didn¡¯t seem to be gathering there. Belissar narrowed his eyes and tried to feel where the cold of the Hunger had gone...


    He found it just in front of the armed group.


    Belissar watched as a tiny portion of the Hunger came into being and condensed in the middle of the field. But...this time was different. This time, the mana of the Tower grew hot and wrapped around the Hunger, holding it within. A momentter...a small shade appeared. It was like the shades Belissar had faced before...except tiny. Belissar¡¯s head barely came up to the shoulder of the first shade, while the minor shades stood just below his neck.


    This shade, on the other hand?


    This one would barelye up to his knee.


    And that wasn¡¯t the only difference. The ck mist didn¡¯t ooze off of the shade, and it didn¡¯t wilt the flowers beneath its feet. It also ignored the flowers around it, and even the bee workers nearby. Instead, Belissar felt the mana of the Tower move, and the shade growled, walking towards the armed group.


    Belissar was struck dumb as he watched.


    Just what exactly was going on?!

 Chapter 34: Bee Assisted!

    Chapter 34: Bee Assisted!


    Metsaitti stopped the group as he noticed the shade.


    ¡°Get ready everyone. Pitk?sik will take the first shot, but we all need to be prepared if it doesn¡¯t go down.¡±


    The four following him nodded. The two spear-wielders took up positions by their leader, while the other two knocked arrows on their bows. One of them pulled back the bowstring as they took aim at the shade.


    The arrow flew and struck the small shade in the side. It snarled and then rushed towards the group, barking as loud as it could. The archer fumbled her next arrow and dropped it to the ground, missing her chance for a follow-up shot. Metsaitti called out to the nearest spearman.


    ¡°Keisaq!¡±


    The spearman gulped but hefted his weapon and stabbed forward as the shade leapt at them. His spear caught the beast right in the jaw. Metsaitti and the spearwoman also stabbed into the shade¡¯s side a momentter.


    It then vanished in a cloud of dispersing ck mist.


    Meanwhile, Belissar exhaled his breath as he watched through his Tower sight. He let the Flower Meadow queens know the situation had been handled for now. And then...words appeared before his eyes.


    <em>1 DP gained for Remnant defeat.</em>Belissar blinked at the message. So...that tiny shade was a remnant? And...he got DP when the bear people defeated one?


    Belissar rubbed his chin and fell silent as he considered that...


    Belissar watched as Metsaitti led the group around the Flower Meadow for a bit. Additional remnants formed here and there, but the bear folk handled them without issue. In particr, Metsaitti had each of the four under hismand deal the opening attack to a remnant in turn, allowing them to handle it solo if they were able to do so. After some time had passed, he returned to the entrance. Chief Rohsuak smiled at the group.


    ¡°It appears you were sessful?¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°We had a few close calls, but we managed. It seems the Den Master is fond of pit traps.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak chuckled at that. Metsaitti led the group up to the Shrine of Bees, and each of them prayed at it in turn. Belissar felt the Tower¡¯s mana flow once again, receiving another ten DP each for the four. Metsaitti rounded it off, only granting one DP himself.


    The group then prepared to leave. Just before they headed out, Chief Rohsuak had them turn towards the Flower Meadow and incline their heads.


    ¡°Thanks to you both, Sacred Den Master, and Goddess of Bees.¡±


    And with that, they departed, leaving Belissar alone with his bees...and his thoughts. He sat back his chair and let out a low hum. His mind raced with the events of the day and all the various things he had learned in the process.


    Meanwhile, his ears buzzed with the sound of wings. He held up his hand by reflex as Niobee flew around him andnded on his finger.


    ¡°King, ok?¡±


    He looked down at her, and then made a small smile. He rose from his chair and stepped over to the jars full of honeb. He scraped off a bit of honey with a finger on his other hand and held it up for Niobee. She flew over to his other finger and began to drink the honey off of it. Belissar¡¯s smile grew as she did.


    It had been a while since he had done this, ever since Niobee became intelligent...or more urately ever since he had <em>discovered </em>that she was intelligent. So perhaps he didn¡¯t actually need to coax her onto his finger with honey...but that didn¡¯t mean he should just stop. If anything, he should be treating her better now, knowing she could and did return his friendship.


    This novel''s true home is a different tform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°I...have a lot on my mind after all this. Would you mind if we talked, like we used to?¡±


    Niobee buzzed about rapidly.


    ¡°Niobee always listen!¡±


    Belissar smiled at that and began to talk. He poured out all that was on his mind about Tower Lords and lies, as well as his confusion over thetest revtions and what they would mean for his Tower and the bees that lived inside of it. Niobee sat on his finger, watching him intently throughout it all.


    ¡°So, what?! I did all of that, I watched everyone I care about die, I took crap from the vige day after day and now I find out the Tower Lords lied all along? It...¡±


    Belissar blinked as he finally realized what he was feeling. His eyes narrowed.


    ¡°...it makes me really angry, if I¡¯m honest.¡±


    Niobee¡¯s wings buzzed loudly, and she extended her stinger as she began a dance at a furious pace.


    ¡°Others, bad! Niobee saw! Invade King¡¯s hive, steal honey! But King have workers now! We stop!¡±


    Belissar watched...and couldn¡¯t help but rx a bit.


    ¡°Yes, thank you for everything, Niobee. I know you and the other girls have my back now. I guess...things will be very different from now on.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it.


    ¡°Ok, that brings us to the new people...what do you think of them?¡±


    ¡°These, ok! Help King, give stuff!¡±


    Belissar chuckled at that. That...pretty much matched his own impression of the situation. To be fair, the bear people could have any sort of intentions long-term, but as far as both he and Niobee could tell they seemed beneficial.


    And that seemed to have been confirmed by the Tower itself. Apparently, ¡°challengers¡± like them were a significant source of DP. Or rather, maybe they were the <em>main</em> source of it? Belissar had received over a week¡¯s worth of DP just from a single bear person praying and offering tribute at the Shrine of Bees. And there had been more than one of them...in total, he had earned <em>eighty-one </em>DP from their prayers and tribute. Even a minor purification didn¡¯t reward that much.


    And then there was the situation with the remnants. Belissar had thought about that and re-read the descriptions of challengers and remnants and thought he had an idea of what was going on. The description specifically said remnants allowed challengers to assist with ongoing purification...so Belissar guessed that the remnants were like, a mini purification. A tiny bit of the Hunger that seemed to gather when people entered his dungeon that they could defeat instead of his bees. He even received DP when they did...perhaps that was the ¡°assist with ongoing purification¡± part? All in all, they had purified five more of the shades, bringing his DP total for the day up to eight-six.


    That was almost three months¡¯ worth, or almost two minor purification rewards. It seemed having people around was very helpful indeed.


    But...what was their reason for helping him to such an extent? Surely, they had to have gotten <em>something</em> out of this? Belissar figured it had to do with the mana in the Shrine of Bees...and if he recalled the messages during the prayers mentioned the challengers got blessed? If it was something like the Blessing of Bees...but the blessing¡¯s effects only seemed useful for a dungeon master, so Belissar wasn¡¯t sure...


    His eyes widened as his mind turned back to the Tower Lords...and specifically the Tower Guards. The servants of the lords who were said to have been blessed by the gods, and capable of great and heroic feats. He had previously been under the impression that it was something innate to the Tower Guard themselves...but if that wasn¡¯t true for the Tower Lords then maybe it wasn¡¯t true for the Tower Guard either? What if it was, again, something they gained from the Tower itself...or from the patron god of those towers?


    In other words...did he just create Tower Guards? Only...that weren¡¯t working for him? Or were they working for him and he just didn¡¯t notice?


    Belissar shook his head. Well, he¡¯d have to watch those bear people that received the blessing and determine if they could perform great deeds like the Tower Guard were rumored to. And if so...well, Belissar didn¡¯t exactly know what he¡¯d do. Should he offer them a job? Demand they help protect the Tower? Just ignore them and be happy with the DP?


    He decided he¡¯d figure that part outter, if the blessing from the Shrine indeed worked the way he was guessing.


    All in all, the point was that these people were acting polite towards him and actively benefiting him with their visits, and the God of Bees seemed to approve of their presence as well. So...there was no need for Belissar to do anything about them or keep them out of the Tower or anything like that, although he would keep an eye on their visits if only because of the remnants that appeared around them. Maybe he could even offer to trade some honey for more goods if he needed them.


    But...Belissar realized there <em>was</em> something that had changed as the result of all of this. A very simple yet easily overlooked implication of this whole chain of events.


    And that was that the bear people had traveled <em>through</em> the Hunger. Or underneath it, as the case was. Belissar had been under the impression that the Hunger seeped into the ground and reached into the skies as well, but maybe there was a limit to that? Or maybe there were Towers underground as well?


    The exact reason aside, the point was that he was not alone anymore. And if the bear people could reach him...then others could as well. Others that might not be as polite as they were.


    Others like the Tower Lords.


    And that...was something Belissar would now need to consider...

 Chapter 35: To Bee Ready

    Chapter 35: To Bee Ready


    Belissar considered what would happen if a Tower Lord made contact with him. His gut instinct was that...it would go very badly. The <em>gods</em> may not have cared that a peasant had takenmand of a Tower...but the Tower Lords still would. They were the ones who likely started the idea that peasants would defile a Tower in the first ce. So, Belissar couldn¡¯t imagine they would be happy to see him as the master of one.


    And, of course, Belissar didn¡¯t really need to imagine. His entire vige had been burned to the ground with presumably no survivors just for being in the area when a Tower was created. He assumed the Tower Lords would continue such treatment should they discover him.


    All of that meant that Belissar needed to be prepared to fight.


    And at the moment...he had no confidence in opposing a Tower Lord. Even knowing some of their secrets and exposing some of their lies, Belissar couldn¡¯t shake the image of Tower Lords as near-mythical figuresmanding god-like powers and invincible armies. If anything, now that he knew about the powers a Tower and the blessing of a god could offer, he figured the Tower Lords¡¯ strength might be even closer to the legends than he originally thought, especially those who had been around for many normal lifetimes. Who knew what sort of defenders or perks or blessings they might have in their own Towers?


    And then there were the Tower Guard. They alone were a mighty army that had never lost a fight that Belissar had ever heard about. Whenever word of rebellions or bandits or shades from the Hunger came, they all ended the same way. No matter how badly things went for the local forces, once the Tower Guard were deployed to the scene the situation was handled.


    So, how would Belissar¡¯s Tower stack up against even a conservative estimate of the Tower Lords and their guards?


    Belissar didn¡¯t need firsthand observations or military experience to say not well at all. As impressive as his bee army was to him and maybe the bear folk, it was by no meansrge. The soldier bee numbers were, what, in the hundreds? Maybe? The low hundreds at best. Belissar hadn¡¯t seen the Tower Guard himself but from what he had heard they certainly had more than a few hundred soldiers to spare. That meant even against the Tower Guard his current forces would be outnumbered...and he was under no illusion that a soldier bee would be anything close to a match for a Tower Guard. Even a token force would likely cut through everything his Tower had to offer like a hot knife through butter.


    He didn¡¯t imagine a pit trap or a bit of mad honey would bother them very much either. And this was all before he began to imagine what an actual Tower Lord might be capable of.


    So, the answer was clear. Belissar and his bees needed to grow stronger. <em>Much</em> stronger. He would need thousands, even tens of thousands or more soldier bees before he believed he had even a small chance at surviving. He would need bees who could face the shade from the initial purification one on one. He would need traps and weapons that could handle people capable of great and heroic feats. And worst of all...he had no idea how long he had to reach that level.


    He had no idea where in the world his Tower was. To be honest, he didn¡¯t even know much geography beyond his own vige, much less the world beyond the influence of the Towers. If the very few and iplete maps and tales they had ess to were any indication, the Tower Lords ruled the whole known world. Belissar now had his doubts on whether that was true, but he had no idea what else could be out there if so, or how far he was from the nearest Tower Lord. They could be further apart than Belissar could ever imagine...or they could be right next door.


    Which meant he may not meet a Tower Lord for an entire lifetime...or he could meet one in the next week, and he had no idea which was more likely.


    Belissar realized that if he wanted to protect his bees and his Tower...if he wanted to avoid a second death at the hands of the Tower Lords...he would need to make an active effort to grow his Tower as quickly as possible. As well as to learn as much about his surroundings as he could, especially the tunnel from which the bear people had arrived.


    With potentially no time to lose in the worst case, Belissar got to work right away. He took stock of all the different options he had to strengthen his dungeon...and frowned.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    He could add a couple more monster bee queen or monster bee soldier spawners or a bunch more pit traps...and that was about it. He''d probably have to add more resource nodes in that case too, just to ensure all the queens had enough flowers to go around. But a few more hives or soldiers would not change the overall situation. He needed much more than that.


    He needed more rooms and more options, along with more mana with which to implement them. More of everything, really. His frown deepened and he rubbed his chin. The bear people significantly boosted the DP ie...if they kept visiting regrly, that was...but the prices in the DP shop were still exorbitant inparison. It would take him a long time to do everything that way. He could get a bit more DP or mana from the minor purifications, but that wasing at a rtive trickle as well.


    What he really needed was something like the initial purification. That had given him a new room, a new defender, a new room feature, double the mana, <em>and</em> increased his room limit all at once. Of course, he couldn¡¯t rule out that was a one time thing for getting the Tower set up in the first ce, but he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there was anything simr that he might be missing...


    <em>Mana too low to initiate expansion purification.</em>


    <em>Minimum required total mana: 300</em>


    Belissar smirked. And there it was, once again. But then his smile dropped. So, he <em>could</em> in fact do something more than just a minor purification here and there...but not until he had improved the Tower¡¯s mana pool. And the only way he could do that he was aware of was through minor purifications or the incredibly expensive DP shop.


    He went outside to scratch some math in the dirt and determined he would need to conduct nine more minor purifications to get the mana required. That would mean nine more weeks at minimum if he had to wait.


    However, he wondered if he could start the purifications before the countdown began, since he could start them early within the countdown?


    <em>Please purify core before initiating early purifications. </em><em>Core corruption currently at 15%.</em>


    <em>Attempt core purification?</em>


    Belissar nodded. It seemed there were things he could do to speed up the process. The flip side though was that this all would require his bees to fight more often...and to die more often. He frowned.


    Was he willing to ask that of them? Would they be willing to sacrifice for that cause?


    Well, he knew the answer to thetter was a resounding yes. He didn¡¯t even need to ask. The bees of the Flower Meadow were training and preparing to fight each and every day. The Apiary bees were working hard discovering new honey types and the new bee types that might result. Each and every one of them was working hard to grow stronger already.


    Belissar took a deep breath.


    Belissar didn¡¯t want to see them hurt...but if he didn¡¯t take this risk now, he would risk a lot moreter. He knew they could handle the shades, all the way up to the shade from the initial purification. Whatever sacrifices may result from that would pale inparison to what would happen if they encountered a Tower Lord before he was ready.


    He <em>had</em> to do this. It was not his job to keep his Tower¡¯s own defenders out of harm¡¯s way. It was, rather, his job to ensure they had the best chance of defending their home. He had to take responsibility for their lives...and apparently that would sometimes mean risking them intentionally.


    He let out his breath slowly.


    This dungeon master business...could be difficult after all...


    But he made his choice and sent word to his bees. He didn¡¯t tell Niobee to inform them on his behalf this time but sent his intentions directly to them. If he was going to risk their lives, he wanted them to hear it directly from him. He asked them to gather to him.


    Before long, Niobee, all of the queens, and a soldier bee from each soldier spawner hovered in the air before him. They all watched him in silence save for the buzzing of their wings, waiting for him. He took a deep breath and then opened his mouth.


    ¡°I...am considering conducting another purification. You will need to fight...and you might get hurt in the process. This one is not being forced on us. But it is necessary for our Tower to grow, and I think we need to grow as quickly as we can. So, I¡¯ll ask you now. Are you ready and willing to fight again, not just to defend our home but to expand it?¡±


    The bees hovered still for a moment...and then they all burst into rapid flight, filling the air with loud buzzing. The Flower Meadow queens danced salutes and told him to leave it to them. The Apiary queens indicated their stockpiles were full and they were more than prepared. Meanwhile, Niobee flew up to him and he held out his finger for her. Shended on it and began a slow, but unwavering dance.


    ¡°Bees ready. Whatever King wants, we do!¡±


    Belissar nodded at them.


    ¡°Thank you all. In that case, get ready. We¡¯ll start as soon as you are.¡±

 Chapter 36: Bee Purified!

    Chapter 36: Bee Purified!


    Belissar and the bees got to work immediately. The Flower Meadow queens gathered up their soldiers and arranged their formations outside the Tower¡¯s gate. The Apiary workers flew to each of the Pit Traps, ensuring the Sticky Honey Traps inside were stocked with mad honey. Belissar himself checked the kindling down in each of the Pit Traps before starting a campfire at the Apiary entrance.


    Satisfied that everything was prepared, he called out to all his bees.


    ¡°Everyone ready?¡±


    Niobee flew next to him.


    ¡°Ready!¡±


    He could see through the Tower sight the different bees all dancing their salute, indicating they were ready. He blinked a bit as he realized he was ¡°seeing¡± things in multiple ces at once. His Tower sight was apparently not limited to a single ce?


    His head started to hurt a bit once he became aware of what he was doing so he shook it and cleared his thoughts. The Tower being capable of more than he ever imagined was nothing new at this point, so he put it aside. He would experiment more with the Tower sightter, for now he had something more important to focus on.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m starting things up then.¡±


    He thought about speeding up the purification once again... <em>Please purify core before initiating early purifications. Core corruption currently at 15%.</em>


    <em>Attempt core purification?</em>


    Belissar nodded as he indicated that he would.


    <em>Please select percentage of corruption to purify:</em>


    <em>1%/15% - Minor purification required</em>


    Contrary to his expectations, the purification did not start immediately, and he was instead confronted with another choice. Belissar found he could adjust the first number from anything between one and the total corruption percentage. The purification required part changed when he passed twelve percent, going from minor purification to ¡°minor+.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment, before moving the number all the way to fifteen percent. On the one hand, he was a bit wary of taking on a purification he hadn¡¯t encountered before. On the other hand, his bees and traps could handle a minor purification with ease, and Belissar believed they could even deal with another initial purification level threat if it came down to it. ¡°Minor+¡± didn¡¯t seem that much worse than minor and so hopefully would still be weaker than the initial shade. Belissar thus felt it was worth the risk to deal with all the corruption in one go.


    <em>Minor+ purification attemptmencing.</em>


    Belissar once again felt the cold of the Hunger pass through the Tower¡¯s mana, sending a shiver down his spine. He wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever get used to that feeling. But he noted with satisfaction that the tendrils of Hunger creeping along the walls of the core room now fully receded, coalescing at the Tower¡¯s gate once more. But this time, the Hunger split into two separate spheres that eventually formed into minor shades. They let out a roar in sync.


    <em>Minor+ purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 2</em>


    Belissar narrowed his eyes. He had not expected multiple shades. There were only two and they were still the smaller shades from the minor purification, but it was still a situation his bees hadn¡¯t faced before, so he didn¡¯t know if they were fully prepared for this. Still, the purification had already begun, so all Belissar could do was trust in them.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The soldier bees dove down from the sky, stinging one of the shades on the back and then breaking off. Only one squad had prepared to dive, so only one of the shades was attacked in the initial assault, but that was fine for their current n. The attacked shade snarled and ran after the soldier bee squad, and the other followed close behind it.


    And, as nned, the first shade ran right over a Pit Trap and fell with a yelp, getting coated with sticky mad honey down at the bottom.


    But the n only ounted for a single shade, and the other was far enough behind to skid to a stop just before the pit. It snarled and backed away, watching the soldier bees flying in the air all around it.


    Belissar frowned. Under normal circumstances, he would light his torch and rush over to set the Pit Trap on fire. But now, he couldn¡¯t. Even if one of the shades was trapped, the other was still a threat.


    The soldier bees dove down to attack the shade but it was prepared and leapt to the side to evade the attack. And, worst of all, the shade didn¡¯t chase the bees as they flew off towards the next nearest Pit Trap. It remained by the first Pit Trap, pacing back and forth along the edge as it kept watch on the bees above.


    With that n having failed, the bees adjusted their formation and moved to fight the remaining shade directly. Bee squads began diving in quick intervals. The shade managed to dodge the first and was about to swing its tail when the second squad arrived. The shade was forced to redirect its attack to ward off the second, only for a third tond some stings on its back.


    It snarled and let out a breath of ck mist, but the soldier bees were prepared this time and all managed to evade. And this time, only the closest bees scattered, while the squads furthest back moved down towards the ground. They would not allow the shade to break the encirclement.


    But once again, the shade did something unexpected.


    It nced down into the Pit Trap and found the other shade trying and failing to climb out. And then...it jumped down <em>into</em> the pit. It began using its tail to scrape honey and kindling off its staggeringrade.


    The bees gathered around the edges of the pit but did not attempt to enter. With two shades in such an enclosed area, there was little chance they could evade counterattacks. Still, this was the moment Belissar had been waiting for, so he stuck a torch into the campfire and took off running once it was lit.


    In the meantime, the shades began stabbing the wall of the Pit Trap repeatedly with their tails, as high as they could reach. One of them jumped up and stuck their front paws into the two indents, just managing to hold on. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as it was about to pull itself up further.


    The bees reacted, however, and a squad of soldiers swooped down to sting the shade¡¯s face. The shade snarled and lost its grip, tumbling back to the bottom. Belissar gulped and picked up his pace, trying to reach the pit before the shades escaped.


    The one that had fallen barked at the other swaying around from the mad honey. The other shook its head and jumped up itself. Its aim was off and it missed the footholds entirely. It made another attempt, but its hold was too shaky, and it fell. It was not until the third attempt that it managed to get a grip.


    The bees began to dive once again but the shade at the bottom unleashed a breath of ck mist over the other. The bees were forced to break off their attack while the shade itself was unaffected by the mist.


    Belissar skidded to a halt as the shade pulled itself up and leapt to the top of the pit, just barely managing to grab onto the ledge.


    The bees looked at one another. One among their number buzzed and danced, and then they sprung into action. A squad dove down towards the shade.


    ck mist erupted from the pit as the one at the bottom again covered for the other, but this time the bees did not turn around. They flew through the mist with their stingers forward, relying on momentum and gravity to carry them forward even as the attack sapped their strength. And so they managed to plunge their stingers into the shade.


    The shade roared and whipped its tail around...which was a mistake. The move unbnced the partially intoxicated beast as the soldier bees mmed into it. The shade teetered over the edge...and then fell back. There were two yelps as itnded on top of the one still inside.


    Belissar took his opportunity and sprinted the rest of the way, barely skidding to a halt before the pit. He was about to toss the torch in when he froze.


    The squad of soldier bees were still stuck on the shade. Having been weakened by the ck mist, they now struggled to free themselves. One of them nced up at him.


    She danced a salute, as well as she could with her abdomen locked in ce. But her intentions came through to Belissar just find, and his heart constricted within his chest. But even as he hesitated, the two shades untangled themselves, and began to tear at the bees.


    Belissar closed his eyes and tossed the torch into the pit...


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. And...thank you. I won¡¯t forget you.¡±


    He could still see through the Tower sight, however, and so he caught onest, satisfied dance from the soldier before she disappeared into the mes.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>

 Chapter 37: Reme-Bee-rance

    Chapter 37: Reme-Bee-rance


    Belissar took a deep breath and forced down his feelings. He forced himself to smile as he turned around to look up at the soldier bee army hovering in the air.


    ¡°Great work. Thanks everyone.¡±


    The air buzzed as the soldier bees all danced a salute, while Belissar shook his head. Truth be told, this was an excellent oue. The purification had beenpleted, the shades had been defeated, and they had only lost a single squad of soldier bees. He had feared the worst when the shades managed to escape the Pit Trap, so to take them down with fewer losses than even the initial minor purification was a great victory.


    Belissar, though, couldn¡¯t help the pain in his chest as he thought of the soldier bee looking up at him. After all, it was he who decided to conduct this purification now, instead of waiting for the corruption to recede over time, and he who decided a stronger purification would be manageable. He was tempted to me himself for the losses.


    But he did not. He <em>forced</em> himself not to.


    And the reason for that was the same memory of that soldier bee looking up at him. The loss...the sacrifice...that was a choice that she had made, that they all had made. They had sacrificed themselves to keep the shades down and achieve this victory. Belissar felt that he should celebrate what they had achieved more than he should mourn their loss. And, therefore, he could not permit himself to wallow in guilt.


    Instead, he would honor their sacrifice, and make use of the rewards of their victory. And just like that, the words of said reward appeared before his eyes.


    Unprompted, for he did not n to consider it until after the funeral...


    <em>Minor+ Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em><em>- +75 DP</em>


    <em>- +15 Max Mana</em>


    <strong><em>- Bee Memorial Room Feature</em></strong>


    Belissar froze as he stared at the golden and glowing words at the bottom of the list. All his ns and the expansion of his mana went out the window, for he knew what he needed to do.


    <strong><em>Bee Memorial Room Feature </em></strong><em>selected!</em>


    <strong><em>Bee Memorial Room Feature</em></strong><strong><em></em></strong><em>is now avable!</em>


    <em>Compatible bee memorial detected, upgrade?</em>


    Belissar confirmed all that as he walked towards the Shrine of Bees at the end of the Flower Meadow. He felt the mana of the Tower flow and saw bright light surrounding the little nks he had stuck in the ground.


    When it faded, the little nks were gone. In their ce was arge beehouse, shaped like one of his but carved from the same material as the Shrine of Bees¡¯ statue was. Surrounding it were tall pirs of solid wax adorned with bees. The numbers and symbols he had carved into the nks had transferred onto the pirs, with more as well. Belissar stepped up to the pir and ced his hand on it. Though it was made of wax, it felt as solid as stone.


    He also saw markings he had not made. He walked over and looked over them.


    <em>Queen 1 ¨C Dynasty 1 ¨C Spawner 1, and her hive of 1018 workers.</em>


    <em>Queen 2 ¨C Dynasty 1 ¨C Spawner 1, and her hive of 564 workers.</em>


    <em>Queen 3 - Dynasty 1 - Spawner 1, and her hive of 186 workers.</em>


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened, and then he bowed his head as the tears formed.


    ¡°Thank you all, for trying to defend me. I¡¯m sorry you had to die because of me. I promise I¡¯ll do better, and won¡¯t let your deaths go to waste.¡±


    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    A short whileter, the bees finished their victory dances, and gathered by the memorial once more. Belissar had the bees help him gather the ashes at the bottom of the Pit Trap, and ced them within the beehouse at the center of the memorial. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as the bee carvings in the wax began to move and dance. Perhaps it was a written word, but for the bees themselves?


    Belissar nodded towards the soldier bee army.


    ¡°Thank you, for your courage and for defending our home.¡±


    They danced their salute and then Belissar turned to the monument, bowing his head.


    ¡°And thank you, for your sacrifice.¡±


    Numbers and symbols began to carve themselves into the monument as he spoke, signifying each of the bees that had died that day. The beehouse began to glow with soft, golden light...and the Shrine of Bees next to it began to light up as well. Niobee lead the bees in the slow song from the first funeral, the bees all danced and buzzed slowly in the light.


    A tear dropped from Belissar¡¯s eye, but his chest felt lighter. The bees were going to die. If he embarked upon this n to grow as quickly as possible, they would even die specifically at hismand. But now, he knew they would not be forgotten.


    And so, he would do all in his power to ensure their sacrifices did not go to waste.


    Now that the core was no longer corrupted, Belissar checked if he could initiate a purification...


    <em>Please wait 24 hours between purifications.</em>


    <em>Remaining cooldown: 21 hours and 49 minutes...</em>


    He nodded. So, it wasn¡¯t as if he could face continuous purifications. Maybe one a day at most. But that suited Belissar just fine. He wasn¡¯t in the mood for another purification just yet in any case.


    He sat back in a chair in the farmhouse as the sun set, with Niobee drinking from a honeb he ced on the table. He reviewed the results of the day.


    Multiple shades had caught him off-guard. To be fair, while every purification before now had been one shade, it wasn¡¯t like there was a rule that they had toe alone. But the fact was Belissar simply hadn¡¯t thought about the possibility. And, equally as concerning if not more, the shades had proven they could escape from the Pit Traps. All in all, it had been a miracle and a testament to the soldier bees that this purification had ended with only the loss of a single squad.


    So, Belissar thought about what he could do...


    Multiple shades and the ability to escape from Pit Traps could be dealt with by the bees. Belissar imagined they would begin training for multiple opponents from now on. If the bees could deal with one of the shades, or even just separate them from each other, then it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. The question is...what would they do about three? Or four? Or ten? Or a hundred?


    The other, and perhapsrger, problem, was that Belissar couldn¡¯t pull off his fire pit idea under these circumstances. If there were multiple shades, the ones that didn¡¯t fall into a Pit Trap could hang around its edges and prevent him from approaching. Likewise, if the shades could escape, then it was dangerous for Belissar to approach even if all the shades had fallen into one. He would need to think of alternative methods to light up the pits if he wanted to keep relying on this method.


    And...he felt that he should consider the case where he <em>couldn¡¯t</em> rely on that method. If, for one reason or another, he just couldn¡¯t kill a shade with the fire pit, then they would have to be defeated directly by the bees. A method that, as of now, would likely require sacrifice on the bees¡¯ part. Which would likely be inevitable if the shades got stronger or more numerous, but Belissar did want to put as many of the odds in their favor as he could.


    So...how could he make the Pit Traps more reliable? And what could he do to ensure the bees would have the best chance?


    In the end, it came back to growing stronger, and getting more options to work with. Which he had...


    <em>Bee Memorial</em>


    <em>Type: Bee, Special</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 3</em>


    <em>Description: A memorialmemorating those who gave their lives in defense of the hives. Grants all bee-type monsters a small chance to remain active for a short while after a mortal blow. Medium boost to the effect of all sacrificial-type skills. May have additional effects under the right conditions.</em>


    Belissar frowned. He hadn¡¯t been considering benefits when he chose the memorial, so it was a pleasant surprise to find it had such effects. At least, until Belissar thought about what exact effects it had. It made his bees notably more powerful...but only when they were going to die. It would reward sacrifice in particr.


    Perhaps...that was the point. If he was interpreting the golden glowing letters correctly...the God of Bees herself had sent this choice to him. Maybe she was reminding him that to be a bee is to embrace sacrifice?


    But even so, Belissar wanted to keep sacrifice as thest resort, not the first. So, the memorial¡¯s effects made his Tower and his bees stronger, but they would not enable the bees to handle issues without casualties, so it was not something Belissar wanted to rely on. He would have to do his best to work without the memorial¡¯s effects, and leave it as a fallback for if, and likely when, he made mistakes.


    So, he would continue on with the purifications as soon as the cooldown was ready. And in the meantime, he¡¯d brainstorm what he could do with what he had to reduce the sacrifice by even a little bit more...

 Chapter 38: Bee Respectful

    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 ced 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 ept 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 theck 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 imbnce 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 me that was too small might even be extinguished as it fell from the sky or when itnded. Likewise, a small torch wouldn¡¯tst 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 bnce, 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 ce. 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.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°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 hisnd 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 n to be the one to earn his fury and lose us our new home?¡±


    The young man nced 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 imed 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 <em>no one</em> 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 <em>were</em> 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 ce. Perhaps...he was <em>supposed</em> 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 honeb. 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¡¯te empty handed when he had a request.


    He ced the honeb 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 <em>too</em> 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 x 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

    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 ordingly.¡±


    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 nced 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.


    <em>Challenger blessed.</em>


    <em>Gained 12 DP.</em>


    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 ced 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 thanst time. Belissar thought a bit about why that was. If it were directly rted 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?


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    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 nts before they were harvested.


    And above all, this seemed to be rted 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.


    <em>New mission received: Help ten challengers receive full blessings.</em>


    Belissar smiled. At this point, he was wondering if the God of Bees was reading his thoughts. Well, she <em>was</em> 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 honeb that he hadn¡¯t made himself. Unless...it counted because it was from his dungeon?


    ...in any case, the God of Bees had epted it withoutint 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 x, 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 particrly 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 bing 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¡¯tfortable letting them snoop around in there. That was where many of his bees made their home, after all. And while they could probably gather honeb from the hives like they could harvest the resource nts...Belissar didn¡¯t like the idea of them reaching into his bees¡¯ homes.


    Ultimately, he decided honeb 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 ce 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 <em>far</em> 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 ce. 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

    POBee 39.1 - The Bee-st Laid ns


    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. <em>Swindled.</em>


    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 <em>useless.</em>


    First of all, it had no mana beyond that of a regr flower. What¡¯s more, unlike the other two flower types the King had spread, this one possessed no particrpounds 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 circting through the hive. The flowers in question were some of the worst they had ever visited. The petals fell off when the beesnded on the flowers, the pollen was especially heavy and difficult to work with, and the entire flower would fall off the nt 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 thistest cycle. All for a honey that did not improve upon any other she had made.


    She did not believe any nt the King had spread would be entirely useless. But it was clear that whatever special qualities this nt possessed were found elsewhere in the nt, in its stem or perhaps its seeds. Its flowers and its nectar werergely 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 ess to this nt¡¯s nectar with a portion of her own harvest. Sure, she could alsoy im 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 yed 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 nt.


    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 uneptable. 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 ny-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 hermand.


    ¡°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.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    She would admit she didn¡¯t mind this break from her work. She did what she needed to, butying 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 uninformedmands?


    So, she spent every day like thest. Sipping on honey andying 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 thanying 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 toplete, after all, and she would not dy 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, apanied by two soldiers and a couple of workers.


    ¡°Finally here. I let you gather from new nts 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 ording to n. The Fourth of the Seventh, being one of thest generation of queens, had very little favor, and little chance to gain any. She didn¡¯t even have one of the King¡¯s pces, 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 apetitor.


    So, granting her ess 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 oue 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 avable.


    ***


    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 blessednd 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

    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 toe 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 toe 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 pirs 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 nts 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 nt stems over his body. It looked nothing like normal nt stems, so she would not have noticed had the soldiers not exined 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 arge branch with a tip coated in wax. One of the King¡¯s legendary fire sticks, with which he reportedlyy 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 bitter, 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 ess 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,ing 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 story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    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 ess 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 toote, relegated to a corner of the Apiary where she would ever y 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 ess 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 toy 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 ns 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 nted, 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 weed 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 y 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 nning to move <em>further away</em> 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 y for the King¡¯s favor, then what she did was of no particr concern to the First of the Fifth.


    Or so she thought at the time...

 Chapter 40: Dont Bee Awkward!

    Chapter 40: Don''t Bee Awkward!


    <em>Minor purification attemptmencing.</em>


    The cooldown hade to an end and Belissar began another minor purification. A shade formed once more at the gate...and was immediately assaulted by soldier bee squads. They flew in continuous waves this time and did not attempt to lead the monster towards the Pit Trap.


    That was intentional. They already knew the Pit Trap would work against a single shade like this. But the bees needed to be prepared for the case when it wouldn¡¯t work. So, Belissar instructed them to fight this shade on their own. He already knew they could take one down, but the battle they did so had resulted in casualties. He was hoping that they could manage a minor shade without sacrifice.


    The bees flew in waves as they had trained to do. Belissar held his breath each time they approached but the bees were excellent at diverting the shade¡¯s attention. Each squad flew off immediately after stinging once and so escaped counterattack. The shade then stopped trying to chase the squads that had attacked and looked to the ones on approach, but they broke off the attack beforeing into range. They then began attacking with multiple squads at a time, such that whichever squad was targeted could simply breakoff while the others struck.


    The shade brought out its lethal breath, and the bees immediately scattered. Not a bee was caught in the ck cloud. The shade took another deep breath and then took off running as in the first minor purification, taking advantage of the bees backing away. But the bees further away lowered to the ground, forming anotheryer of encirclement while the others regrouped and soon their attacks began anew.


    It took the bees longer without dealing a Deathblow to the shade¡¯s head, but eventually the shade copsed under their assault. The Pit Trap wasn¡¯t needed, and not a single bee fell.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    <em>Minor Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +50 DP</em><em>- +10 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Queen Resistance Boost (Minimal)</em>


    Belissar nodded in approval. It seemed his bees had learned the tricks a minor shade could pull and could take it down as a matter of course.


    <em>+10 Max Mana selected!</em>


    Belissar was slightly tempted by the perk but held to his original ns. He wouldn¡¯t turn down a particrly helpful boost, but otherwise the sooner he could attempt an expansion the better. In this case, the boost was for the queens, who did not participate in fighting outside of the gravest of circumstances, so Belissar figured they could live without it if all went well.


    And if the queens <em>were</em> participating in the fight, then he probably had bigger problems than a minimal stat boost would solve.


    Fortunately, Belissar didn¡¯t need to hold a funeral at the memorial this time, so he was about to go about his business. But then, he paused, rubbing his chin and humming. Then he nodded to himself, and walked over to the storage jars in the room. He gathered as much honeb as he could carry, and then walked out towards the Flower Meadow.


    Heid out the honeb trays in front of the memorial, cing one at the entrance of the memorial beehouse, and one in the Shrine of Bees¡¯ wax chest. He was about to ask Niobee to gather the bees, but they had alle to watch him at this point. He turned to them and smiled.


    ¡°You girls won a great victory today, and nobody died this time. I think that¡¯s worth celebrating, so why don¡¯t we have a party? Here,e and eat as much as you want.¡±


    Belissar figured it wouldn¡¯t be good if he only conducted funerals, so he decided he would assist in the celebrations this time. The bees froze...and then began to fly around rapidly. The Flower Meadow queens flew before him and began to salute repeatedly. Belissar just waved his hand.


    ¡°Go on, this is the result of your hard work. You¡¯ve earned it.¡±


    The queens and their soldiers saluted and again, and then slowly made their way to the honeb. One by one...they began to drink...until soon all the bees were drinking and dancing. Belissar smiled and nodded.


    The celebrations went on for longer than normal...


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The next day, Belissar sighed as he walked towards the gate. He, unfortunately, had determined something he could do to increase his options while he waited to expand his mana. Something he had known he could do for a while now.


    Something he, perhaps, hadn¡¯t thought of because he¡¯d really prefer not to.


    And that was talking to the bear people.


    Belissar brought with him a couple of trays of honeb, a single mana flower, and a couple of poison flowers. He realized if he asked them to trade, he might be able to get some new nts or something. If nothing else, he could also use new tools to expand his own crafts.


    The only problem was...Belissar didn¡¯t really want to talk to them, to be honest. Thest time he had was <em>really</em> awkward, and he had never been the one <em>proposing</em> barters before. It used to be the other vigers would stop by and dictate the terms to him, after which he would inevitablyply.


    So...his heart began to race subconsciously as he thought of approaching the bear people himself. But, well, they had been unbelievably nice so far. And, more importantly, expanding his options through trade could improve the odds in favor of his bees. And that was worth oveing any amount of fear or awkwardness he may have felt.


    Besides, it <em>was</em> a bit easier to work up the courage for a conversation when he had an army of soldier bees hovering around him. He hadn¡¯t asked them to do that this time, but they naturally gathered around him when he walked towards the front.


    And now...he waited. And waited. And waited, his heart beating faster with each minute. He tried to distract himself but his beating heart distracted him from his distracting so it didn¡¯t work.


    But, finally, the gates of the Tower opened, and Metsaitti led his group in. They paused as they took in the sight before them, then Metsaitti inclined his head.


    ¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master. Thank you for allowing us in your abode. How may we help you today?¡±


    He motioned at the others and they inclined their heads as well. Belissar wanted to run but instead he cleared his throat.


    ¡°Um...I have some stuff. Do you want any? Err...as a trade, you see.¡±


    Belissar tried not to wince. Metsaitti¡¯s eyes widened and then he nodded.


    ¡°We would be honored, Sacred Den Master. We are not carrying any goods with us at this moment but I will ry your offer to the chief and we will put together something. Is there anything in particr you wanted?¡±


    Belissar started to shake his head before remembering what he was supposed to be doing.


    ¡°Yes, actually. Um, nts, especially flowers. Tools if you have them.¡±


    He nced at Metsaitti¡¯s spear.


    ¡°Weapons would be nice too...¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°Understood. I will ry your desires to the chief. Was there anything else you wanted?¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°No...that should be it...¡±


    Metsaitti nodded and the motioned to the others, who turned around.


    ¡°Understood. Thank you for the generous offer, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    ¡°Um, you¡¯re wee.¡±


    With that, the bear people left. Belissar resisted the urge to fall andy on the ground, taking a deep breath instead.


    Yeah, that was still very awkward. But at least it seemed to have gone well. The bear people were still polite and agreed to trade with him, once they had gathered some stuff...


    Belissar¡¯s eyes went wide as he realized something terrible...


    If they were leaving anding back...then wouldn¡¯t he have to talk to them <em>again</em> today?


    Belissar groaned.


    To distract himself...err, to continue the development of his Tower, Belissar returned to his work from the day before. Now that they had figured out a way for soldier bees to lift a torch, he and his assistant soldiers worked to refine it. They tried wrapping the cord around in different ways, or tying it to different parts of the torch, or making loops to wrap around different parts of the soldiers¡¯ bodies. In the end, they settled on tying four ropes, two at the front of the torch and two at the end, which would be carried by four soldier bees. They stuck with just having the soldier bees pass their legs through loops at the end of the ropes, as any other method made it more difficult for the soldier bees to drop the torch.


    At this point, they moved to test the process in its entirety. Belissar worked on starting a fire as four soldier bees from the Apiary stood on the ground next to a torch. Once the fire got going, he gave them a nod. The soldiers stuck their legs through the loops and rose into the air with the torch. They then flew over the fire and lowered the torch down into it until the tip caught me.


    They flew with the burning torch towards a nearby pit, the mes flickering asionally as they sped through the air. They dropped their ropes and so the torch towards the pit.


    The torch missed and bounced on the ground next to the pit, before teetering over the edge and falling in. The kindling at the bottom slowly caught fire until a ze was going at the bottom of the pit.


    Belissar nodded at the bees.


    ¡°Well, looks like it basically worked. How was it, anyone get burned?¡±


    The bees gave a dance indicating all was well. Belissar nodded to himself.


    They had seeded, then. A torch could be lit and carried by the bees. It would remain aze while they traveled, and so could still light the Pit Traps when they arrived. The delivery could use some work but Belissar had no doubt the bees would practice that to perfection. The point was, now that the torches could be carried safely through the air, it wouldn¡¯t matter if there were multiple shades or not. They could light up any pit that a shade fell into, regardless of who or what was still around the edge.


    Belissar grinned...only to remember what he was distracting himself from. And right as a group of the bear people arrived back at the Tower.

 PO...Bear 40.1 - Un-Bear-able Profits

    PO...Bear 40.1 - Un-Bear-able Profits


    Chief Rohsuak made her way to the Sacred Den once more. She was currently kneeling by the Shrine of Bees, her eyes fixed on the sight before her. Spread out on some basic cloths were trays of golden honeb, along with several shimmering flowers. She frowned, furrowing her brow as she looked up. There stood a young man with hardly any fur save for his head, and tiny ears of pure flesh attached to the side of his head rather than the top. He was trying, and failing, not to fidget as he waited for her response.


    She slowly shook her head.


    ¡°I am sorry, Sacred Den Master, but we cannot trade for these.¡±


    The young man scowled at that.


    ¡°Why not? Are you saying it¡¯s not good enough?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak quickly shook her head and held up her hands.


    ¡°Quite the opposite. We have nothing at present that would be equal in value. We would starve ourselves if we tried.¡±


    The Den Master froze, blinking repeatedly.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Chief Rohsuak raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master, do you not know what it is you have brought today?¡±


    The Den Master crossed his arms.


    ¡°Um, mana flowers and mana honeb, right? I mean, I figured the mana part was special, right? But...it¡¯s still just honey, right?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak exchanged a nce with Metsaitti. Metsaitti¡¯s fellow hunters were not so subtle, and simply balked at the Den Master¡¯s statement. Chief Rohsuak¡¯s mind raced.


    Leaving aside the young man¡¯s assertion that honey itself was not an exceptional luxury, <em>any</em> object containing this much mana was a priceless treasure. Much less if it was an edible foodstuff. Such a thing could be used as is to stimte the growth of a person¡¯s mana, which, if sessful, would make them capable of deeds beyond the mundane. And even the most minimal of processing could turn a mana-infused food into either a powerful medicine or a deadly poison.


    A mana flower, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t as readily useful, but was just as, if not more, valuable. It contained a more basic form of mana which would require further processing to achieve any particr effect, and thus greater knowledge and skill to put to use. But the flip side of that was that it was far more versatile, and had countless potential uses in the right hands. It could be cooked into magical foods, brewed into magical potions and poisons, burnt to power mighty spells, or crafted into magical artifacts...and those were just some examples that Chief Rohsuak was aware of. And this mana flower, in particr, had no discernible attribute besides the faint Nature one all nt life contained...which meant it could be used to achieve practically anything, though it would be less efficient than a flower with a more specialized attribute. But given how rare such flowers were to begin with, having a flower on hand that <em>could</em> work for any intended use case was beyond valuable.


    Which meant the Den Master¡¯s statements were either made fromplete ignorance or unbelievable wealth. He either had no idea of the true worth of what he possessed, or he had so much of it that it was worthless in his eyes. And Chief Rohsuak needed to determine which.


    The Den Master presented himself as the former. He seemed deeply ufortable, even fearful of them despite the fact that he held their very destiny in his hands...not to mention the army of bee monsters flying overhead. He wore tattered clothing that was clearly patched by hand and without much skill. At first nce, he appeared more impoverished than they did, despite their long and desperate travels.


    But still, a part of Chief Rohsuak could not help but remain wary. While every Sacred Den was different, all of the masters she was aware of tended towards imperiousness. They were powerful figures who were blessed by the gods and possessed mighty armies loyal only to them. Most such individuals did not hesitate to assert their authority. Those that acted humbly were the most dangerous, crafty schemers who preferred to hide their hand and disarm with a smile. She could notpletely rule out that this was all some sort of borate game, and that the Sacred Den Master was taking their measure to adjust his schemes.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    On the other hand, though, this was the smallest Sacred Den Chief Rohsuak had ever heard of, much less personally encountered. And this Sacred Den Master <em>had</em> shown his hand. Even now, hisrger monster bees flew overhead, while their smaller members kept a constant watch on the camp. Thus far, his overall actions were indicative of ack of experience as opposed to an borate deception.


    But that situation was no moreforting than the first, perhaps even less so. For if this Sacred Den Master was truly as inexperienced as he appeared, then he would be quite unpredictable, maybe even vtile. If he was this nervous just conversing with her, how much or how <em>little</em> would it take to make himsh out? What would he consider an insult? What would he consider a deception or betrayal? Did he truly wish for nothing from them, or was he stockpiling his grievances until the day he would break and avenge them all?


    For example, Chief Rohsuak could remain quiet, and trade the basic seeds and tools the Den Master requested in exchange for the incredible treasures he offered. She could simply state that his ignorance of their value was not her responsibility, and that she simply epted the price he offered. She could even take advantage of his ignorance and drive a harder bargain, using the situation to gain immeasurable profit. But if she did so, and sometimeter he came to understand exactly what their value was, and then came to realize that she had known from the start...how would he respond? Would he shut the doors of his Tower, barring them from the blessings of his patron? Would he react in violence and rage and drive them from hisnds altogether?


    Long had their people wandered, driven out ofnd afternd until they were but a shadow of their former selves. They knew firsthand what the displeasure of a Den Master could look like...as well as what the friendship of such a person could provide. This one was acting like frightened prey, expecting to be hunted at any moment. But even the most docile prey was dangerous when cornered, and a herbivore provoked to violence even more aggressive than the most vicious predator.


    So, when a young man with the demeanor of frightened and unpredictable prey held the power of a Sacred Den...only the most foolish of hunters would dare to provoke him. How much less when the lives and futures of her people depended on his good graces?


    ¡°Sacred Den Master, what do you know of magic?¡±


    His eyes nced about rapidly before he looked away.


    ¡°Um...not much?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded and made her decision. Initially, she had intended to deal with the Den Master cordially, but distantly. In truth, her people were at the end of their rope, their numbers cut to the edge of copse, and their resources all but drained. They could not afford to continue sojourning. They needed time and a ce to rest. So, they would have no choice but to give in to any demands the next Sacred Den Master made of them. She had been prepared to fight such a person in the field of negotiations, to try and satisfy their desires while preserving her people as much as she could. Such was the only way to deal with an imperious Den Master who ruled over theirnds.


    But this Den Master...was not imperious enough. Of everything she had prepared to deal with, no demands save not to harm his defenders was not a situation she had ever anticipated. And while it seemed incredibly fortunate for her people, she felt it was dangerous to leave the Den Master in his present state. If her people were to make this ce their home, then they at least needed predictable reactions from the Den Master that ruled it. They needed him to understand and protect his own interests lest they identally provoke him.


    ¡°Then, would you like to learn?¡±


    The hunters gasped at that. Even Metsaitti was taken aback. One of the more...excitable of their number spoke up.


    ¡°Chief, you can¡¯t be serious!¡±


    She silenced him with a look before turning back to the Den Master as his face scrunched up.


    ¡°The items you have offered are incredibly useful for any number of the mystic arts. The only thing we possess of simr value right now are our own techniques in those arts. So, how about it?¡±


    In truth, she intended not only to teach the Den Master magic, but the art of leadership as well. Of course, sess in that could mean consequences for her people. It was her intention, therefore, to establish a closer rtionship with the Den Master.


    However, her people had embarked on their long sojourn due to such a rtionship gone wrong and would not be eager to bow to any authority. Likewise, she predicted the Den Master would recoil if such a thing were offered. So, she decided to start slow, and create the opportunity for further interactions. Both sides could grow more used to one another, and if she were to help the Den Master grow she would hopefully give him a positive opinion of her people, such that he would use what she taught him on their behalf.


    It would be risky, but the alternatives were to leave and give up the best opportunity for a homnd they would ever find, or else to walk on eggshells for the rest of their lives, hoping they would not provoke an unpredictable Den Master. Chief Rohsuak would not have led her people this far if she didn¡¯t know when to take a calcted risk or two.


    Besides, a close rtionship with a Den Master could bring a people unimaginable boons. And she felt that this Den Master would not likely demand uneptable terms in response.


    The Den Master frowned even more, narrowing his eyes at her. She met his gaze with a smile.


    ¡°I...want to see what your magic looks like, first.¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    And so, Chief Rohsuak decided the future of her people. She could only hope that she had chosen wisely.

 Chapter 41: Do You Bee-lieve in Magic?

    Chapter 41: Do You Bee-lieve in Magic?


    <em>¡°Get out of here, and don¡¯t let me catch you around again!¡± </em>


    <em>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. </em>


    <em>He limped down the road, his stomach growling. His eyes stared nkly forward as he considered where else he could search for food. The other vigers scowled at him as he walked down the street, but he hardly noticed. </em>


    <em>He hade to the outskirts of town before realizing that his mind had gone nk, failing toe up with even a single idea. He tripped on a rock and fell into the dirt. Hey there, not bothering to get up. It wouldn¡¯t matter. If he couldn¡¯te up with an idea to find food, walking around was just a waste of energy... </em>


    <em>And then he felt something poke his back. </em>


    <em>¡°Boy, what¡¯re you doing there, blocking my road?¡± </em>


    <em>He barely turned his head to nce 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. </em>


    <em>The boy heard a thud as a sack fell to the ground right in front of his face. </em>


    <em>¡°Come on, get up, will you? Help me carry that home, and I¡¯ll give you something to eat.¡± </em><em>The boyid 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. </em>


    <em>And that was the start of the boy and the old woman¡¯s life together... </em>


    Belissar frowned at Chief Rohsuak¡¯s proposal. On the one hand, he had been tricked into freebor 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 <em>immensely</em> helpful. The chief was right in that he didn¡¯t know the value of the resources at his disposal, and he <em>couldn¡¯t</em> 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 <em>could</em> 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.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    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 shed and a ball of pure fire formed in its ce and shot straight into the sky.


    It then burst into arge explosion of mes, 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 <em>certainly</em> 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 nced 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 ce. 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 ess to magic.


    Belissar decided that the risk was worth taking. He looked back at Chief Rohsuak again.


    ¡°That¡¯s...eptable. But...youe 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 ufortable around these people...but that wouldn¡¯t changeter. So, Belissar took a deep breath.


    ¡°Right away, if that works for you?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded and then nced over at Metsaitti.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take the others and proceed with the hunt?¡±


    He raised an eyebrow and nced 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 honeb 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 alreadypleted 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 disyed, he couldn¡¯t deny that magic <em>was</em> 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!

    Chapter 42: Training Bee-gins!


    Belissar gasped for breath as he ran across the field. He copsed to the ground before the Shrine of Bees, every inch of his body on fire. He slowly strained his neck to nce at Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°W-What...does...¡±


    She smiled at him. ¡°What does physical training have to do with magic?¡±


    Belissar barely managed to nod on the ground. Chief Rohsuak snapped her fingers, creating a small wisp of fire above her hand.


    ¡°I believe mana to be a part of the body, like any other. So, the more you know your body, the easier it is to move the mana.¡±


    Her grin grew wide and she bared her teeth.


    ¡°And in the worst case, if you don¡¯t learn any magic at least you¡¯ll learn how to fight.¡±


    Belissar frowned. He was very much wondering what he had actually agreed to, for this didn¡¯t seem like magic training at all. But he didn¡¯t know the first thing about magic, so couldn¡¯t say if Chief Rohsuak¡¯s words were right or not. And well...if she was teaching him how to fight, that could also help him defend his Tower if he ever needed to step in personally. So, he figured he¡¯d stick with it a bit longer...


    A few hourster, Belissar copsed into his chair in the farmhouse, every muscle in his body trembling. He was barely capable of grabbing some honeb to eat. But he needed to restore his strength before it was time for a purification, so he forced himself to lift up the tray and take a bite. He felt warm mana flood through his body, soothing his aching muscles. He tilted his head as he focused on the sensation. He tried reaching out for the mana...but he didn¡¯t really know <em>how</em> to interact with it. It was clearly present within his body but didn¡¯t respond to any muscle he could move. He shook his head and sighed.


    ¡°King, ok?¡±


    Niobee flew in and danced around him. He made a small smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just tired.¡±


    Shended on the table before him and buzzed her wings.


    ¡°Enemy?¡±


    He shook his head.


    ¡°No, she¡¯s trying to help...I think. Helping me get stronger.¡±


    Niobee buzzed her wings a bit before starting a rapid dance.


    ¡°Ah! Like workers when queen needs to move!¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°Um, I think so?¡±


    He...hadn¡¯t been aware that worker bees would train their own queens, so he¡¯d have to take Niobee¡¯s word for it. Then, his eyes widened a bit.


    ¡°Hey, Niobee. You used mana when you fought the shade, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Belissar grinned.


    ¡°Do you think you could exin how?¡±


    Niobee began dancing rapidly again.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    From there a long conversation began. Belissar¡¯s smile soon began to droop.


    ¡°Ok, um, twist the flow into where, again?¡±


    ¡°Poison sac! Then sting like normal!¡±


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°Um, right. So, um, what do you do if you don¡¯t have a poison sac? Or a stinger?¡±


    Niobee flew about unsteadily.


    ¡°No poison sac?¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°Yeah, humans don¡¯t have those.¡±


    Niobee hovered in ce for a moment before resuming her quick dance.


    ¡°Can make honey then! Concentrate into nectar!¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Right, um, humans don¡¯t make honey, either...¡±


    Niobee came to a halt. Her next dance was quite a bit slower.


    ¡°No poison sac? No honey?¡±


    Belissar shook his head. Niobee halted again, before beginning a very slow dance.


    ¡°King is...drone?¡±


    Belissar smirked at that.


    ¡°Well, something like that.¡±


    Niobee barely moved with her next dance.


    ¡°...sorry. Don¡¯t know how to help drone...¡±


    Belissar made a small smile and lifted his finger for her tond on, then brushed her back.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, thanks for trying. I knew this wasn¡¯t going to be easy.¡±


    Fortunately, Belissar recovered sufficiently by the end of the purification cooldown. He was once again amazed at what a Tower could do for his body...or perhaps the mana from the honeb had helped him heal? Either way, he found he could move again with a bit of effort, so he moved to start a campfire.


    He was still a bit sore, enough that he wouldn¡¯t feel confident running a torch to a Pit Trap. But fortunately, he wouldn¡¯t have to. The Apiary soldier bees stood by near the campfire, their legs already holding the loops of their torch¡¯s ropes. This would be the first test of the new n in a real setting.


    Belissar was a bit worried about not being able to personally intervene should something happen, but logically speaking there wasn¡¯t much he could personally do if something did. The bees could handle a minor purification without any traps at all, so it should be fine even if there was an issue with the torches. So, he buried the fear in his heart and selected the option.


    <em>Minor purification attemptmencing.</em>


    <em>Minor purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 1</em>


    Again, a minor shade appeared, alone as usual. Again, a squad of bees dove on it as soon as it appeared and then led it towards the Pit Trap. Belissar nodded at the soldier bees standing behind him and they rose into the air. Belissar grabbed the torch and stuck it into the fire. Once it had caught, he pulled it out and then let it go, allowing the bees to carry it on their own. They flew off through the Apiary door and across the Flower Meadow. The torch¡¯s me whipped about as they sped through the air, but it remained alight, and the bees flew steadily forward.


    In the meantime, the soldier bees of the Flower Meadow lured the shade into the first Pit Trap once again. They took up positions around the edges of the pit even as the shade was coated in mad honey at the bottom. Several squads set up to dive at any moment from any side of the pit, such that they could attack if the shade began to climb out. Several more began a rotation of careful dives into the pit itself. The first made it all the way down as the shade was still recovering from the fall and plunged their stingers into its back. The second pulled away as the shade began swinging its tail around the pit. The third and beyond ceased their attack as the shade eyed them warily.


    The shade eventually turned away from them and began crouching down to leap for the edge of the pit, but then another squad dove down towards it. It spun about it instead and whipped its tail at them, but the bees broke off the attack once the shade abandoned its initial ns.


    And so, the bees danced with the shade. They attacked anytime it focused on the pit, and pulled away when it focused on them, using the threat of dives to interrupt any attempts to escape. The shade, alone as it was and beginning to sway about from the mad honey, had no chance to climb out of the pit.


    Then the torch bees arrived.


    They flew towards the pit in a straight and steady line, just above the height its breath could reach. They released the ropes in their legs at the same time. They had, as Belissar predicted, practiced the motion tirelessly before this, and so hit the perfect timing. The torch fell down directly into the center of the pit, smacking the shade on the head even. Soon, the pit went up in mes.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    <em>Minor Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +50 DP</em>


    <em>- +10 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Soldier Speed Boost (Minimal)</em>


    Belissar allowed himself to smile. All had gone ording to n. The bees now weren¡¯t dependent on him to set the Pit Traps on fire. Multiple shades could not prevent them from doing so again. The Flower Meadow bees were also adapting their tactics to that case and getting better and better at handling the shades. Yet again, not a single bee had fallen.


    Belissar then stared at the rewards for a while. He groaned and made his choice.


    <em>Monster Bee Soldier Speed Boost (Minimal) selected!</em>


    He really wanted to get the max mana requirement fulfilled as soon as possible...but this boost was a bit too good to pass up. Stronger soldier bees were a priority in general, and speed in particr was perhaps the most useful. Faster soldiers meant faster attacks that left less room for counterattack. It meant an easier time dodging attacks and reacting to surprises. And it meant the torch-carrying bees could arrive more quickly, and so reduce the time the soldiers needed to keep the shades in the pit. Speed was perhaps the bees¡¯ main strength and defense, besides numbers, and so Belissar felt a speed boost was worth dying the expansion by an extra day.


    Belissar nodded and then began stretching his body. His bees were clearly doing their best to grow, and their training efforts had shown. He figured he could show no less effort in his own training, now that he had a way to get stronger himself.


    And there was one other thing he could do.


    Once he had stretched, he jogged back to the farmhouse and gathered up some of the extra honey trays. A solid victory deserved a celebration, and he would provide it.

 POBee 42.1 - Aggressive Bee-spanding

    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,tely.


    First were the neers. 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 befortable 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 nning 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 mes 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 disyed there. As he honored her fallen warriors. As hevished 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 woulde 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 unupied 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 andpeted 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 ns 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, <em>far</em> smaller than the First of the Fifth or a soldier bee, yet she wasrger 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 morepetition 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 ept 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 avable, so that her ownbor 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 epted 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 <em>her </em>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 tomand 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 <em>was</em> 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 stoodpletely 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 hadrgely focused on the mana flowers, so there was an abundance of normal flowers avable. 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

    Chapter 43: Bee Focused and Committed


    Belissar met Chief Rohsuak the next morning, while Metsaitti¡¯s group passed him by. He didn¡¯t say anything to them, but he did re at the spearman who wanted to mess with his bees. Chief Rohsuak let out a sigh.


    ¡°Tyhgak¡¯s got more courage than sense, but Metsaitti will keep him in line.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change.


    ¡°He¡¯d better.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head before taking a look at Belissar. She raised her eyebrow.


    ¡°You seem to be doing well. I expected you to be in much more pain after yesterday.¡±


    Belissar red at her and she just smiled.


    ¡°You grow the most when pushed past your limit.¡±


    He sighed and then shrugged. ¡°I recover fast.¡±


    She looked at him for a bit and then nodded.


    ¡°Well, you do have a lot of mana. Ah! You ate mana honey as well?¡±


    Belissar eyed her for a bit before slowly nodding. Chief Rohsuak then grinned, with a glint in her eye that made Belissar take a step back.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. That¡¯s <em>very</em> good to know.¡±


    Then she began to chuckle...and Belissar felt a chill go down his spine. The training that day dramatically increased in intensity.


    When it was over, he barely made it back to the farmhouse, and copsed upon the bed, groaning.


    Niobee flew around him rapidly, but he didn¡¯t respond. She then flew out the window as fast as she could.


    ¡°Ow!¡±


    A short whileter, Belissar felt a sharp pain. He looked at his arm and his eyes widened.


    ¡°What...why?!¡±


    A bee was stinging him. Belissar¡¯s heart pounded in his chest. He was no stranger to being stung, the bees didn¡¯t exactly like it when he gathered honey from their hives. But he thought that had changed after bing a dungeon master, now that he could talk directly to them. So...what had gone wrong? What did he do that they resorted to stinging without even talking to him?


    And worse...why did this little bee give her life for that purpose?


    Belissar¡¯s eyes moistened as he reached a trembling hand towards the bee. He would try to pull her stinger out without hurting her, but he knew that was a difficult task. Which made it all the worse that she had stung him. If she had just told him what was wrong, he would have stopped whatever he was doing. There was no need for her to sacrifice herself...


    Then the little bee pulled out her stinger without issue, with no harm done to herself. Belissar stared at her.


    And then he felt a soothing warmth spread by the stung area.


    He now noticed that the bee that stung him was colored blue and had a thin, smooth stinger. It was one of the medicinal bees.


    ¡°Oh...is this how you apply the medicine? You¡¯re trying to help me?¡±


    The little bee danced a salute. Belissar exhaled his breath, also remembering that monster bees don¡¯t necessarily die when they sting now that he had calmed down. He then smiled, reached over, and gently brushed the bee¡¯s back.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    More medicinal bees were hovering around him and Belissar nodded at them. He felt little pricks as they stung him, but now that he was paying attention he noticed they weren¡¯t as bad as a normal sting. He looked around and found Niobee watching, along with the queen from the nearest hive.


    ¡°King, ok?¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Yes, and better, thanks to you two I¡¯m guessing?¡±


    Niobee wavered a bit in the air.


    ¡°King hurt, needed help.¡±


    The queen danced her agreement. Belissar reached out his hand and the twonded on it.


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll be fine, thanks to you both.¡±


    The two paused for a second before both beginning a happy dance. Belissar grinned and thenid back down in the bed, letting the medicinal workers do their thing...


    ***


    The next day Chief Rohsuak brought a pair of staves. After an excruciating amount of physical training, she began to teach him how to wield a spear. Belissar raised an eyebrow at the older, hunched woman as she picked up the stave.


    She twirled the spear around her with ease and then thrust it forward in a powerful stab that sent forth a small gust of wind. She then turned to Belissar and grinned.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not as frail as I look. Age is a formidable foe but I never yield without a fight.¡±


    Belissar began to sweat. He had a feeling that the training was going to get a lot worse.


    He was correct.


    ***


    Metsaitti¡¯s crew couldn¡¯t help but stop and stare at the Den Master the next day. The young man had been through <em>three</em> days of the chief¡¯s training...and not only did hee back, he looked no worse for wear than the first. Even Metsaitti raised an eyebrow at that.


    ¡°Have you been taking it easy on him?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled.


    ¡°No.¡±


    Metsaitti looked to Den Master and straightened his back somewhat. He knew now he was facing a man of focus,mitment, and sheer grizzly will, whatever his appearance or demeanor might otherwise suggest. He was also unaware that Den Master was used to doing what he was told withoutint regardless of how unpleasant it was, and that it hadn¡¯t urred to him that he could quit.


    Tyhgak the spearman, on the other hand, stared openly with his jaw wide open.


    ¡°You¡¯re surviving the demon?! Is that the power of a Sacred Den Master?!¡±


    Of course, everyone turned to look at Tyhgak when he shouted. The Den Master¡¯s eyes narrowed. Tyhgak took a step back and started to sweat.


    ¡°Um, hello?¡±


    The Den Master continued to re.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch my bees.¡±


    Tyhgak gulped. Metsaitti sighed.


    ¡°Told you he could hear you.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled as she walked up behind Tyhgak and ced her hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Worry not, Den Master. I¡¯ll make sure to give Tyhgak here some instruction. The demon will certainly whip him into shape.¡±


    Tyhgak¡¯s face paled.


    ***


    Belissar winced as he sat on the ground. His muscles ached, and he had bruises all over. Niobee and the soldier bees nearby started to hover around him before he assured them he was fine. Chief Rohsuak, despite all the sparring, seemed no worse for wear. She smiled as she sat down in front of him.


    ¡°Now should be a good time. Let¡¯s work on mana control.¡±


    Belissar sat up as well as he could, fixing his eyes on Chief Rohsuak. This was what he was ultimately working for.


    ¡°As I said, I believe mana to be a part of the body, or at least heavily intertwined with it. Your body is already subconsciously moving it around, sending towards the parts in need of healing. Try to focus on it and feel it moving.¡±


    She grinned.


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen of you, it should be easy.¡±


    Belissar nodded and focused on himself. He could indeed feel streams of mana flowing through his body, concentrating on the sorest muscles and the worst bruises. Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Looks like you found it. Now, pay attention to <em>how</em> the mana is moving. Try to remember that feeling, and see if you can replicate it. It may help to move around your limbs to get a feel for how the flow changes.


    She grinned.


    ¡°The more sore the limb the easier the changes will be to notice.¡±


    Belissar winced at that but did as she suggested, moving his arm around. He winced as he felt the bruises on it once again...and then felt the mana surge slightly towards that exact area.


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°It looks like you got it. We¡¯ll end our time together here for today, then. Focus on remembering that feeling for the rest of the day. Once you¡¯ve healed, try to see if you can replicate it.¡±


    Belissar nodded and the two parted ways. This time he declined the help of the medicinal bees so that he could focus on his own mana. It certainly made the rest of the night more painful, but the Tower¡¯s powers were as impressive as ever, and he had made a full recovery by the next morning.


    As he sat up in his bed, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Ok, here goes...¡±


    Belissar tried to make his mana move like it had the previous day...


    His eyes shot open. The mana now flooded into his arm where he once had a bruise. He tried to make it flow to the other arm and it responded immediately. It was so easy Belissar wondered why he couldn¡¯t do it before now.


    Niobee flew before him to greet him. Before she did, Belissar grinned at her.


    ¡°Niobee, I did it!¡±


    ¡°Did what?¡±


    He held up his hand.


    ¡°I moved the mana!¡±


    Niobee paused for a second, then began a rapid dance.


    ¡°King is best king! Niobee knew! King not useless drone!¡±


    Belissar was so happy with his achievement that he didn''t catch thatst bit. He leapt out of his bed and ran to the entrance of the Tower.


    Up until now, everything he had achieved had been through the bees or through the powers of the Tower. But now, Belissar the former peasant was moving mana around and about to learn some real magic. Now, he could truly say he had be something more than he had ever been.

 Chapter 44: Everyone Bee Growing

    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 exin 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 sh 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 shes of light filled his view time and time again...


    Belissar sighed as he walked back to the Apiary. Thanks to therge quantities of mana he could feel from the Tower, the first steps of umting, 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 <em>magic</em>, after all. He nced 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, rtively 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.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He nodded at the new queen.


    ¡°Wee, 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 thete 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 honeb, 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 ess to the Mana Flowers, which dramatically sped up the process. And now, she could begin toy some soldiers of her own. Once they hatched, she could put her n 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 ce that belonged to all the bees of the King. The ce 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 hadvished 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 squady 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.


    <em>Queen 1 ¨C Dynasty 1 ¨C Spawner 1, and her hive of 1018 workers.</em>


    <em>Queen 2 ¨C Dynasty 1 ¨C Spawner 1, and her hive of 564 workers.</em>


    <em>Queen 3 - Dynasty 1 - Spawner 1, and her hive of 186 workers.</em>


    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 hade 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 ce. 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 coborate, 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 exined her n...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 soldierster.¡±


    The Third of the Second stood still before beginning an even slower dance.


    ¡°But...King nning 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 n, 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 n 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 nning 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 n, 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 regrly...

 Chapter 45: Time to Bee Brave

    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 hisck of progress did not cross his mind. No, today, Belissar had other things to consider, for he had just finished thetest purification. He selected another ten mana, bringing his numbers to the current values:


    <em>Mana: 132/300</em>


    With thistest increase, he had reached his goal. He could now conduct an expansion purification.


    <em>Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.</em>


    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 ssified 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 honeb. He made his way to the Shrine of Bees in the Flower Meadow. He ced the honeb 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 pirs surrounding it glowed faintly.Belissar stared at the memorial for a minute. He walked over, looking over the pirs 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 rxed, 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 onceined about her permanent crippling. And the memorial itself, that <em>encouraged</em> 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 constantpanion. 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 imed.


    As for the worst case...well, the worst case was <em>why</em> Belissar needed to take this risk in the first ce. A shade would y all of his bees, tear down all he had built, and corrupt his core...and that wasn¡¯t the <em>worst</em> 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 inparison to the threat of the Tower Lords down the line.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    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 <em>all</em> 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 ck as bees hovered in the air ornded 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...ites 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 threatseter. 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. Niobeended 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 fighting 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 toin 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 <em>did</em> 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 <em>any</em> 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 ur 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 rtionship 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!

    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 <em>expecting</em> 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 sheid 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.


    Afterying 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 thetest 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 ry orders to that effect.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    A great battle wasing, 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 notpete 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 intorge lines. Foragers arrived at the entrance andnded 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 arge strip of greenish-blue interrupted the yellow lines.


    The First of the Fifth was not merely producing honey. A great battle wasing...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 be 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 ess to it in return for producing drones. So, the First of the Fifth did the unspeakable.


    She mixed the honeys.


    Shebined 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 healingpounds as the healing herbs, and so could imbue any nectar they processed with a bit of it.


    Of course, diluting the healingpounds 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 healingpounds from the healing herbs and boosted their effect, allowing a much lower concentration to reach the same levels of effectiveness. With the additionalpounds from the medicinal workers, she was able to produce eptably 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 epted 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 cing 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 bnce 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 <em>thought</em> of getting rid of bees to reim some mana.


    And so, everyone in the Tower prepared themselves for the fight toe, as the purification cooldown slowly ticked down...

 Chapter 46: First Expansion Purification

    Chapter 46: First Expansion Purification


    Yellow and ck covered the sky, with the asional 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 worste to pass. The queens stood at the entrances, trying to see the soldiers in the distance as best they could.


    A roaring me 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.


    <em>Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.</em>


    Belissar took a deep breath and then spoke, sending his intentions to all of his bees.


    ¡°Here we go.¡±


    <em>Expansion purification attemptmencing.</em>


    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 ites!¡±


    The Hunger soon grew visible at the edges of the gate, an amorphous ck 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 ck lightning leapt across the shade¡¯s body. Razor sharp ws 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.


    <em>Expansion purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 1</em>


    Belissar felt a chill go down his spine. He couldn¡¯t help but shout.


    ¡°Watch out! It can fly!¡±


    Unfortunately, he was a bit toote. 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.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    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 itsrge size meant it couldn¡¯t outmaneuver the agile bees in closebat. It snapped its jaws again, but bit only air as the target soldier suddenly changed direction, and then yet another beended 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 mmed 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 momentter 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 <em>nothing</em> 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 sessfully, 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 copsed together, as close as they could fly. They did not scatter, but instead flew <em>towards</em> 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 threended 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 hade 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.


    ck 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 ck 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 <em>forward</em>. 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

    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 ced. 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 nk and his expression slowly twisted as he realized that there was <em>nothing</em> 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 dancedmands 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 inparison to the shade heading towards them.


    But Belissar couldn¡¯t think of anything else to do. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he <em>should </em>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 toote. 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 pirs, the one closest to the Apiary entrance. One single soldier bee with a missing wing climbed to the top of the pir. The wounded soldier watched carefully as the shade approached, tensing her legs. She waited for her moment...


    And then she leapt off the pir. 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 <em>just</em> came into range of the Sticky Honey Trap Belissar had ced 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 therge 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 ws. 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 ck 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 ck 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 mmed into the ground. The lightning stopped surging and began to fade.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°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 andnded 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 ck mist and his axe dug into the ground.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification...</em>


    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 ck lightning danced across her on asion, 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 e 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 st 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 <em>something</em>.


    The mana burst into light and Belissar snarled.


    ¡°Come on, work already!¡±


    He willed with all his heart for his mana to obey hismand. 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 simr 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 honeb which shed. Then...the yellow light began to condense further into a ball, bing 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 dly 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. Themand 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 finalmand 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 ck 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 ck lightning surging across her chitin.


    Soon, the lightning began to change color. ck lightning became ck and yellow lightning as she warred with it for control. But the ck 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 ce 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

    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 <em>no</em> 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 andughed 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 ced her down as the medicinal bees began to arrive and pour over her, brushing her with their antenna and mana. Niobee returned with an <em>army</em> 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 momentter, 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 nce around from the slight warmth, for her it was more like a roaring me.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 happenedter. 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 asion. 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.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    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 toe 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 ck 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 ounted 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 ced the remains of the fallen inside the Memorial, and new words appeared on the pirs 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 ce 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¡¯de back, or what would have happened to the Tower in that case. He was reminded once again that he had a <em>long</em> way to go as a dungeon master. His defenses may have been impressivepared 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 <em>couldn¡¯t</em> have been. More queens, more flowers of the types he had, and more soldier bees would not have changed the oue 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.


    <em>Expansion sessful. </em>


    <em>Reward: Floor limit increased to 2. Receive one perk choice, and two random reward choices.</em>


    But he would deal with that a bitter. 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 honeb with her new,rger body.


    ¡°King! King should eat too!¡±


    He smiled and held his hand out. Niobee ced the honeb in it.


    ¡°Thanks, Niobee.¡±


    He took a bite and then held out his other hand. Niobeended in it, barely fitting now. He then held out the honeb 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

    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 be a two-story structure. It now achieved the bare minimum to be called a tower in the first ce, 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 honeb to eat.


    He had bigger things than the name to think about.


    <em>Dungeon Status:</em><em>Patron: God of Bees</em>


    <em>Floors: 1 (Rooms: 2/2), 2 (Rooms: 0/2)</em>


    <em>Mana: 0/300</em>


    <em>DP: 664</em>


    <em>Avable Monster Types: Monster Queen Bee, Monster Bee Soldier</em>


    <em>Avable Room Types: Flower Meadow, Apiary</em>


    <em>Avable Room Features: Basic Pit Trap, Sticky Honey Trap, Basic Resource nts, <strong>Bee Memorial (Limit Reached)</strong></em>


    <em>Core Corruption: 0%</em>


    <em>Dungeon Master: Belissar</em>


    <em>Dungeon Conduit: Niobee</em>


    <em>Perks: Blessing of Bees, Bee Breeder, Monster Bee Soldier Strength Boost (Minimal), Monster Bee Soldier Speed Boost (Minimal)</em>


    <em>Current Missions: Help ten challengers receive full blessings</em>


    <em>One perk selection, two random reward choices avable</em>


    And now for the moment of truth. Belissar opened up the new rewards from thetest purification.


    <em>Please select a perk:</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Soldier Defense Boost (Small) (Rarity: Common)</em>


    <em>- Cross-Pollination (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    <em>- Boosted Beehouses (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    The soldier bee defense boost was pretty straightforward, so Belissar focused on the other two perks.


    <em>Cross-Pollination</em>


    <em>Description: May grow hybrids of dungeon nts. Rate of hybridization improves with pollinator-type monsters.</em>


    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 <em>without</em> 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 nts, 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.


    <em>Boosted Beehouses</em>


    <em>Description: Beehive features produce honeb 10% faster and can store +1 maximum products</em>


    The beehouses were making at least one honeb a day, sometimes more, so a ten percent increase meant...


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    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 imed 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.


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Feature Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- +100 max mana</em>


    Belissar sped 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 ce.


    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?


    <em>Umon Room Choice</em><em>selected.</em>


    <em>Please select a room:</em>


    <em>- Orchard (Rarity: Umon, Type: Nature, Resource)</em>


    <em>- Hedge Maze (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Labyrinth)</em>


    <em>- Dirt Tunnels (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Labyrinth)</em>


    He made his decision thanks to thetest 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 hecked 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 ce 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 nts 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.


    <em>Orchard</em>


    <em>Type: Nature, Resource</em>


    <em>Innate Features: Fruit Trees</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 10</em>


    <em>Description: A farm dedicated to fruit-bearing trees. Decent for Nature type monsters and features. Excellent for resource production.</em>


    Orchards were a naturalpanion for apiaries, at least outside of Towers. Belissar figured that wouldn¡¯t be much different here. An Orchard would presumablye 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?


    <em>Hedge Maze</em>


    <em>Type: Nature, Labyrinth</em>


    <em>Innate Features: None</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 5</em>


    <em>Description: A maze made of tall and dense hedges. Beware of ambush by root and branch. Excellent for Nature-type monsters and features.</em>


    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.


    <em>Dirt Tunnels</em>


    <em>Type: Ground, Labyrinth</em>


    <em>Innate Features: None</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 5</em>


    <em>Description: Awork of tunnels dug directly into the ground. Soft walls mean new tunnels may be dug by defenders and invaders alike, and that nts and fungus may take root with ease. Excellent environment for Ground type monsters and features.</em>


    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 hade 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 ce 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 mighte 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

    Chapter 50: Bee-fuddled


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- Common Perk Choice</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Feature Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Monster Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    So, it turned out the second round of choices wouldn¡¯t be the same after all. That was fortunate in this case, since this set included monsters. Or Belissar could go with the feature choice. But Belissar was pretty certain of his choice this time. Traps were powerful in the right circumstance but weren¡¯t particrly flexible. At the end of the day, it would be his bees facing the enemy when all else failed.


    <em>Please select a monster:</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Captain (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Sprayer (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Mason Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Ground)</em>¡°Ugh.¡±


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but groan. Unfortunately, monster digger bees did not appear this time. If they had, he could have selected them to go with Dirt Tunnels, as well as to scout the tunnel used by the bear people. But he was not so fortunate and had now learned the choices would not necessarily repeat themselves. He could not make ns based on something he had seen before.


    Which meant he now needed to make ns based on a bunch of new choices.


    <em>Monster Bee Captain</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minor</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minor</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Death Blow, Brood Offspring, Brood Commander</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee soldier specialized inmand. More intelligent than normal and able tomand and buff squads of soldier bees. Not much stronger than a normal soldier, but a key part in improving the sophistication and coordination of the hive. In addition to existing monster bee soldiers evolving, a few monster bee soldiers may be born as captains.</em>


    <em>Monster Bee Sprayer</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Small</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Toxic Spray, Death Burst, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier</em>


    <em>Description: This monster bee soldier has evolved a deadlier venom that can affect a target through exterior contact. It has reced its stinger with a pore capable of spraying its venom at range, making it dangerous at a distance. It gives up some of its strength, bulk, and its stinger in exchange. In addition to existing monster bee soldiers evolving, a few monster bee soldiers may be born as sprayers.</em>


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.


    <em>Monster Mason Bee</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Mud Pack</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 1</em>


    <em>Description: A mason bee that has umted enough Ground mana to be something more. Capable of forming mud and other chewable materials into basic structures.</em>


    Belissar frowned and rubbed his chin. <em>Maybe</em> the mason bees would be able to see in the dark? They also mentioned Ground mana like the digger bees did. The problem being that Belissar wasn¡¯t sure of that. Additionally, the mason bees were regr bee-sized and were not a brood offspring that the monster bee queens couldy eggs for.


    The captains and the sprayers, on the other hand, would improve his existing hives and give them new options. The bees had already shown how much they could improve with training, so how much might they improve if they had dedicated leaders? Or how powerful would the army be with sprayers that could attack from a distance? A dangerous shade like the first big wolf or the lightning bird might be a lot easier to handle if they could poison it without ever putting a bee in danger.


    But, neither of those options would be any more capable of operating in the Dirt Tunnels as his current bees. If he was going to go with one of those, he would need to rethink selecting Dirt Tunnels, as he would have no bee specialized for that environment. And he would have no new ways of gathering information about his surroundings. He could feel the Hunger at the edge of the expanded purified territory, so it seemed he hadn¡¯t made contact with any other Towers above ground, but there was still the underground path to deal with. Just how exactly was he supposed to figure out what was down there now...


    Belissar froze. He had an idea. A simple, straightforward idea. An idea so simple and straightforward he had to wonder why exactly it had taken until now to think of it.


    Why didn¡¯t he just ask the bear people? The people who had already traveled through that very tunnel he was worried about?


    He took a deep breath as he felt his heart begin to pound. No, he knew why he hadn¡¯t thought of it. Because up until now, he hadn¡¯t trusted them. How could he? The number of people he had ever trusted could be counted on one hand, and all three of them were dead. Every other person he had ever met had either deceived him, stolen from him, hurt him, or ignored him entirely. He had no desire to rely on anyone other than his bees.


    But now, he had no choice. If he wanted to know what was beyond the influence of his Tower, if he wanted to know exactly how close the closest Tower Lord was, he had no options but to ask the bear people, wait for the next monster choice, or hope that mason bees could operate underground. And, if he put aside his beating heart and thought about it, it was a better idea to ask the bear people regardless. Better to find out how worried he should be and <em>then</em> choose his next monster, rather than the other way around.


    He took another deep breath. He didn¡¯t want to ask these people anything more than he had to...but if he thought about it, they had been different from the vigers and the Tower Lords. They had agreed to his requests. They had not touched his bees. And Chief Rohsuak had taught him magic, even.


    He held out his hand and his mana coalesced in the air, forming the honeb pattern and then a floating sphere of honey.


    Chief Rohsuak had not lied to him. It was thanks to her instructions that he gained this ability. It was thanks to her that he managed to save the wounded soldiers.


    Belissar felt his heart beat calm after that. He took onest deep breath and let the tension leave his body while he exhaled. He owed Chief Rohsuak some honeb and mana flowers just as payment for the training. He owed her more when he considered that she had saved the life of his bees with her teachings. He was still wary...but he felt he could trust her with a question like this. After all, the bear people were living here now, too. It would make sense for them to warn him of any impending danger, right?


    Belissar got up with a grunt and started to gather some honeb and flowers. It was time to do what he should have done a while ago.


    Unfortunately for Belissar, Chief Rohsuak had specifically agreed <em>not</em> toe to his Tower for the next few days. That had made sense when Belissar had originally nned to expand his Tower before resuming the magic lessons, but now he needed to speak with her <em>before</em> expanding his Tower. So, he had no choice but to go to her.


    So, he gathered up his things and made his way out of the Tower. Niobee followed, along with a good bunch of the soldier bees. He did feel a lot better when they came with him.


    He traveled towards the bear people¡¯s camp, along the small trail they had cut when visiting his Tower. Soon, he arrived and found the bear people making camp. They were setting up their tents and getting a fire started. Belissar tilted his head at that, since he thought they had done all this the first day they arrived.


    Belissar¡¯s own arrival had not gone unnoticed. The bear folk began to back away, eyeing the monster bees hovering overhead. A few of them even grabbed weapons. Belissar nearly backed away at that. Fortunately for both parties, Chief Rohsuak made her appearance and gave him a smile.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master, it is good to see you. Congrattions on your victory.¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow. But then he realized she probably noticed the Hunger being pushed back and determined he had seeded that way, so he nodded.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Her smile grew.


    ¡°Of course. Now, how may we help you? It¡¯s an honor that you¡¯vee all this way to visit us.¡±


    Belissar held up a sack.


    ¡°I owe you. And, uh, I have some questions, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes widened just a bit before her smile recovered.


    ¡°I see. Why don¡¯t we find afortable spot to sit?¡±


    Belissar nodded. Chief Rohsuak gave some instructions and the other bear people returned to their business, putting away their weapons as well. Chief Rohsuak then walked out alone and pointed to the edge of the clearing. Over there were a couple of tree stumps where the bear folk had recently cleared some of the trees. Belissar followed her and the two sat down.

 Chapter 51: A Bear-y Important Question

    Chapter 51: A Bear-y Important Question


    Belissar handed over the sack to Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°Here.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak took the sack.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    She opened it up and double checked the contents, then gave him a smile.


    ¡°Does this mean you were sessful?¡±


    Belissar nodded and held out his hand. His mana condensed and formed into honey once again. Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes widened and then she smiled again.


    ¡°Well done. This is the fastest I¡¯ve ever seen someone pick up magic.¡±


    Belissar felt his face warm and scratched at his cheek. ¡°Oh. Um, thanks? I, uh, think it¡¯s because of the Tower. And, uh, thanks to your help.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°I and the Sacred Den may have helped, but you put in the work to make it happen. Don¡¯t discount your own efforts.¡±


    Belissar looked away then took a deep breath. He didn¡¯t really know how to respond to that, so he simply didn¡¯t.


    ¡°I, uh, had some other questions for you.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Of course, how may I help you?¡±


    Belissar nced over to the hole in the ground.


    ¡°You, uh, came from beyond my Tower, right? I wanted to know what¡¯s out there.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak hummed and rubbed her chin.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind speaking of our journey, but was there something specific you wanted to know?¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded.


    ¡°I need to know if there are more Tower Lords...or, uh, you call them Sacred Den Masters, right? Yeah, if there are more of those, except, um, like me, and calling themselves Tower Lords, um...¡±


    Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile.


    ¡°So, more Sacred Den Masters that call themselves Tower Lords and have the same appearance as yourself?¡±


    Belissar nodded as he felt his cheeks grow warm again.


    ¡°Yes, that.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin again. She sat in silence for a moment before beginning to speak.


    ¡°My people were driven from their homes when I was still a youngdy. Most of our records and history were lost or destroyed. What we managed to pass on has faded as well, as our journeys took their toll on the people that knew them. But I can say from what stories remain and what I have personally seen that I have not seen anyone like you before. I know every people has their own name for the Sacred Dens and their masters, but I¡¯ve not heard the name Tower Lord before.¡±


    She gave him a smile.


    ¡°It does make sense though, given their appearance.¡±


    Belissar made a hesitant smile at that, and then Chief Rohsuak continued.


    ¡°There are legends ofnds far to the east and to the west where peoples with less fur live. But to us, they were little more than myths and legends. Until I met you, I had found little evidence of such things.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°So...they¡¯re really far away?¡±


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.


    Chief Rohsuak shrugged.


    ¡°As for actual distance, I cannot say, only that my people have never recorded meeting them.¡±


    Belissar fell from his seat and groaned. Chief Rohsuak tilted her head.


    ¡°Are you alright, Sacred Den Master?¡±


    He groaned one more time.


    ¡°Fine just...I¡¯ve been worried about something that¡¯s not going to happen anytime soon.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin.


    ¡°Not a fan of your own Sacred Den Masters, huh? Well, I don¡¯t think you were wrong to prepare.¡±


    Belissar sat back up.


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak¡¯s face turned serious and she made eye contract with him. Belissar wanted to look away but managed to hold her gaze, if barely.


    ¡°My people passed through many dangers to arrive here. Savage peoples, deadly monsters, and Sacred Den Masters that were not as kind as yourself. It is wise to gather your strength.¡±


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°Anything close by? How long do we have to prepare?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head and waved her hands.


    ¡°Ah, nothing in the immediate future. Thest Sacred Den Master was far away, thus why we had to travel the Underway for quite some time. We aren¡¯t under any imminent threat so long as you can hold back the Hunger.¡±


    She made eye contact again and smiled.


    ¡°Just keep in mind that you should not neglect the growth of your defenders and you should be fine.¡±


    Belissar exhaled his breath and then nodded his head.


    Chief Rohsuak waved to the Den Master as he left their camp. Once he was gone, she immediately began rubbing her chin.


    The Den Master had advanced more quickly than she had ever imagined he would. She had thought it would take him weeks at minimum to learn how to move his mana around his own body, then weeks more to do so outside of this body. That should have given her a month or two at the bare minimum to warm the Den Master up to herself and her people.


    She held up her finger and created a small me. She waved her fingers about, causing the me to dance between them. The problem was that the mana maniption steps were the <em>only</em> steps she could really teach him. She had not learned magic as some sort of formal trade. No one among her people had, not since they had lost their home. What she had was the blessing of the God of Fire, which, once she had the requisite control over her mana, granted her an innate ability to manipte her patron¡¯s domain. She had assumed, rightly, that the Den Master would have a simr blessing from his Den¡¯s patron and would automatically learn that patron¡¯s magic once he managed to manipte his own mana.


    Which meant that at this point, she no longer had anything to teach him. She could share her experiences exploring her blessing, but the blessing of each god was mysterious and unique. She couldn¡¯t truly say she knew how her own magic worked, and so could not teach him to use fire as she did. Nor did she have any idea on how the God of Bees¡¯ magic might work, or how he should develop it.


    She heaved a sigh. She knew Sacred Den Masters possessed great magical powers, so she supposed she should have expected this. Would a person who had the power of a Sacred Den flowing through their body struggle to move their own mana? Perhaps she had underestimated the boy due to his apparent age and demeanor.


    So, the question was, what would she do now?


    She also needed to consider the Den Master¡¯s concerns. The Den Master seemed worried, fearful even, of the ones he called Tower Lords. She had to assume such individuals to be on the worse end of Den Master¡¯s from the way this one spoke of them, and how relieved he seemed that she hadn¡¯t encountered any. If a Sacred Den Master was worried about them, then they were certainly a threat to her people.


    And finally, she needed to consider what the Den Master himself was capable of. He had his bee army, he had picked up magic in about a week, and he had emerged victorious from his recent fight. She opened the sack and gazed once more upon the golden honeb shimmering inside, as well as the lightly glowing mana flower. He also had some incredible resources avable that could dramatically improve the capabilities of her people. Even now, ten of their number were working on receiving blessings from his patron, if they could be fed a diet of mana-infused food as well then they would put Metsaitti to shame. There might even be a hunter who could surpass her in her prime.


    And...what if the entire next generation was raised on food such as this? If her entire people were one day capable of using mana like herself?


    Such a people would not fear any challenge whatsoever.


    But all of that was contingent on establishing a good and cooperative rtionship with the Den Master, who was still quite wary of them. But Chief Rohsuak hadn¡¯t led her people this far for nothing, so she started toe up with some ideas. Including one that had nothing to do with her people at all.


    She looked up and nced around. There was no one around her and all of her people were focused on their work at present. No one seemed to need her right this second, and no one was watching her. She nced down at the sack in her hand and frowned.


    She knew she shouldn¡¯t. She was old, and she already had solid mana reserves. She didn¡¯t need it. This was a priceless treasure, and it was her duty as chief to utilize it in a manner that would best benefit her people.


    She nced around once more.


    ¡°Well, just a taste wouldn¡¯t hurt...¡±


    After all, it had been her effort that earned this. She deserved this much, at the very least.


    She reached down and scraped a bit of the honey onto her finger and quickly brought it to her lips.


    She soon discovered that just a taste could hurt after all. Because now...now she would do <em>anything</em> to get another. She was just fortunate that no one happened to be nearby, less she have lost her dignity as the chief...

 Chapter 52: Counsel and Deli-Bee-ration

    Chapter 52: Counsel and Deli-Bee-ration


    Belissar stood in silence in front of the Bee Memorial, gazing up at the names on the pir. 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 <em>humans</em>, 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 tond on his finger. His eyes widened. His heart burst in his chest as his vision began to blur.


    He rubbed his eyes and then nced 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 <em>had</em> 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 thetest 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 nced 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 <em>her own kin</em>. The queen she had born, along with all the other queens of the Apiary. She had been the <emst</em> to arrive.


    A betrayal most foul.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the tform they originally published on.


    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 wouldeter. 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 herst. It was proof that her time was the most valuable of all.


    Surely.


    But as she pondered, the Kingid 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 urring 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 <em>hoped</em> 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 withoutint. 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 byying 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 entirend 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 ns on a scale she couldn¡¯tprehend? Especially her, for she had failed. Her army''stest 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 ns, but because they might be different. Their very limitations may force them to face concerns the King never would, not in spite of but <em>because</em> 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 <em>want</em> 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 ns and wisdom of the King?


    But she was the Firstborn. She had resolved to defend thends 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 thergest of the queens gave an answer.


    ¡°Army not strong enough.¡±


    He smiled. It was a simple answer, but it <em>was</em> 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 momentter, another queen, thergest 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 pces!¡±


    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

    Chapter 53: Priori-Bees


    Belissar cleared his throat and the dancing soon died down. Every bee fixed their eyes on him and he smiled.


    ¡°Thank you, everyone. I think I have a good idea on what to do now. Feel free to head back to whatever you were doing...or you can stay if you want. Whatever you feel like.¡±


    A thunderous buzzing apanied the joint salute of all the queens, and then they began to return to their hives. One of them tried to stay but was dragged away by her workers. Belissar chuckled and then rubbed his chin one more time as he started to walk back to the Apiary, and then to the core room.


    At first, he wasrgelymitted to the idea of Dirt Tunnels. Neither the Hedge Maze nor the Orchard seemed like it would help against the flying shade, while the Dirt Tunnels undoubtedly would. But now, his conversations with Chief Rohsuak and the queens had changed his perspective.


    The queens had much to say. Some asked for more flowers, others asked for stronger soldiers, others still for beehouses. But none of them asked for more traps, or terrain that would restrict the shades. Belissar had realized at that point that he had been focusing mostly on thetest shade and how to defeat it.


    But was that the right way to go about things? Which was more important: defeating shades, or supporting his bees? Again, Belissar remembered that he had defeated the first shade as a beekeeper, not as a Tower Lord or Dungeon Master or Sacred Den Master or whatever else.


    Perhaps defeating shades would have been the correct priority if the Tower Lords wereing for him. However, he had confirmed with Chief Rohsuak that the Tower Lords were nowhere nearby. He would have plenty of time to prepare for them if he ever met one again at all.


    And in that regard, promoting the growth of his bees was the top priority. It was the soldier bee army that ultimately dealt with the shades. It was the honey traps that had caught the flying shade in the end. It was the God of Bees that blessed his tower.


    Besides, thinking about thetest shade might prove to be a trap. In fact, it already had. The reason this shade dealt as much damage as it did was that Belissar¡¯s tower was over-prepared for the shades that came before it. There was no guarantee that the next shade would be anything like either the wolf-shades or the bird-shade, so making choices solely to defeat the flying shade might not help at all against the next foe. So, Belissar changed his line of thinking. He decided that rather than trying to restrict the shades, he would choose whatever would help his bees the most. His bees growing stronger and more versatile would give them more options the next time a shade surprised them.


    And...it would make him, the bees, and maybe even the God of Bees happy.


    With that in mind, Belissar made his first choice.


    <em>Orchard is now avable!</em>


    The Orchard did the most for his bees. It gave them more flowers to gather from and more trees to make hives on. What¡¯s more, Belissar guessed that Resource nt nodes would do something different in the Orchard than it would in the Flower Meadow or the Apiary. An Orchard would <em>probably</em> have trees rather than flowers, right?


    Still, while the nectar from fruit trees would allow for different types of honey, he didn¡¯t imagine it would be different enough to result in new kinds of bees like the healing herbs or poison flowers had. But that was why he made his next choice.


    <em>Cross-Pollination selected.</em>


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    This perk was a bit of a risk, but Belissar felt it was worth it. More flower types meant more options for his bees, and this perk would grant that. And if the Orchard unlocked new nt types entirely, then it wouldbine nicely with this perk.


    Plus, the bear people had given him underground crops that he couldn¡¯t utilize at the moment. He thought of taking Dirt Tunnels for that purpose, but there would be the issue of his bees actually gathering from the nts if he didn¡¯t have an underground-specialized bee. So, he figured he¡¯d go with the Orchard that his bees would definitely be able to use and try to figure something else out for the new nts. Maybe they could grow at the bottom of a Pit Trap, or he could try to dig a hole? If so, then maybe Cross-Pollination might work between the underground nts and the regr flowers and give him something his bees could gather from above ground.


    Of course, none of those options helped the bees fight directly, which informed Belissar¡¯sst choice.


    <em>Monster Bee Sprayer now avable. Monster Soldier Bees may now evolve into Monster Bee Sprayers. Some Monster Bee Soldiers will now spawn as Monster Bee Sprayers.</em>


    Mason Bees would give him a new type of bee separate from the queens that would not be directly useful inbat, so he ruled that out. Of the remaining two, he figured sprayers were the better option. Sprayers gave the soldier bee army entirely new options for attack while captains just seemed to make them better at what they already did. Besides, in Belissar¡¯s admittedly inexperienced opinion, his bees were already pretty smart. They seemed to adjust their strategies and formations after each battle already, so as far as Belissar knew it seemed like they were already doing what captains were supposed to do. In any case, the sprayers definitely did something his current soldier bees could not and would help with foes his soldiers couldn¡¯t get close to.


    With his choices selected, Belissar could now get to work rearranging his tower. The first thing he did was remove most of the traps he had ced before the expansion purification. He even cut down on the number of traps from before then. He originally had neen Pit Trap and Sticky Honey Trapbos ced around the Flower Meadow and the Apiary, but that had proven to be excessive. He decided to cut it down to an even ten, with an additional five Sticky Honey Traps ced above ground.


    All that brought his current mana total to one hundred forty-nine out of three hundred avable for his new rooms. Now that he had a second floor, he could ce another two rooms. Belissar had arrived back in the core room at this stage, so he ced his hand upon the core and got right to it.


    First things first, he would ce an Orchard. He wanted to see exactly how the new room functioned and what options it might unlock for him, especially with the new perk. He would determine what to do with the fourth avable room after that.


    Once again, a map of his whole tower appeared within the core, and a transparent image of an Orchard appeared, now floating above the Apiary. A door formed on the edge of the Apiary, leading to arge staircase that connected to the new room. Belissar found he could also move the Orchard down, which automatically made the Apiary move up above it.


    He rubbed his chin as he considered how he should rearrange his rooms. He nodded as he moved the Orchard in between the Flower Meadow and the Apiary, moving the Apiary up to the second floor. He figured the Apiary should be the furthest back because he wanted to keep the beehouses and beehives there safe. The queens there focused on honey production and had less soldiers avable in any case. He also hoped that the Orchard, by its very definition, would have more trees than the other two rooms. That could be useful for setting up defenses, since the trees would provide obstacles for ground-based shades. Maybe he could use them to make a walled path to a Pit Trap like he originally wanted to do in the Flower Meadow?


    Belissar thought about putting the Orchard first for that reason, but the ultimate purpose of the Orchard was to give his bees fruit trees to gather from, so he didn¡¯t want to move it <em>too</em> far away from the Apiary. Although, the Memorial, which was bing the gathering ce for his tower, was in the Flower Meadow, so maybe it would make sense to keep that in the middle? Besides, there were already hives in the Flower Meadow, so if they had to retreat to the Orchard those hives would be left vulnerable if the Flower Meadow came first...


    Belissar began to rub his chin and groan a bit. And here he thought he had finished making difficult choices already.


    Belissar thought and he thought and he thought some more until he grew tired of thinking and just put the Orchard in the middle. He could always move the roomster if he wanted, so he just put it somewhere and would deal with itter if it didn¡¯t work. He made no adjustments to the location of the entrance and exit, leaving them in the center of the front and back walls, and then confirmed the changes...

 Chapter 54: A Bee-autiful Day

    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 nced 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 momentter found himself exiting into another empty wax room. He frowned.


    ¡°Weird¡­¡±


    He nced around the room, again finding nothing of note. He wondered if he had somehow gotten turned around until he nced 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 ced his hand upon it.


    <em>Manage tree types? Avable types:</em>


    <em>-Apple (Selected, Mana upkeep: 0)</em>


    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, bing a dungeon master, learning of the Tower Lords¡¯ lies, and most of all gaining thepanionship 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 vige 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 thest one until he <em>really</em> 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 vigers traded to him.


    He turned to Niobee and motioned to the apple.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the tform they originally published on.


    ¡°Want a taste?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Belissar held out his free hand for Niobee tond 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 ce.


    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 apletely 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 minuteter 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 <em>reshaped the world</em>! He had built an entirely newnd 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 hermands. 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 newnds 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 newnd.


    Her workers stopped their frantic dances as their queen gave her spections 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 newnds. The Fourth of the Seventh couldn¡¯t help but dance about as she watched them leave.


    What wonders would they find? What newnds 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 popte 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.


    <em>Avable Resource nts for Orchard:</em>


    <em>-Apple Tree (Mana Upkeep: 1 per tree, upkeep reduced due to room)</em>


    <em>-Basic Wood Tree (Mana Upkeep: 3 per tree)</em>


    <em>-Mana Flower (Mana upkeep: 5 per node)</em>


    Belissar tilted his head at that. Apple trees were a resource nt? He tried to ce 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 nt nodes? Or would a tree made with a resource node be different? Belissar figured it was probably thetter. 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 x nts 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

    POBee 54.1 - Failure and Victor-Bee


    The Firstborny still on the floor of her hive. Thest 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 <em>not</em>. No, her hive had <em>failed.</em> 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 <em>towards</em> the hive, not away from it. Such a foe running away from her army was not a victory, but a failure.


    Thistest battle the enemy had slipped out of her soldiers¡¯ grasp and there was <em>nothing</em> they could have done to catch it. It could have killed her, destroyed her hive, and ughtered 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 everyst 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 <em>mention</em> 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 rece 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 <em>entirely</em> 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 bing 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 ce of her lost wing. Her injury was slowly bing 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 wascking, but not the King. In the hive of hives, the wounded and the broken and the failure remained. They had a ce 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 tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    And so neither would hers. If the King came to punish her for her failures, she would ept 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 Kingmanded 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 ayer 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 thetest battle.


    Next, the King had called for her, personally, and asked for her counsel. Her! Nothing could take from her tion 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 <em>she</em> 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 <em>she</em> was not utterly shameless enough to dare to lecture the King on his domain! Even if he requested it, only after she had made herplete 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 <em>King himself</em> 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 notpare 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 nning something big and had even taken her counsel to do it. She had no doubt something incredible wasing, and that anything she could n now would pale inparison. 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 <em>types</em> 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 bepletely unable to categorize and sort them out. The oues of each batch of honey would be entirely random,pletely 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 <em>she</em> would never presume that she knew better than he. As she said before, she would not even offer her opinion until she hadpletely 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 hermands, 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 coboration 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

    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 numberbed 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 asional 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 ns into motion. She desired to participate in the weaving of nt strands she had seen the King perform, and now that she had beesrge 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 ess 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, <em>incredible</em> 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 <em>into</em> 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 ess to an abundance of brand new flowers from the new room.


    Her workers had grown worried at herck 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 exnation of her n 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 nced 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.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°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 ns for the room, but he hadn¡¯t had a problem with her moving before so the Fourth of the Seventh was hopeful. Her dreams woulde 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 gavemands 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 abundantnd with brand new flowers that grew on trees, and that formed into fruits sorge 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 histest 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 avable 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 makepromises elsewhere if she wished to do so, and the First of the Fifth neverpromised 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 andy im 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 sufficientlyrge enough for the task. But her hive was not a mere hive anymore. Hers was a hive of hives. A new queen had <em>already</em> been born.


    Her own daughter.


    The First of the Fifthmanded that word be sent to her daughter. If her daughter were to move to this new room, she couldy im 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 nned to create a new spawner to popte 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 ce 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 ns. 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

    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,y t against the floor with her antenna drooping, even as her mother¡¯s worker repeated the dance. She had received a newmand, she was to move her hive at once to an entirely new and unknownnd, andy im 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 bnce the growth of her hive against her currently avable 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 toy 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 honeb could end up cutting their nectar gathering. Too many workers needing to gather nectar might leave the eggs andrva 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 rece 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 <em>barely</em> managed to bnce honey production, hive expansion, and brood tending. She did not have the magical pce 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 ess to the Mana Flowers her mother had, her workers had to work even harder to ensure the honey was fit for therva.


    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 urred, 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 copse 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¡¯stest 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 therva 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 hertest generation starve to fulfill thismand.


    But to fail themand 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 toplete her job or to die trying. To be a queen was to guide the hive¡­and to ept its failures as her own.


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen 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¡­hade 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 asrge 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 rted.


    ¡°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 unrted 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 helpter! 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 copse 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¡¯smand 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 therva, 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

    Chapter 55: Bee-nefactors


    Chief Rohsuak sat in her tent. A certain bag sat on the mat spread across the ground. Chief Rohsuak didn¡¯t take her eyes off of it for even a second. She barely even blinked.


    She may have seemed calm and steady now, but she was not known for her self-control in her youth. A berserker directed her emotions, she did not suppress them. But she took a deep breath and did her best. Now was not the time to indulge. Not yet.


    After a seemingly endless moment, her guest finally arrived.


    ¡°You wanted to see me, chief?¡±


    ¡°Yes, pleasee in.¡±


    A young bear woman stepped inside the tent. Chief Rohsuak didn¡¯t bother to look at her. She stood there for about a minute before she began fidgeting.


    ¡°Um, chief? How can I help you?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak slowly tore her eyes away from the bag and to her guest.


    ¡°I have something to show you.¡± With that, she opened the bag. The woman¡¯s eyes opened wide.


    ¡°Chief¡­what is all this?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak removed the contents one by one.


    ¡°Mana flowers and¡­mana honeb.¡±


    The woman nced up and looked at the chief, hers opening even wider.


    ¡°Mana¡­honeb?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak just silently nodded. The young woman stood still for a moment before a wide smile broke out on her face.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! To infuse mana into the honey¡­it must have been condensed down into the nectar while the bees were still processing it. Or, is this what happens when bees gather nectar from a mana flower? Honey already has medicinal properties so I certain the mana will enhance it, it might serve as a basic potion as it is. There are some many tests I¡¯ll need to¡­¡±


    Chief Rohsuak pped away the hand that was reaching for the honey¡­with only <em>slightly</em> excessive force.


    ¡°Ow! C-Chief?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak looked the woman in the eyes.


    ¡°Calm down, Juosiutik. You¡¯re getting ahead of yourself.¡±


    Juosiutik bowed her head.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head with a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, this truly is an exciting find, so I understand why you¡¯re excited. We¡¯ll need to arrange for you to gain some soon.¡±


    Juosiutik froze.


    ¡°Gain some? Um, chief¡­¡±


    Chief Rohsuak leaned forward and looked her in the eyes.


    ¡°As you may have gathered, this is from the Sacred Den. Specially, it was given to me by the Sacred Den Master himself in exchange for teaching him how to unlock his blessing. And yes, I know that normally such a treasure would go into themunal stock. But this was a reward from a Sacred Den in exchange for thepletion of a challenge. That means, by the will of the gods, it belongs to me, and me alone. Just like your blessing will belong to you, should youplete it.¡±


    Juosiutik frowned.


    ¡°I¡­guess that makes sense?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Which is why you must also earn these materials for yourself if you wish to experiment with them. But don¡¯t worry. The Sacred Den Master has already agreed to one such exchange, I¡¯m sure we can arrange another.¡±


    Juosiutik furrowed her brow.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°But¡­what can I offer him, chief?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled.


    ¡°For now, teaching. Share your craft with him, both knowledge and results, and he will share his bounty with you. And who knows? Perhaps his patron will look favorably upon your coboration, and you will progress towards a full blessing as well.¡±


    Juosiutik rubbed her chin for a moment. Eventually, she slowly nodded her head.


    ¡°Mana honey¡­it¡¯s too incredible to pass up. I¡¯ll do as you say, chief.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak grinned and nodded.


    ¡°Excellent. We¡¯ll be waiting here for a few more days, but n toe with us when Metsaitti¡¯s group next returns to the Sacred Den.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded in satisfaction as Juosiutik left her tent. She had found a simple solution to the question of the Sacred Den Master. If she had little else to teach him regarding the mystic arts, then she just needed someone else to take over. Direct maniption of spells and elements represented only one small fraction of the mystic arts, and was one of the rarer uses of mana outside of those with the blessing of a god. One of the mostmon, and indeed, one that she thought would pair with this Sacred Den quite nicely was herbology and potion-making. And Juosiutik was the foremost student of that craft among them, and was even seeking the blessing of the Sacred Den¡¯s patron to boost her skill to new heights.


    It had other benefits as well. Introducing the Sacred Den Master to more of her people should hopefully warm him up to them as a whole. And it just so happened that Juosiutik was one of the most eligible bachelorettes avable. If a young man and a young woman working together happened to grow a bit closer¡­well, Chief Rohsuak would simply take things as they came. She wasn¡¯t sure if Juosiutik would be initially attracted to a man with so little fur, or, alternatively, if the Sacred Den Master would be attracted to a woman with so much from his perspective. But he seemed close enough in form to her people that she couldn¡¯t help but specte.


    But even if nothing came of that, this method would establish a precedent. If each member of her people had to individually deal with the Sacred Den Master to trade for his incredible treasures, then he would slowly get to know more and more of them, and establish more and more friendly connections. It wouldy the groundwork for a close rtionship in the future, or so Chief Rohsuak hoped.


    Of course, the fact that she got toy im to the honeb she already had was just a side benefit, and had <em>definitely</em> not factored into her decisions. Especially not as she reached for the honeb again¡­


    Belissar was getting to work as a couple of worker bees flew over to Niobee and began to dance in the air. After that, she turned to Belissar and began to dance.


    ¡°King! Fourth of Seventh and First of Fifth¡¯s daughter want to move to new room! Ok?¡±


    Belissar nodded immediately.


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s fine. The queens can expand anywhere they want.¡±


    Niobee began zipping around.


    ¡°Ok! Will tell them!¡±


    Belissar chuckled as he turned his attention back to the room. Confirmation that the queens, including the newly born one, were moving the room was quite helpful. Thanks to that, Belissar put off any ns to build more queen spawners. Instead, he nned to add a new mana flower node and some wood trees once the queens chose the location for their new hives.


    As for traps¡­since Pit Traps had been rendered useless against thetest shade, Belissar chose not to ce too many of those. One right outside the entrance to the room, one by the exit, and then one in the middle. He would have to build a campfire site by the entrance as well, since the Apiary campfire was a whole room away at this point.


    He then thought about where to ce Sticky Honey Traps. They had proven key to defeating thetest shade¡­but their range was a bit of an issue. It was a stroke of luck and the efforts of the wounded soldier bee that had enabled them to work. Belissar rubbed his chin as he looked over the room, moving a transparent honey nozzle about as he considered where to put it.


    Then, he had an idea. He tried to move the nozzle towards one of the trees¡­and found the nozzle moved right up along the trunk. He grinned.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s convenient.¡±


    More than convenient, even. cing the honey traps up on the trees would greatly expanded their ability to hit flying targets. Belissar tried to move the nozzle as high as it could go, but found he couldn¡¯t move it onto the branches once they got too thin. So, instead, he put it as high up as it could go, and then proceeded to ce over a dozen more honey traps on top of various trees. After a moment of thought, he ced some lower on the trunks as well, so that they would be able to trigger on ground targets. Just because thetest shade flew didn¡¯t mean the next one would.


    With that done, thest thing to do for his new room was finalize the resource nt nodes. Niobee was off talking to the queens, so Belissar would have to wait a bit before he could ask her where the bees were setting up.


    Or did he? Belissar rubbed his chin and then turned to his Tower sight, looking through the Orchard. When focusing on his tower sight, he gained an intuitive sense of his bees¡¯ locations, so he managed to identify worker bees scouting through the room. A bunch of them were congregating around the door to the Flower Meadow.


    Belissar frowned. He would prefer if they didn¡¯t set up right there, since that would leave them vulnerable to any shade that reached the Orchard. But at the same time, if they had a reason to move there, he didn¡¯t want to interfere. He would ask them, but he knew they would take even a simple question from him asw, so he hesitated.


    But then, he came up with an idea. Or rather, remembered one from earlier. He tried to see if he could move an apple tree and found that he could. He began to arrange them into a tight grove a bit to the side of the entrance, as close as they could go. He put Pit Traps in the ground between them and honey traps along their trunks and branches. Then he put a Mana Flower node in the center.


    With that, there was a hopefully defended location where the bees could set up their hives. It was a bit off to the side, about halfway between the entrance and the side walls, so hopefully it would be out of the way should a shade assault the Orchard.


    Belissar nodded with a smile as he saw the worker bees pause and then fly to the near area. They began to buzz and zip around before racing back towards the Apiary. Belissar hoped that meant it was a job well done.

 POBee 55.1 - The Role of a Queen

    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 asrge 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 nced 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 amand 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 nced over as the two soldiers that had recently hatched carriedrger pieces ofb. 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 wasrger, 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 <em>more</em> 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 <em>possibility</em>. 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 ess to even a fraction of the resources now stretching out before them. Their hive could grow exponentially once this move waspleted.


    This book''s true home is on another tform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    And to think she, along with most of her sisters, had thought this move was unnecessary. <em>Inefficient</em>. 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 withoutint. 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 withoutint. 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 ess to the Flower Meadow while remaining out of the immediate path. Their canopies ovepped and interweaved in a way that would be <em>perfect</em> 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 <em>mana flowers</em> 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 andmander of the mightiest army, and the First of the Fifth, thergest and richest of the hives whose honey fed the King himself.


    And most of all, this entire grove had <em>not existed</em> ording 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 <em>the King</em>. 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. Heid the spawners from which the queens came. Only the wisest and mightiest of the <em>queens</em> 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 <em>her hive</em> 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, <em>the King</em> approved of and <em>changed thend itself</em> 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 epted 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 havee 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 outmands 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

    Bee Names Poll


    Turns out those of y''all whoment 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 <em>did</em> unilerately adjust the names and then ask them to vote on various options, so perhaps they feltpelled to pick apromise 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 vition.


    ...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...<em>he </em>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...<em>Belissar</em> have to think of actual names? Tune in next time, to find out!

 Chapter 56: A Bee-lated Job

    Chapter 56: A Beeted Job


    Belissar smiled as he watched two hives of bees migrate to the Orchard. One of the queens, in particr, 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 growingte. 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 pping her lightning wing as she stood outside the memorial beehouse. Since she still had ess 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 dide 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 revtions and heavy panic on ount of Tower Lords and shades, but at there was no excuse to dy 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 toe. The next day, Belissar walked over to the Flower Meadow. He nced over at the wounded soldier. She was no longer trying to p 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. Thergest 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.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°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 trantion 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 ns he hade 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 arger home around them all, and then building somerger trays for raising soldiers. I¡¯m guessing you makerger cells for the soldier eggs, right?¡±


    The queen watched him intently and responded immediately.


    ¡°Amazing. Yes,rger 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 intorger rooms for each of you¡­¡±


    Belissar took some sticks and stuck one into the ground, then walked around in a square and ced 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 onerge 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 <em>would</em> 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 thest 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 n 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

    POBee 56.1 - The Grace of the King


    After confirming the details of the Flower Meadow beehouse, Belissar heard a pair of chimes.


    <em>New Mission Received: Construct new type of beehouse.</em>


    <em>New Mission Received: House all queens.</em>


    He nodded as the God of Bees officially sanctioned his current efforts. He really had put that task aside for too long. But no longer. With nothing but the small, daily purifications on the horizon, he had nothing more urgent to deal with.


    That did remind him, though, that he would need to resume those purifications soon. The Tower would even force him too if he put that off for too long, and he still felt it was important for his Tower to continue growing. He rubbed his chin and frowned, though. With the soldier bee army taking casualties so recently, he wasn¡¯t sure if they were ready.


    But then he had a thought. Why not just ask? He had all the Flower Meadow queens with him right now, so he might as well hear it from them. He took a moment to think of how to phrase the question in a way that wouldn¡¯t just result in ¡°Whatever King chooses!¡± responses.


    ¡°So, I have another question. How is the soldier bee army doing?¡±


    The queens all wentpletely still at that, causing Belissar¡¯s heart to race. That reaction was not what he had expected.


    ¡°Um, I mean, you lost a lot of beestely, right? Is the army, um, recovering well?¡± The bees remained still, but eventually thergest queen began to dance. Slowly, ever so slowly, barely enough for the Tower¡¯s trantion power to recognize it asmunication.


    ¡°Army¡­ok. Losses¡­recovered.¡±


    Belissar gulped at her tone but took a deep breath to try and calm himself. The queen¡­was clearly hesitating to talk about this, and Belissar wasn¡¯t sure why. He wanted to ask her, but given how hesistant she seemed he didn¡¯t feelfortable pushing further. He would just have to make a decision based on that. But, he could still see the soldier bee army training in the skies of the field beyond and they still painted a formidable sight to him, at least. So, if the queen had confirmed they had recovered, then there was no reason not to resume purifications, right? Belissar figured worst came to worst, they could just rely on the pit trap strategy again.


    ¡­assuming the shades would go back to the mini-wolf types.


    ¡°Ok, um, if there¡¯s no problem, I¡¯m thinking of facing another minor purification tonight. Um, hopefully the easy ones from before. So, um, let me know if there¡¯s anything we need to do first, and otherwise, um, get ready forter?¡±


    The queens froze once again. Belissar was about to rescind the order when they exploded into motion. Belissar¡¯s eyes spun around at all the bees zipping about him, but the Tower¡¯s magic barely managed to catch a few of their dances in total.


    It seemed they were flying salute dances as quickly as they could.


    Belissar was altogether confused at this point but decided to take that as a good sign. With that done, he moved on to begin preparing a new campfire site in the Orchard and to double check the defenses. Once that was settled, he¡¯d move to get started on the new beehouse. Purifications had dyed it long enough, after all.


    The Firstborn stood in a daze even as her Flower Meadowpatriots continued dancing their salutes. And, unusually, the Conduit remained even after the King walked off. Shended by the Firstborn and began a gentle dance.


    ¡°See? King still trusts! Wants Second First of the First do well! Still cares! Like Niobee said, King is best King!¡±


    The Firstborn barely managed to acknowledge her. Satisfied, the Conduit flew off to rejoin him, leaving the Flower Meadow queens with their thoughts.


    After her abject failure in thetest purification, the Firstborn had been fully prepared for exile or death. She knew the King was unlikely to demand such things, but her instincts prepared her regardless. That had not urred.


    Again, that was not a surprise given the actions of the King thus far, but the Firstborn at least expected <em>some</em> consequences. So, she anticipated some sort of censure. A demotion from her post, in favor of one of the other Flower Meadow queens or maybe even the First of the Fifth of the Fifth, should she have interest in the job. A reduction of her resources or an increase in oversight, perhaps with the King or the Conduit giving her orders from now on. At the very least, she expected the King to admonish her, and address her shorings.


    But again, none of that had urred.


    No. Instead, the King had called her to inform her that he was building her a pce by his own hand, as he had done for the most productive queens of the Apiary. And he was not just building her a pce like those. He was makingrger, grander, a new design he had not built before. Not only that, but he <em>consulted her directly</em>. He asked her and herrades what they would want out of a home. He valued their thoughts and their desires, as small and limited as they werepared to his own wisdom.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    He was granting them the grandest reward immediately after their greatest failure. The Conduit¡¯s words had proven correct. The Firstborn truly could notprehend the depths of the King¡¯s favor for even the least of his bees. But perhaps that was to be expected of the King who suffered not even a crippled soldier to die when he was able to save her.


    But even that was not the greatest surprise of the day. The Firstborn had thought the moment she had been expecting hade when the King asked of the state of her army. She, and all herpatriots, had gone silent in shame. What could the state of the army be but abysmal? Yes, the queens had anticipated casualties and preemptivelyid a new generation of soldier eggs, so the losses had been recovered almost immediately. But the army at its peak had failed utterly to stop the enemy. The army itself was revealed as wed and incapable of its fundamental purpose. So, how was such an army doing? The answer could not be anything good.


    And then, once again, the King defied all of her expectations. He specifically asked about the casualties. The Firstborn gave an answer, and then the King had made the deration that rocked them all to the core.


    He was starting up the purifications again. And he asked <em>them</em> to be ready.


    Not only had the King forgiven them for their failures, but he was also still expecting them to continue their duties. He was not recing them or moving them to other roles. He still trusted them to defend the hive of hives, even after their failures.


    As the Conduit had assured her, the King was far more forgiving than any queen the Firstborn had ever known of. Even she would not have let one of her children continue a role they had failed in so utterly. They would have been reassigned if they were not exiled outright. Instead, the King was giving them another chance.


    The Firstborn leapt into action and into the air, her wings beating as fast as they could as she shot into the air. She would not let this chance go to waste. She would not let her King down again.


    She quickly conferred with the other queens to exin what she nned to do. They quickly agreed and then they all raced off to the skies above. Soon, they arrived at the ce where their joint army trained. The soldier bees quickly ceased their maneuvers and gathered up before their queens, the mere sight of their mothers outside of the hive pulling their attention.


    The Firstborn made the deration.


    ¡°King giving another chance. We battle again today.¡±


    The army nearly dropped out of the sky as the soldiers¡¯ wings halted at the deration. But the Firstborn gave them no chance to recover, as limited as her time was.


    ¡°Queens will fight too, today. Willmand.¡±


    Some of the soldier bees fell so far theynded upon the ground at that, before the objections began. But the Firstborn had none of it.


    ¡°Not all. Today, me alone. Other queens stay safe. Our job to raise army. If did well, won¡¯t be hurt. If did poorly, another will rece. But no matter what, <em>cannot</em> fail again. Will not put King in danger again. Hive of hives bigger than one.¡±


    The soldiers fell still at that. The soldiers of the other hives looked to their queens but all the Flower Meadow queens danced their assent andmanded them to follow the Firstborn¡¯s lead for today¡¯s battle.


    This was the resolution of the Firstborn, as well as her assessment of their failures. Their army was deadly and disciplined¡­but it was slow to adapt. They trialed new tactics in response to their failures, but only ever <em>after</em> the fact. That was no longer enough. The soldier bees, as strong as they were, were still limited by their own instincts. When they saw the enemy ahead, they lost most of their thoughts save to defeat it. They had trouble adjusting to anything that urred until they experienced it directly.


    The Firstborn identified a potential solution from the past, ironically from the queens who had perished altogether. The queens of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner that came before her had led from the front. It was thanks to that that the Third Queen of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line, had pioneered the rotating squad attack that was now the cornerstone of the army¡¯s tactics.


    Monster bee queens had more intelligence and more flexibility than the average soldier or worker and were not as beholden to their instincts. Beyond that, they had an innate ability tomand their children through the links in their mana. Orders that came from the queen would be received and responded to far more quickly than from a fellow soldier.


    The Firstborn had experienced all of this herself in thetest purification. In the darkest moment, she had confronted the shade directly alongside her workers in a desperate final stand. And when the shade attempted to burn them all with its lightning, her greatest sensitivity to mana had caught wind of it, her experience had identified the potential threat, her flexibility had suppressed her instinct to attack the enemy without cease, and her abilities as the queen had passed hermand to the workers in time. As a result, she and all of her workers had managed to avoid the enemy¡¯s attack, something the soldier bee army had partially failed to do.


    The Firstborn felt, therefore, that the presence of a queen on the battlefield could increase the flexibility and speed ofmand of the army. Perhaps they could adjust to the enemy before the worst urred. And, if nothing else, seeing the fighting with her own eyes might inform her how better to prepare the army in the future.


    And, above all, the Firstborn needed to take responsibility for her own failure, and see the job done.


    The soldiers were clearly unhappy that a queen would be exposed to harm, but reluctantly agreed. Of course, attempting to takemand without practice would be a recipe for disaster, so the Firstborn would join the soldiers¡¯ training for the rest of the day. The other queens returned to their hives to continue their normal work. The Firstborn had proposed that they would rotate which queenmanded the army each day, so that all would have a chance to face the battlefield themselves, and that all would still be able to grow their hives as a queen must. She would simply be the first.


    And so, the Firstborn tookmand of the army. She simply watched at first, familiarizing herself with the way the soldiers operated. And all the while, she thought of what she might do against the enemies they had faced¡­or perhaps enemies they had not.


    This was her second chance, and she would do any and everything she could to see it done.

 Chapter 57: Bee-maginative Tactics

    Chapter 57: Bee-maginative Tactics


    After making a campfire site and confirming all the defenses were in ce, Belissar returned to the Apiary to retrieve his woodcutting tools, then walked down to the Orchard. He went ahead and created a wood tree resource node. A spot on the ground began to glow. The light then rose into the air and began to take shape. Suddenly, a fully grown por tree had appeared in front of Belissar. It was rtively short, only a bit higher than himself, and just thick enough to be useful. At this point, he had expected such a feat from the Tower, so he immediately got to work without much thought.


    He stepped forward and reached out for the tree, which was glowing slightly like the other resource node nts, signifying it was ready for harvesting. Belissar wondered if it might...somehow pop out of the ground but the tree didn¡¯t respond to his touch. It seemed the Tower wouldn¡¯t cheat to that extent. Belissar shrugged and hefted his axe to do things the normal way.


    The tree grew a bit brighter as he swung the axe towards it. Belissar blinked as he felt mana sh and then his axe cut <em>much</em> deeper into the tree than he had anticipated. He moved to the other side to continue his work, but he barely needed to bother. It took all of three swings for the tree to fall.


    Unfortunately for him, fall was all it did. The tree still remained in a solid piece, with the branches and all still attached, and the wood still wet as far as he could tell. It seemed the Tower¡¯s assistance was limited to the felling only. Belissar sighed, and then got to work. He guessed he would be making a simple log house. He might need a few more wood nodes in that case. Well, he¡¯d probably need them anyways, but he¡¯d see how quickly he could process each tree before deciding.


    Belissar continued to work until it was time for the next purification. He wiped the sweat off his brow and then turned to Niobee.


    ¡°Hey Niobee, can you let the Flower Meadow queens know it¡¯s just about time? I¡¯m going to go get the fire started, and then we¡¯ll begin.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    As Niobee flew off, Belissar returned to the Apiary. He grabbed his firebow and some of the drier firewood. He found the Apiary soldier bees and asked them toe with him. They gathered their torches and carried them after him by their ropes.


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to arrive at the end of the Orchard and soon had a fire going there. The Apiary soldiers took up positions by the fire and handed Belissar the torch. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The soldiers saluted and then Belissar checked in on the Flower Meadow with the Tower sight. He found the soldier bee army prepared and ready, with even one of the queens at its head. Belissar paused a bit at that but shook his head. The bees knew what they were doing and valued their queens even more than he did, so if a queen felt it was worth the risk to participate in the battle, then he wouldn¡¯tin.


    He sent all the bees a message asking if they were ready. He was treated to the sight of the entire soldier bee army performing a salute dance in sync. He took a deep breath and went to activate the purification.


    <em>Please select a purification strength:</em>


    <em>- Minor (Cooldown: 16 hours)</em>


    <em>- Minor+ (Cooldown: 24 hours)</em>


    Belissar blinked. That was certainly new. He could apparently now select the strength of the minor purifications? And...the cooldown of the minor purifications had gone down to about...something less than a day. In their ce, he could also conduct a minor+ purification with the regr one day cooldown.


    Belissar rubbed his chin and furrowed his brow. If he had to guess...it was probably because his Tower grew? Well, that would make sense. The area the Tower was purifying had increased, so it probably had to deal with more Hunger than before, so it would be natural for the purifications to increase in strength or frequency too, right?


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Belissar shrugged. The mysteries of the Tower¡¯s function were beyond him. And so too was the minor+ purification. Last time, that had meant two small wolf-shades, but Belissar did not want to test that today. The bees hadn¡¯t had a chance to prepare themselves for that, and it would take some time before the new monsters, rooms, and perks Belissar had selected would have an impact. He figured he would at least wait for some sprayers before attempting anything tougher.


    So, for today, the choices were irrelevant. He would go with the usual minor purification, and simply note that he could start it earlier tomorrow if he wanted to.


    He went ahead and made his choice and shivered as he felt the chill of the Hunger once again.


    The Firstborn flew towards the entrance and began arranging her army. This was it. The first battle she would be leading directly. It was to be a minor skirmish but that was no majorfort. Even a minor skirmish could result in casualties if they made a mistake, which was worse since a perfect victory was expected in such an engagement. So, if the Firstborn made a mistake, she could end up making the army perform worse, and so take damage when it was not supposed to. In a way, that was more concerning than a battle withrger and unknown stakes.


    But the Firstborn was resolved and believed in her soldiers. If all else failed, she would leave to them the task they had aplished time and time again. It was her own efforts that were at risk here. If she could not bring about victory in small and proven conditions, she could not possibly do so when all was on the line. So, she set about her task with all the efforts she could muster.


    She moved her own children into position while keeping the rest of the soldier bee army further back. Part of this was practical reality. Her mana link only extended to her own children, and so the benefits of hermand only applied to them. Whenmanding the armies of herpatriots, her orders were no quicker than those of the soldiers themselves. But, on the other hand, it was also an intentional decision by the Firstborn. The instinct of the bees was to swarm their opponent with overwhelming force, bringing down beasts thousands of times their size with thousands of stings in turn. Thetest purification, however, had revealed the weakness of this approach. The entire soldier bee army had deployed to encircle the shade; as a result, once the shade had escaped that encirclement it had escaped the entire army, and there were no soldiers left to bar its path.


    The soldiers had partially learned this lesson in the first minor purification and had adopted encirclement formations for that very reason, but the Firstborn had realized they needed to apply the principle on arger scale. She was not only going to hold back some soldiers from the immediate attack, but hold back entire hives worth of them, separatedpletely from the battle. A second army that could start a new fight should the first one fail or fall back to defend the hives and the King before a sessful enemy arrived. Plus, since the second army would not be actively engaged in the fight, the lesser speed of hermands to them would not be an issue. And if they need to fall back to the hives, their own queens could assumemand of them.


    That was the idea, at least. The soldiers were ufortable at the idea of holding back the majority of their strength. The Firstborn could not im she was entirely confident in the idea either. But...her soldiers engaged the enemy in rotating squads already, so reducing their numbers shouldn¡¯t reduce their overall effectiveness here. And, ultimately, they had failed once already with the old way of doing things. Even the most hesitant soldier agreed that <em>something</em> needed to change.


    And now came the moment of truth. The dark power held back by the might of the King coalesced once again. Once more, an invader ckened thend of the King with its foul presence.


    The Firstborn gave themand and her soldiers engaged. The reserve soldiers all around her began to sway in the air, continuously extending and retracting their stingers. She didn¡¯t need a familial mana link to them to understand their current feelings, but she held her ground.


    Again and again squads of her soldiers dove down upon the shade. However, their encirclement was noticeably lighter than usual, the natural consequence of holding back most of the army. The shade made a run for it, attempting to break out and fight on the move.


    But the Firstborn saw it tense and identified its intentions. She immediatelymanded her forces in response. And so, the soldiers did not panic when it suddenly began sprinting, but simply matched its movement in disciplined flight. They responded instantly to their queen¡¯smand, even when they as individuals had not yet noticed the shade¡¯stest move. Even soldier bees flying away after an attack run that couldn¡¯t see the shade at all now knew where to fly thanks to hermand.


    As a result, the encirclement moved in perfect sync with the shade. No matter how many sudden stops, twists, and turns it attempted, the bees kept it in check. Squads continued their attack runs all the while, their stings mounting up on the shade.


    Soon, it began to slow down. Soon after that, it fell to the ground, and then faded away. The Firstborn stared for a moment before her wings began to slow and she slowly descended from the air.


    They...had won. It had worked. She held back the majority of the army and still they were able to seed...and without a single sacrifice.


    She quietlynded on the ground even as the soldiers began to dance and celebrate. There may be hope for her hive yet.

 POBee 57.1 - The Burdens of Command

    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 <em>not</em> proceed toying eggs as she normally would. Instead, she made her way <em>outside</em> of her hive and flew up into the sky. There, she found the joint soldier bee army waiting for her. Yes, <em>waiting</em>. 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 notying 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 queenmanding the soldier bees <em>also</em> 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 spentmanding 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 hade 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 atmand. 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 hourter and her antenna were twitching, and she was constantly shaking herself. This¡­was not going well. Oh, she found she couldmand 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, hermand 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 dys in execution. Anytime she wanted to conduct quick movements in session, the soldiers closest to her would respond immediately while the ones further away would continue on with the previous order. This led to dys 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 newmands, 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 regr 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 themand situation was not eptable 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 hermands to their respective groups, while informing the other hives¡¯ soldiers to pay attention to hers.


    She then, reluctantly, tookmand once again. She ordered the reserved force to fly forward, then suddenly turn to the right. Her soldiers received hermand immediately and began passing it along without dy. The whole formation turned with only a minimal gap in time, and with significantly less collisions.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.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 ag in the execution of hermands that grated on her, but it was <em>significantly</em> less than before, just enough to be tolerable to her. And, even with themand dy, 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 getfortable enough withmanding to take on the intruderingter 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, <em>all</em> 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 wasing 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 ted for the queen toy more eggster, 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 themand of their queen. Where once they used to just receive and immediately executemands 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 waspounded 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 ck. 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 hivended 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 neers 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 neers took note of.


    ¡°Problem with hive?¡±


    The greeting worker couldn¡¯t help but begin a frustrated dance.


    ¡°Queen gone, hive not working well.¡±


    The neers 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 neers 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 neers 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 exined how things worked in their hive. Particrly, 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 issuingmands to the other workers. Tasks said worker continued to do¡­even when their queen was present¡­


    The greeting worker waspletely still as she stared at them, before she raced back into her hive to spread what she had learned. The neers, now left alone, nced 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 neers 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?

    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 ording to expectations. Belissar got the usual minor choices and added another ten mana to his max. He wasn¡¯t nning 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 havingpletely 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 <em>did</em> 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 disyed.


    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 re 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 alreadypleted 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 manipte 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 rmendation 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 nced up at the soldier bees flying overhead, ¡°though I don¡¯t imagine that will be problem for you.¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    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 nced 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.


    ¡°<em>Especially</em> 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 ced a hand on Juosiutik¡¯s shoulder and the young woman jumped a bit before ncing 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 coboration 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 andplexity of magic he had been told before, he figured it would be moreplicated than that. Just another lie, he guessed. On the other hand, he <em>was</em> 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 towardspletely 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 urate, 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 elerate 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 <em>were</em> magic, for better or for worse. Having ess 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 <em>precisely</em> 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 <em>am</em> 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 dys. 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? ys, sents, 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, <em>plus</em> 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?

    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 avable 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 <em>could</em> 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 <em>more</em>. You have to learn regr medicine making, and <em>then</em> add a whole extrayer ofplexity on top of it.¡±


    Belissar gulped.


    ¡°That, um, sounds prettyplicated. Um, what¡¯s the extrayer 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, nts and ingredients included. Some nts that make powerful medicines normally don¡¯t interact with mana at all and are useless for potion making. Other nts 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 ount for that. Sometimes, you need to add ingredients and processes that are entirely unrted to nts 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 exin 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 tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    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, sheid 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 ced 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...ourst 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 <em>before</em> 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 shes 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 <em>very</em> 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 <em>still</em> 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 <em>normally</em> 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 <em>just</em> like that. There <em>was</em> 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 <em>not</em> 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

    Chapter 60: ...Please Bee Careful


    Belissar nodded. Honestly, the process didn¡¯t seem <em>that</em> 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 nced 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 <em>is</em> 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 honeb 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 be 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 ncing about as Juosiutik sprung into motion, barely able to keep up as she spoke as fast as she could. The knife shed 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.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    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 andid 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 mes. 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 ess 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 themunity. And since she already had some honey of her own, she <em>definitely</em> could not justify taking any from themunity¡¯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 theplexities 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 bigmotion 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 iing 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 ns and it had been <em>extremely</em> 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 identally...or otherwise, or a shade might show up with ck mes or something like that. It was a vulnerability he should prepare for...particrly since his Towercked 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 ess to these fire radishes that would apparently burst into violent mes 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 identally burning the Flower Meadow down until he could get some safety measures in ce.


    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

    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 pirs. The wounded soldier kept track of them and directed the workers to her injuredrades, 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 thetest battle, none of them were willing to threaten her health by sacrificing their own. They had all settled into an uneasypromise, where they allowed the workers to instruct them how much they would eat.


    The workers fed them more than any of them werefortable 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 ce of her missing half, she had been ecstatic. She danced and she danced as she thought that now, finally, she could return to herrades 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 manipte her mana. She could concentrate it in her wings for a burst of speed, in her chitin for improved resilience, or mostmonly in her stinger for greater damage. But all of these uses had ultimately been within her own body, she had never manipted 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 ce of her missing wings. Now, that mana had not truly left her body in a sense. It was trying to take the ce 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, itrgely 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 maniption the King had disyed.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    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 manipte 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 sessfully 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 toplete the path. So, she tried another angle. She tried manipting 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 seeded. The flow of mana elongated and curved ever so slightly. She had manipted a flow of mana outside of her body.


    She couldn¡¯t believe it at first so she tried again...and seeded 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 ording 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 <em>possible</em>. That if she kept at it, she could actually seed 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 hadvished upon her.


    Perhaps, one day, she could even rejoin the fight.


    She doubled her efforts. Now that she had determined a way to manipte the mana, her progress elerated. She pushed to see how far she could elongate and curve the flow, moving it a bit further with each attempt. Soon, she made itplete 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 woundedrades around her watched her with great interest...

 Chapter 61: A Fier-Bee Trade!

    Chapter 61: A Fier-Bee Trade!


    An embarrassed Juosiutik returned a bitter, 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 y 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 ess to firewood we won¡¯t need them as much. Mana flowers are <em>way</em> 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 <em>too</em> 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.


    <em>Absorb me Radish Root? Samples 0/10</em>


    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.


    <em>me Radish Root absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. me Radish now avable.</em>


    <em>Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary*. (*=Resource Node only)</em>


    Belissar blinked and then began to smile. He had been steeling himself for the fire radish...or me radish, apparently, to not be avable in any of his rooms like all those cave nts. It was something the bear people found underground, right, so surely it would have needed a simr environment. At the very least, he didn¡¯t think something fire rted would go with flowers or fruit trees.


    But apparently it did. He guessed the rest of the me radish must grow above ground and make flowers? He shrugged again.


    ¡°Guess we¡¯ll find out!¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    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-mmable, 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 ce for something that couldbust. He figured, as well, that he wouldn¡¯t need to start fires there specifically, both due to having me 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 justing 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 me 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 me 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 me 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 hade directly from his mana? Or maybe it was the age of the mana honey, this pit <em>had</em> 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 me 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 regr method today, and experiment when he had more time.


    There had already been one idental fire today, after all, and he had recently be aware of just how mmable 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 takingmand in the first ce. And now, there was no more time to prepare.


    The enemy had arrived.


    She trembled in the air. The enemy appeared farrger and more vicious than she remembered. But she gave themand. 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 n. 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 ns. She did not feel ready tomand 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 uneptable, and so she would not risk them on experimentalmands unless she was fully confident in sess. And, due to her own unpreparedness, she was not.


    Fortunately, though, the ns of the King were proven and effective. The shade was trapped in the pit. She gave themand 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 mes, taking the shade with it.


    The queen nearly fell from the sky in relief as she realized the battle was one, and her day ofmand 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 inmand. But now came the consequences of the day. Now, she had to see what had be 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 exined 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 be a day of triumph.

 Chapter 62: Apolo-Bees

    Chapter 62: Apolo-Bees


    The next day Chief Rohsuak arrived with arge 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 nk. He touched it with his hand.


    It waspletely 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 nkly. 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 <em>was</em> 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, forck 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¡­


    <em>¡°I¡¯m¡­sorry, Belissar. Please¡­live on¡­be happy¡­¡±</em>


    ¡­a long time. He shook his head and tried to calm his beating heart, ncing 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!


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°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 ce, 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 nced 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 ount of the dangers they had faced and ovee, which led them to assume he had not experienced anything like they had...or that hecked 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 himmand the soldier bee army. The bees were an impressive sight even just hovering around, but that was nothingpared 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 <em>not</em> 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 <em>another</em> 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 ck 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. Thest thing she wanted was for them to get overlyfortable, 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 toe 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 pirs surrounding a beehouse. But that was not what her people were focusing on.


    No, they were eximing 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 ncing 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!

    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 theborers. 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, circr ditch nearby to create a safe ce to nt some me radishes. He didn¡¯t know if they would be as mmable 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 <em>lot</em> easier than trying to dig by hand, or with the knives, saw, and axe he had avable¡­


    But at the same time, Belissar didn¡¯t want to go run off after them immediately after they had left. Plus¡­he was <em>just</em> 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 ce. And if he thought about it, the me radishes didn¡¯t specifically <em>need</em> a ditch in the ground, they just needed an area clear of anything mmable. 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 nts, 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.


    <em>Avable Resource nts for Flower Meadow:</em><em>- Basic Healing Herbs (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Basic Poisonous Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Basic Textile Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)</em>


    <em>- me Radish (Mana Upkeep: 10 per node)</em>


    Belissar paused at that. That was...quite expensive. The most expensive resource nt 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 me roots would be useful, and new flowers could mean new honeys, new bees, or even new nts 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 rtive value, but he didn¡¯t know enough to guess so he moved on.


    A short, ground-level nt 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 nt. 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 nt, feeling the mana of the Tower flowing through it.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    But ultimately neither the new nts nor the area around it caught fire, even with the Tower¡¯s mana flowing all around it. It <em>seemed</em> 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 ry the message to their hives. Belissar took another deep breath.


    Well, he didn¡¯t know how these nts 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 particrly 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 mmable 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,nded 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 ounts, 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 urred 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 wasrger, 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 nts.


    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 thetest battle. She did still n 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 ining 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

    POBee 63.1 - The King''s Rewards


    The Daughter of the First of the Fifthid thest 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, <em>their </em>hive.


    As the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers offered to assist her with building her hive in the first ce, 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 exin 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 <em>King himself</em>. 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 herborers 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 shed at first, but at this point the hives had started to limate to one another. They knew they did not belong to each other, and yet they were not strangers or rivals. So, the worker rxed and slowly began to dance.¡°Other Queen¡­have request. Hives stabilizing, moveplete. Queen had n 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 n their future honey production and expenditures¡­


    The Firstborn stood in her hive, watching arge, waxed-over cell. So far, her n had been a sess. Her ownmand had managed to handle a shade even while keeping the majority of the army in reserve. The First of the Second had pioneered a newmand 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 takemand 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 <em>stronger</em>. 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 openedrge enough for the cell¡¯s upant to crawl out.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the vition.


    A new mad honey soldier emerged. She appeared a bit smaller than normal save for her abdomen, and shecked a stinger entirely, with a small nozzle taking its ce. 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 upants 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 be.


    But she didn¡¯t. Instead, she left the soldier cells and beganying more worker eggs. She organized her hive into sections with different roles and appointed individual workers as the leaders of these sections, in ordance 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, unbnced allocations of workers, or any other such inefficiencies.


    She had her turn inmand, 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 tookmand 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 inmand 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 atying eggs and managing the efforts of her workers than she did atmanding 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 newnds 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 andnded on the healing herbs, some of the initial pollen they had gathered was lost. This was intentional, even, in ordance 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 thetest 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 exined 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 <em>entirely new flower</em> had grown from her workers¡¯ efforts. She tasted the nectar herself. It <em>started</em> in a simr state as <em>finished</em> healing herb honey, infused with mana that resonated with and elevated the medicinalpounds within. But it went even further than her bees did, the mana not only elevated but adjusted thosepounds at a fundamental level, granting them new and greater effects than could be achieved in a mundane nt.


    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 coborated not merely to produce new honeys from new flowers¡­they had changed the veryndscape itself and brought to life a new and powerful flower never before scene in hisnds. He and her hive, working together, had done this.


    And what¡¯s more¡­who was to say this would be thest 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

    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 rify 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 sessfully made the move, the <em>King himself</em> had built a perfect ce 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 tomand 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 <em>joint hive</em> with her was something else entirely. That was a measure that could be taken¡­but only ever by rted queens. Mixing workers and broods and honey with an unrted queen could only produce inefficiency and dilute her offspring¡¯s achievements. How would her daughter possibly achieve the rigorous quality control to produce eptably good honey if she wasn¡¯t even inmand 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 eventse about?


    And as mentioned before, since these workers were partially under her ability tomand 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 copse. 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 pces.


    And then¡­she had withdrawn her resources in order to support the King¡¯s battle. And¡­she had notmanded her daughter to act any differently as a result. So¡­if like any of her other offspring¡­her daughter had continued to execute hermands 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 Fifthmanded 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 ced her daughter in a desperate situation where the child had no choice but to ept aid from another, unrted queen in order to fulfill hermands. 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 unrted queen was the <em>best</em> oue 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 copsed. 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 from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    But for the First of the Fifth, the worst was yet toe.


    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 pce¡­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? Stillmanding army?¡±


    The workers danced the affirmative once more. The First of the Fifth turned around and walked back into her hive inplete 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 tomand 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 oue 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 reced her. No¡­he had treated her with <em>greater</em> 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 pce, 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 pce. He had taken their meager opinions and desires into ount. He had not done that much even for the First of the Fifth. Measured by the rewards alone¡­he would be showing <em>greater</em> 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 ept. 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 cing the King himself in harm¡¯s way? Why did the Kingvish 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 <em>not</em> 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 <em>entirely</em>. Forget knowing him better than all, she might not know him <em>at all</em>.


    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 werepletely opposite of anything she would have ever expected. And worse¡­she could no longer im to be the greatest of queens. Her failures with her own daughter had revealed that her own ns and methods were wed. She, the queen producing the most and greatest honey of all, had nearly driven her own offspring to <em>starvation</em>. 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 yed 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 <em>after</em> 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 <em>the very opposite</em>? A sign that she had <em>never</em> 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

    POBee 63.3 - The Truly Favored


    The First of the Fifth flew and she flew. Her workers flew after her, but shemanded 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 <em>least</em>? If she werepletely 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 slowlynded on the ground and began walking around in circles.


    What should she do?!


    It was then that a shadow passed over her. Arge beended 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 im 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 <em>any</em> 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 copsed 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 pces? Why is he giving First of¡­the Firstborn a pce? 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!¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    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 <em>had</em> 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 <em>was</em> 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 <em>were</em> 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.


    <em>¡°Go ahead, I made it for you all.¡±</em>


    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 pce. A pce 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.


    <em>¡°What do you think? I¡¯m sorry they aren¡¯t the nicest but...do you want to use them?¡±</em>


    She had frozen in that moment. His first words to her¡­and he had offered that dream of a pce out of hand. She quickly saluted and flew into the hive, for it couldn¡¯t have been real. But it was. The pce, 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 toy her very first eggs. No, she was <em>starting</em> with a hive that would already have been the envy of even a sessful 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 pce 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 pce to her.


    If she had been right about the King¡­then he would not have offered such a pce 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 pces only to the most productive of them?


    But he had not done that. No, she must have received that pce¡­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 be favored in the first ce.


    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 <em>the other bees</em>.


    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 ce now. The First of the Fifth could not im to be happy¡­but at least the confusion and the doubts had cleared. She hadpletely misread the King, but now, at least, she had what she hoped was a rtively urate understanding of him.


    She turned to the Conduit. The bee that was once her greatest rival. The bee that had nowe 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!

    Chapter 64: O-Bee-ous Oues!


    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 be 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 notpromise 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 tomand 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 woulde 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 sttered 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.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°No, longer.¡±


    ¡°So¡­invader can¡¯t reach?¡±


    The soldier paused for a moment before dancing.


    ¡°ws, 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 me 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 soter, as well as provide some protection against a sudden brush fire.


    At this point though, the cooldown for minor purifications wasing 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 amon time. But for now, he shrugged and made his way over to where the soldier bee army was training. There was no point in dying 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 ce. 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 whileter, 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 wasposed 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 ce and attacked as well. The shade jumped out of the way, however, and most of the toxic liquids sshed against the ground. The shade took a deep breath and then retaliated with its own ck 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 ck 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.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    Belissar blinked. That was easy. Well, to be fair, the regr 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 me radish slivers. As he did, he started to wonder.


    Fire radishes that could set the pits aze 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

    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 thepounds 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 shes 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 pce.¡°The First of the Fifth¡­is letting me ess 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 ns. 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 pces like the Second of the Sixth. She herself had obtained ess 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 ess to a flower patch to the Fourth of the Seventh, one of the younger queens who didn¡¯t have a magical pce 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 rtively 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 im to all new resources. The Second of the Sixth, however, would not be so easily deceived.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Well, it was also true that the new flowers <em>had</em> benefited the Fourth of the Seventh in the end, as evidenced by her growth and her ability to move her hive and im 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 nked 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 ying with lightning! She would have to have her workers ask her about itter!


    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 tomand army today. Should go back to hive.¡±


    ¡°Fourth of the Seventh! Hi! Wow, Flower Meadow queensmand 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 fellpletely 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 nts, 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 nt hade 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 sess, before she and her soldiers picked up the nt 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 armymand, 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

    POBee 64.2 - Beeing 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 inmand 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 inmand 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 oue 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 havended 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 oue 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 havee 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 seed.


    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 <em>built</em> 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 particr, began a slow dance¡­


    ¡°That¡­seems efficient. Two queens in one hive, if one queen leaves, other stillmands. Workers not left on their own, still get half of eggsid.¡±


    The Firstborn danced in agreement. It was, of course, something she had noticed after her day ofmand. Her hive <em>had</em> dropped in efficiency and honey production for that particr 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.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    So¡­the idea would be remarkably beneficial to the Flower Meadow queens, whosemand of the army took them away from their hives on a regr basis.


    Well, the others who had notmanded yet seemed a bit ufortable 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 ns. 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 nning 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 ws 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 <em>didn¡¯t</em> 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 startying 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 tomand 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 bnce 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 takemand.


    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 pce, 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 bnce 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 unrted 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 ovee her own limitations. She was not alone. She did not need to ovee 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

    Chapter 65: Next Challenge to Bee-t


    When the next day began, Belissar made his way to the new me radish node in the Apiary. As with other resource nt nodes, a few of the flowers were glowing slightly. He pulled on these and the whole nt came out, including a brand new, fully grown me 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, ced the radish within the wax chest, watching very carefully for any sign of mes.


    ¡°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 me 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 me 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 epted 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 dy the purification until thete 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 rtively 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 asionally 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 ur. 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 be aware of some new needs, in fact. He would have liked to practice making potions as per the recipe Juosiutik showed him, but he currentlycked 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 mmability of his Tower, a river cutting through the Flower Meadow, for example, would go a long way in easing his concerns.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report 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 n 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 ck. Well, right now all he could really do was make honey. He made another little honeb 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 nks and cut grooves into them that would fit together. He then startedying 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 handlingrge 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 thest log into ce and then rubbed his arms and back. But the day was wearing on and he needed to at least gather a me 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 ce that would soon be 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 ce 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 ce. If not for her and her fellow queens, there would not <em>be</em> 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 thesest 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 hermand, 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 ce herself at risk. It was also her duty tomand the army as whole, which meant she needed to be in a ce 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 hade.

 POBee 65.1 - The Bird and the Bees

    POBee 65.1 - The Bird and the Bees


    ¡°Ok, here we go.¡±


    The King gave hismand. 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...<em>above </em>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 urrence and with the First of the Fourth¡¯s quickmand 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 iing invader. The rest of the soldiers began to move as well. No longer did they hover in ce, 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 momentter, 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 pped in the air. It was far smaller than the original had been,parable 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 sprayersunched their attack, coating the bird in toxins. The shade screeched at them and pped 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 andunched 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 pped 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 n 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 ount 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.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the vition.


    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 pped 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 nk while the soldiers it had escaped came up from behind.


    The First of the Fourth was <em>not</em> 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 muchrger 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 <em>weaker</em> help things? But now she could see the benefit. With the majority of the army <em>not</em> 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 nced 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 sprayersid 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. ck 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 hade out on top! The very enemy that had defeated them had now beenid low, without onceying its beak upon even a single bee! She had faced the dangers that the First Dynasty had flown against ande 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 itsrger 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

    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.


    <em>Minor+ Purificationpleted! Please select a reward* (*One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees)<strong>:</strong></em>


    <em>- +75 DP</em>


    <em>- +15 Max Mana</em><em>- Beehive (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee, Resource, Monster Nest)</em>


    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.


    <em>Beehive selected.</em>


    <em>Beehive variation unlocked: Belissar¡¯s Beehouse.</em>


    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 avable 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 cing 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 beehousespared 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¡­


    <em>Beehive</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 5 (2 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Base Production Rate: 1 honeb per 24 hours</em>


    <em>Slight boost to monster bee growth rate</em>


    <em>Avable Variations: Belissar¡¯s Beehouse (100 DP per hive, 25 if manually constructed)</em>


    That gave Belissar pause. He checked the information on the Apiary.


    <em>Apiary</em>


    <em>Type: Bee, Resource, Settlement</em>


    <em>Innate Features: Beehives</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 10 (5 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Description: A farm dedicated to beekeeping. Comes with beehive nodes that produce honeb. If Bee type monsters are avable, may settle in beehives for a slight boost in brood growth and beehive productivity.</em>


    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, cing a second Apiary would use up another room slot, hisst avable 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 avable 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.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the vition.


    There were other possibilities too. He could add a Flower Meadow or Orchard to the very front of the dungeon that he <em>wouldn¡¯t</em> add any beehives to. That would give the soldier bee army a ce to fight that didn¡¯t have any hives in harm¡¯s way¡­and would also give a ce 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 ced 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 thest room free in case he needed it for something else.


    <em>Beehive (1 mana due to Blessing of Bees and Apiary discount)</em>


    Belissar stared at the message for a moment and then pped his forehead. Of course. Of course, the beehives would also be cheaper to ce 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 herb. 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 theirrvae inside¡­but when he had upgraded the upied 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 thetest batch of honey. It wasing 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 toote to receive one of the magic pces, 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 simr size to her workers at the moment.


    It was a humble, but good and honest living. She may not have done much inparison 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 pces 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 reced 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 honeb, imbuing the nectar stored there as her workers might otherwise have needed to. The mana wrapped around her eggs andrvae and they drank it up, elerating 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 urred. 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 pce? Was going to make it <em>even better</em>ter because he wasn¡¯t satisfied with it?


    Her mind went nk 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

    Chapter 67: The Sincerest Form of tter-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 ess 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 nned 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 neversted 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 ced, 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, y, or mortar maybe he could stabilize it a bit more¡­


    He then nced 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 honeb 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 theirb. 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 honeb 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 rightful author, this tale 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 ce 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 thennded 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 eptably stable.


    ***


    The wounded soldier, once again, attempting to form her lightning magic into an actual shape. Her progress had slowed after her initial sesses, 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 pce he was building for the Flower Meadow queens near the Memorial. She watched him for a bit before returning to her own efforts.


    It waster 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 arge pir of wood. The Conduit was dancing on his back and pulling the mana all around her into the King. The King then formed a honeb pattern out of mana before wax appeared out of thin air.


    The soldier had seen the honeb pattern before, it was what she was attempting to mimic in the first ce. 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 andsted 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 <em>made honey</em>, 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 sessful 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

    POBee 67.1 - A Queen''s Debts


    The First of the Fifth flew through the air, nked 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. And of great abundance. The First of the Fifth wondered would could be made with the nectar of such nts. How much water did it possess, what was its sugar and mana content, did it possess any distinct vors orpounds 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 ced 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, wee 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 foolishmands. 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¡¯smand! 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 newmand. Daughter managed to seed anyways. Daughter did excellent work, struggles were because ofmands. Very happy with sess.¡±


    Her daughter swayed about.


    ¡°Queen mother¡­¡±


    The First of the Fifth took a step back and began a steady dance, holding herself toplete each step in turn, and without any staggering or hesitation.


    ¡°That is why rescinding oldmands. Newmand is this: grow hive as daughter sees fit. Daughter did well, overcame problems I created. Daughter is wise enough to build own hive.¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred tform. Support original creators!


    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 wee!¡±


    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 <em>did</em> waver.


    ¡°You¡­want soldiers toe? 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 ess 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 <em>payment</em> 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 ns 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 inparison to her daughter¡¯s hive copsing 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 hermand.


    ¡°Soldiers, stay with Fourth of the Seventh. Help her, consider her as queen until I give newmand. Do whatever she asks.¡±


    The soldiers paused, nced 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 wee? If that is all, will take my leave. Daughter, don¡¯t hesitate if need help. That¡¯smand, 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 aplishments 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 particr 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, thetest 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

    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.¡±


    <em>Minor+ purification attemptmencing.</em>


    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 regr 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 andunched another breath attack, but caught nothing. It nced 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 mes grew from them as they reacted with the mana honey.


    Soon, a roaring fire filled the pit and ck smoke climbed into the air. Smoke mixed with dissipating ck mist.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    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.¡±


    <em>Minor+ Purificationpleted! Please select a reward</em><strong><em>:</em></strong>


    <em>- +75 DP</em>


    <em>- +15 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Hidden Wax Cell (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Trap)</em>


    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 simr 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¡­


    <em></em>


    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 apanied him as usual.


    As Belissar approached the entrance, the bear people noticed him. Metsaitti inclined his head.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Good morning, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    The other hunters nced 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¡­<em>more</em> 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 ced 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 arge 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 nts¡­you can grow more of them?¡±


    Belissar gulped.


    ¡°Um, it depends? But if the nt 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 nts 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 particr nt 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 nt and how whole the pieces so I, um, won¡¯t know until I hold the specific nt.¡±


    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 nts 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 ce?¡±


    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 permanentpensation 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 vige. He had done a good job putting them out of his mind recently, so he didn¡¯t particrly like the reminder.


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head.


    ¡°It is your Sacred Den, and you are the one growing the nts, by our request even. You should receive your portion from each harvest of your ownnd.¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­right?¡±


    He guessed that was true. It wasn''t like before, where the Tower Lords were taking stuff fromnd outside the Tower. Instead, they wereing into the Tower to gather stuff from it. And he <em>was</em> the master of this Tower and he <em>did</em> 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 nts would be ced 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 eptable?¡±


    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!

    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 atmand when she caught sight of the King. The Conduit then came to her.


    ¡°King greeting others,e 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 hismands. 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 ws that could shatter the walls of hives, and of fur so thick stingers couldn¡¯t pierce it. A monster sorge 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 asrge 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 farrger than any mundane bee¡­and with equallyrge stingers. There <em>was</em> the one who could apparently create mes asrge 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 eptable losses if they needed to.


    Still, she treated them with wariness, particrly as the King began to speak with them. There was one who was particrly aggressive towards him, and it was only the King¡¯smand 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 mouthcked 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 urring.


    <em>¡°Sure, that¡¯d be great. Anything with flowers, especially.¡±</em>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 nts 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 exin 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 pce 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, stoodpletely 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.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    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 sess, they had <em>stopped</em> 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 hadrgely 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 calctions as she¡­and would alle 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 n. 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 trainpared 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 itspletion. The expansion n had already been dyed 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 exining 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 nced 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!

    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 ced their bags on the ground and opened them up. Belissar nced 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 nt 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.


    <em>Absorb Rye seed? Current samples: 0/30</em>


    <em>Absorb Oat seed? Current samples: 0/30</em>


    <em>Absorb Cloudberry seed? Current samples: 0/30</em>


    <em>Absorb Sweetvetch seed? Current samples: 0/30</em>


    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 nts 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 avable 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 nts are they? Would they be flowers simr to the ones in this field? Do they need any special conditions to grow?¡±


    Leijaliuk slowly nodded.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Yes, they are flowering nts. Theye 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 particrly intently.


    <em>Cloudberry seed absorbed. Current samples: 1/30</em>


    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.


    <em>Cloudberry seed absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Cloudberry now avable.</em>


    <em>Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.</em>


    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.


    <em>Avable Resource nts for Flower Meadow:</em>


    <em>- Basic Healing Herbs (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Basic Poisonous Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Basic Textile Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Cloudberry Flowers (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)</em>


    <em>- me Radish (Mana Upkeep: 10 per node)</em>


    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 ess.


    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 nts 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 nced 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 alsopatible 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 nts 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 x? I have that too. It, um,es 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¡¯tck 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 ufortable, ok?¡±


    Belissar decided not to mention he was already ufortable. After all, he was acquiring new flowers for his bees, and that was worth any difort.


    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

    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 nts 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.


    <em>Absorb Sleepy Chamomile seed? Current samples: 0/50</em>


    ¡°Hm, I¡¯d need fifty of those.¡±Juosiutik frowned.


    ¡°I saved up some for when we had a chance to nt surface nts 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 nt.¡±


    Juosiutik nodded and pulled out a dried chamomile flower.


    ¡°Here, what about this?¡±


    <em>Absorb Sleepy Chamomile? Current samples: 0/5</em>


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d only need five of those.¡±


    Juosiutik crossed her arms and hummed.


    ¡°How about abination? Could you use both seeds and nts?¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°Um¡­I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    Juosiutik rubbed her chin.


    ¡°Hm¡­why don¡¯t you try with that nt and then check again?¡±


    Belissar nodded and absorbed the Sleepy Chamomile. He then looked at the seed and checked its information.


    <em>Absorb Sleepy Chamomile seed? Current samples: 10/50</em>


    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.


    <em>Sleepy Chamomile seed absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Sleepy Chamomile now avable.</em>


    <em>Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.</em>


    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 nced 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.¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.


    He held out his hand and Niobee, flying around him as always, came andnded 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 wentpletely 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 thatter, ok? For now, let¡¯s continue.¡±


    Belissar grinned and nodded.


    <em>Gtinous Heather seed absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Gtinous Flower now avable.</em>


    <em>Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.</em>


    <em>Snakebane seed absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Snakebane now avable.</em>


    <em>Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary.</em>


    <em>Burrowing Stonecrop absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Burrowing Stonecrop now avable.</em>


    <em>No current applications.</em>


    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 nts 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 x?¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin and checked over his mana.


    <em>Mana: 61/335</em>


    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 particrly 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 x. 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 Juosiutikmandeered a few others to help her with the more medicinal nts. Soon, Leijaliuk had split the harvest into three piles, onerge 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 x 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 <em>need</em> to. As for the x 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 beesnd 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 vige, 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 x 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 epted 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, cing 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 momentter, 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 nced 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 dy 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.


    <em>Gained 84 DP.</em>


    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, x, 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

    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 n 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 n 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 umting 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 ce 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 particr 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 n 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 simr ruins and simr 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 n¡¯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 ce 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 dy 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 manipte the beams to slot them into the grooves he carved, since he didn¡¯t have nails or anything simr. 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.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°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 girlse 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 adder 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 momentter, 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.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful</em>.


    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 sessful purifications meant a week of rewards.


    <em>Minor+ Purificationpleted! Please select a reward</em><strong><em>:</em></strong>


    <em>- +75 DP</em>


    <em>- +15 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Small Pond (Rarity: Common, Type: Water)</em>


    Belissar¡¯s smile widened at that. Today bore unexpected fruit. For the first time of all the options he had seen, something water rted 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:


    <em>Dungeon Status:</em>


    <em>Floors: 1 (Rooms: 2/2), 2 (Rooms: 1/2)</em>


    <em>Mana: 79/395</em>


    <em>DP: 1695</em>


    <em>Avable Monster Types: Monster Bee Queen, Monster Bee Soldier, Monster Bee Sprayer</em>


    <em>Avable Room Types: Flower Meadow, Apiary, Orchard</em>


    <em>Avable Room Features: Pit Trap, Sticky Honey Trap, Basic Resource nts, Beehive, <strong>Bee Memorial (Limit Reached)</strong></em>


    <em>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+)</em>


    <em>Core Corruption: 0%</em>


    <em>Dungeon Master: Belissar</em>


    <em>Dungeon Conduit: Niobee</em>


    <em>Patron: God of Bees</em>


    <em>Blessing: Blessing of Bees</em>


    <em>Current Missions: Help ten challengers receive full blessings, House all bees</em>


    His mana had taken a significant dip due to all the new nt nodes. He had made several of the new nts plus two x nodes for the bears, then one of each new nt 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 particrly 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 ess from the farmhouse. Belissar now had ess 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 avable in the Tower, he had countless potential recipes he could try.


    He grinned as wide as he could.

 Chapter 72: Bee-wildering Progress

    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 woulde up his ankles, maybe even as deep as his knee at the most. There were no particr nts 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 bing 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.


    <em>DP: 1695</em>


    When reviewing the Tower¡¯s status, he noticed his DP had grown <em>substantially</em>. 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.


    <em>DP Shop</em>


    <em>- Extra Room Feature Choice (Cost: 1000 DP)</em>


    <em>- Extra Monster Choice (Cost: 3000 DP)</em>


    <em>- Extra Room Choice (Cost: 3000 DP)</em><em>- Extra Perk Choice (Cost: 10000 DP)</em>


    <em>- Additional Room Slot (Cost: 5000 DP)</em>


    <em>- Boost Maximum Mana (Cost: 5000 DP)</em>


    His eyes widened as hepared the numbers. When he had first seen it, his DP ie had been all of one per day. Even the cheapest option would take him <em>years</em> to afford. So, he had basically written off the entire thing as too expensive to ever afford andrgely forgotten about it.


    Now? Now he could <em>already</em> 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 optionster? 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 nts 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 subtlepared 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 ce for lessons with Juosiutik.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    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 nts unlocked that he didn¡¯t have a suitable ce to grow. If Dirt Tunnels appeared again, for example, he could probably grow all those cave nts 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 avable, new room types meant more nt options from Basic Resource nts, so it wouldn¡¯t be a loss either way.


    He had already received new features from the minor+ purifications and new nts from the bear people. He also figured that new types of bees might show up from all those new nts, 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 n 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 ck 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.


    <em>Burning Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Burning Poison Sting, Heat Resistance, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>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.</em>


    Belissar nodded. As he expected, one of the queens had raised a new bee type from the me radishes.


    ¡°Good work. If you can, try to raise some more of these, we could use them.¡±


    The queen froze, standingpletely 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 <em>was</em> true that he could use those bees. me resistant wax would be a godsend given all of the building materials currently avable in the Tower were mmable. These burning worker bees could very much resolved that concern and reinforce the firebreaks he was nning. 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 nts 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 elerated 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 nks 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 <em>for</em> 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 nks without too much trouble, so beganying the floor even as Belissar worked on the nks.


    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

    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 Conve, 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 mercypared to what he deserved.


    The power a Tower of the Gods could offer <em>had</em> 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 ced by the augurs was therefore out of the Censors¡¯ reach. It could not be brought into the Conve. It could not be monitored. It could not be dealt with should the worste 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 <em>nothing</em> 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 <em>not</em> 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 vige Ruckanos saw no value in was the source of that new mead that had be 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 vige 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.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    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, ance, and a sword, all lightly enchanted. Trashpared 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 eptable.


    He was then led to arge, 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 apanied them to the vige 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 therge 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 dered. 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 Towermits 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 Conve. 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 Conve¡­or dealt with.


    But it was not enough to simply wait for them to appear as the borders of the Conve slowly expanded. Who knew what a malign individual could do with a Tower of the Gods in ces unseen? Neither the Conve, 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 <em>lost</em>, it was only natural a Grand Subjugation would be arranged.


    The thing was¡­ny-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 ur 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 ce tond when their mounts grew exhausted. And even if they found a ce tond, 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 Conve.


    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 seed 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 Councilmands.¡±


    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

    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 n 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 mes.


    But there was nothing for it. Only a handful of records were left behind when thest 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 n¡¯sck 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 asional 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 <em>any</em>bination 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 n, than of a leader like Chief Rohsuak. That wasn¡¯t all bad, though. Juosiutik didn¡¯t mind Noigakkuq¡¯spany 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 manmanded an entire army that could wipe out most of the n. 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 <em>she </em>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 adle. The mana remained settled even with her disruption, letting her know the mixture was now stable. She allowed herself a small smile.


    Yet another sessful 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 shing 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 <em>honey</em> 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 me radish. This was a difficult andplicated brew, so she couldn¡¯t afford to use me 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 onlyplicated, 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 sh 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 rxing the body while simultaneously energizing it.


    This novel is published on a different tform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Juosiutik, for the life of her, couldn''t figure out how it would ever be possible. And without ess 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 thest 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 sh. 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 n that she was <em>not</em> 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 ced 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 alsoe from her homnd. 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 honeb she had broken off the tray. She took a dried quickblossom flower from the pouch and rubbed it on the honeb, 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 honeyb and focused on that. She sent what little mana she had through herdle to the piece of honeb and tried to carry it on into the mix as she stirred. Her entire n 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 particrlyrge 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 spontaneouslybusting 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 copsed and dispersed all of its mana? She had to force herself to move and take a scoop with herdle. 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 stoodpletely 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 be 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 ced 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 ept 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.


    <em>The God of Bees offers you her full blessing. If you wish to ept, please select one of the following blessings:</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Alchemist</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Mystic</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Healer</em>


    <strong><em>- Blessing of the Honey Herbalist</em></strong>


    Juosiutik¡¯s mouth fell wide open.

 Chapter 73: Blessing Bees-ness

    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 ofte, 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 momentter, that was.


    <em>A challenger has been fully blessed.</em>


    <em>Gained 20 DP.</em>


    <em>A challenger has selected a blessing unique to your patron.</em>


    <em>Gained additional 10 DP.</em>


    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 <em>really</em> 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 particr 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 <em>did</em> you hug me?¡±


    Juosiutik flushed and looked away.


    ¡°Ah, yes. And I got a bit¡­excited.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    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 rxes, 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, ept 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 herte 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 regr 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 be 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, congrattions.¡±


    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 aplish 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 ess to food, x, 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 ess to. The apple trees and wood tree resource nodes of the Orchard, the mana flower and me radish nodes, and then, of course, the beehives themselves and the honeb they produced. Belissar still wasn¡¯tfortable exposing his bees¡¯ homes to the karnuq and wasn¡¯t about to make a beehive the bees couldn¡¯t use, so honeb would still have to go through him, but the others bore thinking about. He, of course, could make mana flower or me 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 ess to the Orchard. Although¡­he <em>did</em> have an extra room slot open. Couldn¡¯t he make another Orchard and ce 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 <em>to</em> 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. me radishes were a bit expensive and something the karnuq both already had ess 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, <em>if</em> 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 ess to, but he <em>did</em> have a mission to help the challengers get blessings from the God of Bees herself.


    Belissar groaned a bit before deciding topromise. 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

    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, nked 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.¡°Congrattions.¡±


    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 honeb pattern once again.


    ¡°The God of Bees approved.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak blinked a bit before making a wide grin.


    ¡°It seems further congrattions 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 bing 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 n cheering andughing 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 rx 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 heid down that night to sleep, it refused toe 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 nks for the beehouse construction. He workedte into the night before finally feeling fatigued enough to rest.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The next morning he awoketer 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 standingpletely 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. nks 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 nks¡­and thanks tost night¡¯s little potion situation, they started the day with a stockpile already done.


    In fact, they worked so quickly that the work was <em>done</em> by the end of the day. Belissar just stood, staring in silence for a while at thepleted 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 toe and go. The only ground level entrance was in the center of the back side, which Belissar closed off with a p 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 honeb. These frames were topped by a lighter roof with regr 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 anythinging through those windows. Belissar had initially nned to further separate the interior with walls and additional cloth ps¡­but to his surprise the queens indicated that wasn¡¯t necessary.


    And as Belissar put up thest cloth p, 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.


    <em>New feature detected. New feature unlocked.</em>


    <em>Bee Barracks now avable!</em>


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. He now felt the thrum of mana flowing through the wooden walls of the structure. He gently walked up and ced a hand on it.


    <em>Bee Barracks</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 10 (5 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Current upants: None</em>


    <em>Slight boost to monster bee growth rate, medium boost tobat monster bee growth rate, slight boost to coordination for bees housed within. Houses multiple colonies.</em>


    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 hade 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 honeb. 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

    POBee 74.1 - Grand ns 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 tounch their assaults. They had areas to gather and organize their forces before they ever left the hive.


    The fortress was even magical, like the pces 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 stimte their growth. If her predictions were correct¡­they could maintain arger 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 pirs upon which to build theirbs. The same pirs that the Conduit once told her about when she was a young queen. The same pirs the King had built for the First Dynasty, upon which they built their civilization. In fact, the Conduit imed these pirs were farrger 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 simplebat. Even now, workers chewed off entire sections of honeb in her old hive, which a single soldier could carry all at once. The soldiers carried these portions of her old hive to the pirs that were designated for her, where workers forming new wax would integrate them into the new constructions. The King had dered 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 aplished 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 elerate their efforts, while the new flowers grown by the King would sustain their expansion.


    The Firstborn and her fellow queens had seeded. 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 ns.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 ess 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 regr 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.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    It was beyond suspicious.


    The Second of the Sixth just <em>knew</em> 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 n, 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 theck 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 ess to its own mana flower, with the rest to be sharedmunally.


    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 <em>good</em> 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 aplished.


    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 seeded¡­not just her honey or her workers but her entire hive would be transformed. They would be 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 ying 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 cellrger 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 herrge body in. The workers immediately began to cover the cell over as the Second of the Sixth circted 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 bing 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 circte her mana and began to drink of the honey as the wax shut out the light¡­

 Chapter 75: Bee-viewing the Numbers

    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 n had already gone to sleep. There was only a waning moon out tonight, just enough light to avoidplete darkness, but dark enough to restrict even a karnuq hunter¡¯s sight.


    Well, she probably needn¡¯t have bothered. Most of the n 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 honeb 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.<em>Medicinal Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Herbal Shot, Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee queen raised or evolved on medicinal mana honey. Lays medicinal variant offspring by default.</em>


    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, congrattions.¡±


    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 mostlyprised of medicinal bees. Belissar figured he¡¯d be getting a lot more medicinal honey, which could be crucial if the bee army took significant casualtiester.


    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 nned on speaking with them today, not seeing a particr need to, but since she wasn¡¯t leaving he figured he should ask. He walked over to the entrance.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°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 barrackspleted, all he had left were recing 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 nning 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 ce 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. Sheid down arge cloth and began removing some ingredients and tools, ncing 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 exined 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 exined this was just how her experimentation went. They agreed to keep that up on a regr 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.


    <em>Mana: 74/425</em>


    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.


    <em>Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.</em>


    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, thest 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, elerating 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 me 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 alsopleted, and while it did not yet have all the defenses Belissar nned 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? Thest 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 thetter 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¡­


    <em>DP: 1995</em>


    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 nning to expand, King¡¯s big hive perfect!¡±


    Belissar smiled, and then rubbed his chin.


    ¡°nning to expand?¡±


    ¡°Yes! New queens, bigger hives!¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Got it, thanks Niobee.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee!¡±


    Belissar nodded again, this time to himself. That settled it. If the Flower Meadow queens had ns 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 ns 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?

    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.


    <em>Upgrade Apiary Beehive to Belissar¡¯s Beehouse? Cost: 25 DP</em>


    <em>DP: 2093</em>


    Metsaitti and his hunter group were still fighting remnants, but he already got some DP from the gathering group. He <em>did</em> 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 nced 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, recing the rough cut wet wood with more precisely sawed and dry nks. 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 nonbatant 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 nced 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 dy 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 cane 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.¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    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 honeb you possess wouldn¡¯t be out of ce 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 honeb, 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 upants, and the queens could always raise more children to fill themter on. At the same time, he didn¡¯t want the karnuq just taking thebor of his bees for free.


    But¡­if they had to face some sort of challenge to acquire the honeb? 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 ncing up at the Shrine of Bees. Metsaitti <em>did</em> say something about being inspired by the patron god. So¡­something bee rted? What would be a good bee-rted 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 n 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 rx 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 n 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 whoughed at her ¡°delusions¡± and followed her nose.


    They learned to stopughing 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 n 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

    Chapter 77: Sneaky Bee-livery


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    <em>Minor+ Purificationpleted! Please select a reward</em><strong><em>:</em></strong>


    <em>- +75 DP</em>


    <em>- +15 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Sprayer Resistance Boost (Minimal+)</em>


    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 <em>was</em> 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 wee. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what resistance did¡­


    <em>Resistance: Governs the entity¡¯s ability to resist magic, negative statuses, and non-physical effects.</em>


    That was helpful. So, resistance was like defense, but for magic? Well, that decided it then.<em>Monster Bee Sprayer Resistance Boost (Minimal+) selected.</em>


    <em>Monster Bee Sprayers receive a slight boost to Resistance!</em>


    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 toe.


    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 honeb trays he had umted 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.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    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, cing 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.


    <em>Challenger blessed.</em>


    <em>Gained 10 DP.</em>


    <em>Tribute received. Your patron grants you this portion:</em>


    <em>- Ground Mana Flower x1</em>


    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 <em>new mana flowers</em>, then he didn¡¯t particrly care what they were up to.


    The karnuq¡¯s eyes widened and they looked down at their hands. They started to giggle, theirughter 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 honeb 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 ced the honeb down out in the open.


    He then surrounded the honeb 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 betterst 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 itter.


    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 honeb 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 sh 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 momentter, 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¡¯ting tonight, then? Belissar shrugged and took the honeb 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

    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 me 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 particrlyrge 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 upant 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 mothermands. Will return.¡±


    The Firstborn brushed her antennae once more and then stepped away. Two of her workers thennded 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 forfort¡¯s sake.


    She was followed by the princesses from the other queens. A momentter, 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 startying brood here. My workers will tend, bring honey, so don¡¯t worry andy as many as you can.¡±


    The Firstborn¡¯s daughter stoodpletely still before slowly, ever so slowly starting to dance.


    This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°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 helpter, ok?¡±


    Her daughter still swayed a bit, but managed to dance her salute.


    ¡°As queen mothermands.¡±


    The young queen stepped forward towards one of the cells, finding it full of honey already. She went ahead andid 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 toy more. The Firstborn walked over, brushed her antennae one more time.


    ¡°Will find youter, 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 nced around at them until a loud buzzing drew her attention.


    Soldier bees flew through the upper entrances andnded before each of the young queens.


    ¡°Get on.¡±


    At the Firstborn¡¯smand, her daughter crawled on the back of therger 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 hadmanded 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 <em>anything</em>, knowing what her queen truly wanted. And that killed her, given an <em>unrted queen</em> 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 queenmands.¡±


    She settled on that, for it was true. If the queenmanded her, she would follow through, whatever it was. Previously, her instincts might have prevented her from following amand 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 thend, 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

    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 particrly 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 sessfully 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.


    <em>Sleepy Mana Honeb Tray</em>


    <em>- Description: A tray of honeb containing sleepy mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of flowers with sedative properties, this honey has rxing and, in high dosages, sedative effects.</em>


    <em>Gtinous Mana Honeb Tray</em>


    <em>- Description: A tray of honeb containing gtinous mana honey. Made by monster bees with the nectar of flowers with gtinous properties, this honey is thicker and retains a semi-solid state unless distrurbed.</em>


    <em>Antidote Mana Honeb Tray</em>


    <em>- Description: A tray of honeb 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.</em>The bees had sessfully 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.


    <em>Antifreeze Mana Honeb Tray</em>


    <em>- Description: A tray of honeb 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.</em>


    Apparently, the cloudberries and sweetvetch nts 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 me 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. Particrly, 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 wereing into y. 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.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story 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 ept. 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 ced 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 ced another flower in the chest, praying in words Belissar couldn¡¯t hear.


    <em>Challenger blessed.</em>


    <em>Gained 10 DP.</em>


    <em>Tribute received. Your patron grants you this portion:</em>


    <em>- Ground Mana Flower x1</em>


    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 arrowsnded 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?¡±


    Arge piece of honeb 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 honeb waspletely 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 honeb. 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 honeb. 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

    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 outst night when shebed 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 nts grew along its banks, while she could catch a glimpse of the asional 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 shes of bioluminescence sparkled in the dark as insects, fungi, nts, 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 muchrger one it fed into. The tunnel expanded to tower high into the air, far higher than even several karnuq. Stgmites, stctites, and pirsrger than a karnuq filled the area. Patches of moss created little floating lights while glowing mushrooms clung to the walls and pirs.


    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 be inessible 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 pirs and stgmites. 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 pir. 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 satpletely 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.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    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 n.


    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. Thebination 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 andughed a bit as she held the flower in her hands, before cing 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 <em>something</em> as she heard a yelp, then whatever it was backed off her. She quickly mbered away and scrambled to her feet, facing her assant. 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 ws 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 ws 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, whichnded 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 ws, 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 honeb 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 ncing 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

    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 <em>that</em> 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 mee 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 zing 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 cane 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?¡±


    This book''s true home is on another tform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    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 woulde after her¡­


    She shook her head. In any case, she had what she needed, though this was apparently thest 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 nces 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 toe 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 ced 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.


    <em>The God of Bees offers her full blessing. If you wish to ept, please select one of the following blessings:</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Forager</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Scout</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Geomancer</em>


    <strong><em>- Blessing of the Bee-ssassin</em></strong>


    She stood therepletely still, just staring at the words for a moment. Then she began to grin. Then she began tough. 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 ncing 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.


    ¡°Congrattions, 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 <em>me</em> 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 honeb in his hands.


    ¡°Looks like you got a blessing, um, congrattions?¡±


    She shed 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 eximed.


    ¡°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 n 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 rtionship she had with the Sacred Den Master¡­and what exactly he was nning to give herter. In a single morning, she had gone from the most expendable member of the n 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.


    ¡°Congrattions, 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 n had you failed? I¡¯ve told you before the important role you n, 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 ofbat, 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

    POBee 78.3 - For the Love of Bees


    The karnuq were making a bit ofmotion 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 thetest messages once more.


    <em>A challenger has been fully blessed.</em>


    <em>Gained 20 DP.</em>


    <em>A challenger has selected a blessing unique to your patron.</em>


    <em>Gained additional 10 DP.</em>


    <em>Tribute received. Your patron grants you this portion:</em>


    <em>- Ground Mana Flower x1</em>


    <em>Ground Mana Flower absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Ground Mana Flower now avable.</em><em>Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary, Orchard*. (*=Resource Node only)</em>


    He couldn¡¯t help but grin, and evenugh a bit. Another challenger had been fully blessed, granting him a nice haul of DP as well as progress on that particr mission. But all that paled inparison 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 mighte up with a simr bee type all their own.


    Belissar immediately went to add a few¡­


    <em>Avable Resource nts for Flower Meadow:</em>


    <em>-Ground Mana Flower (10 per node, 20 due to unsuitable environment)</em>


    He wentpletely 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 regr 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.


    <em>Mana: 24/440</em>


    And in one fell swoop, he was nearly out of avable 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 nts, 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 coborate 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 coborate 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 pce 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 pce¡¯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!


    This narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    And she was bing like him too! Like the King, she had alsovished 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 <em>herself</em> with it!


    Yes, this was fine.


    Well, thest 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 <em>any</em> flower, no longer requiring specialized nectars to produce specialized products. But there was a downside to that. It meant that <em>any</em> 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 uneptable 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 simr 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 regr 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 umtion. Not the specialized but mundane flowers that produced interesting but normalpounds. No, this was more akin to the me 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 im on the new flower when she paused. And then she began to tremble.


    The King¡­loved¡­<em>all</em> 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 hermand. 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 thetest 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 wasrge 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 epted the previous favors, would be entirely unable toin. Including the Second of the Sixth. It was beyond frustrating¡­but she had been yed.


    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 im?! Did she want to go through and im everyst 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 andnded on a flower, remainingpletely 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

    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 abouttely.


    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 werebyrinths 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 des 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¡¯te 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 ce! 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¡¯tst five seconds against Metsaitti, much less the chief, the zing 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 likend 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 actualbat.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, barelying 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 <em>hunger</em>. 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 reced 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 hismand.


    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 havee 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.


    Stolen story; please report.


    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 n 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 <em>that</em> 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 withoutint 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 <em>Noiggakuq</em> had been cooperating with the Sacred Den Master in secret¡­and was the second karnuq to be blessed as a result.


    Everyone in the n 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 n 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 be a champion. She had gone and done something unbelievably dangerous¡­and the Sacred Den Master had <em>rewarded</em> 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 forfort. 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 red 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, wille 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 anyints on it, understood?¡±


    Tyghak nodded again. That was fair, he still couldn¡¯tpare 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

    Chapter 79: The Bee-sired Oue


    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 tten them out and join them together. Then, he started building a t tform out of sawed logs up in the branches, hoping if he made something t 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 nks 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 nning 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 nks. It was slow going since they had to rest after each nk but Belissar didn¡¯t mind. He absolutely preferred to take his time on this than to leave the army unprepared for theing 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.


    <em>DP: 3110</em>


    He could finally afford a new room. He opened up the DP shop and selected new room choice.


    <em>Extra room choice purchased. One room choice now avable.</em><em>Please select a room:</em>


    <em>- Swamp (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Water, Field)</em>


    <em>- Farm (Rarity: Common, Type: Resource, Settlement)</em>


    <em>- Dirt Tunnels (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Labyrinth)</em>


    Belissar smiled, and only hesitated for a brief moment. Swamps didn¡¯t sound particrly 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 nts 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 exnation. More food would be great for the karnuq, who had already provided him with grain nts to grow in it, and new crops could mean new flowers for the bees.


    But his choice was already made.


    <em>Dirt Tunnels are now avable.</em>


    It just made sense right now. He had subterranean nt 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 ce. 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 dy taking Dirt Tunnels any longer.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    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 regr 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 regrly 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 ce 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 seeded. It <em>was</em>, in fact, possible to move the rooms after he had ced them. In other words¡­it would be possible to ce 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 ce 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 ce it off to the side of the Apiary. When he moved to ce 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 ce 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, circr 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 cement 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

    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-ck 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 ofing here in person. Although¡­from what he <em>could</em> 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 nts, but there was just a slight problem with that¡­


    <em>Mana: 19/440</em>


    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 avable 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. Neen mana¡­was probably not enough for all of that.


    Belissar decided to at least check the numbers, though.


    <em>Avable Resource nts for Dirt Tunnels:</em>


    <em>- Basic Medicinal Mushrooms (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Basic Poisonous Mushrooms (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Cave Carrot (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Cave Potato (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Burrowing Stonecrop (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)</em>


    <em>- Ground Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 10 per node, 5 due to suitable environment)</em>


    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 <em>did</em> recall seeing beesnd on some he saw in the forest, so maybe there was something they could gather from it?


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    On the other hand, he was at least happy to have confirmation that all those nts 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 <em>significantly</em> 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 shoulde right back, ok?¡±


    The bees all saluted and backed away from the Ground mana flower patch. Belissar then reimed 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.


    <em>Mana: 34/440</em>


    Sess. He had reimed a significant proportion of his mana while still leaving the Apiary bees with ess 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 ce them directly in the sunlight streaming from above, so he ced 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.


    <em>Mana: 19/440</em>


    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.


    <em>Mana: 12/440</em>


    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 nts 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 waspleted 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 yetrge enough to beginying soldiers. The Dirt Tunnels were ready and could be ced 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 sessful 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 wasplete, 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 couldplete 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 dying his Tower¡¯s growth as a result?


    But, just then, Belissar noticed something that would dy this decision. Something that made his heart stop and his blood run cold.


    Despite ack of any purification notices, he felt the Hunger creeping along the Tower¡¯s mana once more.

 Chapter 81: Incursion

    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 <em>definitely</em> 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 ck 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 viges and dead flower fields and of standing by the bedside of bodies lying still.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    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 forfort. 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 rtively optimistic he would be receptive, but it would also mean her people bing 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 red 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 tounch 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 zing Berserker would now find herself helpless in a fight, forced to conserve her strength until it was <em>safe</em> 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 momentter, it began another charge with a roar.


    Metsaitti stood in ce, digging his own feet into the dirt. He stoodpletely still, his eyes fixed upon the monster bearing down on top of him. Then, at the veryst 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 ring 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,unching 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!

    Chapter 82: The Caval-Bee is Here!


    Metsaitti tensed as the boar charged towards him. He leapt to the side at thest 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, takingmand 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 n 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 nce up and her eyes widened. A massive, yellow and ck cloud was rushing towards them. One that she very much recognized.


    The bee army approached.


    ¡°The Sacred Den Master¡­hase 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 mmed 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 momentster, 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 vignt. 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 momentter 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.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    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 foring 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 andcked the whip-like tail, so his bees were having an even easier time dodging the normal. On the hand, this was thergest shade they had ever dealt with. His soldier bees almost looked like regr bees inparison. 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 n 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 ryed as much to the queen in charge, telling her to focus on slowing the shade down. She saluted and began to dance, sending hermands 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 ce.


    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 rtively 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 disyed 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 vignt. 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 ttening 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 ryed as much. A momentter, 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 toote. It was only just beginning to move when the ball crashed into its side.


    And then a pir 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

    POBear 82.1 - Setting a Bear-ing


    <em>A hostile has been defeated in your purification zone.</em>


    <em>Gain 20 DP.</em>


    Belissar exhaled his breath as the message crossed his vision. A momentter, the shade¡¯s body dispersed into mist, taking most of the mes 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 nced at Metsaitti and he nodded. Then they both turned to Belissar and bowed their heads, mming 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 wee. I¡¯m just d no one was hurt.¡±


    Confirming that all was well, Belissar turned to the soldier bee army. Niobee and themanding queen were hovering in front of him, waiting for his nextmand. 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 viges in the past. Once one of the greatest fears in his life, a cmity 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 hade. And, perhaps, how far he too hade 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 ttery.¡±


    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 narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    After the karnuq hunters had been ounted for and returned to their camp, Chief Rohsuak stood before arge gathering. Each family in the n had sent a representative. Juosiutik and Noigakkuq were there, as well as a number of other young karnuq who represented the oldest, orst, 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 n 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 notst forever. We are one mistake, one instance of bad luck, one unfortunate ident 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 ncing 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 wille 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 ess to that protection. We will lose ess to the first consistent source of food we have had. And our two champions will lose ess to the Sacred Den of the patron who has granted them her unique blessings, while no further members of our n 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 reimed 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 <em>need</em> 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

    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 n, one that was fully in line with both his mission and his punishment.


    And so, they touched down in the charred ruins of the vige 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 ce 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 bbering 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 ced 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 red at him.


    ¡°Out with it. What has happened?¡±


    The augur continued to shake as he looked up into the sky.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred tform and support their work!


    ¡°¡­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 reim his Tower¡­and in a location far beyond the reach of the Conve 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 theing 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 umted enough mana to be something different. Her dances were moreplex 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 umte some mana of her own, opening her eyes and mind in ways she still couldn¡¯t fully understand.


    The queen hade 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 hadmitted 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 semnce 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 tost the next week, much less the frozen months that wereing. 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 nned 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 nned, the entire hive rose into the air. But unlike she nned, 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 des 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 thergest of the beasts.


    They thennded on one of therge 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?

    Chapter 83: Will You Bee Mine?


    Belissar sat in the Apiary farmhouse after celebrating the bee army¡¯stest 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 thanter. 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 itsted 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 toofortable with the Hunger thanks to the recent string of sessful 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 nning 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, particrly 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 nts 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.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°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, eximing 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 uing purification.¡±


    It was in that moment that the karnuq arrived¡­and Belissar tilted his head. Chief Rohsuak hade with the group¡­arge 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 manyrge 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.¡±


    <em>ept offer of allegiance?</em>


    Belissar stared nkly, then blinked repeatedly.


    ¡°¡­um, what?¡±


    Fortunately, Chief Rohsuak seemed to anticipate his confusion, as she took him aside to exin 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 ept outsiders as their defenders and servants. We would like to be yours, if you would ept 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 rtionship 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 be your people. We will fight your battles, work yournds, defend your Sacred Den, and follow yourmands.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin, but then suddenly his eyes widened.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­offering to be 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 x 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 epted? 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 hade 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,e 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 rtionship with one another¡­

 Chapter 84: Bee-come a Defend-Bear

    Chapter 84: Beee a Defend-Bear


    Belissar and Chief Rohsuak then discussed some details.


    ¡°I see, so you¡¯re nning to expand tomorrow?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯ll probably be best to wait and see what I have avable then.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have the n 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 n 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 be 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 ce for them to stay within the Tower, but that would have to wait as Belissar wasn¡¯t sure what rooms he¡¯d want to ce 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 bing 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 ced her finger on her chin and nced 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 theirbors, correct? It is something simr 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 outughing. 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 n over to the Tower. Belissar busied himself by apanying 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 n. 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 zing 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.


    <em>ept offer of allegiance?</em>


    ¡°Um, I, Belissar, master of this dungeon¡­in the witness of the God of Bees, ept. 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 shed once and disappeared.


    <em>You have gained 132 sworn defenders.</em>


    <em>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.</em>


    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. <em></em>


    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 epting us.¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, you¡¯re wee? 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 toe. 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 epted the new defenders. He¡­probably should have spoke with them before epting the karnuq¡¯s oath. He should probably speak with the queens regrly, in fact.


    And in particr, 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

    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 foring.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak inclined her head.


    ¡°Of course. Would you mind sharing your n 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 youe 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, whomanded 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 ncing 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 ce you¡¯d like us to guard, correct?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes, thank you.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded and watched the group arrange themselves. A few momentster, 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 ced 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 disyed the staircase heading there.


    The soldier bee army buzzed their wings and held their positions. Belissar sent them a message.


    ¡°Everyone ready?¡±


    The queen inmand saluted. Belissar took a deep breath.


    <em>Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.</em>


    ¡°Ok, here we go.¡±


    <em>Expansion purification attemptmencing.</em>


    The karnuq jumped and nced every which way as the Tower¡¯s mana began to surge. Soon the gate in the Dirt Tunnels mmed 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.


    Stolen story; please report.


    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, simr 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.


    <em>Expansion purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 2</em>


    ¡°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¡¯ feetunched 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 theyunched 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 ced activated, but the shades were long gone before honey even left the nozzles.


    It seemed this time the Hunger didn¡¯t n to fight the bees at all.


    ¡°Be careful! There are two ground shades moving super fast! They¡¯re probably nning to run right past you!¡±


    Themanding 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 twistingbyrinth 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 disying, 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 ckened 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 thest corner before the exit.


    ¡°Here theye!¡±


    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. ck mist gathered around them and then they swung their wings. A burst of ck mist pushed them forward, causing them to surge down the hall.


    The sprayers, though, were alreadyunching 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 copsed 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 tond 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 ck 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 andunched their attack. With its attention focused on the bees already on its back, the shade failed to react. Another group of beesnded on its face and shoulder and began their own attacks.


    The shade howled and copsed 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 ck mist didn¡¯t move any further.


    <em>Shade purified. Remaining hostiles: 1</em>


    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 me radishes on the other shade.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>

 Chapter 86: The Masters Special-Bee

    Chapter 86: The Master''s Special-Bee


    The Tower¡¯s mana surged and passed in a wave out into the world beyond, reiming even more territory from the Hunger. The karnuq nced 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 hearints from me about ack 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 toe 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 honeb he had stockpiled. He ced 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 honeb 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.


    <em>Expansion sessful. </em>


    <em>Reward: Floor limit increased to 3. Receive one perk choice, and two random reward choices.</em>


    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 hisst 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.¡±


    <em>Please select a perk:</em>


    <em>- Enhanced Toxins (Rarity: Common)</em>


    <em>- Boosted Beehouses (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    <em>- Bee Specialist (Rarity: Common)</em>


    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.


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Feature Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- +1 Room Limit</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    <em>- Rare Monster Choice (At least one rare or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Feature Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- +100 max mana</em>


    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 exin 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 disy. 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 im 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 rtively 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 <em>was</em> 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 particr. 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 ce 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.


    <em>Room limit increased! Room limit is now three per floor.</em>


    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 exined 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 youmit down a single path, the more options it will grant you to ovee 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.


    <em>Bee Specialist selected.</em>


    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

    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 umon 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 orck 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.


    <em>Please select a monster* (*One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees)</em><strong><em>:</em></strong>


    <em>- Monster Bee der (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee, de)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Communer (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee, Mind)</em>


    <em>- Bloodsucking Bee Queen (Rarity: Epic, Type: Bee, Blood)</em>


    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 umon to boot! Belissar could barely wait as he opened up the descriptions for each.


    <em>Monster Bee der</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minor</em><em>Strength: Small</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minor</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison sh, Death Blow, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee soldier evolution. This bee trades its stinger for an edged de and grows ws on its front two legs, as well as greater size and strength. This allows it to attack more directly via cutting and shing. It can coat its abdomen de in venom, though its venom is no more powerful than a normal soldier¡¯s.</em>


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but whistle. While the monster bee workers were the size of regr bees and the monster bee soldiers a bitrger than his hand, the monster bee ders were the size of a small dog. And while the soldiers were basically justrger bees, the ders were more monstrous in shape as well as size. Their front legs had curled des more like a praying mantis, while their stingers were t, 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 umon choice.


    <em>Monster Bee Communer</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Small</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minor</em>


    <em>Special: Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Death Blow, Brood Offspring, Brood Link</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Worker</em>


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    <em>Description: A monster bee queen canmand 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 beemuner is the solution to this. The monster beemuner 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¡¯smand but also allows her brood to exchange information with her at a distance, allowing the entire hive to benefit from their queen¡¯s abilities. Themuner itself has very little in the way of defense and so must be protected. </em>


    All the bees fell still as Belissar finished the description. The Second First of the First slowly began to dance.


    ¡°Let¡¯s queensmand 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 thest option.


    <em>Bloodsucking Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minor</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Drain Bite, Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A sweat bee queen evolved by mana to seek other fluids. Drains sustenance and mana from the blood of living creatures, and has anticoagnt venom along with erged stingers to encourage the flow of blood. This one is a queen, and capable of building a hive of monster blood bees.</em>


    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 der¡¯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-rted 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.


    <em>Monster Bee Communer now avable! Monster Bee Workers may now evolve into Monster Bee Communers.</em>


    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 momentter, the other bee queens joined her in thanking him, and proiming him the best. Belissar grinned and chuckled.


    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re wee, d 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, thest one indicating that she would stay. Thergest 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

    POBee 87.1 - The Conduit''s 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.


    <em>Mana: 12/440</em>


    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 nced at each before the First of the Fifth began to dance.¡°That¡¯s concerning. What worried about?¡±


    Niobee turned to nce 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 ryed 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 growcent 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 themmands from the safety of her own hive.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    For the Flower Meadow queens, it was perfect. The need for a queen tomand 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 takemand, and so could continue to manage her workers at the same time. The dys whenmanding soldiers that weren¡¯t the queen¡¯s own brood? Now each queen couldmand their own offspring all at once. It was a solution to all of the problems they had encountered since taking personalmand of the army.


    And, additionally, it would help with the issue raised by the Conduit. The queens could assign workers to watch the neers and then watch them with their own eyes. Their responses to any threats would not be dyed 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 raisingmuners 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 urring 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? <em>Unthinkable</em>. 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 nk 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 <em>never</em> 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 wouldplete this task with all due diligence. The issue was that to do so would ultimatelypromise 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 <em>not</em> 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 neverpromised and never settled for less than the best, and would spare no effort to achieve her aims.


    So, she considered how she couldplete her given task withoutpromising 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. Thesemuner bees cost more mana and honey than a regr 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 onmuners 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 amuner 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 amuner 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 coborate 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 topromise 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 issuemands to her workers. It was time to call for the Apiary queens to gather once more.

 POBee 87.2 - Un-Bee-lievable Happiness

    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 toprehend the frantic dance going on. She began to tremble.


    There¡­would be a way to contact their queen? <em>Wherever</em> 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 <em>worker</em> 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. ns 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 nce at the grove where the two Orchard queens lived. He began to rub his chin.


    The bigger Orchard queen¡¯s sheer excitement at themuner 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 stille 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 nts the karnuq had brought with them. And each time he did an expansion purification, the amount of ground reimed 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 urring 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 themuner bees. He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as they kept up their dance, not pausing for even a moment.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee, I¡¯m d you like it. And, I was thinking¡­would it be possible to step up the scouting? Now that you have themuners, 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 themuners, 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!¡±


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the tform they originally published on.


    That settled it for the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s lead worker. The King himself hadmanded 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 thennded 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 finallynded 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.


    ¡°Kingmanded, 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. Be 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 finalmands 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 themuners 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 n. Because, if they could speak to their queen wherever she was, then it wouldn¡¯t matter where she was, right? And beyond thatmuners could not only pass information andmunications between the workers and the queen¡­they could also reach out to the nearby bees themselves.


    That meant that if the lead worker became amuner, she would be able to see, hear, andmand 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 toy enough brood¡­and the worker had ideas on that as well.


    Herst thought as she settled into sleep was that finally, she could make her queen¡¯s dreamse 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 newmuners, 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 Kingmanded¡­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 toprehend the immediate reply.


    When it finally did, it was her turn to begin a frantic happy dance.

 Chapter 88: Bee-organizing the Rooms

    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 nts 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 rtively t tform across the tree branches, with a beam frame reaching down to the ground to provide additional support and a basicdder 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 tform¡­


    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.


    <em>Please select a purification strength:</em>


    <em>- Minor (Cooldown: 14 hours)</em>


    <em>- Minor+ (Cooldown: 22 hours)</em>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 ess 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 inmand 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 wlessly. 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.


    <em>Mana: 27/455</em>


    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 thergest queen. He turned to Niobee.


    ¡°Niobee, the closest queen is kind of the leader of the Apiary, right?¡±


    Niobee danced her confirmation.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    ¡°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, goingpletely 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 regrly 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 n. 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 ced 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.


    <em>Mana: 7/455</em>


    Belissar rubbed his chin. The new rooms alone had drained most of his avable 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 avable 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 nned 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¡¯refortable 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!¡±


    Niobeended 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 tform that could hold a beehouse, it was time to ensure thest of his queens had a home built by him. And toplete 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 <em>her</em> 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 im 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 imed by her children. And while she was no longer as concerned about territorial ims, it was only natural to want to see any unimed 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 neers 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 neers?¡±


    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 neers 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

    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 tform before climbing up himself. Hisdder¡­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 rtively 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?¡±


    Therger 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, nning to use up as much of the tform¡¯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 inessible location, he realized there was no real reason to build beehouses with human ess 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 ofrge, 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 berge circr holes that would be small for an adult human but still quitergepared 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.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences elsewhere.


    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 ce a Beehive feature, assemble a beehouse next to it, and then merge the two together. And this time¡­he had forgotten to actually ce 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¡­


    <em>Compatible feature detected. Upgrade to Beehive?</em>


    He let out a sigh of relief as instead of disying a transparent beehive, his Tower sight instead illuminated thepleted 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.


    <em>New feature detected. New feature unlocked.</em>


    <em>Wooden tform is now avable!</em>


    <em>New feature detected. New feature unlocked.</em>


    <em>Bee Apartment is now avable!</em>


    <em>Beehive upgraded to Bee Apartment.</em>


    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.


    <em>Wooden tform</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 1</em>


    <em>An elevated tform made of wood. May hold features within its weight limit. Weight limit may be improved if supported by other features.</em>


    <em>Bee Apartment</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 10 (5 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Current upants: None</em>


    <em>Current Product: Honeb</em>


    <em>Base Production Rate: 3 honeb per 24 hours</em>


    <em>Arger variant on Belissar¡¯s Beehouse. Like with the smaller, changed product from honeb to honeb trays, improves maximum products stored to 3 per upying queen, increased bee productivity, and <strong>increases bee happiness</strong>. Thisrger version may hold multiple queens and hives, each of which increases the honeb production and storage.</em>


    The wooden tform 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 moreplicated 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 ount for the unexpected Wooden tform feature, so he double checked his mana.


    <em>Mana: 1/455</em>


    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 d you like it, enjoy!¡±


    Belissar began climbing down thedder 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.


    <em>Mission: House All Beespleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: Umon Monster Choice</em>


    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 theirst 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?

    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.


    <em>Please select a monster* (*One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees)<strong>:</strong></em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Burster (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Carpenter Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Nature)</em><em>- Monster Bumblebee Queen (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)</em>


    Belissar immediately proceeded to read out the descriptions for the queens.


    <em>Monster Bee Burster</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Below Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Death Burst, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier, Monster Bee Sprayer</em>


    <em>Description: This monster bee sprayer variant¡¯s venom has grown so caustic and vtile that it cannot be contained. The monster bee burster holds its venom ingredients in separate nds, only to be mixed at the moment of attack. Once it does so, it soon explodes, subjecting its surroundings to a powerful st that showers the area in toxins.</em>


    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, werergely silent. He was grateful for that, as he probably would feelpelled 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.


    <em>Monster Carpenter Bee</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Wood Cut</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 1</em>


    <em>Description: A carpenter bee that has umted enough Nature mana to be something more. Sharp mandibles meant for boring into wood allow for painful, if small, bites.</em>


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    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 toe. 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 worthmitting a monster choice to that?


    Belissar supposed that would depend on the third and final option.


    <em>Monster Bumblebee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Speed: Below Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Brood Mother</em>


    <em>Description: A bumblebee queen that has umted enough mana to be something more. Mostly simr 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 significantlyrger. 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. </em>


    Belissar hummed and rubbed his chin. The third queen choice he had seen, this one an entirely different species. So, still not rted 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 nce, they didn¡¯t seem all that different from monster bees, especiallypared to the previous bloodsucking bees. But one line in particr stood out to Belissar. The potential to grow significantlyrger¡­he had already seen how helpful soldier bees could be just on ount of their size. Could monster bumblebees growrger than that? And how muchrger? Would they grow as big as the small remnant shades? The minor purification wolf-shades? Asrge as a human? As big as the giant boar shade? At the moment, Belissar had no idea. But if it were on therger end¡­then Belissar could definitely see a ce 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 growrge was whenpared to normal bees, and not veryrge 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 tomit more monster choices to them before they would be 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 asst time, if theck 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 aboutmuners, or even the monster bee ders. The other two options were different species from the usual monster bees and so represented potentialpetition. 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 wouldpete with his current queens for resources?


    This choice might just be the hardest monster choice he had faced yet.


    Belissar ended up ncing 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 <em>Bees</em>. 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.


    <em>Monster Bumblebee Queens are now avable.</em>


    His Tower would, therefore, be a Tower for all bees. His current queens might be reluctant to wee newpetition, 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 growrge, 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

    Chapter 91: Build a Bear Ha-Bee-tat


    Belissar wanted to add some monster bumblebee queens right away but, unfortunately, his avable 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 ced 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 momentter, 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 ce for you all. Could youe or send someone to check it out?¡±


    Her eyes widened slightly before she smiled.


    ¡°We are honored, Sacred Den Master. Yes, I wille 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 asional 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 arge cavern that split off into thework 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 nced 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 theye 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.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°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 nced 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 be partially corrupted. It¡­seems kind of bad, to be honest, but we can also extract and purify that corruptionter. 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 note 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 rmendations 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 regrly?¡±


    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 Belissarplied. He cut down on the winding and twistingbyrinth the Dirt Tunnels would spawn as, widening the tunnels asrge as they would go while creating some bigger caverns at regr 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 thend 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 amodating, 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 tond 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

    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 n was heading into the Tower before long. The karnuq who hadn¡¯t visited before nced 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 ces Chief Rohsuak had specified previously.


    He had intended to let them set up in peace, butter 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 beesnded on its back and clung on, stinging it repeatedly. Only momentster, 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. Havingpleted 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 noticeablyrger 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 rted 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 intorger 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 nt node of every flower he had avable. Mana flowers, healing herbs, poisonous flowers, textile flowers, me radish, sleepy chamomile, gtinous 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.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences elsewhere.


    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 upy them.


    And now, he was finally ready to add those bees.


    <em>Mana: 11/560</em>


    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 newmuners. 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 ced tiny wax pots. Belissar ced 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 momentter, a little ball of ck 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, wee to the Tower.¡±


    The monster bumblebee queen responded by flying in a wide circle around Belissar. It didn¡¯te 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 momentter, she began zipping around Belissar in wide circles,pleting several repetitions as fast as she could. Belissar grinned.


    ¡°I¡¯m d 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 tond 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, ce 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 particrly helpful to the monster bumblebee queens.


    <em>New mission received: Create a home for bumblebees</em>


    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 toorge. 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 ce it. He then tried to make a small, monster bumblebee-sized entrance between it and the Flower Meadow.


    He managed to seed. 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 momentter, she crawled out, and began to fly around in a circle again.


    <em>Mission: Create a home for bumblebeespleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: Onemon room feature choice.</em>


    Belissar smiled at the queen zipping around him.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you like it.¡±


    As the queenpleted 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¡­


    <em>Select Room Feature:</em>


    <em>- Basic Resource nts (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Resource)</em>


    <em><strong>- Bee Nest (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Monster Nest)</strong></em>


    <em>- Thorned Roses (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Trap)</em>


    And, as he expected, the God of Bees had intervened. Belissar obediently selected the option both he and the God of Bees wanted.


    <em>Bee Nest</em>


    <em>- Type: Bee, Monster Nest</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 2 per nest (1 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>- Description: A hive for bee types that prefer more rugged and freeform colonies. Boosts the growth of any bees living inside of it.</em>


    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

    POBee 92.1 - Bee-musing Communing


    She slowly awakened. Everything was dark, pitch ck. 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 pce 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 rmend.¡±


    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 immediatelying 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 honeb 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 <em>at</em> 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¡­amuner. 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¡­


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    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!¡±


    Themuner 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 pce with massive pirs of wood supporting theb, 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¡¯snd! Conduit, Firstborn, and First of Fifth asked if we could help scout!¡±


    At this point, themuner¡¯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!¡±


    Themuner copsed 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 thest of the Apiary queens was born. It was imperative that she meet this neer and take their measure¡­and, of course, figure out how to support them.


    This was all the more important as the King had ced them in a new room connected to the Apiary itself, ced 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 neer.


    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 neers. 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 neers!


    So, she repeated to herself as she flew to the closest pce. Shended 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 pce 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 pce, where surely she would find the neer.


    A minuteter and the worker she sent to check confirmed that this pce, 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 pces were empty too. The First of the Fifth couldn¡¯t help but float around aimlessly.


    <em>All</em> of the King¡¯s pces were empty? Then, where was the neer?!


    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 pces, the neer was crawling out of a hole in the ground. She wasrge 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 neer. A different type of bee, one that wasrger 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 generalpetition for resources that the King had sworn to prevent.


    The neer 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. Wee to King¡¯s hive of hives.¡±


    The neer 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 neer 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

    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 foring.¡±


    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.


    ¡°d 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 ced 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 nced away.


    ¡°Um, about that¡­¡±


    Belissar did not like that reaction.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak kept ncing 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 asion.¡±


    Belissar blinked a few times before frowning. He¡­wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to that.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°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 hade across him in his old vige instead of in a Tower with a bee army, would they have been as nice? Or¡­would it have ended as the Tower Lords imed?


    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 wererge 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 asionally glowed.


    ¡°This is one of themuners, 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.


    <em>Sedating Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Sedating Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker raised on sedative honey. It now produces the sedativepounds in the honey in its own venom nds. Its stings, in addition to the normal bee toxin effects, may cause fatigue, sluggishness, or in particrly high doses unconsciousness.</em>


    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.


    <em>Maddening Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Mad Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee queen raised or evolved on maddening mana honey. Lays maddening variant offspring by default.</em>


    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 thest 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 hadrge, thick mandibles that looked more suited to crushing than cutting. Her color was now a dull shade of brown rather than bright yellow.


    <em>Digging Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Speed: Below Average+</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Dig, Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>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.</em>


    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

    Chapter 94: A Visionar-Bee n


    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,e 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 thennded 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 nning to do just that. So, he figured he should consider some other ns 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 difort 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 inrge 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 hade 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!¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    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 umte.


    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 nced 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 toe 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 nts and flowers that he could not nt 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 ess to every flower type he had avable¡­but would that be practical going forward? As of now, the first floorcked the Dirt Tunnels nts and the third floorcked 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 ounted 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 woulde from the bumblebee spawner.


    If he continued to try and insist that every hive have every flower avable, 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 ess to a given flower type for its honey to be avable 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 topletely rebuild every room and resource nt 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 regr 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

    POBee 94.1 - The King''s Request


    This was fine.


    The First of the Fifth was currently pacing about in her hive. Her firstmuners had just emerged from their cells. Her mind lit up with the dances of countless bees as themuners 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 bycking will. She managed to organize the iing 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 ess 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 ess 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 be 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 ess 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 hermuners, 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 toe at it from a different angle, that of efficiency.


    And from that point of view, the King¡¯s actions madeplete 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 story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°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 nts. It was thanks to you that we got some new nts 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 nk, followed by some sort of dance so rapid the world around her blurred. The King¡­had seen her efforts. He <em>approved</em>. 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 ns. 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 ess 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 <em>her</em> 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 dreame true, because the situation <em>far</em> 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 raisedmuners 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 ovee 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 n.


    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 n¡­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 n.¡±


    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 urred.

 POBee 94.2 - Plots and Conspira-Bees

    POBee 94.2 - Plots and Conspira-Bees


    A worker from the First of the Fifth¡¯s hive crawled into a me radish flower, drinking deeply of the nectar. Many of her sisters disliked foraging from the me radish flowers, iming 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 nd and chilly inparison. 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 particr flowers, a task she could handle as her queen had decreed a quota on the me 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 me radish nectar could not be gathered inrge 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 andfortable me 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 me radishes did not. And so, shended 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, asionally drooping, but never touching the ground. And despite theck of a breeze, it continued to move, even turning and changing course. Until it floated above the me radish patch. It then began to fall, drifting towards the patch as if being pulled on a line. It settled amidst the me radish flowers, its glow growing brighter the closer it got. It thennded on the ground and melted into it.


    A momentter, 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 n 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 herbs 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 ess 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 imed to the rest of them. It hade to the point that the Second of the Sixth had to just stop thinking about it and take whatever benefit was offered.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    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 n 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 ur 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 n 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? <em>She</em> 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 imed 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 ess 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 n was finallying 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 neers to ensure loyalty. Would like foragers from each hive to help. Should raisemuners, 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 showmuners 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 raisemuners, 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

    Chapter 95: Better Bee Vignt


    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 basicmunication. Metsaitti then exined 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 thetest 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 nned 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 sprayersunched 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 beenpleted, it hadn¡¯t been empty either. A handful of soldier bees hadtched 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 ws, the glowing red lights that reced 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¡­


    This novel''s true home is a different tform. Support the author by finding it there.


    And then it fell into the Pit Trap ced 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 me radish sliver down on top of it without missing a beat.


    The karnuq blinked and then nced at one another, while Belissar took and exhaled arge 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 nced 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 ns. He had forgotten since the Tower upgraded it to a feature but the Bee Barracks wasn¡¯tpleted per his original intentions. The structure was only the start, he had also nned 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 thest 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 celebrationter, Belissar again had fifteen mana to work with. The Dirt Trails feature <em>was</em> 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 ce a new Dirt Tunnels as the third room for the first floor, and ced 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 ced the Dirt Tunnels ¡°underneath¡± the Flower Meadow and ced 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 invaderrger 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 ce 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 othermitments. 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 wee 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 reimed the mana needed for a new Bee Nest, and then finally turned in for the night.

 POBee 95.1 - Generosi-Bee

    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.


    <em>Monster Bumblebee Queen Spawner</em>


    <em>Monsters: Monster Bumblebee Queen</em>


    <em>Cooldown: 23/24 hours</em>


    <em>Current Monsters Spawned: 2/4</em>


    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 thest 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.


    ¡°Wee, 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 anythingsting. 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 n 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 momentter 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 neers, her newly bornmuner now allowing her to see through her children. She longed to rush out to greet the King, but it was not her day tomand the army so her ce remained in the barracks, supporting the growth of the army. As usual, her workers were small in number but tireless in theirbor, 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. Themuner 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 beginying soldier eggs of her own.


    That was a wonderful thing, but it would take her out ofmission 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 thergest army they could possibly sustain wasing to haunt them.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    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 momentter, the groupnded 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, regr 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 wasying a soldier egg in a cell full of the purple-tinted honey. The medicinal honey was even rarer, and the Firstborn used her batch toy a new generation of workers that would ensure the health of her hive.


    And then, with the normal mana honey, she prepared arge 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 toorge 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 zed 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 amon purpose, and the Flower Meadow queens had followed suit. The Flower Meadow queens joined their armies and exchangedmand 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 <em>nothing</em> in response. They worked for the hive of hives not as two rival queensing 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 carriedrge 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

    Tower Map as of Chapter 95


    Hey all,


    As requested, a basicyout map, created with all the artistic talent, extraordinary diligence, and attention to detail you''vee 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 urate map of the actual maze. But eh. Let''s hope I got everything vaguely right!


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    That''s all for this one! Tune in tomorrow for the next chapter!

 Chapter 96: Unexpected Bee-nefits

    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 andnded 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 ce. After the pulse came back to her, she flew back to Metsaitti¡¯s shoulder. She continued tond and send out pulses at regr 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.


    <em>New nt detected. Fire Mana Flower is now avable.</em>


    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 me 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 me 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 ssified 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 <em>could</em> 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 regr 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 regr flowers beyond the asional 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¡­


    <em>Avable Resource nts for Apiary:</em><em>-Fire Mana Flower (10 per node, 20 due to unsuitable environment)</em>


    He pursed his lips as he immediately calmed down. Right, he had somewhat forgotten how expensive Ground Mana Flowers were when ced 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 avable¡­


    Belissar froze, and then smacked his forehead. He hadpletely forgotten that Ground mana flowers were far cheaper when ced 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 ess 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?


    <em>Mana: 30/575</em>


    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?


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    He turned his sight back to the Fire mana flower¡­and frowned. A handful of worker bees were hovering around the me 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 me 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 recentlye 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 disyed before his eyes were numbers he did not expect to see.


    <em>DP: 3015</em>


    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.


    <em>Gained 16 DP.</em>


    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 ie had dropped since the hunter had temporarily stopped fighting remnants.


    Apparently, he was wrong. What he had not considered was that there were <em>many</em> 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 <em>right now</em>.


    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 rted for the new flower.


    But on the other hand, he had currently filled up his avable 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 thest 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. Themuners 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 ders, 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 meremon option that cost only a single point of mana to upkeep. What would an umon or rare trap be capable of? Additionally, room features ounted 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 nts 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

    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 therge and fuzzy bees now gathering nectar from the nearby flowers. While smaller than their queen, the workers were still quiterge and roundpared 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. Wee 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 disy 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 wee.¡±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. Hermuners 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 <em>mana</em> 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 me 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 calcting. She would not be able to put the honey from this flower into production.


    The nectar from the me radishes alone already raised the temperature of its surroundings at an rming 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.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The nectar from the new mana flower had an even denser concentration of Fire mana than that of the me 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 n of the King to do just that, but the First of the Fifth <em>had</em> 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 pce of her own, since she had been born just a moment toote to im 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 particr fashion. Hermuner¡¯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 eximed as much to hermuner but hermuner reminded her to pay attention. Not only would this be the first test of scouting with the support of amuner, 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 nts. 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 themuner, the scouts themselves followed her line of sight and flew closer to give her a better view. She pped 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 particr 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 nt, they ced it into that opening. The scouts flying closer could see the protrusions filled with many nts. The karnuq could thus continue to gather while carrying many nts¡­all the while their limbs remainedpletely 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 hermuner.


    ¡°Have idea. Can call soldiers?¡±


    Themuner saluted.


    ¡°Already did.¡±


    A momentter, 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 exin her idea and the soldiers gave her their full attention. Even the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯smuner watched intently as, once again, her queen came up with an idea she never would have thought of¡­

 Chapter 97: Bee Decisive

    Chapter 97: Bee Decisive


    The day went on. Belissar upied himself by watching the karnuq expedition. They made their way down the tunnel until it opened into a muchrger tunnel,plete with stctites, stgmites, and pirs. 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 exined 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 hepletely 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.


    <em>Corruption detected. Please purify corruption before installing features in affected areas.</em>


    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 ce any traps anywhere the shades had been. He groaned and then ced 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 neers were aware, seeing as the first one hadn¡¯t shown upst 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 neers, 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 growingrge 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.


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°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 eximed 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 avable, since he had rare and umon monsters and rooms, butmon 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 bitter.


    And with that, it was time to see what he got!


    <em>Extra room feature choice purchased. One room feature choice now avable.</em>


    <em>Please select a room feature:</em>


    <em>- Basic Resource Minerals (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Resource)</em>


    <em>- Beeswax Candles (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Fire, Decoration)</em>


    <em>- Grasping Vine (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Trap)</em>


    Belissar frowned. Allmon options, apparently. Which¡­probably made sense? They were calledmon, so it would make sense that they weremon. But still¡­most of Belissar¡¯s other choices had included at least one umon or rarer option, so it wasn¡¯t unreasonable to be disappointed that everything wasmon, right? Especially when Belissar had chosen room features specifically to get an umon or better one¡­


    He sighed and shook his head. Comining about it now wouldn¡¯t help, so he started to read out the descriptions for the bees and Chief Rohsuak.


    <em>Basic Resource Minerals</em>


    <em>- Type: Ground, Resource</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: Depends on resource selected</em>


    <em>- Description: A spot where useful mineral resources may be found and mined. Compatible minerals will depend on the Room. Existingpatible minerals may be converted to nodes.</em>


    Belissar could help but nod as he read the description. That option was a good one,mon 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.


    <em>Beeswax Candles</em>


    <em>- Type: Bee, Fire, Decoration </em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 1</em><em>(0 if wax is regrly provided)</em>


    <em>- Description: A beeswax candle that provides light, and a bit of heat. Effects may vary if special wax types are provided.</em>


    ¡­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 honeb 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.


    <em>Grasping Vine</em>


    <em>- Type: Nature, Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 2</em>


    <em>- Description: A vine that constricts upon being touched. May trip or restrain a target.</em>


    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.¡±


    <em>Basic Resource Minerals selected.</em>


    That one wasn¡¯t really a contest. Basic Resource Minerals were the only option that could provide something his Tower currentlycked. 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?

    Chapter 98: Do You Feel Luck-Bee?


    Belissar considered it for all of about five seconds before shrugging. He couldn¡¯t think of any particr reason why he <em>shouldn¡¯t</em> pick another room feature choice, and he still wanted to see an umon or rarer option if at all possible. So, he went ahead and purchased yet another room feature choice.


    <em>Please select a room feature:</em>


    <em>- Thorned Roses (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Trap)</em>


    <em>- Snare Trap (Rarity: Common, Type: Trap)</em>


    <em>- Mud Pit (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Water, Trap)</em>


    Belissar¡¯s face fell as he read through the options. Once again, allmons. 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 thetter¡­


    But well, he had a choice to make, so he read them out.


    <em>Thorned Roses</em>


    <em>- Type: Nature, Trap</em><em>- Mana Upkeep: 2</em>


    <em>- 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 ced nearpatible features.</em>


    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¡­


    <em>Snare Trap</em>


    <em>- Type: Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 1</em>


    <em>- 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 rmended to add bait.</em>


    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.


    <em>Mud Pit</em>


    <em>- Type: Ground, Water, Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 3</em>


    <em>- Description: Turns a section of ground into mud. Target will sink into it.</em>


    ¡­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 asion so he knew it wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience, and the Mud Pit did lookrger than a Pit Trap so maybe it would be helpful for slowly shades down? And if he ever got nts 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 particr opinion here. Belissar sighed.


    ¡°Well, might as well.¡±


    <em>Thorned Roses selected.</em>


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    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 umon or better options, right? So, if he specifically wanted an umon 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, themon options were, well,mon. But, he didn¡¯t recall seeing a choice of onlymons before, much less two in a row! So, surely the next choice would include something else, right? Surely he wouldn¡¯t get ninemon choices in a row, right?


    Belissar made his choice.


    <em>Please select a room feature:</em>


    Belissar held his breath.


    <em>- Lotus Flowers (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Resource)</em>


    He took a deep breath. There were still two more.


    <em>- Beeswax Candles (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Fire, Decoration)</em>


    Really, a repeat option? Just what were the chances of that? Surely less than getting at least one umon option out of nine!


    ¡°Come on¡­¡±


    Belissar held his breath as he checked the third and final choice.


    <em>- Arrow Trap (Rarity: Common, Type: Trap)</em>


    Belissar groaned. How?! How had he gotten not a single option other thanmon 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 couldnd 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 onmon 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.


    <em>Lotus Flowers selected.</em>


    <em>Lotus Flowers</em>


    <em>- Type: Nature, Water, Resource</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 3</em>


    <em>- Description: An aquatic flower nt cultivated for food.</em>


    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. Disappointinglymon 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 nts? 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 umon or better room featurest 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

    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 ce and then shed 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 hade 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 momentter, the pattern finished and shed. 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 neer, 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 wee? d you like it.¡±


    He then turned to Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°Speaking of, I wasing to see if you have any other nts, or minerals now. I¡¯ll, um, make some nodes of whatever you have for you if I can.¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Chief Rohsuak smiled at him.


    ¡°Yes, I had expected as much. Please take a look.¡±


    She motioned to a mat they had ced on the ground, covered in various nts, seeds, and ores. Belissar picked up one of the ores that was tinted red.


    <em>Absorb iron ore? Current samples: 0/3</em>


    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 avable for the basic resource minerals.


    <em>Avable Resource Minerals for Flower Meadow:</em>


    <em>- Basic Stone (Mana Upkeep: 1 per node)</em>


    <em>- Copper Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Tin Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Salt (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    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.


    <em>Iron ore absorbed.</em>


    <em>Absorb iron ore? Current samples: 1.27/3</em>


    Each piece of iron ore gave a different quantity of samples, apparently, that roughly corresponded to their size. It still only took three, however.


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Iron Ore is now avable.</em>


    <em>Current Applications: Flower Meadow*, Apiary*, Orchard*, Dirt Tunnels (*=Resource Node only)</em>


    The next ore Belissar picked up was a silver one that gleamed in the sunlight.


    <em>Absorb silver ore?</em>


    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 <em>had </em>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 vige 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 <em>why</em> 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 be 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.


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Silver Ore is now avable.</em>


    <em>Avable Resource Minerals for Flower Meadow:</em>


    <em>- Basic Stone (Mana Upkeep: 1 per node)</em>


    <em>- Copper Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Tin Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Salt (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Iron Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)</em>


    <em>- Silver Ore (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)</em>


    Those were the only two minerals in sufficient quantities to be absorbed. Well, the karnuq <em>did</em> have salt as well, but Belissar already had ess 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 nts¡­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.


    <em>Absorb Subterranean Death Cap? Samples: 0/7</em>


    Fortunately, it turned out he didn¡¯t even need to unwrap the deadly fungi to absorb them. As a subterranean option they were only avable 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 t 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 ce it near the glowcap, it dislikes light.¡±


    Belissar nodded and absorbed that one without unwrapping it as well. All three of the new nts 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 ce 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

    POBee 99.1 - Dangerous Activi-Bees


    The First of the Fifth nced through the mana of hermuner, allowing her to see through the eyes of her scouts. It was her turn to arrange the karnuq watch today, and she was d 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 <em>anything</em> to befall him.


    Particrly not by the hands of these karnuq. She knew the King had weed 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 resemnce 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 nts. 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 wasw, 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 vignce.


    The dangerous one grunted and growled in the manner that their people did¡­though as the King had epted them his mana now converted their noises into intelligiblenguage. 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 nt. So¡­that one was supposedly extremely toxic, that one possessed an unusual bioluminescence, and thest 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 urred¡­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 nt 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. <em>If</em> 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 urred, 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 deration, 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?


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    That in itself would be shocking but the King saw much that she did not, so she would have no choice but to ept it. Thest 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 nts, 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 thatst 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 ce by the hives, so the First of the Fifth could rx 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 farrger 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 ughter. 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 ck 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 ck 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 themand, 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 sh¡­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¡¯tprehend 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 <em>made</em> it herself. That, at least, exined why the King was not surprised when she mentioned honey.


    But then, what exactly was she doing? And why had she ughtered 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 ck rock changed. Since she was sensing this through amuner¡¯s link to a worker, she couldn¡¯t get apletely urate 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 anding 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 ced inside of it.


    The First of the Fifth stoodpletely still for a long time until her mind finally began to move again.


    The mana of honey¡­could be changed? <em>After</em> it was made? What she had just witnessed¡­changed everything.

 Chapter 100: Funk-Bee Fungi

    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 ce the mineral nodes on the floor, walls, or even roof if he wanted to. As per Chief Rohsuak¡¯s request, he ced it on the walls of the cavern closest to the karnuq¡¯s settlement in the second floor Flower Meadow for easy ess. He also ced 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 <em>did</em> seem to be higher concentration of mana around them than the regr nts, 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 ced in a small cavern off to the side of a tunnel deeper in, where they¡¯d be less essible. 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 nts and mushrooms for his bees would be quite the boon.


    That is, until he checked his mana.


    <em>Mana: 18/590</em>


    He grimaced as he scratched out some math in the dirt. He could <em>barely</em> 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 <em>did</em> 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 ced 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 cement.


    Then he moved on to the Thorned Roses. He figured he would ce 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.


    <em>Mana: 13/590</em>


    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.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°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 coulde 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 whileter 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 in 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 Niobeend 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 regr mana honeb for Niobee, Belissar considered what to do next.


    <em>Mana: 3/590</em>


    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 ce.


    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 abat spell, he felt it would be a good idea to learn how to defend himself.


    At least, that was the n 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,ing 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 particr soldier. His eyes went as wide as they could go.


    ¡°Wait, are you going to st her with lighting?!¡±


    The soldier confirmed.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Belissar groaned and was about to shut it down. But¡­he hesitated. Something about the soldier¡¯spleteck 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

    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 honeb. 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 momentter, 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 red 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, Niobeended 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 red 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 andughed 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 ovee, it felt wrong for her not to have some sort of name.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    ¡°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 t 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 d 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 regr mana honeb, 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 honeb 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 wee 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 honeb. 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 themotion 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¡¯sint, 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 in, 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 nts 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 ck stinger made of mana formed around the de 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

    POBear 101.1 - Bear-ing Your Guilt


    Tyghak was hunched over and retching once more as thest 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 ck 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 <em>exactly</em> 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 <em>hoped</em> 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 otherpanions were already there, the spearwoman nodding to Metsaitti.


    ¡°That¡¯s thest of them¡­at least, it better be.¡±


    Metsaitti shrugged.


    ¡°There¡¯s never ast 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 froming 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 hispanions 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 red 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.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    <em>¡°Ok, I will meet you there.¡±</em>


    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 whileter, the Sacred Den Master came walking over, apanied 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 extrarge 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¡­epted? 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 shed bright and then vanished.


    Belissar crossed his arms and hummed. He¡­didn¡¯t really know what to think. No one had ever <em>apologized</em> to him before!


    <em>¡°I¡¯m sorry, Belissar¡­¡±</em>


    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 me radish incident, but that had been an ident. 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 nced 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 <em>had</em> 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.


    <em>Absorb Underworld Phlox? Current samples: 0/5</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Underworld Phlox now avable</em>


    <em>Current Applications: Flower Meadow* (*=Nearpatible features only)</em>


    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 ced 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 ce 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?

    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¡­andter 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 wee 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.


    ¡°Wee back, and great work.¡±


    Her salute dance only sped up. Belissar held out his hand. She paused for a second beforending 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 d 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 ce the wolf-mole corpse in front of Belissar. His eyes widened as he saw the sheer size of the corpse syed 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¡­


    <em>Absorb wolf-mole corpse? Current samples: 0/1</em>


    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 <em>wouldn¡¯t</em> he be able to absorb animals? The Tower never specifically stated what he could or couldn¡¯t absorb.


    He shrugged and did just that.


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Wolf-Mole Spawner is now avable.</em>


    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 apletely new monster spawner just like that.


    <em>ce Wolf-Mole Spawner? Upkeep: 20 mana (40 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    Belissar¡¯s face slowly fell as he looked over the message several times, particrly the numbers at the end.


    Forty. <em>Forty mana</em> 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 <em>technically</em> 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 ce 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 novel''s true home is a different tform. Support the author by finding it there.


    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 <em>did</em> have some value in that they were veryrge, 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 heavymitment 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 couldmunicate with them, would he befortable 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 hade 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.


    <em>Digging Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Speed: Below Average+</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Dig, Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee queen raised or evolved on Ground mana honey. Lays digging variant offspring by default. Builds a subterranean hive.</em>


    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 thest 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 therge cavern that opened up into the Apiary, where Belissar had ced most of the resource nt nodes for easy ess. 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 mostfortable 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 honeb 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 themuners 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.


    <em>Warning! Corruption levels surging! Emergency purification required!</em>

 Chapter 103: Rapid Bee-sponse

    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 <em>barely </em>managed to put the entrance back into the Dirt Tunnels before the doors of his Tower mmed 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 d 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 tes sealed together, with countless spikes growing out from them. Its head was squat and barely extended out of the tes, 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 ws. 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 n.


    ¡°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. Amuner 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.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    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 regr 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 honeb into chunks small enough for the Apiary soldiers to carry. She then heard the King¡¯smand.


    ¡°King called! Wants regr 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 theb 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 neer 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 workersnded on top of the hive, tapping a glowing tray of honeb 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 soldiersnded. 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 ce.


    A momentter, the soldiers began to beat their wings and rise into the air.


    And the entire honeb 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 furthermand, 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 themand, Belissar was treated to the sight of soldier bees carrying entire trays of honeb 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 honeb 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 me appeared and danced around her hand.


    ¡°Oh, that will do nicely. Thank you, Sacred Den Master.¡±

 Chapter 104: Bee-lazing Battle

    Chapter 104: Beezing 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 honeb tray in her hands. The soldier bees still maintained their formations, but their wings beat at a slower ce as they simply hovered in ce. 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 nced 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 ites.¡±


    Metsaitti rose to his feet and barked amand to the karnuq hunters, who began to assemble once more. They escorted Chief Rohsuak close to the entrance of the Flower Meadow. The n 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 eptable 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 minutester, stepped out into the light of the Flower Meadow.


    The queen inmand 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 ck 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.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    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,plicating 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 tond 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 rtively 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 ncing blows that failed to prate 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 honeb and pouring the honey into her mouth, causing her mana to re. 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 red 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 mes.


    ¡°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 zing 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 mes to burn my enemies. Let them perish in the zing inferno!¡±


    She barked the words with a growl as the mana burst into mes all around her. The mes began to flow down her arms and coalesced into a sphere between her hands. The sphere startedrge and red, but then began to condense down and change colors. It shrank to slightlyrge 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 asrge 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 ck 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 mes. Fire burst out of every opening in its shell, creating a pir of white and blue mes that reached for the skies. The shade screeched like the sound of grinding metal as its tail and spikes iled about. The flowers all around caught fire and a raging inferno surged across the field.


    Chief Rohsuak then copsed 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 andbored. 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 ck mist as possible, but nothing it did had any effect on the mes. Soon, it fell to the ground and ck smoke began pouring out of its shell¡­until that, too, faded away and joined the smoke rising through the air.


    Belissar was suddenly very d the karnuq were on his side.

 Chapter 105: Loyal-Bee

    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 ze 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. Justes 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 <em>always </em>overuse your power even when you were young, zing 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 beenrgely immune to the soldier bee army and to Belissar¡¯s traps. Without the zing 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.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    And worse still¡­today¡¯s purification hade 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.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Emergency purification sessful.</em>


    <em>Reward: Two random reward choices.</em>


    <em>A non-patron god, the God of Fire, wishes to offer you a quest, and will grant you a blessing should you seed. ept?</em>


    Belissar froze as read thest 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 ept. 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 hadmitted themselves to a god, suchmitments should <em>not</em> be broken or disrespected. All stories of mortals who disregarded suchmitments 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, ording to the stories Belissar had heard about him. Sure, he could be as tender andforting as a warm hearth to those he favored. He could also be passionate, tempestuous, and full of wrath, like the zing 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 amitment. The God of Bees was his patron, the god to whom he owed much of his sess. 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 uneptable. 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.


    <em>New mission received: Earn the blessing of a secondary patron.</em>


    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 epting it. In that case, there was no reason for Belissar to hesitate.


    <em>Offer epted.</em>


    <em>New mission received: Spawn or evolve one Fire attribute monster of rare or better rarity.</em>


    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 shed 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

    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 aplish already, though they were running into some snags. The transition from a normal monster beehive to a burning monster beehive was proving moreplicated than with the medicinal or maddening hives, as with every burning worker added the hive became increasingly ufortable 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 wasfortable crossing the line. Likewise, any part of the hive built of regr 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 ess 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 wasplete.


    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.


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- Umon Monster Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Rare Room Feature Choice (At least one rare or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    Belissar smiled and nearly chose immediately before stopping himself. Getting a rare room feature after a full ninemon options would be incredibly gratifying. But, given thetest 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.<em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- +100 max mana</em>


    <em>- Umon Monster Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    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 beesplied. Belissar nced 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 ce 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 me 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 havee 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.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Belissar had never really had tofort anyone before. So, he just said what he honestly felt. These bees had given their all and aplished much that he never could. He had no doubt that they would do so again. So, he would not let them me 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.


    <em>Please select a room feature:</em>


    <em>- Beehive Bomb (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee, Trap)</em>


    <em>- Gravilion Flower (Rarity: Rare, Type: Gravity, Nature, Trap)</em>


    <em>- Treasure Chest (Rarity: Common, Type: Resource)</em>


    Well, if the decision was up to him, then of course he was taking the rare room feature. He could get either an umon room or umon monster with the next choice anyways.


    <em>Beehive Bomb</em>


    <em>- Type: Bee, Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 5 (3 with Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>- Description: A beehive that explodes into a swarm of bees on contact. The bee swarm will pursue all targets in the area until the manaprising them expires. If bee monsters are avable different bee types may be chosen for an increase in upkeep. </em>


    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 particrly done anything to thetest 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.


    <em>Gravilion Flower</em>


    <em>- Type: Gravity, Nature, Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 10 per node, 5 to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- Description: A unique dandelion strain attuned to the force of gravity. Utilizes gravitational fields tounch its seeds at high velocity. When gathered in numbers, gravity may behave erratically nearby, causing random increases or decreases in effective weight.</em>


    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 particr effect or result in any special bee types though. It was somewhat of a risky choice in that regard.


    <em>Treasure Chest</em>


    <em>- Type: Resource</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: Depends on possible contents</em>


    <em>- Description: A box meant to hold rewards. Can be set to generate resources or products avable in the dungeon at regr intervals, mana cost will depend on resource generated and interval of generation chosen. May also be used as general storage.</em>


    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 avable in the dungeon¡­so resources he already had avable? 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.


    <em>Gravilion Flower selected.</em>


    Well, that was one choice down. Now for the second¡­

 POBee 106.1 - Solemn Bee-briefing

    POBee 106.1 - Solemn Bee-briefing


    Belissar went ahead and made his next choice, selecting the monster option.


    <em>Please select a monster:</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Burster (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Lancer (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Digger Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Ground)</em>


    Belissar red at the choices for a bit. Sure, <em>now </em>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 beencers. Belissar read out the description for good measure.


    <em>Monster Bee Lancer</em><em>Vitality: Minor</em>


    <em>Strength: Small</em>


    <em>Speed: Average+</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minor</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Thrust, Death Blow, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee soldier evolution. This bee focuses its growth into arge 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 thencercks agility rtive to its top speed.</em>


    Belissar hummed and nodded. The monster beencer was about the size of a small dog like the monster bee der, though thencer was shorter, thinner, and longer than the der. It was sleek, smooth, and carried a massive stinger that ended in a sharp point.


    Well, sometimes the choice was very easy. It was thencer, 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 nced 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.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    <em>Monster Bee Lancer now avable! Monster Bee Soldiers may now evolve into Monster Bee Lancers!</em>


    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 ncing 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 seeded, 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 werepletely 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 particrlyrge 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 regr 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 <em>atrocious</em>. 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¡­<em>this</em>. She slowly turned to face the Firstborn.


    ¡°¡­have some suggestions on honey production. Want to know?¡±


    The Firstborn, who apparently saw <em>nothing</em> wrong here, replied happily.


    ¡°Ah, yes. Would help a lot!¡±


    The First of the Fifth gathered herself.


    And thenunched 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 t 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

    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 Ie 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 bitter and Belissar had traveled to the second floor Dirt Tunnels with a couple of the karnuq,ing before the stone node he had ced 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 ced his hand on the stone, ring 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 rectangr 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 avable, 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 apanied the group then began to break apart the stone with more conventional tools, such as pickaxes, hammers, and chisels. With their strength, the task waspleted rtively 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, arge 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 ce 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 rtively resistant to fire, and then all they¡¯d need was a stone for the entrance. Although, Belissar <em>did</em> want to try and make some frames for the honeb. Which¡­he probably should have installed¡­before installing the big stone door. His face scrunched up and he nced 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 te. He then attempted to crack out a frame-sized section, and then to crack out the center to leave a hollow rectangr 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 ced 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.


    <em>Variation unlocked. Belissar¡¯s Beehouse and Beehives may now use stone as a material.</em>


    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 nced around a bit before saluting.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s our honor, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    Belissar frowned a bit at that. The vigers 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 honeb trays from his stock and distributed them to the karnuq present. He also gave Metsaitti a medicinal mana honeb 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 onlyugh at that.


    ¡°Ok, let me move the flowers over, too.¡±


    He took the me 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 ce 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!

    POBee 107.1 - Go Bee-yond! Make the Impossible Possible!


    Belissar was just admiring the bees working for a bit when suddenly he jumped.


    <em>A challenger has been fully blessed.</em>


    <em>Gained 20 DP.</em>


    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 nt 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 <em>hoped</em> 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 nned 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 somencers 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 arger andrger area, right?


    He didn¡¯t know the answer. And he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to.


    But, speaking of his Tower purifying arger 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. Hermuner came out to meet them at the entrance of the hive.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences elsewhere.


    ¡°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.¡±


    Themuner¡¯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 ced 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.¡±


    Themuner 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!¡±


    Themuner 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. Themuner 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.


    ¡°Wee, 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,e 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 toe back. Drones never survived the depleting of their mana, after all.


    A short whileter, 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¡¯smuner 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¡¯smuner. Themuner 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¡¯ty 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 nced at hermuner, 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 themuner could help but to join the Fourth of the Seventh in her happy dance. The three then finalized some additional details. Theyid 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 woulde 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!

    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 regr 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.


    <em>Belissar¡¯s Beehouse Upgrades:</em>


    <em>- Expand to Bee Apartment (Cost: 100 DP or 25 if materials provided)</em>


    <em>- Expand to Bee Barracks (Cost: 100 DP or 25 if materials provided)</em>


    <em>- Change material to stone (Cost: 50 DP or 12 if materials provided)</em>


    <em>- Boost honeb production (Cost: 25 DP)</em>


    <em>- Boost growth for inhabitants (Cost: 25 DP)</em>


    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 DPpared to the DP shop options¡­but back when he upgraded regr 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 be 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¡­


    <em>Bee Barracks Upgrades:</em>


    <em>- Swap to Bee Apartment (Cost: 25 DP)</em>


    <em>- Change material to stone (Cost: 200 DP or 50 if materials provided)</em>


    <em>- Boost growth for inhabitants (Cost: 50 DP)</em>


    <em>- Boost coordination for inhabitants (Cost: 50 DP)</em>


    And it turned out that he could, though the cost was increasing. That made sense, as the Bee Barracks was noticeablyrger 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 honeb.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.


    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 wasrge 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 tond 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 me 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 n would work if they got a turtle tonight.


    Once Niobee had ryed the possible n 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 ns were for naught. But well, at least they had an idea if they ever <em>did</em> get one of those shades¡­and maybe they¡¯de 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 hade. Once, she had been the queen born a second toote to receive even one of the King¡¯s magical pces. 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 pce had been built specifically with the expectation that she and her hive would evolve soon. The First of the Fifth had granted her exclusive ess to the me 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 uneptable.


    It turned out that her evolution was moreplicated 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 tost 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 ept failure. The King had saw fit to bless her with a magical pce, 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 eggying 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 me. 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!

    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. Arge group of bees gathered at the front of the hive, including several newly born soldiers and a newmuner, 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 themuner. Themuner 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 honeb, 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 firstmuner and brushed antennae.


    ¡°Communer, is going to be alright. Not leaving forever, will be back quick! Communer can watch the entire way!¡±


    Themuner¡¯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 themuner around, so that she was facing the bees preparing to depart.


    ¡°Promise! And won¡¯t be alone! Soldiers will protect, workers will take care,muner will keep track. And if anything happens, wille right back! Believe in sisters!¡±


    Themuner drooped a bit more before picking herself up.


    ¡°Ok, go ahead. Stay safe. And¡­enjoy, queen.¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh brushed hermuner 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 Seventhing back, right?¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh brushed her antennae as well.


    ¡°Yes, promise! Wille back lots!¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter began a happy dance.


    ¡°Ok! Then go ahead!¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    A momentter, the Fourth of the Seventh gave themand.


    ¡°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 dy 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 ce 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 thefort 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.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the vition.


    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 nced her home for the first time. She wondered why the King called it a tower, and now she knew. Her home was a mighty pir, 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 ce 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 thefort 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 ces 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 ced with purpose, hinting at a grander structure that may have once towered over thend. 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 ce 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 morefortable 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 Seventhnded 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 rtively 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 Conve, the vast majority of Towers were small and their purified zones unupied 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 rtively 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 isted 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,nding 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 istion, every single purified territory they hadnded 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 inparison 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 nced 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 <em>didn¡¯t</em> 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 areing 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!

    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 honeb 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 nced 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 honeb pattern of their magic. But then, Beero had them began moving all in a circle, moving their lightning honebs as well. Some lightning trailed behind from each of the honeb 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 arger honeb pattern formed from the lightning trails of the smaller ones. The pattern locked into ce and then shed.


    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¡¯ck of mobility might not matter. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near what Chief Rohsuak had disyed just yet, but it was a powerful, magical attack his bees had not yet had ess to. It was exactly the sort of thing the Tower needed to expand its options.¡°King, King ok?¡±


    At that point, Belissar felt Niobeend 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.


    ¡°d! 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 honeb.


    ¡°How about we go congratte them?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    A short whileter, 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 ced the honeb 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 congratte you and give you a little something in celebration.¡±


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The wounded soldiers all froze. Beero even copsed on the ground. And then, a momentter, 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 tform feature he had gained from building the Orchard¡¯s Bee Apartment. A transparent wooden tform 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 tform 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 tform.


    ¡°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 tform 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 tform 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 herrades.


    Beero and herrades crawled up one of the wooden pirs supporting it until they were up on the tform itself. Beero stoodpletely 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 nced around and saw all of herrades standing still as well, likely all sharing in her thoughts.


    And more than that, she and herrades 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 be 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 hade from different queens and different hives but now, now they were united in experience and purpose. They were linked by a bond beyond blood,rades now who had ovee 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?

    Chapter 110: The Wise Bee-cision?


    Belissar once again stood by the Bee Barracks as the daily purificationmenced. 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.


    <em>DP: 3235</em>


    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-rted room, for example, could go along well with the iing fire queen¡­and maybe the God of Fire himself.


    However, all his room slots were currently upied 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 rmendations of more flowers and more bees. The Firstborn was particrly 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.


    <em>Extra monster choice purchased. One monster choice now avable.</em>


    <em>Please select a monster (One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees):</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Captain (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Stingless Bee Queen (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Gardener (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee, Nature)</em>


    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, withmuners boostingmunication 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 particrly dramatic improvement.


    <em>Monster Stingless Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Tackle, Wax Coating, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A stingless bee that has umted enough mana to be something more. Mostly simr to her mundane cousins, but more aggressive. Lacking a stinger, these bees defend themselves through abination of physical assaults and coating enemies in wax and propolis. This one is a queen, and capable of building a hive of monster bees.</em>


    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 <em>some</em> 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 bepeting 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.


    <em>Monster Bee Gardener</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Tend nts, Enhanced Pollination, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Evolves from: Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker that hase to specialize in foraging. Most bees assist nts as a side-effect, but these bees take it further. Monster bee gardeners directly boost the growth of nts they visit, exchanging mana and tending to the health of the nt. In doing so, they boost the growth and health of all nts, including nt features and nt monsters. They also increase the rate and impact of cross-pollination between different nts. 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.</em>


    Belissar rubbed his chin and nodded as he read the description. So, a worker bee evolution that specialized in working with nts? While that wouldn¡¯t helpbat 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 nt 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 nts 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 hadncers now as a soldier evolution and sprayers as a soldier alternative. Currently, the only worker evolution was themuner, 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 nced 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 ncing 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 nced 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 nced 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.


    <em>Monster Bee Gardener now avable. Monster Worker Bees may now evolve into Monster Bee Gardeners.</em>


    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 wouldpete 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 andugh at that.

 Chapter 111: Fires Bee-kindled

    Chapter 111: Fires Bee-kindled


    The bee came to a world ofplete darkness, and cold. At first, she wondered if she had made it. Last she remembered, she had been surrounded by zing 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 be a burning monster bee queen.


    She red 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 red their mana as well.


    It felt pleasantly warm.


    ***


    Belissar was just getting started for the day when a much awaited message appeared.<em>Mission: Spawn or evolve one Fire attribute monster of rare or better raritypleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: One Fire-type room feature choice.</em>


    <em>The God of Fire offers a minor blessing.</em>


    <em>A non-patron god, the God of Fire, offers his blessing! The God of Fire will be added to the Shrine in some rooms. ept?</em>


    Belissar smiled and bowed his head.


    ¡°Yes and thank you.¡±


    <em></em>The moment he spoke the word, a wave of mana surged through the Tower and his body. This time, the mana was zing 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.


    <em>Minor Blessing of Fire applied.</em>


    <em>Effects:</em>


    <em>- Fire-rted options slightly more frequent.</em>


    <em>- Some special fire-rted options are unlocked and may now appear</em>


    <em>- Fire monster upgrades and evolutions are now slightly cheaper and easier to unlock</em>


    <em>- Fire and fire-type attacks deal slightly more damage</em>


    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 me drawn on it. The flickering mes 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 mutedpared 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 epting the quest.


    And speaking of his original patron¡­


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    <em>Mission: Earn the blessing of a secondary patronpleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: </em><strong><em>One cross-perk choice!</em></strong>


    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 coborated on that.


    And so, Belissar knew what to do. First, he got up, picked up a tray of mana honeb, 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 congrattions 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 ced 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 me radish node he had moved. Notably, the me radish node <em>couldn¡¯t</em> be ced 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 d 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 ufortable 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 honeb slid right out. He was very much d 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 thinyer of stone lined the bright red honeb. 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 justpleted today thanks to the bees.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled, a flicker of mes 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 me appeared, rolling across her fingers. She chuckled.


    ¡°There might even be an ember or two left for the zing Berserker after all.¡±


    She then backed away so Belissar coulde before the Shrine. He took two trays of honey, the burning mana honey tray, and a regr 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

    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 ced 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 andy their eggs in the other bees¡¯ cells. Some bees even broke out into war, swarms colliding in the air as they fought to im or defend their hives in turn.


    Additionally, new wooden beehouses rose from the ground while arge 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, whilemuner 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 des for stingers, bees that could channel the elements, bees made of wood and metal. Bees without wings, bees without stingers, bees with ws, bees covered in spikes. Gargantuan bees that covered the sky and drank from flowers the size of the tallest trees. And bees thatbined the forms of other creatures. Bees with more fur than normal, bees with scales and ws, bees with feathers and beaks. Any bee that did or could exist.


    And in the center of it all was thergest bee to have ever existed,ying eggs of all shapes and sizes, watching as the brood tenders helped never before seen bees emerge from their cells before proceeding toy 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 momentter, the mes expanded and formed into the shape of a man, with mes for his flesh and hot embers forming his clothes. mes filled out the simple shorts and breastte of embers. A bright blue fire formed the core of the man, his torso, limbs, and head, while yellow and red mes 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 mes to appear dim inparison. He stood straight and tall with his arms crossed as his mere presence set the air around him aze.


    And then the God of Fire¡­fell to his knees and sped his hands together.


    ¡°Bee, you <em>gotta </em>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 thend?! She¡¯s called the zing 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 toying her eggs. There was work to be done. The fires around the God of Fire red up.


    ¡°Hey,e 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.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°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 Beesid another egg before dancing her reply.


    ¡°Not me, you.¡±


    The God of Fire crackled as he gnashed his teeth. But then his mes 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 Beesid 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 therva and conferred with the brood tenders beforeying 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 rmended 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 Beesid another egg.


    ¡°¡­three?¡±


    The God of Bees ordered a hive to clean up the remains of thetest hive war. The God of Fire burst into bright blues once again.


    ¡°Ok,e 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 <em>five</em> 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 mes 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 alling together. She used to be one of the lowliest of gods, her only authority over the world that given to her by the various nt 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 <em>her</em> 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 ce 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 alling 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

    Chapter 112: Burning Bee-cisions


    After thanking the gods, Belissar asked Chief Rohsuak to apany 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 <em>two</em> 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 foring 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.


    <em>Select Room Feature:</em>


    <em>- Fire Spout (Rarity: Common, Type: Fire, Trap)</em>


    <em>- Metallurgical Furnace (Rarity: Common, Type: Fire, Crafting)</em><em>- Mini-Volcano (Rarity: Rare, Type: Fire, Ground, Trap)</em>


    <em>Fire Spout</em>


    <em>Type: Fire, Trap</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 5</em>


    <em>Description: A nozzle that will spray fire in a straight line when triggered. Providing mmable materials may change effects and behaviour.</em>


    <em>Metallurgical Furnace</em>


    <em>Type: Fire, Crafting</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 5</em>


    <em>Description: A furnace intended for processing metal. May require additional fuel or mana to process certain materials.</em>


    <em>Mini-Volcano</em>


    <em>Type: Fire, Ground, Trap</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 50</em>


    <em>Description: A small volcano just peeking out of the ground. Willunch burning rocks in the direction of invaders. May also emit ash clouds and slowly flowingva.</em>


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but whistle at thatst 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 ce to put it, unless it would fit in the Dirt Tunnels. Because besides the tunnels, all of his other rooms happened to be mmable, 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 tounch 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 mmable 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 regr. Thatst 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 inbination with the Sticky Honey Traps. The bees wouldn¡¯t have to risk dropping me 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 aze.


    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.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    The third option was a nonbat feature. Furnaces to process metal had obvious uses for the karnuq given they had metal tools, so presumably knew some cksmithing. 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 cksmithing 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 ufortable 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 uncontroble. Do not build one half-heartedly, and do not deceive yourself that you can contain it. If you are going to make one, you mustmit 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.


    <strong><em>Select a cross-perk (Bee/Fire):</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Honeyed Fuel</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Fire Resistant Bees</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Buzzing Embers</em></strong>


    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.


    <strong><em>Honeyed Fuel</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- mmable honeys and beeswaxes have increased potency as fuel sources</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Fires started with honey or beeswax deal more damage</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Fires started with honey or beeswax with special effects inherit those effects with greater efficiency</em></strong>


    That perk would obviously y 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.


    <strong><em>Fire Resistant Bees</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- All bees gain increased resistance to fire and heat</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- All bees gain increased resistance to smoke and ash</em></strong>


    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.


    <strong><em>Buzzing Embers</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Embers and sparks from mes move and swarm around nearby enemies</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- All fire attacks may spawn additional embers and sparks if they do not inherently do so</em></strong>


    That was a curious one that had Belissar tilted his head. It sounded like it would¡­make emberse 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 me 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!

    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<em> was</em> 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 ze. 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 be.¡±


    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 n directly. It would strengthen a proven n 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 n? If he spent all his choices on the honey-fire trapbo, 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 hemitted to one specialization, the more options he¡¯d get to ovee 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 n 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 be, 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 Trapbo 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 ce. 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.¡±


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.


    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 nced at Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°Boldness and caution both have their ce. All I say is that you shouldmit to whatever you choose.¡±


    Niobeended 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.


    <em>Mini-Volcano is now avable.</em>


    <em>Fire Resistant Bees selected.</em>


    He decided that he wanted to do somethingpletely 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 weremon so maybe he¡¯d see them again now that he had a minor Blessing of Fire,mon room features could even show up as a daily purification reward after all!


    But what ultimately tipped the bnce 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 entirelymitted to fire? What if he added a mini-volcano with its ash andva and ming rocks, then filled the room with me 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-rted room that would fit them both. This would also fit into his ns 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 Fuelbo 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 nned 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 augh.


    ¡°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 andnded 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 wentpletely 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

    Side Story 113.1 - Humanity''s Duty


    On a bright and sunny day, a massive tower pierced up into the heavens. Massive red banners coated in mes hung from its walls, interspersed with windows and gates of all shapes and sizes from which all manner of flying creatures took off andnded. 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 ins 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 ck field.


    The sound of hammer upon metal sounded out throughout the city as smoke belched into the sky. Thousands of cksmiths 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 ive in his hands as mes 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 red and pushed it away. He jumped up over the dragon approaching andnded on its head, knocking its rider off with a swing of his ive. Then he jumped off the dragon¡¯s head and propelled himself upward with a st 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 copsed to the ground in a tangled mess before the mannded back on the first dragon, driving it into the ground.


    He thennded 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.


    ¡°<em>General</em> 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 rmends 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 thest 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 regr intervals. He already had his forces organized and prepared to march, his targetsid out, and his operations nned in full.


    Stolen story; please report.


    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 cmity 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 onught 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 <em>had</em> 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 tounch 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 ns. Lieutenant General Krimistis, you are now in charge of the operation until I arrive to takemand. Move out immediately and proceed as nned.¡±


    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 isplete. But we also must not dy our duty, so you all must see to it that the operationunches 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 hismand 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 dy 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 yed 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 supnt human effort in any endeavor. A swarm of bees was more of a directbat 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 infinitelyrger than any singr bee, they banded together to fight back at the cost of their very lives¡­and in doing so could ovee 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 ce 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 Cmity, 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

    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 ofva 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 asion, 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 multipleyers 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 hade 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, nked on either side by other wolfkin like himself. These, however, were not d in chainmail but in obsidian-ck te armor with visored helmets with triangr protrusions for their ears. And, despite being far more heavily d 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 momentter, they returned.


    ¡°Wait here.¡±


    He held back a frown. Waiting next to a divine bonfire and two rivers ofva 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 waspletely 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 ck obsidian, lit byrge trenches of fire that stretched down the center in a pair. Fire wisps danced in and out of the mes, twirling tongues of fire into all sorts of shapes and patterns. Golden suits of armor lined the room holding weapons with bright red des.And at the end of the room was an empty throne made of obsidian and gold. A ck-furred, three-headed dog that wasrger 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 momentter, 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 thinyer 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. ck, 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 nced at him, red orbs asionally glimmering in her helmet as her eyes reflected the flickering mes to his sides. She opened her mouth and spoke with a low, raspy voice.


    ¡°I have need of my servants.¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    The man remained kneeling.


    ¡°But of course, my empress. Speak and yourmand 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 shed 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 thest tribe that displeased me.¡±


    The man held back a gulp. What few of that tribe had survived had subsequently been exiled from thends 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 sessful. 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 dy¡­


    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 shy 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 nd, 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 mmable¡­¡±


    She paused, and then narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°Urubran, you do not n 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 mmed 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 consideredplete 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 ce, so I nned to deliver them to you personally. The gods know how long it took to teach you how to take care of the simplest nt.¡±


    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 waspletely 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 <em>right now</em>!¡±


    ¡°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 otherints.

 Chapter 114: The Bee-roes Return

    Chapter 114: The Bee-roes'' Return


    With a new n set out, Belissar decided that his next move would be an expansion purification. He needed either an extra floor or room slot for the nned 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 imed she was not back in her prime, butunching another fire attack like she did wouldn¡¯t be an issue, particrly if Belissar fed her more mana honeb.


    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 somencers. 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 growrger.


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s hive was hard at work cross-pollinating the other nts as well. Maybe he¡¯d see a mana flower variant of the sleepy chamomile soon? The other nts 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 decidedncers and a sessful lightning attack would be sufficient to proceed. Anything else that urred 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 andpany¡¯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 mostfortable 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.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    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 tform 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 newrades, allnded as well. Without any dy, 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 wasing, and one that was suitable for them specifically. Indeed, if tales of thetest 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 amodate her. The soldier bee army had failed to stop thetest enemy. So, if Beero and herrades¡¯ 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.


    <em>¡°Um, sorry everyone but¡­it looks like it fell into the first Pit Trap. It¡¯s stuck in the Dirt Tunnels right now.¡±</em>


    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 ce, each of them performing their part to perfection. Their mana, which should have shed as they were all from different hives, joined together thanks to themon 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, butter, for now was the time to focus.


    The otherspleted 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 ck mist of the enemy began to mix with the smoke, indicating its defeat. A momentter, 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 herrades 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?

    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 hade 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,tely, the Firstborn did not feel the Flower Meadow queens were contributing sufficiently to the hive of hives. They had abandoned everything, includingpetent 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 be 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 y 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 ce. 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 ess 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, hade up with a new sort of attack that could bypass the new shade¡¯s defenses. Yet, the newncers 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 yed 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 ce, 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 use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any 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 throughmuners.¡±


    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 thencers 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 helpedst 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 im responsibility for the mistakes and failures¡­but thest 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 arge nk. 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 nks of wood and fly them into ce.


    And so, the soldier bee army¡¯s construction squadrons were formed and began their work¡­

 Chapter 115: Con-Bee-nient Coincidence

    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 me 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 maniption of fully-processed honey. She needed to ensure the new, slower queens continued growing at an eptable pace. She needed to arrange the delivery of honey from the Apiary to the Flower Meadow, more so now that there was a new, significantlyrger 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 hertest n to raise new queens, not to send out and im 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 dy them from raisingncers. For perhaps the first time, the First of the Fifth found herself short of honey,pounding 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 nk. She had had the same idea as the King? The King was now going to build them new pces for exactly the purpose she had gathered the queens? The King was¡­<em>asking</em> them about it, indicating he nned to coborate with them on the new pces 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 nned to speak with today.


    This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances 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,muners,ncers, 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 wasying t on the ground with her legs syed 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 raisencers.¡±


    ¡°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 ns 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, slowerncers meant a slower expansion purification¡­or less options should another emergency purificatione about. But Belissar hoped that Beero¡¯s new lightning attack would cover them for thetter, so he was willing to wait on the former. If the Apiary queens expanded, that would mean more honey for the gardeners andncers, 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 ns.


    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 thetest cloudberry and sweetvetch flowers. But there was one in particr the drew Belissar¡¯s attention. One whose changes were so great that the Tower itself now acknowledged them.


    <em>New nt detected. Slime Flower is now avable.</em>


    A new mana flower had sprouted up among the Gtinous 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.


    <em>Slime Flower</em>


    <em>- Type: Slime, Nature, Trap, Spawner</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 20 per node (40 due to Blessing of Bees), 10 (20 due to Blessing of Bees) to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- 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.</em>


    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 asrge 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-rted, 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 Gtinous 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

    POBee 115.1 - A Questionable Bee-cision


    The Fourth of the Seventh rotated about in ce, ncing 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 honeb 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 whenpared to the pces of the King, but it was a functioning hive. The scouts would now have a warm and dry ce 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 nowplete 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 hermuner. 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 themuner 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 shestid 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 toy 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 themuner in the mini-hive.


    ¡°Ok, going to go back now, check on hive. Can tell others?¡±


    Themuner danced a salute dance and ryed her orders. The Fourth of the Seventh almost immediately felt mana flow towards her, sent by themuner back home.


    <em>¡°Really?! Queening home already?!¡±</em>


    She danced happily as she replied.¡°Yes! Mini-hive set up, want to check on hive!¡±


    Themuner didn¡¯t respond but she could perceive a sense of happinessing 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 ce 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.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the vition.


    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 wasying queens and drone with the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter she had realized at one point that she had miscounted, and soid an extra drone egg just in case. The extra drone must have hatched toote for the wave of queens.


    ¡°Ok, thene 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 Seventhnded by the drone and brushed his antennae with hers.


    ¡°Is ok! Let me help now, you helpter! 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 ess 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 nced 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¡¯smuner 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 themuner look at the bee on the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s back.


    ¡°Queen? Why carrying drone?¡±


    ¡°Saw on way here! Drone was born toote 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!¡±


    Themuner, for her part, stoodpletely still for a moment. The other workers all turned to her, uncertain how to respond. Eventually, themuner 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!¡±


    Themuner 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 themuner 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 themuner 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

    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 foragersing and going wouldn¡¯t get in each other¡¯s way, isted 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 ount and, once the structure had been fully nned 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 ns 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 theing 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 thest queen spawned in the Apiary. She had even been thestborn in all of the King¡¯s realm until the King had raised the bumblebee queens.


    But that had been littlefort 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 alreadyrger 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. Bornst, the slowest to grow, the slowest to expand. The queen who lived furthest from the King in the Apiary, born toote to even participate when the prime territory was imed. The queen least likely to receive a magical pce. The queen who, even after receiving a magical pce, stillgged 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 imed 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 avable, 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 thest to gain exclusive ess 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 sessful queens would form huge joint hives with their children, doubling or more in size and productivity nearly overnight. The queens of more middling sess had gathered together ande up with a n 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 topete.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.


    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 ce. Which, of course, would likely cause the First of the Fifth to write her offpletely when it came to acquiring special nts. 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 particrlyin if she wasn¡¯t in a position to take advantage of it. And, as thestborn, she was more than used to her own circumstances. At first, she hadpletely epted her ce 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 topletely 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 pces 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 be more than just thestborn.


    The obvious way to do so were the special flowers, but she couldn¡¯t think of any way to gain ess 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 <em>was</em>. 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 <em>the King himself</em> 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 slowlynded on the ground with her antennae twitching. Her wings buzzed a bit and she fidgeted in ce, 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, <em>really</em> 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 herrades 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 <em>both</em>, 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 be more than thestborn after all¡­

 Chapter 116: Un-Bee-lievable Developments!

    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 asrge wings beat in the air, shadows passing over him asrge shapes circled overhead. A momentter, huge balls of fuzz gentlynded 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 thergest bees in the dungeon. They weren¡¯t yet asrge as the iingncers would be¡­but they were <em>still</em> growing.


    So far, only the queens had grown to that extent. The workers were a bitrger than the bumblebees Belissar was used to, but still ultimately bee-sized. However¡­Belissar had noticed that recently the bumblebees had started to build somerger wax cups. He couldn¡¯t wait to see what they nned to do with them.


    But, most importantly, the bumblebees were happy, and growing well. And that was enough for Belissar. Heughed 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 vige, with ten structures evenrger 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 torger 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 hadid new queens and drones which had just hatched today.


    Belissar frowned a bit as he saw the drones fall to the ground afterpleting 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 pir. 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 tond 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 pir.


    ¡°Yep, the God of Bees says so too.¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    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,bined with Muuraqi¡¯s growing ability to manipte stone, boosted the karnuq¡¯s construction efforts, and they had a small vige 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,rgely for scouting and hunting, but also to try and pick up some y 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 farrger. Not only did it frame arger 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 thebs 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 ceasedying soldier eggs altogether. The queens had concluded that, at the moment, the soldier bee army wasrge enough. They had enough topletely 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¡­<em>incredibly</em> enlightening. The Firstborn knew honey-making wasn¡¯t her forte, but she hadn¡¯t realized just how far behind she had fallen on ount 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 <em>soar</em>. They then all agreed to expand their worker numbers to a level that would keep the workers from scrambling and bing 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, sobined with their own increases in production theirbs 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 toorge for any existing bee, packed with the richest mana honey avable 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 im confidence in facing whatevery 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 momentter¡­a bee evenrger 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 thest remnants of honey sticking to her body. This¡­this was arger bee than any of them had ever seen, asrge 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

    Chapter 117: Bee-gin the Expansion


    Belissar watched as eightncer 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 thencers seem quite powerful. They were farrger than any other bee, even the bumblebee queens. They were even asrger orrger 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 thatst, 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 untilter 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 tform. Chief Rohsuak and the karnuq were waiting by the Bee Barracks, with Chief Rohsuak standing next to a couple mana honeb 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 <em>should</em> 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 hade tounch the purification.


    ¡°Everyone ready?¡±


    The bees and karnuq alike all saluted in their fashion. Belissar took a deep breath.


    <em>Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small+.</em>


    ¡°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.


    <em>Expansion purification attemptmencing.</em>


    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 zing 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 smander, no different than any other save for its enormous size rtive to those Belissar knew. It didn¡¯t have any spikes or wings or extra fangs and ws. It didn¡¯t have an extra limbs or even an extra set of eyes.


    This book''s true home is on another tform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    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 andshed in ephemeral tongues. It appeared like¡­fire. As if ck mes 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.


    <em>Expansion purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 1</em>


    The shade let out a roar and then began scrambling across the ground. ck mes were left in its trail, appearing to scorch the very dirt as the Hunger spread where the mes 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 ced 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 hade 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. Hertest 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 mes were in general; the first floor Dirt Tunnels didn¡¯t have much mmable 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 stter 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 andunched 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 ck mes filled the tunnel. The sprayers were forced to flee at maximum speed as the fire burst from the tunnel, setting the Flower Meadow beyond aze. 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 hermuners now, they all worked together tomand the soldier bee army during battle, with one queen appointed to make overall decisions. They all danced theirmands and all the sprayers in the army pulled back. The soldiers bees moved forward in their ce.


    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 mes 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 sendncers 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 mes. 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 tform caught fire, Beero and the others would not have much time to even flee, much less pull off their lightning dance.


    ¡°Do you think thencers 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. Thencers 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 tform¡­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 mes if they wanted to take this shade down¡­

 Chapter 118: Reject Fear, Embrace Braver-Bee

    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 thencers 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 tond 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 thencers. 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 ryingmands. The Second of the Sixth did likewise and then began arranging her workers. Niobee was already dancing with amuner. Belissar slowly exhaled his breath.


    At the end of the day, the only reason not to use thencers 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 thencers 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.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    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 ab of lightning above their heads as they paused on the final step.


    Thencers, meanwhile, flew high into the sky, with the soldier bees clearing the area so they could get an unobstructed view. They looked down with theirrge 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 calctions 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 fivencers 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 ck streaks as they rushed past their smaller sisters, until special tes 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 momentter, they passed out of the smoke. The target had shifted slightly to the right so all thencers spread out their legs to tilt in that direction. Another momentter, 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.


    Thencer to the left could not change her course quickly enough and overshot the shade. Thencer 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.


    Thencers 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 ze, neither their thick chitin nor the warm mana within them proved a sufficient defense. The two sidencers pulled out of the ground fairly easily and took off quickly, with only minor singes and ash on their chitin.


    The three centerncers found it more difficult. ck mes surged around them from the shade, engulfing andshing 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 mes assaulted them, leaving parts of their chitin ck 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 mes and back into smoke-filled air. Their bodies now burned from theck 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 ck fires dying down were any indication¡­they had <em>won.</em>

 Chapter 119: Definitely Random Bee-wards

    Chapter 119: Definitely Random Bee-wards


    Belissar gulped as thencers 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 ck mes shot into the sky.


    And then¡­the ck mes began to die down. Twoncers 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, cing his hand on the wall of the Bee Barracks to steady himself.


    ¡°They made it.¡±


    And then, a momentter, he felt the Tower¡¯s mana surging.


    <em>Expansion sessful.</em>


    <em>Reward: Floor limit increased to 4. Receive one perk choice, and two random reward choices.</em>


    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 thencers. They were gging 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 mes 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 thencers, ring their mana and giving thencers their healing stings. Belissar could tell from thencers¡¯ 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 ced trays of medicinal honey in front of thencers 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.¡±


    Thencers 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 thencer¡¯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 thencers were safe to move. Thencers 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.


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    <em>- Umon Room Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Monster Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Common Perk Choice</em>


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- Umon Perk Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- +150 max mana</em>


    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 n, 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 n 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 n.


    <em>Umon Room Choice</em><em>selected.</em>


    <em>Please select a room:</em>


    <em>- </em><strong><em>Lava Field</em></strong><em></em><strong><em>(Rarity: Umon, Type: Fire, Field)</em></strong>


    <em>- Hedge Maze (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Labyrinth)</em>


    <em>- Fungal Tunnels (Rarity: Umon, Type: Ground, Fungi, Labyrinth, Resource)</em>


    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 ns. Still, he at least read out the descriptions of the options.


    <em>Lava Field</em>


    <em>Type: Fire, Field</em>


    <em>Innate Features: Lava Flows</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 20</em>


    <em>Description: An open area whereva flows both on and beneath the surface. Newly formed rock creates a bumpy and shifting surface, which can be hazardous given theva flowing about¡­or bursting out from a seemingly solid crust.</em>


    ¡°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 nce 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.


    <em>Lava Field is now avable.</em>


    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 newva 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 ava 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 purificationsrgely had that covered.


    As he rubbed his chin, part of him wished the Lava Fields hade in the second choice¡­

 Chapter 120: Bee Perked Up!

    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¡­


    <em>Please select a perk:</em>


    <em>- Piercing Stingers (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    <em>- Gardener nting (Rarity: Rare)</em>


    <em>- Hardened Wax (Rarity: Common)</em>


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. A rare perk? Most of the perks he had seen were limited tomon or umon, 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.


    <em>Piercing Stingers</em>


    <em>- All stingers gain increased pration</em>


    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.


    <em>Gardener nting</em>


    <em>- Gardeners not only pollinate nts but carry and nt their seeds.</em>


    <em>- Boosts seed growth of nts pollinated by gardeners.</em>


    <em>- Boosts rate of cross-pollination of nts pollinated by gardeners.</em>


    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 forbat, 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 <em>some</em> reason this one wasn¡¯tmon or umon. 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 nts make more seeds and more cross-pollinated seeds, and then carry and nt 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 ess 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 <em>had grown on its own.</em> And that meant that¡­nts 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 nted 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 ce just a single node and then let the gardeners spread them all across his Tower so that every hive could ess 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.


    <em>Hardened Wax</em>


    <em>- Monsters and room features may produce harder and denser wax</em>


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    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 thetest 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 ie 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 wouldrgely 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 <em>far</em> more expensive than a room choice.


    That ended up settling it for Belissar. If perks were harder toe 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.


    <em>Umon Perk Choice selected.</em>


    <em>Please select a perk:</em>


    <em>- Enhanced Toxins (Rarity: Common)</em>


    <em>- Alluring Honey (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    <em>- Bee-type Strength Boost (Minor) (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    Well, no rare choices this time. The first was a repeat, a general buff to toxins. It may have beenmon 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 andncers. The sprayers attacked solely through toxins as well. And then there were the various poisonous nts 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 ount of the abundance of toxins, and that made it worth considering.


    <em>Alluring Honey</em>


    <em>- 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.</em>


    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.


    <em>Bee-Type Strength Boost (Minor)</em>


    <em>- All Bee-type monsters receive a minor boost to strength</em>


    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 n coalesced.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m thinking of taking Gardener nting 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 particr?¡±


    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 ount. 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 nts 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 amon perk.


    Belissar nced once more at his bees, then made his choice.


    <em>Gardener nting selected.</em>


    <em>Bee-Type Strength Boost (Minor) selected.</em>


    <em>All Bee-type monsters receive a minor boost to strength!</em>


    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 particr. 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!

    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 ce?¡±


    ¡°Positive.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re <em>certain</em> 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 <em>days</em> 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 <em>chosen</em> to trust them. She saw the moment of hesitation before deploying thencers, the creases on his face that signaled deep thought. She believed that he had other ns 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 nned 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 ns 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 rece them. That was not his way. She knew from the new strength she now felt in her legs that the King nned 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, andncers in the first ce. The army was, therefore, not something they build for the King, but something they built <em>with</em> the King. It was as much his efforts as theirs, if not more.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred tform and support their work!


    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? Morencers? More soldiers?¡±


    But the Firstborn danced the negative.


    ¡°Not this time.¡±


    And then Firstborn began toy 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 nned to raise morencers¡­but had changed her mind. The mana of the realm did more than strengthen her muscles, it had carried knowledge that one of thetest 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 singlencer 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 morencers 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 nts. 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 popr 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 theybined 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, whilencers 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 morencers. The King would expand the army¡¯s options when he felt they needed more, and they had ancer 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 thend itself, would fight for the King.

 POBee 120.2 - Bee-ficient Specialization

    POBee 120.2 - Bee-ficient Specialization


    The First of the Fifth stood in her home. Her new, spacious home that she was certain wasrger 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 ced 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 <em>her</em> 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 pce 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 exin.¡±


    Her third daughter danced an unsteady salute, apparently confused about the order. The First of the Fifth would follow up and exin in more detail. She would also need to determine if her daughters could connect to her scouts viamuners, or if they would need scouts andmuners 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 onlypounded their already lesser honey production. At this point, the First of the Fifth hadrgely 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 bnce. 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 thencer 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 pce, they shouldn¡¯t be under any threat of hive copse.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    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 ns.


    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 coboration 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 waspleted, 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 <em>had</em> 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 ce. 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¡¯ttch onto the honeb.


    And this¡­was why she decided toy 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 me 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 andrvae 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 wasplete, 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 itter, 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 honeyscked.


    So, of course, sheid 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 <em>faster</em>, 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 exin their tasks. A bee¡¯s work was never done.

 Chapter 121: Fier-Bee Experiments!

    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 beend on the flower¡­and then pulled up the Slime Flower¡¯s description once more.


    <em>Slime Flower</em>


    <em>- Type: Slime, Nature, Trap, Spawner</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 20 per node (40 due to Blessing of Bees), 10 (20 due to Blessing of Bees) to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- 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.</em>


    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 me 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 ced 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 timesrger 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 honeb dripping honey, but the honeb was no longer a single color. Different colored cells joined together to form images all along the walls, disying the different types of bees he had in his Tower. He even saw some images of the karnuq, including one covered in mes, one mixing arge pot, and one crouching and holding arge 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 discussedst 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 be the third floor, while the current third floor with the Apiary and bumblebees would be the fourth floor.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the vition.


    The view of the Tower¡¯s room and floors as a whole appeared within the core. Belissar moved about the existing rooms as nned, then ced the new room in its ce. The view zoomed in on the new room, disying what it would look like for him and the Third of the Sixth.


    A field of ck rock stretched out before them, broken up by bright red rivers. A small hill pushed up in the center andva 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 thatva could pour out. The air across the entire room shimmered from the heat. The field was not entirely t, either. There were dips and small ridges and outcroppings. Some of these outcroppings had alcoves. The room¡¯s borders were marked by particrly tall cliffs.


    Belissar tested what he could adjust, finding he could move theva 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 arge ridge near the left wall, building arge 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 ofva as he could stretching across the room from left to right, and made as manyva 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 ced the parts whereva 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 ced 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 ced came the final touch.


    <em>Compatible feature detected. Swap Lava Source to Mini-Volcano?</em>


    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 ofva grew a bit more rapid.


    Belissar waited for the volcano tounch 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 ce them in an adjacent room. However, the volcano didn¡¯t seem to want to erupt just yet. He frowned and brought up the description.


    <em>Mini-Volcano</em>


    <em>Type: Fire, Ground, Trap</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 50</em>


    <em>Description: A small volcano just peeking out of the ground. Willunch burning rocks in the direction of invaders. May also emit ash clouds and slowly flowingva.</em>


    Belissar frowned. So¡­it wouldunch 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.


    <em>Launch boulders for a one-time cost of ten mana?</em>


    ¡°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 eptable price to find out what the Tower meant. So, he went ahead and confirmed.


    <em>Currently avable mana: 9(19)/770</em>


    Arge circle made of red light appeared on the ground in theva field, and Belissar found he could move it. Was this where the boulders were going tond? Belissar hoped so, then moved the circle to center on the alcove and thought about bouldersunching.


    ¡°Um, here?¡±


    The volcano then erupted. Belissar, even safe in the core room, couldn¡¯t help but stumble back as a st of smoke and light shot from the mini-volcano, shaking theva field. Rocks the size of Belissar¡¯s torso covered in bright mes shot into the sky, with long tails of smoke trailing behind them. They arced through the air, mes burning bright as they started descending on the ground.


    They hit the ridge with a crash, shattering and spreading mes and puddles ofva across the ck and rocky ground.


    And, most importantly, the ridge held with no particr 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 n wasing together after all.

 Chapter 122: A Bee-utiful Home?

    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.


    ¡°Wee 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 nced 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 <em>all </em>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 stopining.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak chuckled.


    ¡°Good, d 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 Metsaittiter, 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 avable? 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.


    <em>Currently Avable Mana: 10(19)/770</em>


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    He let out a light sigh. It took a few minutes, but the mana went back up, so it seemedunching 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.


    <em>Activate Sticky Honey Trap for a one-time cost of one mana?</em>


    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.


    <em>Max spawns active.</em>


    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 me radish and fire mana flower nodes there as well.


    <em>Currently Avable Mana: 33(39)/770</em>


    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.


    <em>Avable Resource nts for Lava Field:</em>


    <em>- me Radish (Mana Upkeep: 10 per node, 5 due to suitable environment)</em>


    <em>- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)</em>


    <em>-Fire Mana Flower (10 per node, 5 due to suitable environment)</em>


    <em>-Ground Mana Flower (10 per node)</em>


    He double checked the resource nt menu for the Lava Fields but didn¡¯t find anything new. Maybe because he already had me 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 avable 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 aboutva 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 defenseter. 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 st 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¡¯tpletely overwhelm his nose like before. The heat faded as well, to the point he could tell it wasn¡¯tfortable but that wasn¡¯t causing him active difort.


    He once again thanked Tower magic and the gods as he climbed through theva 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 bnce, particrly when he jumped over theva rivers. While he trusted the Tower not to kill him, he did not particrly 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 theva 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?

    Chapter 123: Ready for a Bee-match?


    For most of the rest of the day, Belissar watched the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive limate 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 regr time without any prompting, along with the karnuq contingent. Only thencers had been involved in thest fight, so the rest of the army was still ready to go. In fact, even the two more lightly woundedncers 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¡­


    <em>Please select a purification strength:</em>


    <em>- Minor (Cooldown: 12 hours)</em>


    <em>- Minor+ (Cooldown: 16 hours)</em>


    <em>- Small (Cooldown: 24 hours)</em>


    Belissar¡¯s mind came to halt. Right, he had forgotten since it didn¡¯t happenst time, but the first expansion purification unlockedrger daily purifications. Apparently thisst 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 thencers 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 ancer 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.¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    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 onest 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 itunched into the air¡­and promptlynded. 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 p them or maneuver about¡­so itnded, 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 ck 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 Tunnelsrgely 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 me 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 ck lightning surging up from it on asion. 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 me radish slivers that it had slipped his mind.


    So, he tossed the torch into the pit from a safe distance.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    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.


    <em>Small Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +100 DP</em>


    <em>- +20 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Bee-type Vitality Boost (Minor)</em>


    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 umon 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 avable 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.


    <em>Bee-type Vitality Boost (Minor) selected.</em>


    <em>All Bee-type monsters receive a minor boost to vitality!</em>


    It seemed his Tower would have many opportunities to grow very soon.

 Chapter 124: A New Round of New-Bees

    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 asionally crossing the wax cover and zapping any bee that got too close. It was not particrly popr 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 ounts, 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. Manapromised 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 tost long enough for an egg to hatch and arva 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 elerate its dposition. Mixing it with regr 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 <em>had</em> seeded, and, with time and effort, they had managed to umte enough to fill a worker cell. The very cell she now watched with every moment she had to spare.


    <em>Had</em> 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 therva 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. <em>Her</em> special worker, a member of her own hive.


    They had done it.


    A momentter, she broke out into a happy dance of her own.


    The First of the Fifth watched hermuners 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 herradesmanded?


    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. Theck of supporting flowers would hamper scaling up a hive based on such honey. But¡­now that the Fourth of the Eighth had sessfully 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 thestborn 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 elerate those ns. 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 themuners to send word to the Fourth of the Eighth, inviting her to join the First of the Fifth in greeting the King¡­


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    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. Shended 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 toe forward. The first was a worker bee with purple hair. Beyond that, she seemed normal at first nce. At least, until Belissar focused on her more closely.


    <em>Gravity Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Minor Gravity Maniption, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>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.</em>


    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 ck, 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.


    <em>Slime Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Slime Core, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>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.</em>


    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 umting 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.


    <em>Shocking Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Shocking Poison Sting, Lightning Resistance, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>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.</em>


    ¡°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 ce. 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 honeb 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

    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 arge shadow blocking out the sun, and then four heavy shapesnded 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 asrge as ancer, while thergest was even bigger than arge dog. They had their stingers extended, each asrge as a dagger¡­orrger.


    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 manaden 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 nkly 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. Thergest 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 firstmuner and the other queen of the hive had done their best to support him, but it hadn¡¯t worked out so far.


    The firstmuner and the other queen had tried to teach him how to forage, noting hisrger eyes and better senses. However, it turned out hecked 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 topensate, so it would defeat the purpose.


    And the brood tenders t out refused to have a bee without the appropriate instincts handle the brood. Even guard duty wasn¡¯t viable due to hisck 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 firstmuner 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 regte overall temperatures. A task that wasrgely unnecessary in the perfect and totally stable climate of the King¡¯s realm.


    This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    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 firstmuner 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 <em>something</em> 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 thervae released mana of their own, calling for their tenders whenever a problem arose. And above all the various swirls were therge 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 themuners breaking off and joining back with the main flower as necessary.


    The mana of his home hive was particrly 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 topensate, while the firstmuner 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 arger 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 ce, where even the eggs and therva were strategically ced to help the river flow.


    Or at least, those ideas were what the firstmuner 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 ces they collided and formed whirling rapids. Themuners 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, thest 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 t against the hive, hoping that whatever he did had not disrupted the hive. Unfortunately, those hopes were quickly dashed as he saw the firstmuner 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 arrivingmuner.


    ¡°Fourth of the Seventh¡¯smuner, can feel?!¡±


    The firstmuner 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 nce at themuner, 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!

    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.


    <em>¡°Fourth of the Seventh?! Can hear?!¡±</em>


    A huge chunk of mana reached her, twisted into a dance by themuner that sent it. The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s antennae twitched and then she began to dance, themuner beside her converting the dance into mana to send back.


    <em>¡°First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter?¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Yes! It worked! Joined Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive¡¯s mana thanks to drone! All thanks to Fourth of Seventh! Amazing, incredible!¡±</em>


    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 firstmuner 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.


    <em>¡°Amazing! Incredible! Great work!¡±</em>


    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 nned to rely on hermuners to watch the scouts, but with all the efforts her hive and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter had made to let here 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 particrly conspicuous pile of rocks on the ground. Conspicuous because they featured the same angr 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 t 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 imaginecking such a fundamental skill, how would they get anywhere? How would they orient themselves within thendscape? How would they spot flowers from a distance? So¡­she guessed that maybe this t pile of rocks was to help them find their hive even if they couldn¡¯t see thendscape 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!


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    And so, the Fourth of the Seventh led her party along the t rock pile. They flew at a leisurely pace, drifting on and off the path as they went. Shended 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 nts 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 nts 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 nts. 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 whileter, they arrived at a clearing. The Fourth of the Seventhnded 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 scoutsnded 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 farrger than the one she built her mini-hive in. It was evenrger than the King¡¯s Tower if she wasn¡¯t mistaken. It had a crumbling wall surrounding its exterior, with not just one but <em>several</em> crumbling towers like the one she had built her mini-hive in ced 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 evenrger 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 greatpromises 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 themuner, 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 andmark, 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 upied 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

    Chapter 125: The Start of Co-Bee-ration


    Belissar spent the next hour practicing his own honey-making spell. He was trying to make different honey types, like medicinal or lightning honey, but it was slow going. The honey kepting out the same and he wasn¡¯t sure how exactly to vary the pattern to adjust it. He asked Beero what she and the lightning bees had done¡­but their honey-making spell pattern was the same as his. It was just that they already had lightning moving along with their mana, so it got caught in the spell.


    So, eventually, Belissar came up with another idea. He realized it had been quite a while since he had spoken to Juosiutik, so he made his way over to the karnuq¡¯s settlement. Chief Rohsuak guided him to a stone building in progress. Juosiutik caught sight of them and rushed over.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master! Um, sorry I sort of¡­stopped the lessons¡­¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok. I, um, sort of forgot too. I have a question though, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    Juosiutik nodded her head repeatedly.


    ¡°Of course! What can I help you with?¡±


    ¡°Great, well, you know how there are different honey types?¡±


    Juosiutik froze solid, blinking repeatedly.¡°There are¡­different honey types?¡±


    Belissar tilted his head. Did she not know that?


    ¡°Um, yes? Like the medicinal one? Or the maddening one I gave to¡­um, the karnuq that gave me the Ground mana flowers.¡±


    Juosiutik¡¯s eyes opened even wider.


    ¡°Medicinal¡­maddening¡­Ground mana flowers?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes? We¡¯ve had those for a while, even.¡±


    Juosiutik began to tremble. Belissar tilted his head even more. Niobee began to buzz and hovered in between them while Belissar¡¯s soldier escorts moved closer. Juosiutik nced at them, shook her head, and then took a deep breath.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master¡­I believe we have a lot to talk about.¡±


    Juosiutik lead Belissar to her original wooden abode and they both sat down on some simple cushions for a long talk. Belissar was thus diverted from his original intent as he began to exin the different honey types and the new flowers he had raised while Juosiutik had been busy exploring her new powers. Juosiutik¡¯s eyes were as wide as they could go and her legs were bouncing the entire time¡­though Niobee and the bees continued to hover around her. She stared out into the distance.


    ¡°So¡­the bees can make honey that will take on the special properties of any nectar they consume AND can help cross-pollinate and breed new types of nts?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡±


    Juosiutik leaned back, cing her hands on the floor behind her as she looked up at the roof.


    ¡°¡­bees are amazing.¡±


    Belissar smiled at that.


    ¡°Yes, they are.¡±


    Juosiutik took a deep breath as she leaned forward once more. She crossed her arms and rubbed her chin with one hand.


    ¡°Fascinating, I had been focused on using the honey as a binding agent to elevate a potion, but the honey is practically a potion in and of itself. So, what if we went the other way and tried to change the honey itself? I suppose that would depend on the bees, maybe if we fed them the right ingredients ahead of time it would change the honey they produce? Could they drink a mixture of ingredients and produce a potion straight away?¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s actually what I¡¯m here to ask you about.¡±


    Belissar subsequently exined how the bees could not only produce different honeys based on the flowers but could evolve based on the honey they consumed. He gave some examples, and then exined what had happened with the lightning soldiers andter the lightning worker raised on the honey they had produced via magic. Juosiutik¡¯s eyes managed to go even wider than Belissar had thought possible.


    ¡°The bees¡­can evolve and then produce thepounds right in their bodies?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. So, yeah. I was wondering if you had any ideas for making new honey types we could use to raise new bees.¡±


    Meanwhile, Niobee drooped andnded on the ground, crawling about in an unsteady circle. Eventually, she came to a stop, groomed her antennae, and then took off to fly in front of Belissar.


    ¡°King¡­can wait? Need to ask something.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head but nodded.


    ¡°Sure, whatever you need, Niobee.¡±


    She danced a quick thanks then flew out of the building. Belissar waited in silence while Juosiutik began muttering to herself. Just a minute or twoter, she flew back, now with a worker in tow.


    ¡°This is First of the Fifth¡¯s worker. First of the Fifth¡¯s hive interested in new honey types, wants to hear if karnuq knows.¡±


    Belissar smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    He turned to Juosiutik.


    ¡°Would you mind speaking with my bees on this? This is a worker from a queen called the First of the Fifth, she¡¯s the expert on honey making.¡±


    Juosiutik stared in silence for a moment, and then burst out nodding repeatedly as quickly as she could.


    ¡°Yes! Of course! This¡­this is big. The possibilities here¡­¡±


    She took a deep breath and then turned to the worker.


    ¡°Tell me <em>everything</em>. Tell me all about your honey and I¡¯ll tell you everything I know about potions.¡±


    The worker paused for a moment before turning to Belissar.


    ¡°Queen asks King if ok?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes, go ahead.¡±


    The worker then turned back to the Juosiutik and began dancing.


    ¡°Queen says ok.¡±


    The worker then began to exin in detail the process by which they made mana honey from various sources, and how that honey could then be used to evolve existing bees. Juosiutik listened in silence, her eyes fixed upon the dancing bee as she nodded along.


    ¡°It sounds like¡­the bees are practically making potions within themselves in the first ce. This is¡­¡±


    She rubbed her chin and hummed for a moment.


    ¡°What about a mixture? Have you tried drinking nectar from multiple sources before processing it into honey?¡±


    ¡°Queen says have but makes honey quality worse.¡±


    Juosiutik nodded.


    ¡°I could see that urring too. Maybe the ingredients shed¡­or it could be a matter of timing and processing. Does your queen remember which flowers exactly she mixed and when in the process she mixed them?¡±


    ¡°Remembers. First is...¡±


    The bee began dancing in detail while Juosiutik followed along.


    ¡°Hm, I see. I¡¯m not as familiar with the flowers for the maddening honey, but sleepy chamomile should go along with the medicinal herbs that grow in the Sacred Den. Would it be possible to add the sleepy chamomile nectar at this point in the medicinal processing¡­¡±


    And so Juosiutik and the First of the Fifth began talking viamuner and worker, with Juosiutik speaking louder and louder and the worker bee dancing every more quickly. Belissar quickly lost track of their conversation.


    ¡°Um, seems like you both have a lot to talk about. I, uh, need to take care of something, so if you don¡¯t need me I¡¯ll take my leave. Um, let me know if either of you need anything?¡±


    Juosiutik flushed and nodded.


    ¡°Ah, right! Thank you, Sacred Den Master, for everything. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to make something great!¡±


    The worker bee, on the other hand, saluted and proimed ¡°King best king!¡±


    And with that, Belissar took his leave and left them both to it. With the two experts on the job, he had no doubt they¡¯de up with something better than anything he could think of, so he decided to address a mixture of his own. He made his way back to the Apiary and to his farmhouse within, then opened one of the jars waiting there and took a whiff. He nodded and poured out a bit into a wooden mug. He took a drink¡­


    His eyes lit up. It¡­was mead. In some ways, it tasted like regr old mead. But in other ways¡­it was something¡­more. That was perhaps the best way to describe it. Mead¡­but more. The taste was fuller and lingered longer on his tongue. The warmth spread through his body more quickly and felt even more pleasant. Likewise, he could feel mana suffusing through his body, mixing with his own as it spread the sensation of the mead throughout.


    He nodded his head. The recipe and taste may have been basic¡­but he was certain that this was still the best mead he had ever made. His eyes even began to moisten. The day the Tower Lord¡¯s son arrived at his vige, he thought his mead-making days were over. His recipes would go unfinished and he¡¯d never taste it ever again. But now¡­after everything¡­here he was. A mead-maker once more.


    And now made with the best honey he had ever had, from hives that he could talk to. From bees that loved him, and that he loved in turn.


    He capped the jar and lifted it, then made his way to the Shrine of Bees. He ced the jar in the wax chest and bowed his head.


    ¡°Thank you again, for everything. If it weren¡¯t for you¡­I¡¯d never had made mead ever again. I know this one is basic, but I hope you like it.¡±


    The Shrine of Bees began to glow bright, so it seemed she did.

 Chapter 126: Divine Bee-sires

    Chapter 126: Divine Bee-sires


    The First of the Fifth couldn¡¯t help but tremble as she danced around. Thanks to the King, she had established direct contact with the dangerous karnuq. And despite the danger of doing so, the rewards promised to be unimaginable. The dangerous one held vast knowledge regarding mixing different nts together. Already a single conversation had produced multiple potential processing methods to attempt. If even one of them seeded, the First of the Fifth might discover a new honey type¡­and possibly new types of bees as well.


    And this sess was fortunately timed as the First of the Fifth waited at the entrance of her hive. A group of foragers was just returning¡­and no normal foragers.


    The bees that arrived wererge for workers and far fuzzier than normal, more closely resembling the bumblebees than their sisters. Their antennae were fluffy with almost leaf-like hairs, their pollen baskets wererge and deep, and their mandiblesrge with sharp edges. Their proboscis could extend to a surprising length when fully unfurled.


    These were the newly evolved gardener bees, back from their first foraging trip. The First of the Fifth watched as they unloaded the nectar and pollen they had gathered, each carrying noticeably more than the other workers. The gardeners then walked up to her.


    ¡°Ground mana flower too bright. Wants less sun.¡±


    ¡°Workers taking too much nectar from Slime Flower. Needs break.¡±


    ¡°Gravilion Flower has too much nectar, not enough pollen. Needs more visits.¡±


    Each of the gardeners reported on each of the flowers they had visited. They were optimized to gather data from the nts they visited, with theirrge antennae sensitive to whatever scents the nts released, the mana that wafted off of them, or even the tiny-lightnings that changed whenever a beended on them. As a result, they could identify the health of a flower in a deeper way than the average worker. Information the First of the Fifth now needed if she wanted to take care of the hive of hives as a whole. She turned and danced to a nearbymuner.


    ¡°I¡¯ll inform King about Grand mana flower. Tell workers slime flower is gardener only now. Will try to raise more gravity bees for Gravilion Flower. Good work.¡±The gardeners saluted and then took off again, returning back to the flowers beyond. With their help, the flowers would grow more numerous and healthy than ever before. And with the dangerous karnuq¡¯s help, the First of the Fifth¡¯s hive would pioneer new ways to process their nectar too. The First of the Fifth couldn¡¯t wait to see what would result.


    ¡°Too much light? Huh, got it, thanks for letting me know!¡±


    The First of the Fifth danced around happily as Belissar thanked her. He subsequently moved the Ground mana flower nodes. Each of them had been ced in their floor¡¯s Dirt Tunnels, but right underneath the entrance to either the Apiary or the Flower Meadow for maximum sunlight and easy ess for the bees. Apparently, the flowers preferred it a bit darker, so Belissar moved them just a bit deeper into their tunnels, just enough to keep them in the shade but still visible for the bees.


    It seemed the gardeners were already earning their name. Both the First of the Fifth and the Firstborn had evolved their first sets, which were now buzzing around the Apiary and Flower Meadow flowers and determining their state. Belissar couldn¡¯t wait to see what else they came up with.


    Belissar mostly just watched the gardeners do their thing for the rest of the day. Their pollen crops could carry a massive amount of pollen, making them look like they were carrying two round stones as they flew about. Additionally, each gardener connected its mana with each nt itnded on, and passed the knowledge it gained through themuners to the rest of the hive. Already, Belissar noted the rest of the worker bees adjusting their foraging routes as the gardeners determined which flowers were over-gathered from and which flowers were neglected. It seemed the gardeners were not only great at foraging themselves but would improve the gathering efficiency of their entire hives.


    This novel is published on a different tform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Eventually, though, the day passed on and the time came for the next purification. Belissar selected another small purification. His eyes widened slightly as he saw the Hunger coalesce.


    <em>Small purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 4</em>


    This time it was back to the good old wolf-shades¡­but with a twist. Belissar watched as the most shades he had ever seen ran into the Dirt Tunnels¡­and the lead shade then promptly fell into a Pit Trap and was doused by a Sticky Honey Trap. As with the first pair of wolf-shades, the others stayed by the pit, and even jumped down to help when it was clear the fallen shade couldn¡¯t escape on its own. And since the bees weren¡¯t attacking in the Dirt Tunnels, the shades managed to climb out again. Belissar rubbed his chin. He¡¯d have to see about getting some digging soldiers soon, the digging queen was established enough to either raise some herself or to donate some honey to the Flower Meadow, so it should be about time.


    Belissar was free to think about the future as the wolf-shades only slowly made their way through the Dirt Tunnels. It was not as bad an environment for them as for the bird-shade, but it still wasn¡¯t ideal. Likewise, the wolf-shadescked either the speed of the cat-shade or the resilience of the turtle-shade, so they were very much affected by the pit and honey traps ced throughout. While they managed to escape and continue moving forward, the maddening honey took its toll on each of the wolves hit by it.


    And so it took quite a while before the four staggering shades finally arrived at the Flower Meadow, Belissar having kept the volcano room back again until the Third of the Sixth was more established. The shades¡­were then torn to shreds. Sprayers began bombarding them from above, easily evading their counter-breaths. When the shades spread out to avoid the toxic sprays, the soldiers began their own attack runs, and cut each shade off from the other. Meanwhile, the two healedncers set up their dives, targeting the shades hampered by the honey traps. Those shades proved unable to dodge, and thencers¡¯ stingers pierced straight through them and into the ground.


    It was not long before all four shades were defeated, without a single bee casualty.


    <em>Small Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +100 DP</em>


    <em>- +20 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Wax Torches</em>


    This time Belissar went with the mana. New features were great but not if hecked the mana to make more, and he still had two room slots to fill. And with that, the celebrations began. Belissar thought about bringing out the mead¡­but the one time he had fed it to bees in the past¡­hadn¡¯t gone well. He was still full of regret and guilt for the fate of that worker. So, while he had a feeling his current bees might hold up a bit better, he still wasn¡¯t going to risk it. Besides, he didn¡¯t have enough for all the karnuq hunters that watched each purification, much less all the bees, so he decided to save it up for now.


    And well, he soon learned he had made the right choice.


    <em>New mission received: Offer ten jars of mead to the Shrine of Bees.</em>


    His eyes widened slightly. He guessed the God of Bees very much appreciated the mead. Would that mean that monster bees could handle it? He could probably speak with the queens to avoid any¡­incidents as well.


    However, Belissar was quickly pulled out of his thoughts.


    <em>The God of Fire wishes to offer you a quest. ept?</em>


    Belissar tilted his head. Did the God of Fire still have to ask permission to do that? Even after the blessing? Well, Belissar didn¡¯t see a reason to refuse right now.


    <em>New mission received: Make and offer mead from Fire-attribute honey.</em>


    Well, it seemed Belissar had his next mead recipe to try. Though, that would be a longer-term project, as he wasn¡¯tfortable taking honey from the Third of the Sixth yet. In any case, it seemed his mead was popr with the gods. That¡­was a bit more than he expected from his first attempt to get back into the craft.


    But well, he¡¯d just have to do his best and trust in his bees¡¯ honey.


    The next day, the karnuqunched another expedition to the Underway. Metsaitti noted that the Sacred Den¡¯s purified zone extended in all directions, so there was a need to see how much of the Underway was within its range. And so, much to their dismay, the karnuq made their way to the rot cap field once again, only to find the stink bugs had reced their numbers all too quickly. And as the karnuq fought their way through noxious clouds and smelly mushrooms, several pairs of eyes lit up in the dark tunnel beyond.


    ¡°They¡¯re finally back. Get ready, everyone.¡±


    A faint shuffling in the dark went unnoticed by the karnuq as they fought their way towards the tunnel¡­

 Chapter 127: Contact Bee-stablished

    Chapter 127: Contact Bee-stablished


    Metsaitti approached the end of the rot cap field with a cloth wrapped around his face. Besides him was a digging worker bee, currently dancing on the ground, and Noiggakuq, also wearing a cloth around her face. She was tense and puffing her cheeks slightly, likely upset that he had prevented her from fighting this time. But Metsaitti wanted to scout past the rot cap field today, and for that he needed Noiggakuq¡¯s nose. They could not afford for her to be drenched with stink bug scents even if she could handle herself now.


    But they had made it through the field, so Noiggakuq could now take a more active role. Metsaitti nodded at her and she pulled down her cloth, sniffing at the air. Her face immediately scrunched up.


    ¡°Anything?¡±


    She shook her head and spat out her words.


    ¡°Nothing. Just stink, stink, and more¡­¡±


    She suddenly paused and then her eyes narrowed.


    ¡°There¡¯s stinking from the tunnel.¡±


    Metsaitti narrowed his eyes slightly. That <em>could</em> have indicated another field of rot cap¡­but then the mushrooms should have extended down into the tunnel. Meanwhile the digging worker flew back to his shoulder and began to tap out a dance.


    ¡°Something there. Seven, King-sized.¡±Metsaitti held out his hand to Noiggakuq.


    ¡°Back up.¡±


    Noiggakuq frowned but obeyed as she heard Metsaitti¡¯smanding tone. The other karnuq noticed and began to form up a bit behind Metsaitti, weapons at the ready. Metsaitti kept his eyes fixed on the dark tunnel.


    And then, slowly, a shape began to emerge. A humanoid walking on two legs emerged from the darkness, wrapped from head to toe in ck clothes that revealed only their eyes and with arge bulge on their back. They stepped out of the tunnel just far enough to enter the light of the karnuq¡¯s light crystals and began to speak with a growling voice.


    ¡°Halt. You intrude upon thend of King Ratuatapi. Identify yourselves and state your intentions.¡±


    Metsaitti rxed slightly, though he remained ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice.


    ¡°I am Metsaitti, hunter of the karnuq and defender of the nearby Sacred Den.¡±


    The figure¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Defender? And you have proof of this?¡±


    Metsaitti thought of the bee clinging to his shoulder but shook his head.


    ¡°Not presently, but I can arrange for it.¡±


    The figure and Metsaitti made eye contact in silence for a bit before the figure finally spoke again.


    ¡°You will return here tomorrow with proof of your ims. King Ratuatapi¡¯s envoy shall discuss your encroachment upon on ournds¡­should you speak the truth.¡±


    The figure then backed up and vanished into the dark of the tunnel. Metsaitti turned and let out a light sigh. Their first diplomatic contact as defenders of the Sacred Den had gone reasonably well, given that nothing was currently on fire. He wasn¡¯t certain the Sacred Den Master was prepared for it, however, so could only hope the extra day he bought would be enough.


    Belissar frowned as he stood before the Shrine of Bees in the battle meadow, as he had started to call the First Floor¡¯s Flower Meadow in his mind. He was joined by Chief Rohsuak, the ever-present Niobee, andmuners from the queens, having gathered them after hearing of thetest event from Metsaitti and the bee apanying him. The queens had wanted toe in person but since it was the middle of the day Belissar insisted they continue with their own work for this meeting.


    If youe across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°So¡­what do we do?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak looked him in the eye.


    ¡°That is up to you, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    The bees all began to agree with ¡°Whatever King chooses!¡± dances, causing Belissar to groan. Chief Rohsuak held her gaze.


    ¡°It is true, Sacred Den Master. My people and your bees both are sworn to your defense and service. We are both extensions of your will and shall be viewed that way outside. Even if you tell us to do as we please, all that we do will be presumed as yourmand by those who do not know you. Therefore, it is important that you express what you want us to do or not to do regarding this King Ratuatapi.¡±


    Belissar heaved a sigh.


    ¡°Then¡­do I need to go speak with them?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head.


    ¡°You need not do anything, Sacred Den Master, besides what your Sacred Den requires of you. And to be honest, I would not rmend that course of action. It is unusual for a Sacred Den Master to venture beyond their own domain. It would be an insult if they insisted upon meeting outside your den¡­at least after they have proof that we are sworn to you.¡±


    Belissar crossed his arms.


    ¡°And what would work as proof for that?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled as she nced towards the soldier bee army training in the field beyond.


    ¡°I believe a handful of yourrger bees would do the trick. No one has ever tamed monster bees to my knowledge.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°And¡­what do you think these people want from us?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak eyed him for a moment before starting to rub her own chin.


    ¡°Hm, it is good they have revealed themselves and spoken directly to us. They would not have done so if their current intentions were hostile. They opened by naming their king and calling us intruders, and did not ask to see the Sacred Den. That signals to me that they are more concerned with protecting themselves and their current possessions, and wish for us to acknowledge their authority, at least over their ownnds. More than that I cannot say.¡±


    Niobee buzzed her wings at that.


    ¡°If hurt King, will sting.¡±


    The rest of the bees began buzzing as well. Chief Rohsuak chuckled and then nodded.


    ¡°Indeed. We, too, shalle to your defense should they have ill-intentions for you.¡±


    She then looked him in the eye again.


    ¡°So, Sacred Den Master, how do you wish for us to respond?¡±


    Belissar groaned. He nced down and took a deep breath.


    ¡°¡­honestly, I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know the first thing about talking to people like this, or what I¡¯m supposed to do¡­¡±


    Indeed, this was the first time Belissar had to decide something like this¡­with time to think about it, at least. The karnuq had just sort of arrived, and Belissar had been distracted by the implications of the karnuq being people in the first ce. This time, this time he had the time to think about it and realized once again how out of his depth he was. What did he know about negotiating with some king?


    Chief Rohsuak¡¯s face softened.


    ¡°There is no supposed to for you, Sacred Den Master. In my experience, Sacred Den Masters do as they please and then it is the duty of others to follow. You are the one who holds back the Hunger, after all. So, do not worry about what you are supposed to do. Ask yourself¡­what would you want from these people? Do you wish for friends and allies? To exchange goods with one another? Do you wish for us to conquer them in force, to take theirnds and force them to bow to your authority? Do you wish for us to drive them away? Or do you wish to be left alone and interact with them as little as possible? That is a choice as well, and whatever you decide we will all do our best to see fulfilled.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin once more. What <em>did</em> he want? Well, he ruled out conquering in force immediately. He had no wish to burn down anyone else¡¯s vige, that was for sure. And as he thought about it¡­he realized he didn¡¯t want much at all. He was quite happy with his Tower and his bees and the karnuq, and as long as they kept growing strong enough to stop the shades he didn¡¯t need or want much of anything else.


    Though, at that moment, he nced at his bees. <em>He</em> didn¡¯t want much else¡­but his bees could always use more flowers.


    Belissar took a deep breath and uncrossed his arms.


    ¡°Um, ok. I don¡¯t want much of anything from them and, uh, definitely don¡¯t want to conquer them or anything like that. But, um, if we can get more flowers and stuff from them, we should try. Oh, um, by trade, or something like that. Other than that¡­let¡¯s leave each other alone?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak bowed her head.


    ¡°As you wish, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    The bees began their salute and ¡°King best king¡± dances as well. Belissar grimaced a bit. They were all responding very seriously to his half-hearted and uncertain reply, but what else could he do? If Chief Rohsuak and the queens were all deferring to his lead, then who else could he turn to? He would just have to do his best to ensure that whatever happened was beneficial for his bees¡­and the karnuq as well now. He supposed¡­that is what it meant to be a king.


    Well, he supposed they were soon to meet an actual king, and put that to the test¡­

 Chapter 128: Responsi-Bee-lity

    Chapter 128: Responsi-Bee-lity


    After that, Belissar and Chief Rohsuak discussed further details. Peace and trade was great and all as an overall goal¡­but it turned out there was a <em>lot</em> more to be considered for a discussion like this than Belissar thought.


    First of all, there was no guarantee that King Ratuatapi would agree to that sort of rtionship. If he refused to trade, would Belissar try to convince him or let him be? If he made demands of his own, would Belissar consider them? If he imed the Underway beyond the rot cap field, what would Belissar say? What if he imednd above ground that Belissar¡¯s Tower had purified? What if King Ratuatapi demanded ess to Belissar¡¯s Tower? What if he wanted to be a sworn defender as well? What if he imed authority <em>over</em> Belissar¡¯s Tower?


    And if none of that urred and King Ratuatapi agreed to trade¡­then there was whole new set of questions. What was Belissar willing to trade? What would he never trade even if asked? What prices would he ept? How often did he want to trade? What would he do if King Ratuatapi attempted to cheat them?


    And then, finally, the question arose of what Belissar would do if the talks broke down and came to blows. If this King Ratuatapi became hostile, how would Belissar respond?


    Belissar could listen in and even speak with the karnuq when they went to talks, but Chief Rohsuak pointed out that most of this should be determined ahead of time. It would leave them at a disadvantage in the talks if they had to stop and discuss everything that urred¡­and they may not have the chance. In the case of trade, it would be wise to bring some samples of what they could offer, which therefore needed to be prepared ahead of time. And in this case of talks breaking down and turning violent¡­well, the karnuq wouldn¡¯t have the chance to calmly ask Belissar what he wanted them to do.


    And, of course, while Chief Rohsuak was willing to offer advice, it was ultimately Belissar that had to answer all of those questions.


    They managed to answer enough of them to proceed with the negotiations tomorrow, but Belissar found himself utterly exhausted. That had been a lot of decisions to make for someone who spent most of his life being told what to do. And even the Tower rarely presented more than a few options at a time.


    Speaking of which¡­he had over four-thousand DP at the moment. It had slipped his mind, but he was ready to purchase a new monster or room or room feature at any point. Which he would doter. He had <em>just</em> finished the long meeting with Chief Rohsuak, after all.


    Belissar instead set to work prepping some more mead jars. He had plenty of mana honey, the limiting factor was the number of jars that came with the Apiary farmhouse. He thought about trying to make some barrels¡­but he wasn¡¯t particrly an expert on that. Funnily enough, barrels were one of the few things the vige had been willing to give him in both numbers and good quality¡­probably so that he¡¯d have mead for them to taketer on. He could <em>probably</em> work something out with wax and propolis, which he¡¯d tryter on. For now, he just wanted something to do that was simple and straightforward.For not only was he exhausted, but he was distracted by his thoughts as well. He could not help but worry about this new development. He had been fortunate so far in that the karnuq had been very friendly¡­but there was no guarantee that would be the case with these new people. There was every chance that tomorrow could end up in a fight¡­or even a war. Belissar knew very little of war, besides the general war against the Hunger. Even that was taken care of by the Tower Lords back when he was a peasant, so war was something distant and unknown. Tower Lord doctrine stated that humanity had experience countless wars with itself in the days of the wicked kings, but had since united after the Hunger appeared. He had no idea if that was true or not but he did know that he had never experienced war between people himself.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    What would he do if it came to that? If his bees had to start killing people¡­or if people started killing his bees? He knew that if he ever encountered the Tower Lords he would have to face that scenario¡­but in recent times he had grown less worried about them, since Chief Rohsuak seemed to indicate they were far, far away. But now, the possibility had suddenly be very real. More real because Chief Rohsuak had asked <em>him</em> what <em>he</em> would want to do should it happen.


    Making decisions that could end the life of people and bees both. Belissar was once again reminded of how woefully unqualified he was for the job. For the first time in a long time, he even wished he was a Tower Lord, or that one of them were here. They might have been terrible people, but at least they were prepared to deal with such matters.


    He finished his mead work all too quickly, and so turned to his tower sight, just letting it wander through his Tower. He watched as gardener bees flew among the flowers, guiding and directing the other workers to the various flowers. He watched the bumblebees spin about and cover themselves in pollen before flying to the next flower. He watched the First of the Fifth conferring with her daughters as her workers crawled and flew in neat lines. He watched as soldier bees lifted wooden nks onto the roof of a stone house as the karnuq finished the walls. He watched Juosiutik talking quickly to a worker bee while she stirred a pot. He watched the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter dancing with a drone of all things as the joint hive spread across the trees of the Orchard. He watched the Second First of the First greet the first squad of bumblebee soldiers as they flew to the battle meadow, the entire soldier bee army pausing for a moment to gaze upon their newest, giant sisters. He watchedncers dive, soldiers fly, and sprayers spray all whilemuners red their mana and a queen dancedmands. He watched Beero lead the wounded soldiers in yet another lightning dance. He watched the burning bees happily flying amongst the ash and mes of theva field.


    He took a deep breath and frowned. No, no he did not wish a Tower Lord was here. He had a feeling that no Tower Lord would have built a Tower like this. And perhaps they would have made something better¡­but it would not have been the Bee Tower he had grown to love. This was his Tower, his bees, and his people.


    His heart settled. Because Belissar now knew what he wanted and what he would do. Come what may with these new people, he would protect this Tower and all who lived in it.


    The next day, another karnuq expedition made their way to the Underway, this time led by Chief Rohsuak herself. She was apanied by a squad of soldier bees and sprayers, each of them apanied by a digging worker bee. Unfortunately, the digging queen had only recently begun delivering honey to the battle meadow queens, so there were no digging soldiers just yet. Chief Rohsuak, however, had pointed out that this could work in their favor, as people living in the Underway might perceive digging soldiers as a threat. They had even ruled out bringingncers or bumblebee soldiers for that very reason.


    The bees hovered close to the karnuq and their light crystals¡­which upon reflection Belissar realized he should have asked about. For now though, it was the only source of light to help the soldier bees fly, though the digging workers riding on their backs would help them if they got separated from the group.


    The group made their way to the rot cap field once again, where, thankfully, the stink bug numbers had not recovered from yesterday¡¯s sweep. This time, they found people waiting from them in the field proper, around a stone table nked by light crystal tipped poles. Most of the people were dressed like the one from yesterday,pletely wrapped in ck cloth save for their eyes. However, there was one standing before the table who dressed differently, giving the group and therefore Belissar their first glimpse of who exactly they were meeting. She was a woman wearing a blue dress made of silk. She had pale skin, ck eyes, and round ears on the sides of her head covered in ck fur. Most striking was her hair, which blended into fur going down her neck and back and under her dress, until it emerged against as arge and bushy tail. Most of it was ck, but the hair on the top of her head was white, splitting into two strips of white fur down her neck and shoulders, until the white and ck blended together on her tail.


    Belissar tensed and narrowed his eyes. It was a color pattern he could not forget. More than once he had driven away a skunk trying to feast on his hives¡­and suffered the consequences whenever he did so poorly. And as the karnuq approached them, he could only hope that these skunk people did not take after their animal counterparts when it came to bees¡­

 Chapter 129: The Art of the Diploma-Bee

    Chapter 129: The Art of the Diploma-Bee


    ¡°Halt.¡±


    Belissar watched from his Tower as two of the skunk people stepped in between the karnuq and the woman at the table. One appeared unarmed, while the other carried a spear that appeared to made of some sort of chitin.


    ¡°Present proof that you defend a Sacred Den before you approach.¡±


    Some of the karnuq frowned at the aggressive tone but Chief Rohsuak simply smiled and nodded. Watching from afar, Belissar took that as the signal and sent hismand to the soldier bees. The soldier bees gathered into formation and flew as a group, taking up positions around Chief Rohsuak. The other skunk people tensed and held up either their empty hands or the weapons they carried. One of the two in front¡¯s eyes widened and they nced at their partner, who raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Monster bees?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak held up her hand and, at Belissar¡¯smand, one of the soldier beesnded in it. The calm skunk person watched for a moment before turning and bowing his head towards the woman.


    ¡°It appears they speak the truth.¡±


    The woman nodded.


    ¡°Let them through.¡±The skunk person saluted by striking their chest with their fist, then turned to Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°You may pass.¡±


    At that, the two skunk people in the way stepped to either side. Chief Rohsuak stepped forward, one of the soldier bees still in hand. The other soldier bees and karnuq hung back, while Metsaitti stepped forward until he was around the same distance as the two skunk guards.


    The skunk woman smiled.


    ¡°I am Second Queen Berbiya of n Ratuatapi. Who do I speak with?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled back.


    ¡°I am Chief Rohsuak of the karnuq, disciple of Fire and sworn defender of Sacred Den Master Belissar.¡±


    She then held up the soldier bee.


    ¡°This is one of his defenders, a soldier of his army.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya nodded.


    ¡°Wee, and thank you for sending your representatives, Sacred Den Master. Please, have a seat.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak sat on a stool around the stone table along with Second Queen Berbiya, cing the soldier bee on top of the table. Second Queen Berbiya motioned and skunk people brought three cups and tes. Chief Rohsuak thanked them and took a sip. The soldier bee extended her proboscis and dipped it into the cup¡­before rapidly beginning top up the liquid within. Belissar made a note to find out what it was. Second Queen Berbiya sipped from her cup as well, watching silently. When Chief Rohsuak made no move towards the food, she ced her cup down and folded her hands across each other on the table in front of her.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s get to it. King Ratuatapi and his people have lived in these halls for many a generation, and you are the first visitors we have had in many years. He wishes to know where you came from, and what the Sacred Den Master¡¯s intentions for thisnd are.¡±


    Back at home, Belissar¡¯s face scrunched up as he crossed his arms. Chief Rohsuak had told him that in diplomacy, every choice of every word could have specific meanings. Unfortunately, knowing that this queen meant more than what she was saying out loud didn¡¯t mean that Belissar could figure it out. Well, Chief Rohsuak also stated that as a Sacred Den Master he could choose to just ignore all of that and let others adjust to him but he didn¡¯t want to be ignorant forever.


    Fortunately, Chief Rohsuak said she would directly share her opinion this time and he heard her voice in his head.


    <em>¡°They areing out strong,unching directly into the main topic like this. She has attempted toy im to authority by mentioning their history in thisnd and painting us as outsiders.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°I see¡­¡±</em>


    Well, he understood, but he didn¡¯t particrly know how to respond to that knowledge. Fortunately, he was not the one speaking.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master Belissar has recently begun purifying the Hunger from thesends, and my people have chosen to assist him in this sacred duty. He wishes for little more than mutual respect and, if possible, benefit with those outside his halls.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°I see. And what sort of benefit does the Sacred Den Master envision?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak reached into a pouch and pulled out small carvings of wood, stone, and copper the karnuq had prepared.


    ¡°An exchange of goods, if King Ratuatapi is open to it.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya rxed her expression slightly.


    ¡°That could be arranged. King Ratuatapi would be happy to exchange the bounty of ournds¡­should we achieve the mutual respect you speak of. What does Sacred Den Master Belissar consider respect?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak motioned to the soldier bee stillpping up the drink before her.


    ¡°Respect for the lives of all denizens of his Sacred Den and the sanctity of the Sacred Den itself.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya nodded and narrowed her eyes slightly.


    ¡°And thends beyond?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak grinned at her.


    ¡°The Sacred Den Master shall patrol and utilize thends he purifies as he sees fit to defend his Sacred Den and advance his sacred duty. Regarding King Ratuatapi¡¯snd in particr¡­he has no designs and will leave you be, provided you do not present a threat to his den or his mission.¡±


    They held eye contact for a second. Second Queen Berbiya nodded slightly.


    ¡°Then, allow me to inform you of where King Ratuatapi¡¯snds lie.¡±


    From then on began an increasingly animated discussion between Chief Rohsuak and the Second Queen that Belissar struggled to follow as they began to discuss the twists and turns of the Underway. After all, borders were not clear lines along t ground in the deep, where twisting tunnels could loop around, above, and below one another and where mining species could dig new ones at will. Second Queen Berbiya wanted the rot cap field and everything beyond it considered as theirnd...without mentioning the exact limits of thosends. Chief Rohsuak required more defined borders on the sides of their territory¡­and pointed out that no territory above ground existed prior to Belissar purifying the area. Second Queen Berbiya countered that demanding King Ratuatapi reveal the full extent of hisnds and then denying his people thends above would threaten their safety. Belissar grew worried as their voices rose, the two woman even shouting at each other at one point, causing the soldier bee to stop drinking and buzz her wings. Chief Rohsuak signaled she had it under control, however, so Belissar kept the bees calm¡­although he himself was absolutely not.


    Eventually, Second Queen Berbiya frowned openly.


    ¡°You ask much of us. I will have to speak with the king on this matter.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak gave her a light smirk as she reached into her pouch.


    ¡°Very well. But as you speak to your king, keep in mind that we ask for far less than most Sacred Den Masters would demand. And before you go, here, a gift for your king.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak pulled out a small package and slowly unwrapped it. Second Quenn Berbiya¡¯s eyes widened a bit as a small chunk of golden, lightly shimmering honeb began to glisten in the light. She quickly nced at the soldier bee on the table before controlling her expression. Chief Rohsuak smiled at her.


    ¡°There are more where both of those came from.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya stared at her for a moment before nodding to one of her guards, who wrapped up the honeb and stored it. She then rose to her feet.


    ¡°Then, I will return here two days from now.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°We shall as well.¡±


    Back in his Tower, Belissar let out a sigh. On the bright side, things had note to blows so far. But on the other hand, the talks had not concluded with an agreement, so he could not rx yet. And now he had to wait another two days before the talks resumed. He groaned at that.


    Why did this all have to be soplicated?


    Second Queen Berbiya now stood before a half-circle of stone thrones, each upied save for her own just left of the center. It was rare for the whole royal family to gather, but her report today was that important. After all, what urred next could seal the fate of their people.


    On the throne to the right of the center sat the First Queen, her face now wrinkling with age, though she still held herself straight and tall. All the other queens held their tongues until she spoke.


    ¡°¡­so this Sacred Den Master may have designs on ournds after all?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya frowned.


    ¡°His envoy left it open. She emphasized trade and said he would leave us alone¡­but also said that he¡¯d do anything necessary for his mission.¡±


    On throne on the edge of the circle, a young queen dressed in armor instead of silk scowled.


    ¡°That is uneptable. They could justify anything they wanted as ¡®necessary¡¯ and invade us at will. If that is their condition, then we cannot trust them. I say we strike now, while the Sacred Den is still young. We could lose everything if we do not act quickly.¡±


    The First Queen did not react but looked to Second Queen Berbiya with a calm expression.


    ¡°Pezuya has a point. What do you think, Berbiya? Do you believe we should fight?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya shook her head.


    ¡°I would not rmend it. The Sacred Den Master sent monster bees asrge as my hand.¡±


    Pezuya scoffed.


    ¡°That is to our advantage. They will be lost in the dark and cramped in the tunnels. Easy prey for us.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya shook her head again.


    ¡°If they attack us, then yes, they did not lookfortable underground. But that means that the Sacred Den is up above, isn¡¯t it? Will we be able to defeat a swarm of flying monsters up in the open sky? If we mean to attack, that is what we¡¯ll have to do. On the other hand¡­if they do betray us, we should be able to defend ourselves down below as you have said, correct?¡±


    Pezuya red at her.


    ¡°For now. But the Sacred Den will only grow if we do not deal with it, so we may not have a choiceter. And we have not shed the blood of generations building our civilization here just to bow to another Sacred Den Master in the end. I will not stand idly by and just let them do as they please!¡±


    The First Queen shook her head.


    ¡°It is not your decision to make, Pezuya.¡±


    The First Queen hummed and rubbed her chin before turning to the throne at the center of the room, whose upant had so far remained silent.


    ¡°That is the situation, my lord. What is your will?¡±


    All others fell silent as King Ratuatapi opened his mouth¡­

 Chapter 130: An Unexpected Bee-cision

    Chapter 130: An Unexpected Bee-cision


    With two days before the next talks, Belissar turned his attention to other endeavors. Mainly, he had enough DP to purchase another room as he had nned, which could also provide either additional resources to trade or additional defenses if the talks fell through. He nned to make the purchase tonight, as usual right after the purification and celebrations where all the queens would be gathered. So, all that was left was to handle the day¡¯s purification.


    But as the soldier bee army waited and Belissar began the purification, it seemed the Hunger had other ideas in store. Once again, it took the form of a smander¡­and only two of thencers were fully healed. Belissar sucked in his breath¡­until he looked at the smander shade more closely. This one was noticeably smaller¡­and notpletely covered in ck mes. In fact, it only had one small ck me covering the tip of its tail.


    He supposed it was a level lower purification than the original, but he decided to wait and watch it brave the Dirt Tunnels before he rxed. The smander shade crawled its way through, climbing the walls whenever it encountered a Pit Trap. And then¡­it reached a wall-mounted Sticky Honey Trap.


    The shade was doused by the honey. It spun and spat out a breath of ck mes, but didn¡¯t manage to hit before it was coated in honey. Small mes danced across its body, but failed to burn away the viscous coating.


    It was then that Belissar released his breath and rxed his shoulders. Indeed, the shade was weaker than itsrger brethren. Most importantly, its mes did not form the same kind of shield and left it vulnerable to the honey traps. And that meant that it would be vulnerable to the bees as well.


    It took the increasingly disoriented shade a while to make it through the Dirt Tunnels, as it was both weighed down and increasingly intoxicated by the maddening honey stuck to its body. Finally, it arrived out in the battle meadow¡­and was promptly attacked from all sides by sprayers. As Belissar had hoped, its mes were not hot enough nor spread wide enough to burn away all the poison before the toxic sprays struck home. It was not long before the shade was weak enough for the soldier bees to attack as well, at which point its resistance died quickly.


    <em>Small Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +100 DP</em>


    <em>- +20 Max Mana</em><em>- Arrow Trap</em>


    The arrow trap was tempting but tonight Belissar needed the mana. If all went well, he¡¯d soon have a lot to spend it on. A quick celebrationter and Belissar gathered with Niobee, the queens, and Chief Rohsuak.


    <em>Extra room choice purchased. One room choice now avable.</em>


    <em>Please select a room:</em>


    <em>- Farm (Rarity: Common, Type: Resource, Settlement)</em>


    <em>- Stone Labyrinth (Rarity: Common, Type: Labyrinth, Settlement)</em>


    <em>- Fairy Grove (Rarity: Rare, Type: Nature, Magic, Field)</em>


    Well, Belissar practically knew what he wanted to pick just from the rarities alone but for good measure he went through the options. Farm was a repeat and quite straightforward. A simple farmhouse, plus a bunch of fields in which crop nts would grow. Though, simple andmon did not necessarily mean undesirable. So far, Belissar had been limited to his resource nt nodes, which were fairly small in the grand scheme of things. He had no doubt the karnuq might appreciate arger source of food. And depending on what kind of nts they could cultivate there, a Farm might prove quite useful for his bees as well. Rows upon rows of flowering nts could feed many a hive.


    <em>Stone Labyrinth</em>


    <em>Type: Labyrinth, Settlement</em>


    <em>Innate Features: None</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 5</em>


    <em>Description: A stone structure built as a maze to disorient and trap invaders. No particr features but its tough walls force all but the most powerful of invaders to search its twists and turns for an exit. Numerous rooms may also be used for habitation.</em>


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Belissar furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin. He couldn¡¯t quite remember where, but he had a feeling he had seen this one before. Maybe as one of the earlier choices when he was still too shocked by bing a dungeon master to pay close attention? In any case, this choice was perhaps even more straightforward than the Farm. Abyrinth, like the Dirt Tunnels, but made of cut stone instead of natural dirt. He¡­could pretty much rule this one out. First of all, it didn¡¯t provide much that any of his bees would want. No flowers¡­well, no flowers that Belissar was currently aware of would grow inside a stone structure. Rooms for habitation might help the karnuq but he¡¯d prefer his bees in beehouses, bee barracks, or bee apartments. So, this room would be purely for defense¡­and didn¡¯t really provide anything that the Dirt Tunnels didn¡¯t. He guessed a stone maze might be useful if they faced a shade that could dig through the dirt, but so far they hadn¡¯t. That scenario¡­was not currently worth spending a room choice on.


    And that left thest option. Belissar took a deep breath and smiled. This was it. A rare room choice! Even theva field was an umon option! So, what exactly would a rare room have to offer?


    <em>Fairy Grove</em>


    <em>Type: Nature, Magic, Field</em>


    <em>Innate Features: Fairy circles</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 40</em>


    <em>Description: A fae forest filled with wonders unseen. Fairy circles dot the forest, concentrating mana for mystical and unpredictable effects. Those who do not watch their step may encounter that which they do not expect, for good or for ill. nts and animals raised in and around the circles may develop along unexpected lines.</em>


    Belissar rubbed his chin. Fairy circles. That was something that most often appeared in children¡¯s stories, signifying grave danger. And while few believed in them after growing up, Tower Lord doctrine specified that all magical phenomenon, including fairy circles, were to be reported immediately without any interaction.


    That the Tower Lords would warn them against such things was enough to convince Belissar that fairy circles were probably real and full of magic and probably not nearly as deadly as the Tower Lords implied¡­even if this option hadn¡¯t straight up confirmed their existence. But well, that didn¡¯t mean Belissar had any idea of what they actually did. Tower Lord approved children¡¯s stories weren¡¯t a reliable source of information, but the description of the option was also sparse on detail. If anything, it was very much hammering the point that the circles were specifically unpredictable.


    That gave Belissar pause. He had seen enough of Juosiutik¡¯s potions exploding to know that magic could indeed be dangerous. In fact, most of the magic he had encountered in his Tower was generally dangerous and violent, just directed towards shades instead of himself. So, introducing unpredictable magic into his Tower seemed¡­risky. But, well, he could walk through ava field unharmed, so perhaps he could trust the Tower to keep that danger aimed at the Hunger.


    But there was one piece of information he could glean from the description: nts and animals raised in this room would develop along unexpected lines. And that meant there was a possibility this room would lead to new flowers and new bees. Unpredictable, magical bees¡­did not sound bad to Belissar at all.


    After reading the descriptions of the rooms, he turned it to those around him.


    ¡°What do you all think?¡±


    The First of the Fifth was the one to dance first this time.


    ¡°Last room¡­new flowers?¡±


    Belissar smiled a bit. He thought the First of the Fifth might catch that as he did.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think so.¡±


    The rest of his bees mostly handed the decision back to him. None of them mentioned the stonebyrinth, for why would they? A few were interested in the Farm after he exined what it would be like, but the First of the Fifth seemed more interested in new flowers than the mass flowers a Farm might offer. And so, Belissar turned to Chief Rohsuak. He rubbed his chin for a second.


    ¡°So¡­um, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve been quiet here because you want me to make choices on my own? I <em>would</em> like to hear if there¡¯s anything you think I should consider. Especially if you¡¯ve heard of fairy circles before, I¡¯ve, um, only heard children¡¯s stories and the description here isn¡¯t very detailed.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak gave him an amused smile and shook her head.


    ¡°You think too much of me, Sacred Den Master. I may have some experience leading my people, but I know little about the inner workings of a Sacred Den, so do not hold my opinion above your own. You defended this Sacred Den before we arrived at it, after all.¡±


    She then rubbed her chin.


    ¡°That said¡­my encounters with fairy circles were fortunately rare. All that I know is that they are not to be trifled with lightly, and so I ensured that my people did not do so. While it is not guaranteed to go badly by any means, we could not afford the risk."


    She frowned and her face turned dark.


    "The other thing I can say is¡­the power of the fairy circles has not stopped the Hunger¡¯s march. So, in that regard, perhaps they are not superior to the power of a Sacred Den, though magic is often not so simple.¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded along. It sounded like the karnuq and the Tower Lords shared a simr view of the fairy circles. But the thought that whatever power the fairy circles possessed still could not stop the Hunger was a sobering one. A reminder of why the gods themselves had to intervene¡­


    And that calmed whatever fears Belissar had in his heart.


    <em>Fairy Grove is now avable.</em>


    Whatever threat the unpredictable Fairy Grove may pose paled inparison to the threat he knew the Hunger posed. And so, he decided to hope that those unpredictable powers would assist him and his bees against whatever dangers the future may hold¡­

 Chapter 131: A Fair-Bee Odd Room

    Chapter 131: A Fair-Bee Odd Room


    The next morning, Belissar set out to set up a Fairy Grove. First, he considered where to ce it. The empty rooms were currently on the second floor, which at the moment only held the Orchard since he had moved the karnuq and Apiary floors up a step each, but he could always rearrange the rooms as necessary. There was an argument for cing the Fairy Grove ahead of the battle meadow so that an invading shade would have to face its unpredictable effects before reaching the bee army. On the other hand, a major reason Belissar chose the Fairy Grove was the promise of new flowers and new bees, in which case it would be better to keep it closer to the Apiary and the bees working there.


    Hypothetically, he could always set up two Fairy Groves, as he had the room slots open. However, the Fairy Grove was the most expensive room he had by far, even more so than the Lava Field. He was notfortable spending that much mana to set up two when he still didn¡¯t know exactly what they did.


    And since he didn¡¯t know exactly what they did, he decided not to overthink it. He went ahead and ced a Fairy Grove off to the side of the Orchard for now. He¡¯d think about moving it elsewhere once they had figured out how it actually fit into his Tower. He also didn¡¯t bother adjusting anything about the room, since he knew he didn¡¯t know enough to know what, if anything, he should change.


    He turned to Niobee.


    ¡°I¡¯m cing the new room by the Orchard. I¡¯m, um, still not sure about where it¡¯s going to go in the end but¡­there¡¯s a chance we¡¯ll use it to defend and we still aren¡¯t sure what will happen with it. So¡­maybe we shouldn¡¯t set up any hives there for a bit, until we know how the room works.¡±


    Belissar then jumped a bit and waved his hands around.


    ¡°Ah, the bees are wee to visit and forage though! They should, in fact!¡±


    Niobee took it in stride with a salute dance.


    ¡°Ok! Will tell queens!¡±As Niobee began to dance and re her mana, Belissar finalized cing the room. From the Tower sight, it looked just like a forest, but with some circles in the ground here and there formed of darker grass. It¡­didn¡¯t seem like all that much from there.


    So, Belissar decided to go check it out in-person. He walked to the Orchard, where a new path had opened in the tree wall along one of the sides. A number of worker bees from the Orchard hives buzzed around the door, turning to him as he approached. Niobee flew over and danced with them.


    ¡°King, Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers want to scout new room! Can?¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded.


    ¡°Sure. Just¡­be careful. We aren¡¯t sure what this room does yet.¡±


    The worker bees saluted and then hovered by Belissar. They followed along as he stepped into the room. At first nce, it appeared to be a forest like any other. Mostly broadleaf trees, close enough to form a canopy but spaced out enough that it wasn¡¯t difficult to walk. The canopy itself covered most of the sky but was sparse enough that light shone down all through the forest, keeping it rtively illuminated. A light breeze blew through on asion, rustling the leaves above. There were bushes and such though that asionally barred Belissar¡¯s way, causing him to twist and turn as he moved towards the closest fairy ring.


    All in all it seemed like a peaceful and pleasant ce, not at all like he¡¯d expect given the warnings. The only thing of note to Belissar was that the mana here was denser and was flowing more actively than in other rooms. Belissar furrowed his brow as he walked. Honestly, with all the stories of fairy circles and the sheer mana cost of the room, he was expecting a bit more than a peaceful forest. Maybe one of the circles themselves might have a more dramatic effect?


    ¡°King?¡±


    At least until Niobee danced in front of his face. Belissar tilted his head.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    She flew a bit unsteadily.


    ¡°Where going? Not going to see circle?¡±


    Belissar was about to respond when he paused, and then started ncing around. His eyes widened slightly. Before he knew it, he was deeper into the forest, surrounded by trees on all sides. The entrance to the Orchard was nowhere in sight. Furthermore, the inconsistent amount of bushes had made him naturally follow a winding path, such that he couldn¡¯t be sure he had headed in a straight direction. And indeed, when he checked with his Tower sight, he found that he had now turned <em>away</em> from the closest fairy circle and was now headed deeper into the room.


    The mana then began to twist and surge. The breeze picked up a bit and the rustling of the leaves grew louder. For a moment, Belissar thought he heard something more than leaves, especially as the wood began to creak and groan. The shimmering light filtering through the canopy above caused lights to flicker and shadows to dance at the edges of his vision, though when he turned his head to look, he found nothing.


    He gulped. It felt as if something, or someone, was there. And this despite the fact that Belissar could use his Tower senses to get a full andplete picture of his surroundings that confirmed that there was nothing else in the room besides his bees and himself. He rubbed his chin.


    ¡°I think¡­there¡¯s something more to this room after all. Um, let the workers know to be careful. It might be easy to get lost in here.¡±


    ¡°Ok, will.¡±


    Well, the bees were flying above the bushes so they wouldn¡¯t have gotten turned around by those at least, but Belissar didn¡¯t want to take any chances. He¡¯d have to keep an eye on this room to make sure the bees didn¡¯t get lost.


    After finding his bearings and taking a deep breath to gather himself, Belissar once again set off towards the closest fairy circle, using his Tower sight to stay on course. Eventually, they arrived. Right in between three trees, obscured by bushes on all sides, was a ring of darkened grass about as wide as Belissar was tall. An easy thing to miss if he hadn¡¯t been specifically looking for it.


    At least, physically speaking. But in terms of mana¡­Belissar¡¯s eyes widened at the sight before him. The flows of mana through the forest all coalesced at this point, forming a twisting and chaotic whirlpool within the circle. Mana generally appeared to Belissar as a colored light. The mostmon mana in the air was a light blue, the mana near the flowers took on a green tone. The Ground mana flower made it brown, while the Lava Field and Fire mana flowers were filled with red. Belissar¡¯s own mana matched that of his bees: a bright and orderly yellow.


    The mana in the circle was a shimmering rainbow, different patches and streams of the mana within it all constantly changing colors independently of one another, creating a dazzingly disy of light and motion to Belissar¡¯s eyes. asionally, a stream of the mana would shoot out from the mass, either flowing back into one of therger rivers of mana in the forest, or into something in the surroundings. Most often the ground, but sometimes the bushes and the trees as well.


    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s where all the mana went¡­¡±


    Belissar turned to see how his bees were responding. The workers were hovering and buzzing around the circle, though remaining at a distance from it.


    ¡°What do you all think?¡±


    One of the workers flew over to Niobee and danced a bit.


    ¡°Says dangerous, but lots of mana. Wants to see if flowers nearby.¡±


    Belissar nodded, and then paused and rubbed his chin, for he had a thought.


    ¡°Niobee, could you ask a gardener toe here?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    He was about to start cing mana flowers and the like, but then thought he should ask a gardener. Not only could the gardeners tell him which of the flowers might like it here best, they could also help spread the flowers themselves. Which might actually be a better option given the purpose of this room. Belissar had not chosen the room to fill it with mana flowers, but to see if flowers raised here might develop differently. On that count¡­maybe it would be better to nt seeds and let them grow the normal way instead of relying on the resource nodes that magically grew the nts in an instant?


    A whileter, Niobee guided one the gardeners to the circle. Belissar turned to her.


    ¡°Could you check this ce out and tell me which flowers you think would like it here?¡±


    The gardener saluted as quickly as she could and then took off. She flew around the circle. Shended on the grass, she dug a bit into the dirt, she flew through the air several times. She even flew into the circle at one point, her antennae twitching every which way.


    After a bit, she came before Belissar and began dancing her results.


    ¡°Any!¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°Any? All the flowers would like it here?¡±


    The gardener paused, her dance slowing down a bit.


    ¡°Area strange¡­but good. Lots of mana, lots of types. Flowers will drink and grow.¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded.


    ¡°In that case, could you help me nt some flowers in this room?¡±


    At that, the gardener took up speed once again, saluting as quickly as she could.


    ¡°Can!¡±


    Belissar began to smile. He had made rooms on his own. He had made rooms for the bees. But now, with the gardeners help, he¡¯d make a room <em>with</em> the bees. So, despite all the questions he still had about this room, he had a feeling it could end up as the best one yet¡­

 POBee 131.1 - The Daily Buzz

    POBee 131.1 - The Daily Buzz


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter drew her attention away from the gardener and scouts she had sent to apany the King. She then turned to amuner standing next to her, one that was not the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s¡­or her own. She could even feel mana flow through the mana of the joint hive and into themuner¡­and then onward to her. She shook herself a bit. The mana still resonated with her, but it tickled now, not flowing as naturally as it did before. Still, it was enough that she could feel the attention of another queen upon her.


    ¡°Queen mother, have news. King built new room as discussed yesterday. Room strange, but gardener says good for flowers. King wants gardeners to help raise many flower types.¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter was still, well, the First of the Fifth¡¯s daughter, and made regr reports to her mother on the state of affairs in her hive as well as the Orchard in general. She felt her mother¡¯s reply through themuner her mother had sent.


    ¡°Amazing, incredible, King is best king! Can take care of room with Orchard hives?¡±


    She danced her salute.


    ¡°Can.¡±


    ¡°Good, then do. Let know if need help. If find new flower types, rmend give to one subordinate queen.¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter saluted once more and then felt her mother¡¯s attention pull away. She then sent word through her own mana for her own daughters to gather. And, thanks to the drone, her mana passed through the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯smuner as well, and then on to the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s daughters. She started a happy dance, seeing once again that the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive could now act as one with her own.


    Which meant she was now well positioned to fulfill the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s duties within the hive of hives in her ce. The new room was fortunately timed for the Orchard queens, their daughters were just getting up and running. Additionally, some of their daughters indicated a desire to see more than the grove they had been born in, no doubt due to the stories their mother told them. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter had so far focused on raising them into excellent queens with well-ordered workers, and so could not allow them to venture abroad.But now? Now there was a brand-new room that was their responsibility. A strange room that was more difficult to traverse than usual, and that had an unpredictable nature. Even the King, in all his wisdom, and the Conduit, with all her experience, did not know what to expect. It would, therefore, make a perfect ce for her daughters to send their first scouts, a chance to explore the unknown without leaving the safety of home, all while fulfilling a task assigned them by the King himself.


    So, she would gather the queens of the joint hive and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯smuner to discuss and organize the scouts and gardeners required. And, while she waited for her children to gather, she gave anothermand.


    ¡°Scouts, visit Flower Meadow. Tell about new room and drone, see if any news from them.¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers had once traveled the breadth of the King¡¯s realm, from the Apiary to the Flower Meadow, seeking news for their curious queen and exchanging information between all the queens of the King. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter took that task upon herself while the Fourth of the Seventh was away, a task she was well suited to given she could speak directly to her mother viamuner. So, all she had to do was send messengers to and from the Bee Barracks and she could remain in contact with the entire hive of hives, ensuring all were up to date on thetest developments. That all knew of the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s brilliance. Who knew that drones held such a power for the hive of hives? Who but the Fourth of the Seventh would have preserved a drone long enough to find out?


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    And, most of all, she would then gather a great deal of new information to share with the Fourth of the Seventh in-person when she finally returned.


    And so, the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter diligently carried out the duties of the joint hive, eager to report her sesses to her partner queen.


    The Firstborn crawled through the Bee Barracks, greeting the various queens as she went. The gardeners had hatched and the Firstborn was waiting to see how they affected honey production before deciding which and how many offspring she wouldy next, so in the meantime she was taking stock of the hive. She¡­had certainly been chastised by the First of the Fifth over the state of her hive, so she had resolved to keep a better eye on what was going on at home from then on.


    She found workers assembled into groups with gardeners dancing before each one. The gardeners had gone through all the flowers of the Flower Meadow and verified their state and were now instructing all the workers of the Bee Barracks on how to maximize both their honey production and the health of the flowers. Notably, the flowers the King had nted by the Memorial apparently required foraging. The Firstborn and the other Flower Meadow queens had held off on foraging from those, for it somehow felt wrong to do so. Apparently, they had been mistaken, and the flowers very much wanted some visits, so they were now arranging to do so.


    The same went for the strange gravilion flower the King had nted, which was both far away and difficult to gather from. But the gardeners discovered it had grown sluggish and quiet due to theck of foraging, which was unfortunate since it was supposed to contribute to the defense. The Flower Meadow queens had thus resolved to ensure it received regr visits.


    All this was yet another reminder of all that the Firstborn had neglected. She had missed much due to her fixation on soldier bees and stingers, including much that had direct relevance to her mission. She turned her gaze to the army training in the field. She once again stood in awe of the huge shadows buzzing overhead. A squad of her own soldiers flew to the bumblebees and rubbed their antennae, causing the bumblebee soldiers to descend. The giant soldiers dove to the ground with a crash as they drove their stingers deep. It had taken some time to figure out how to coordinate with the giants who didn¡¯t seem to dance, but they were now working it out.


    But what a help they would be once they did. The Firstborn was still shocked the bumblebee queens had raised soldiersrger than her ownncers. And they had done so with help from the First of the Fifth, help that had only been possible due to the First of the Fifth¡¯s meticulous focus on honey production.


    And that was why the Firstborn was d to be part of the hive of hives now. Each queen made up for the weaknesses of the other, and all yed their part. The Second of the Sixth worked to heal the woundedncers the Flower Meadow queens had raised. The First of the Fifth helped the bumblebee queens raise soldiersrger than any other, who the Flower Meadow soldiers were now trying to integrate into the army. The Apiary queens continued to donate honey, including a new shipment from the digging queen, so that the Flower Meadow queens could raise soldiers that would fight in the Dirt Tunnels. And in turn, the Flower Meadow¡¯s soldiers now helped the karnuq lift wood and cloth and ropes to build mighty hives as the King had done for them¡­all the while listening to the karnuq¡¯s instructions and taking note of how such things were made.


    For the first time in a while, the Firstborn could say she was satisfied. Her hive still had many ws and was dependent on many others¡­but such was not fatal in the hive of hives. As long as she continued to contribute however she could and raise the army as best she could, the hive of hives would carry the day.


    And speaking of which, she received word that messengers from the Orchard had arrived, bearing news. Yet another symbol of the hive of hives, that the Orchard hive would spread information to the others rather than keeping it themselves. She went to greet them herself, and listened intently as they described the newestnd the King had built. She had no doubt such the room would elevate the hive of hives in new and unforeseen ways¡­


    ¡°Wait, dance that again.¡±


    The Firstborn froze and then stared intently at the messengers as they repeated thest piece of news.


    ¡°Drone that Fourth of the Seventh saved found job. Can bind mana of different hives together, let queensmand other queens¡¯ workers.¡±


    The Firstborn spun around and began a frantic dance to her workers.


    ¡°Assemble the queens! Need talk!¡±


    This changed <em>everything.</em>

 Chapter 132: Resuming Diploma-Bee

    Chapter 132: Resuming Diploma-Bee


    Belissar now nned to let the gardeners handle nting for the Fairy Grove, but he at least checked the flower and resource nts lists to see if there was anything new. There wasn¡¯t¡­but, curiously, the Fairy Grove could grow every nt and mushroom he had avable. Mushrooms otherwise limited to subterranean environments would work as long he ce them in the shade, Ground and Fire mana flowers could grow without any increase in mana cost, and even the underworld phlox previously limited to the area around the Memorial was avable. In fact, all of the nts and mushrooms could be grown here for their base cost, save one.


    <em>Manage flower types? Avable types:</em>


    <em>- Mana Flower (Mana upkeep: 3, 1 due to suitable environment)</em>


    <em>Avable Resource nts for Fairy Grove:</em>


    <em>- Mana Flower (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node, 3 due to suitable environment)</em>


    Mana flowers were notably cheaper here, the first time he had seen their upkeep change. Between that and the Fairy Grove¡¯s ability to grow every other nt, Belissar was tempted to rece the foraging rooms of his Tower, if not for the unpredictable nature of the room and its own high mana cost.


    In any case, Belissar went ahead and enabled mana flowers since the room seemed so favorable to them, though he held off on resource patches for the time being. Some mana flowers began sprouting immediately by the fairy circle he was watching, attracting the worker bees¡¯ attention. Belissar smiled at that and then made his way out of the room¡­keeping close watch through his Tower sight to ensure he was headed the right way¡­


    The night¡¯s purification featured two small bird shades, which were ironically tougher than theirrger counterpart. They both managed to fly through the Dirt Tunnels without being caught in any of the traps¡­only to find the soldier bee army waiting for them. The soldier bees¡¯ training paid off and they were able to form two encirclements around each of the small birds and bring them down. He ended selecting mana again today, wanting to ensure he had enough to add features to the Fairy Grove if needed. And with that, the day came to a close.


    Which meant that it was now time for Chief Rohsuak to meet the skunk people once again. Belissar moved the Lava Field to the side of the battle meadow as he had before so that the karnuq could leave without crossing burning rivers, and then they were off.They safely made their way into the Underway and to the rot cap field, where they found the skunk people waiting for them. Second Queen Berbiya stood with a serious expression on her face.


    ¡°You¡¯re here, good. If you don¡¯t mind, let¡¯s begin right away.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak raised an eyebrow but sat down at the table, along with one of the soldier bees. The soldier bee nced around but no beverages were brought out this time. Second Queen Berbiya nced around at the guards around her before taking a deep breath. Chief Rohsuak broke the silence first.


    ¡°Is something the matter? Forgive me but you seem a bit tense.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya locked eyes on Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°A great deal rests upon the oue of our talk today, Chief Rohsuak.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Indeed. Then, shall we get started?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya nodded back, taking another deep breath.


    ¡°King Ratuatapi has considered your terms and offers this. He is willing to define and map out the current boundaries of his territory, including a reasonable buffer and room for future expansion. He is willing to concede ownership of the surface to the Sacred Den Master but demands that no settlements be established above hisnds without his approval. He likewise demands that he be prioritized and granted first offer should the Sacred Den Master seek to give away thosends to others. He is willing to open up a friendly trade rtionship. But, in turn, he demands that his sovereignty over hisnds be respected in full, and that the Sacred Den Master agree not to interfere with or encroach upon them, even should the Sacred Den Master consider it important to either his defense or his mission. He requires a promise in the name of the Sacred Den Master¡¯s patron that the Sacred Den Master and his servants will never vite our borders under any circumstances, save by explicit invitation of King Ratuatapi himself, and the kings that will seed him. Is the Sacred Den Master willing to ept these terms?¡±


    This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Chief Rohsuak folded her hands. Second Queen Berbiya nced at the soldier bee before holding Chief Rohsuak¡¯s gaze and diverting no further.


    <em>¡°Well, Sacred Den Master Belissar, are you willing to ept this?¡±</em>


    Back at the Tower, Belissar rubbed his chin and frowned.


    <em>¡°Um, I mean it sounds ok? We get the surface and trade as long as we don¡¯t mess with them, right? And¡­something seems weird here, right?¡±</em>


    Chief Rohsuak showed no change on her face even as she replied.


    <em>¡°Yes, though you would have to give up all im to their current territory. There is a risk to allowing someone to do as they please within your Sacred Den¡¯s territory¡­but I agree that something is not right here. Look closely at the Second Queen.¡±</em>


    Belissar did as Chief Rohsuak suggested. Second Queen Berbiya was keeping her face mostly expressionless and gazing intently at Chief Rohsuak¡­but as Belissar focused in he caught a faint quiver to her eyes.


    <em>¡°She¡¯s¡­afraid?¡±</em>


    <em>¡°That¡¯s my understanding as well. Moreover, she is not managing to hide it from us. She has also skipped all hospitality and maneuvering to present her king¡¯s terms immediately.¡±</em>


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    <em>¡°And what does that mean?¡±</em>


    Chief Rohsuak remained quiet for a moment before replying.


    <em>¡°The situation may be dangerous so I will speak inly. I feel that she has a time limit to get us to agree and there will be an oue she wants to avoid if she fails. And given the terms she¡¯s emphasizing¡­they mayunch an attack against you if you reject these terms for fear that you intend to conquer them, either now or in the future.¡±</em>


    Belissar quickly shook his head.


    <em>¡°I don¡¯t! Um, shouldn¡¯t we agree then?! And quickly?!¡±</em>


    Chief Rohsuak didn¡¯t reply right away. But then, she slowly began to nod. Second Queen Berbiya held her breath.


    <em>¡°Yes, I agree if you wish to avoid a conflict. It is not always wise to do so, especially due to ultimatums but¡­in this case, the terms are mostly eptable and include reasonablepromises. The promise they ask for, though, means that you will never be able to go back on your word, so make certain that this is something you will not change your mind on.¡±</em>


    Belissar took a deep breath, holding his chest to try and still his pounding heart. What was there to think on? Was he going to change his mind in the future when war was the alternative? He didn¡¯t see a reason to refuse, particrly not in this circumstance! But Chief Rohsuak had gone out of her way to caution him while she was the one sitting right in front of the skunk people that might attack her, so Belissar tried to calm down and consider it as she said.


    He thought over Second Queen Berbiya¡¯s words. He wouldn¡¯t be able to enter theirnd without permission. At first, he didn¡¯t see why he¡¯d want to¡­until he considered that it would include his bees. So, for example, if they found a flower they liked but that was on the other side of the border, he¡¯d have to ask for permission before his bees could forage from it. And for the no settlements on the surface above¡­maybe that would include beehives? So, no hives there without permission? If he thought about it like that he guessed there was a downside after all. He didn¡¯t like the idea of restricting his bees in thend that they had fought to purify. And the skunk people would attack them over that? Just over the possibility that Belissar might do something to them, when they knew nothing about him and he had no reason to do so? That thought made Belissar clench his teeth.


    But was he going to risk a war over it? Was he going to watch bees die to the skunk people just in case they one day found a flower the skunk people wouldn¡¯t let them have? No, he was not. At the end of the day, Belissar wanted them to leave his Tower and his bees alone. So, it only made sense that he agree to do the same.


    <em>¡°Yes. Do it.¡±</em>


    Chief Rohsuak made a smile.


    ¡°The Sacred Den Master finds those terms eptable, at least as a starting point. We''ll need to discuss the details further before he makes any oaths but you can consider his response as favorable.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya spun around to look at one of the skunk people, who took off running into the tunnel they came from. She then turned around and let out a huge sigh, allowing her shoulders to droop in the process.


    ¡°Thank you, Chief Rohsuak, and Sacred Den Master. I¡¯m immeasurably pleased to hear that.¡±


    She then waved and the skunk people brought out drinks likest time. A small corner of Belissar¡¯s mouth curled up as he watched the soldier bee immediately scramble over and begin drinking from hers.


    Yes, at the end of the day, Belissar just wanted his bees to be happy and safe. So, thest thing he wanted was for them to die in a fight he could avoid. If he could save his bees, then the skunk people could keep whatevernd for all he cared. He had everything he needed right in his Tower.

 Chapter 133: Shall We Do Bees-ness?

    Chapter 133: Shall We Do Bees-ness?


    Second Queen Berbiya calmed down and put on a diplomatic smile once more. It appeared they had averted the oue she was afraid of, so now the talks could resume at a more leisurely pace. Chief Rohsuak returned her smile.


    ¡°King Ratuatapi and his people will, of course, reciprocate in kind, correct? The Sacred Den Master¡¯s authority shall subsequently apply to all current and future purified territory beyond the borders we will decide on, with all the same terms regarding his sovereignty over them and your people¡¯s promise to respect them. Any vition of the Sacred Den Master¡¯s borders by your people, or anyone else using your territory, shall release the Sacred Den Master and his servants from all promises on his part.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened a bit back in the Tower. That¡­was a good point. He definitely didn¡¯t want to promise to leave the skunk people alone if they weren¡¯t going to do the same. He really should have thought of that. But well, that¡¯s why he was d Chief Rohsuak agreed to represent him.


    Second Queen Berbiya paused for a moment when Chief Rohsuak started to speak but kept her smile and then nodded.


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded in turn.


    ¡°Then, shall we discuss the details?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya had one of her people join the conversation with some maps, while Chief Rohsuak invited Metsaitti to join the discussion. Belissar couldn¡¯t follow too closely at that point, but he trusted that the karnuq knew what they were doing as people who had traveled the Underway for a long time. Belissar¡­may have found himself watching the soldier beep up her beverage with no memory of anything spoken in the previous minute. More than once.


    In the end, the talks proceeded along. Chief Rohsuak insisted on terms Belissar again hadn¡¯t thought of, in this case having the skunk people escort them through the proposed borders before finalizing the deal, since neither Belissar nor the karnuq knew what was in that area. This would allow them to map out the area and mark out which parts of the surfacey above. The skunk people would also need to point out any potential issues, such as dangerous wildlife that might cross over the border. All this would allow Belissar to better understand what he was agreeing to¡­and would keep them a little more honest ording to Chief Rohsuak.From there, the talks turned to trade. Belissar paid a bit more attention here, although Chief Rohsuak took the lead on this since most of the trade would likely be between the karnuq and the skunk people. Still, this was where Belissar could acquire benefits for his Tower and his bees. He was particrly interested in whatever beverage Second Queen Berbiya had offered them.


    So, he frowned when the pair started off discussing lumber and minerals. Yes, getting some y or metals and stuff would be nice and honestly pretty useful for expanding his mead making but still! He had specifically requested Chief Rohsuak ask about the drinks! So, he couldn¡¯t help but fidget as the talks went on.


    ¡°¡­should I remind her?¡±


    He trusted Chief Rohsuak, but she and Second Queen Berbiya had reached a lull in their conversation and she still hadn¡¯t mentioned it! Instead, Chief Rohsuak rxed and began to drink from her cup.


    ¡°This seems like a good amount for a first exchange, and we will both need to confirm with our superiors. Why don¡¯t we call it there for the day?¡±


    Belissar jumped.


    <em>¡°C-Chief Rohsuak! What about the drinks?!¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Not to worry, Sacred Den Master. Take a look at the second queen over there.¡±</em>


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Belissar did so and realized that Second Queen Berbiya hadn¡¯t responded. She nced over to the soldier bee at the table. She nced back at Chief Rohsuak, who simply continued drinking in silence. Finally, she spoke.


    ¡°About that¡­King Ratuatapi wishes to know more about the honeb you gifted usst time, and if more may be avable?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak hummed and rubbed her chin.


    ¡°I am not certain. The honeb came from the Sacred Den Master directly, and so I cannot speak for it. Even we don¡¯t often gain ess to it.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya nodded.


    ¡°I understand. Please let him know we are interested, and that King Ratuatapi is open to a direct trade if there is anything he desires.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak then smiled.


    ¡°I will let him know. Off the top of my head¡­he seemed curious in this beverage, particrly after he learned his monster bees enjoyed it. May I ask what it is?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya¡¯s face lit up. She motioned and the skunk people brought over a jar.


    ¡°This is the honeydew from King Ratuatapi¡¯s personal aphid farm, produced by only the finest of our giant aphids. We intended to offer this as a gift for the Sacred Den Master once today¡¯s talks concluded sessfully. We could arrange forrger quantities if the Sacred Den Master is interested?¡±


    Belissar tilted his head. Giant aphids, huh? As far as he was aware, aphids were just a pest that could infest the crops. But, apparently, they made something that the bees liked? Well, that was all Belissar needed to know to want them.


    <em>¡°See if we can get some of those giant aphids.¡±</em>


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°I will ask him. He may be curious about those aphids as well¡­as am I.¡±


    The talks wrapped up after that. Unfortunately, Chief Rohsuak did not manage to acquire aphids yet, but Belissar guess that would have to be for next time? He¡¯d much rather just get it all figured out with one talk. But well, at least he had one jar of honeydewing.


    It probably wouldn¡¯t go very far among his bees, but it was a start. He¡¯d just have to hope that the skunk people would trade with them in the end. It seemed that they also liked his bees¡¯ honey, so hopefully they coulde to an arrangement.


    Belissar then rubbed his chin and hummed a bit. Something Chief Rohsuak had said stayed with him, mainly that not even the karnuq had much ess to mana honey. That, of course, was intentional at first. Belissar hadn¡¯t wanted to give up his bees¡¯ great efforts to the karnuq easily. He just hadn¡¯t trusted them, so he kept close that which he cared about most.


    But now? Belissar wasn¡¯t sure if he fully trusted the karnuq or not. He hadn¡¯t trusted a living person in quite some time. But, so far, the karnuq had been helpful and had made good on their word. They had helped his bees, helping him build the stone beehouses he might otherwise have struggled with. They defeated foes his bees could not. And now they were speaking on his behalf with a new group of people who did not seem nearly as friendly. In retrospect, Belissar had begun relying on them more than he thought. In fact, Chief Rohsuak was the one he turned to whenever he had questions¡­


    His chest ached a bit at that thought, but he shook his head and tried not to get distracted. The point was¡­did he still need to be so wary of the karnuq? And should he offer them more opportunities to acquire honey, especially when he was about to offer some to an outsider? He had that little pit challenge set up for them, but their rtionship had changed dramatically since then. Plus¡­he wasn¡¯t particrly proud of that effort in the first ce.


    As of now, he was offering honey to the karnuq that joined the purifications, though as of yet only Chief Rohsuak had to fight directly, and to karnuq that helped him out in some way, such as Muuraqi with all the mason work. But perhaps he should think of new ways to reward the karnuq. Maybe he could make new challenges and have them resume the daily remnant hunts? Or was there some other way to do it?


    He turned his Tower sight to the karnuq settlement as he pondered. His sight came to rest on Juosiutik¡¯s ce, where Juosiutik was mixing a potion while speaking to a worker bee buzzing around her. He watched bee and karnuq work together for a bit, talking about things he only vaguely understood.


    Maybe¡­he should start thinking of the karnuq more as part of his Tower, rather than as a separate group of people living in it. The bees of the battle meadow had started helping the karnuq with construction without asking anything in return. Juosiutik was sharing her knowledge with the First of the Fifth without any agreements in ce at all. Chief Rohsuak hadn¡¯t asked him for a reward before heading off into the Underway to meet with the skunk people on his behalf.


    Maybe¡­he could trust them after all. Maybe he could let them interact more directly with his bees, as the bees were already starting to do. And maybe, just maybe, he could do something with all those honey trays piling up in the Apiary farmhouse.


    He had a lot to think about as the karnuq expedition made their way back towards the Tower.

 POBee/POBear 133.1 - Colla-Bee-ration Grows!

    POBee/POBear 133.1 - Co-Bee-ration Grows!


    Juosiutik walked out to the side of her home. There, in a small fenced area, was a small garden. Or rather, a mostly empty patch of dirt with a handful of flowers growing. One of them had barely managed to bloom. She frowned and turned to the pair of worker bees flying around her. Apparently, the First of the Fifth wanted her daughter to work with Juosiutik in the future, so both queens currently had a worker apanying her.


    As far as Juosiutik was concerned, the more the merrier.


    ¡°This is quickblossom, a key ingredient in the potion I told you about.¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s worker buzzed her wings as she danced.


    ¡°New flower? Why didn¡¯t give to King?¡±


    Juosiutik¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°I would have, but this is all I have. If I remember correctly, the Sacred Den Master normally needs a few more before he can reproduce them. I¡¯m trying to grow a few myself to make sure he has enough. As you can see, it¡¯s been slow going.¡±


    Juosiutik motioned to the one flower that had bloomed so far.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee to drink from the ones here, though. In fact, I¡¯d be grateful if you would.¡±The worker bees zipped around her.


    ¡°Will send one gardener, Third Daughter will send workers to gather.¡±


    Juosiutik tilted her head.


    ¡°Gardeners?¡±


    ¡°New type of worker. Checks nts, finds what they need, helps spread. Will find best way to forage.¡±


    Juosiutik froze.


    ¡°A bee that¡­can tend to nts? And help spread them.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Need to go now. Talk to Third Daughter if need.¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s worker stopped dancing, but Juosiutik hardly noticed. Her mind was racing with the information the First of the Fifth had just dropped on her. She nced over at her sad little garden, and imagined it filled to the brim with quickblossom¡­and new variants the bees could supposedly help create. She couldn¡¯t help but grin.


    ¡°Bees are amazing.¡±


    A short whileter, a group of bees flew to Juosiutik¡¯s garden. Juosiutik stared at the promised gardener with interest as she flew to the quickblossom, rubbing her fluffy antennae all over while ring her mana. After a bit, the gardener flew over to where the worker bees and Juosiutik were waiting.


    ¡°Not enough mana, hard to grow.¡±


    Juosiutik tilted her head.


    ¡°Really? The ambient mana in the Sacred Den should have been higher then where these were gathered¡­¡±


    ¡°Wrong type. Wants¡­little lightnings?¡±


    Juosiutik¡¯s eyes widened and she slowly nodded.


    ¡°Ah¡­if I remember¡­my¡­mentor said that quickblossom normally blooms after thunderstorms. I¡¯m¡­not sure myself, I never had the chance to see it¡­¡±


    She then frowned.


    ¡°So, it won¡¯t work, then? I haven¡¯t seen a cloud in the sky of the Sacred Den since arriving here¡­¡±


    But, to her surprise, the gardener bee danced a negative.


    ¡°No, is fine. Queen will ask Beero to help.¡±


    Juosiutik paused at that.


    ¡°Um, Beero?¡±


    ¡°Wounded soldier. Makes lightnings with mana now. Queen will ask Fourth of Eighth to help too.¡±


    Juosiutik could only tilt her head at that. There were bees¡­that made lightning? Well, she supposed that these were monster bees created by a Sacred Den.


    ¡°Queen says ok. Beeroing now.¡±


    Juosiutik slowly nodded. She guessed she would see these bees soon enough.


    A short whileter, Juosiutik heard amotion, with karnuq shouting and scrambling about. She looked over to see what the matter was and her eyes widened.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    There, up in the sky, casting arge shadow over the settlement, was thergest bee she had ever seen. A big ball of ck and yellow fuzz flew over the karnuq, its wings causing a loud beating noise heard across the room. The flowers of the field around them swayed in the breeze created by its wings as it began to descend upon the ground¡­right towards Juosiutik, in fact. She couldn¡¯t help but take a step back when the beended right before her. To be fair, now on the ground it hardly came up to her knees, but it was still gigantic for a bee.


    ¡°U-Um, hi?¡±


    The bee crawled about in a circle before ttening itself against the ground and then several more bees crawled off of its back. These were the usual soldier bees, if she considered bees the size of her hand normal now, but with one ring exception. All of them were missing at least one pair of wings¡­and all of them had crackling lightning flowing in ce of those missing wings. One of them crawled to her and started to dance.


    ¡°Hi, am Beero. Heard need lightning?¡±


    It took Juosiutik a second to reply.


    ¡°Ah, um, yes. Hi. I¡¯m¡­Juosiutik, nice to meet you? And, uh, yes, the quickblossom need some lightning, I think?¡±


    She turned to the gardener who flew over and began dancing with Beero. Beero danced a salute and then lead the wounded soldiers to Juosiutik¡¯s garden.


    ¡°How much lightnings?¡±


    ¡°Lots! Normally wants big sky-lightnings!¡±


    Beero danced her salute and then spread the wounded soldiers around one of the quickblossom, the one that had already bloomed. Juosiutik¡¯s eyes went wide as the wounded bees began to dance¡­and their lighting wings crackled. Lightning mana began to form in the air, and then link between the bees. They began to move in a circr dance, causing the lightning mana to spin around as well.


    Bits of lightning then began to shoot off of the circle, pulled into the quickblossom. The flower began to grow before Juosiutik¡¯s eyes, blooming fully. The other flowers around it also began to grow and their buds started to open.


    ¡°They¡¯re¡­casting lightning magic? ¡­bees are really amazing.¡±


    The Firstborn paced about in a circle, buzzing her wings and cleaning her antennae over and over. To her side, a tight ball of red bees buzzed and crawled over each other, the Third of the Sixth presumably somewhere underneath them all, but the Firstborn was paying them no mind. After all, how could she? Her mind waspletely upied with the final guest she was waiting for.


    And there he came. The King himself strode towards the Flower Meadow¡¯s Shrine, standing tall and brightly illuminated by the pseudo-sun he had made overhead, the Conduit flying by his side. The Firstborn came to a stop for but a second before sheunched into salute and apology dances. She had originally wanted to discuss her matter with the Third of the Sixth and the Conduit, but the Conduit had told her to ask the King directly. The Firstborn had objected heavily, but the Conduit stood firm. Or, rather, the Conduit had just left to go get the King herself, leaving the Firstborn no choice but to wait for him.


    ¡°King! Thanks foring! Sorry for calling, shouldn¡¯t have interrupted¡­¡±


    But the King just raised his hand and spoke with that voice that rumbled through her body.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you didn¡¯t interrupt anything. I want you to tell me anything you think of.¡±


    The Firstbornpleted three ¡°King best king!¡± dances before she caught herself and proceeded to stop wasting the King¡¯s time. The ball of bees stopped climbing over each other and spread out, revealing the Third of the Sixth shivering underneath.


    ¡°Yes! Had idea, w-wanted to ask if ok?¡±


    The King smiled at her with all his kindness and grace.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯d love to hear it.¡±


    She stopped herself from celebrating and proceeded.


    ¡°Spoke with First of the Fifth, rmended specializing queens. Can usetest delivery to. Means won¡¯t use honey for soldiers, some queens will be evolving too, so less new soldiers. If King nning battle, then won¡¯t. Also, want to raise burning queen, but would need to move to new room. Wanted to ask if King and Third of Sixth approve, burning queen will follow Third of the Sixth if so.¡±


    She had spoken with the First of the Fifth and heard how the Apiary queens had been specializing. She also reflected on the Second of the Sixth assisting them with all her medicinal hive, and the Third of the Sixth moving into the Lava Field, which may one day face the shades before the Flower Meadow. At this point, she felt it would be beneficial for the hive of hives if some of the Flower Meadow queens started specializing as well. In addition to diversifying the army and reducing the burden on the Apiary queens, there were some honey and bee types that just didn¡¯t fit well within a mixed hive. Most notably burning bees like the Third of the Sixth, whose home was too hot for any other kind of bee and who was now feeling chilly in the regr temperatures of the Flower Meadow. Or the Dirt Tunnels, where most regr bees couldn¡¯t fight on ount of the darkness and tight quarters. The Flower Meadow queens were about to raise some digging soldiers but realized that depending on Ground mana honey donations from the one digging queen in the Apiary would restrict the number of such soldiers they could raise, a major problem when those soldiers would have to fight alone in their intended environment. As such, it made more sense to use that honey to evolve a queen who could then keep the digging soldiers¡¯ numbers up.


    Of course, all of this was contingent on the King and the Third of the Sixth¡¯s approval. The Firstborn would not allow her ideas to interfere with the grand designs of the King, of course. And the Third of the Sixth was now the queen of the Lava Field, so it only made sense to check with her before any other queen moved into her territory. She could only tremble as she awaited the King¡¯s judgement. Not only had she called the King from his work to propose this idea, but she was also a queen who had failed at her duties more than once. What merit did her ideas and ns have? How did she dare waste the King¡¯s time with them? She knew that he, as gracious and kind as he was, often sought their opinions, and that was the only reason she dared to dance at all now. But now, she could not help but feel she had made a grave mistake¡­


    But the King just kept smiling at her and nodded.


    ¡°That sounds like a great idea. What about you, Third of the Sixth? I can add new beehives so you won¡¯t need to share yours.¡±


    The Third of the Sixth was already dancing.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    The King nodded at her and turned his smile back to the Firstborn.


    ¡°Sounds like it¡¯s settled, then. Let me know if you need any help, I also have extra honey if you need it.¡±


    The Firstborn danced a refusal with all her might. The King already graciously shared his tribute with them during the victory celebrations, she could not possibly ask him for more.


    ¡°Haha, ok. Great work, both of you. I look forward to seeing the queens!¡±


    It took the Firstborn a while to get to it, though, for her mind went nk for quite a while at this turn of affairs.

 Chapter 134: Bee Friendly!

    Chapter 134: Bee Friendly!


    The bumblebee soldier stood before Juosiutik¡¯s house. She began to groom herself, if only to have something to do. The little queens had asked her to fly here with the little soldiers, and that she had done. Now, the little soldiers asked her to stay here. So, that¡¯s what she did.


    The bear-King things were watching her, but she paid them no mind. She could smell the King¡¯s mana on them, though fainter than on her sister bees, so she knew they were part of the same hive. So, she focused on her grooming, brushing her hair and antennae with her legs.


    But then, one of the bear-King thing made a move. It was smaller than the others, though still taller than herself. The bumblebee soldier might have thought it was a worker but there weren¡¯t enough bear-King things its size for that to be true, unless the bear-King hive was preparing for a winter hibernation. That was a bit confusing, since the bumblebee soldier didn¡¯t notice any signs of the seasons changing, but she was just a soldier so winter preparations weren¡¯t her job in the first ce.


    And neither was figuring out what the small bear-King thing was, so she went back to her grooming. At least, until the bear-King thing got closer.


    ¡°Um, hi?¡±


    The bumblebee soldier turned towards the bear-King thing, the King¡¯s mana telling her this was a greeting. She responded in kind, buzzing her wings and releasing friendly pheromones. The bear-King thing tilted its head. The bumblebee soldier wasn¡¯t sure what that meant, so she went back to grooming herself.


    Then, the small bear-King thing slowly crept forward, reaching out her upper legs. The bumblebee soldier paused as the bear-King thing touched her hairs.


    ¡°It¡¯s fuzzy.¡±


    The King¡¯s mana indicated the small bear-King thing was expressing happiness as it began to help the soldier groom, brushing her hairs. The bear-King thing¡¯s upper legs were warm and felt pleasant. The bumblebee soldier knew that mutual grooming could help clean spots she had trouble reaching, so she began to groom the bear-King thing as well, rubbing her legs across it. The bear-King thing made a noise that was also tranted as happiness.¡°It tickles!¡±


    There was somemotion in the other bear-King things but then most of them began to disperse and return to their work. As did the bumblebee soldier, continuing to groom the small bear-King thing¡­and other bear-King things that began to approach her.


    Belissar went over to the karnuq settlement, hoping to ask for Muuraqi¡¯s help. The Third of the Sixth could help provide Fire mana honey and fireproof wax for a Flower Meadow queen to evolve, but all that Fire mana honey would dramatically increase the temperature of its surroundings. Even with the fireproof wax, it would make the Bee Barracks ufortable for the rest of the bees if stored there. Belissar decided that it would be worthwhile to build a small stone structure where a queen could evolve without impacting the rest of the barracks, and with no risk of starting any fires.


    On the way, he saw a bumblebee soldier outside of Juosiutik¡¯s house, surrounded by a couple of karnuq children who were petting it. The soldier seemed to enjoy the attention and was petting the children back. Belissar couldn¡¯t help but smile¡­and note that the bumblebees enjoyed pets. That was knowledge he nned to act on as soon as hepleted his present tasks.


    Chief Rohsuak soon met with him.


    ¡°Hello, Sacred Den Master, how can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Hello, I was wondering if Muuraqi was avable? I¡¯m trying to build some stonework, a small one.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled and nodded her head.


    ¡°For you, he is avable anytime, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the vition.


    Belissar smiled back.


    ¡°Great! Ah, I¡¯ll give him some mana honey for the trouble, along with anyone else whoes to help.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak¡¯s expression waved for but a moment before resuming her smile.


    ¡°That is most generous of you, Sacred Den Master. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll appreciate it.¡±


    Belissar then realized this was a good moment to pitch another idea he had.


    ¡°Also¡­you¡¯ve done a lot for me recently, talking to the skunk people and stuff. I feel like that could have gone badly if you hadn¡¯t been there, so, um, thank you.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew but she shook her head.


    ¡°Think nothing of it, Sacred Den Master. Those negotiations heavily concerned us as well, it is only natural we lent you our support.¡±


    But this time Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°Still, I really appreciate the help. So, I was thinking maybe I could set up a beehouse feature by your house? They produce honey even without any bees somehow so you¡¯d get a tray each day. Um, if you want it, that is.¡±


    ¡°YES!¡±


    Belissar gasped as Chief Rohsuak pounced forward and sped both his shoulders with her hands¡­only to quickly flinch and jump back as Niobee and the soldier bees began buzzing and moving in. She quickly waved her hands and then cleared her throat.


    ¡°Um, sorry for that, I did not mean any harm or disrespect. What I meant was¡­I would be most honored.¡±


    Belissar shook his head a bit and then nodded.


    ¡°Got it. Um, I should mention that it would just be regr honey unless some of the bees move in. And, um, since I don¡¯t know how it¡¯s even making the honey, I don¡¯t know exactly how good it will be. I, um, told the bees to give you space on this floor, but¡­¡±


    Belissar nced over at the bumblebee soldier and the karnuq children.


    ¡°¡­if you¡¯re willing to share the space and the flowers and take care of the bees, I could see if there are any willing to move in?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak stood still for a moment, blinking a couple of times. Then, she made the widest smile Belissar had seen yet.


    ¡°We would be honored that you would trust us to that degree, Sacred Den Master. If you and your bees wish to dwell if us, I swear to ensure theirfort and safety.¡±


    Belissar was about to reply¡­but someone else beat him to it.


    <em>New mission received: Teach the karnuq the art of beekeeping.</em>


    His eyes widened. Chief Rohsuak tilted her head.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master? Is something the matter?¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°No¡­just the opposite, in fact. It seems the God of Bees approves of this¡­and wants me to teach you beekeeping.¡±


    Now it was Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes that opened wide. Then, she knelt down and bowed her head.


    ¡°We would be most honored.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°In that case¡­maybe we should do more than just one hive? Um, the God of Bees said she wants the karnuq to learn, so maybe more of your people can help too, then.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°This is your area of expertise, Sacred Den Master, both beekeeping and fulfilling the will of the gods. Please, instruct us as you see fit and we will do whatever you say. If you wish, I will gather as many of our people as you need.¡±


    At this point, Niobee flew before him.


    ¡°King! Bees help too!¡±


    Belissar smiled and held out his hand for Niobee tond on.


    ¡°Thanks, Niobee, I know you¡¯ll always help.¡±


    Belissar then rubbed his chin with his other hand.


    ¡°Ok. I think¡­I¡¯d like a bit of time to think about how to do this. You, um, are also talking with the skunk people again tomorrow, right? Um, is there another name for them besides skunk people?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Yes, we n to work out the final details. They have not named themselves yet but perhaps they will once the final agreement is in ce.¡±


    Belissar nodded back.


    ¡°Ok, maybe we¡¯ll start the day after, then?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak hummed.


    ¡°About that¡­Sacred Den Master, I do need to ask you something. You are aware that you and King Ratuatapi will need to confirm the final agreement, right? And since it is supposed to include you promising in the name of the God of Bees¡­you will likely need to invite them into the Sacred Den toplete the deal in-person. Would you agree to this?¡±


    Belissar paused, and then his face fell. So, he would have to speak to them himself after all. He had hoped that Chief Rohsuak might be able to handle everything, but apparently not. He was about to agree¡­but then he had a thought.


    ¡°So, they have toe into the Tower before agreeing? Could that be dangerous? There¡¯s a chance they were nning to attack us, right?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded with a solemn expression.


    ¡°Indeed. And since you will be there before them, that would be their best chance to attack as well. It is indeed dangerous.¡±


    She then nced back at the bumblebee soldier and smiled.


    ¡°On the other hand, it will be on your territory and your terms. You will have all of us and all your bees at your disposal. We can negotiate limits on who they can bring for that very reason¡­and even the gods would disapprove if they used such an asion for treachery. It is still not without risk, but so long as we prepare I believe we can maintain control of the situation.¡±


    Belissar frowned¡­but slowly nodded.


    ¡°In that case¡­I¡¯ll, um, do what I have to. Just¡­make sure they know I won¡¯t forgive them if they hurt the bees.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak made a fierce grin as she narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°No, we would not.¡±

 Chapter 135: Bee-hold the King!

    Chapter 135: Bee-hold the King!


    A couple of days passed. Belissar and Muuraqi built a small stone chamber for burning queens to evolve in, then Belissar tried to keep himself busy nning for the beekeeping lessons. He did not start on them though, for he was preupied with the ongoing negotiations. He, the karnuq, and the bees had many discussions on what preparations they could make, then spent much time and effort making the preparations decided on. Not only he and Chief Rohsuak, but all the karnuq and the bees had a role to y.


    In the meantime, Chief Rohsuak met again with Second Queen Berbiya to hammer out the final details of the deal, to tour the proposed borders, and to arrange for Belissar and King Ratuatapi to make the final agreement. As Chief Rohsuak predicted, the skunk people requested to visit the Sacred Den and observe Belissar make his promise before the Shrine of Bees. Chief Rohsuak and the second queen then had animated discussions on the details of that visit, particrly how many guards King Ratuatapi would bring along with him.


    But eventually, they worked it out. Neither side wanted to waste any time, either, so they set the date for the day after that talk. That day was now here.


    Belissar frowned as he held his arms out.


    ¡°Is this really necessary?¡±


    Metsaitti nodded as he ced a heavy fur coat across Belissar¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Even a cave panther can be intimidated by a fearsome appearance. This is a weapon as well, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    Belissar could only take the karnuq¡¯s word for it as they dressed him up. It turned out they didn¡¯t initially have much clothing in his size, so the karnuq had done a rush job adjusting everything. They had no choice, though, since Belissar¡¯s own wardrobe was limited to worn tunics¡­and that was before he had be a Sacred Den Master with nothing but the one on his back.


    He now wore a far newer tunic and pants under the fur coat Metsaitti had just put on him. He was adorned with pieces of honeb built in the shape of bees directly by the workers. On his head, he had a crown of woven mana flowers, still faintly glowing. Metsaitti then handed him a spear that was just a bit toorge for him, but he managed to hold it upright. Metsaitti nodded.¡°Almost ready. Just need your own touch.¡±


    Belissar took a deep breath and then turned to his ever-presentpanion hovering around him.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Niobee danced happily about.


    ¡°King is best king!¡±


    Belissar chuckled and then inclined his head towards her. Niobeended right on his head, while worker beesnded on the mana flower crown. He then straightened himself and took another deep breath.


    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s go.¡±


    A karnuq emerged from the Underway, leading King Ratuatapi¡¯s procession. The group consisted of thirty of his finest warriors, no longer dressed for stealth in the Underway, but in the finest armor they had avable. Metalbined with chitin and dyed silk, forming ck and red shells over ck and white fur, with spears, shields, and swords of simr colors. Second Queen Berbiya walked with Fourth Queen Pezuya at the head of the procession, Berbiya in her silk dress and Pezuya in full battle garb.


    And at their center, riding on a giant rhinocerous beetlerger than a cow, was King Ratuatapi himself. He was a young man just shy of two decades, with a handsome face and immactely groomed fur. He wore a silver crown with arge diamond set in the center and shining armor over a fine silk robe. He was also ncing around, his eyes and mouth wide open as he took in his first ever view of the surface.


    The rest of their entourage did likewise, save for the most disciplined of the guards. Second Queen Berbiya herself could not help a small gasp after her eyes adjusted to the blinding light. The sun shone down on them, lighting up the world in a way no light crystal ever could. All around them were trees,rger nts than she ever thought possible, reaching to the sky not by clinging to rock walls but on the strength of their own trunks. The entire world was filled with green and brown.


    It was, more than anything, clear proof that a Sacred Den had been at work. Not a single person lived among them that had seen the surface with their own eyes, until now. Second Queen Berbiya couldn¡¯t help but nce at the fourth queen beside her. Fourth Queen Pezuya¡¯s hand tightened around her sword as even her eyes opened wide.


    ¡°The true power of a Sacred Den.¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Fourth Queen Pezuya turned to nce at her, then frowned.


    ¡°The power of the gods, not of the man.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya frowned right back.


    ¡°A man acknowledged by those same gods.¡±


    Fourth Queen Pezuya said nothing in reply. Second Queen Berbiya furrowed her brow. She had not wanted the fourth queen toe to what was sure to be a delicate meeting, but what could she do? The Fourth Queen led their n guard, she could hardly be prevented from escorting their king into the jaws of a Sacred Den.


    Her anxious feeling only grew as their karnuq guide led them into a clearing, where they got their first glimpse of the Sacred Den. King Ratuatapi¡¯s eyes went wide once more¡­but not Pezuya¡¯s. The fourth queen smiled.


    ¡°Not so big after all¡­¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya red at Pezuya before ncing at their guide. But if the karnuq had heard them, he did not respond. Instead, he led them up to the Sacred Den and opened the gate. Fourth Queen Pezuya stopped and turned.


    ¡°This is it. Are you ready, Your Majesty?¡±


    King Ratuatapi took a deep breath and spoke with all the gravitas he could muster.


    ¡°Proceed.¡±


    And with that, they stepped inside. Inside, they found a meadow filled to the brim with flowers, a colorful rainbow stretching across the ground. Two columns of karnuq warriors stretched out before them, holding spears at attention. At the end of the two columns was arge throne made of stone, rising right out of the flowers. To the left side of the throne was a statue holding a glowing sphere and a wax chest, likely the shrine of the Sacred Den¡¯s patron given that it matched the yellow banners on the Sacred Den¡¯s exterior. To the right side stood Chief Rohsuak, now standing tall. The air shimmered around her, even from a distance Berbiya could feel the heat emanating off of her. Berbiya¡¯s eyes widened a bit, Chief Rohsuak had not disyed much mana in their talks.


    Fourth Queen Pezuya, on the other hand, frowned as she gazed upon the throne, for it was empty.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this? Where is the Sacred Den Master?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya was about to chide her and apologize, but Chief Rohsuak simply smiled.


    ¡°He will arrive shortly. May I assume that is King Ratuatapi?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya stepped forward before the fourth queen could say anything.


    ¡°Yes, and thank you for weing us today. May I present King Ratuatapi, head of n Ratuatapi, rule of all Sigmaka.¡±


    She felt Pezuya re at her but she kept her eyes forward. Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew and she inclined her head to King Ratuatapi.


    ¡°Greetings, King Ratuatapi, and wee to the Sacred Den. Allow me to introduce the Sacred Den Master. If you¡¯ll wait but a moment¡­¡±


    Chief Rohsuak then burst into mes. Both Second Queen Berbiya and Fourth Queen Pezuya took an involuntary step back at the heat. Before Pezuya could react, Chief Rohsuak then lifted her hand up into the sky, a bright ball of light rush from it into the air. It burst and covered the sky in red mes, causing the newest of the n guard to crouch down while the more experienced gathered around King Ratuatapi. The king himself was clearly sweating.


    But the fire died down as quickly as it appeared. Pezuya grabbed the hilt of her sword.


    ¡°What is the meaning of¡­¡±


    But she was cut off, for then they heard the buzzing. A cloud appeared in the distance, rushing towards them across the sky. As it grew closer, they saw ck and yellow stripes cover the air, with asional other colors such as bluish-green and purple mixed in here and there. Berbiya¡¯s eyes widened as she realized what she was looking at it.


    A swarm of bees,rge enough to blot out the sun.


    Fourth Queen Pezuya tightened the grip on the hilt of her sword. The sigmaka entourage began to back up, even Second Queen Berbiya couldn¡¯t help herself. The cloud continued to fly at them at full speed.


    But then, the swarm stopped. It split apart, bees swirling around each other in twisting rivers of ck and yellow. Then, they began to form up. The bees began to assemble into squares of perfectly space rows, the squares forming a checkerboard across the sky. One of the n guard¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Fourth Queen¡­they¡¯re organized¡­¡±


    ¡°Steady. Organized or not, they¡¯re just bees¡­¡±


    But Fourth Queen Pezuya trailed off even before she finished. The whole formation began to descend towards them, and individual bees began to grow visible. They grewrger¡­andrger¡­andrger still. Second Queen Berbiya gulped as she realized that this swarm was not of worker bees, but of the soldier bees asrge as her hand that she had seen during the negotiations. The karnuq, for their part, did not react at all, even as the bees began to hover over and around them. Soon, there was a formation of bees on all sides save their rear, with additional formations arranged at a short distance further beyond. Each hovering in ce, not an antennae out of ce as entire formations move in perfect sync with one another.


    ¡°Fourth Queen¡­what do we do? This is not what we nned for¡­¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya barely heard the n guard over the loud buzzing of bees all around, but once she did she quickly spun towards the fourth queen. She found Pezuya¡¯s face turning pale as the fourth queen nced around at the soldier bee army assembling all around them, as well as to Chief Rohsuak who was still d in mes, and the karnuq warriors all around them.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya quickly strode over and sped Pezuya on the shoulder, making the fourth queen turn to face her. Berbiya looked right into her eyes.


    ¡°It is no matter, for we are here to confirm the agreement, and establish peace between us. Isn¡¯t that right, King Ratuatapi?¡±


    Berbiya looked back towards their king, who was drenched in sweat and gulping.


    ¡°Y-Yes, that¡¯s right!¡±


    Pezuya nced towards their king, then looked back at Berbiya with wide eyes that quivered for a moment. Her face fell and she took a deep breath.


    ¡°Yes¡­as the kingmands¡­¡±


    And then, from the midst of the formation, she saw him. A man sat on a woven sheet, held in the air from its four corners by thergest bees she had ever seen, big enough to reach her past her knees, maybe even up to her waist. The bees lowered the sheet down directly on the throne and he sat upon it, slowly rising to his feet as the four giant beesnded on the ground around it. On top of his head was a bee about the size of the soldiers all around them, but as the man rose it began to glow bright as a light crystal.


    ¡°Wee to the Bee Tower. I am its keeper, Belissar, and I wee you here today.¡±


    And so, King Ratuatapi and the sigmaka finally met the Sacred Den Master¡­

 Chapter 136: Securing Bee-ceful Relations

    Chapter 136: Securing Bee-ceful Rtions


    Belissar held in the urge to gulp as he stood before the skunk people, or the sigmaka as they called themselves. It had taken much, <em>much</em> practice for the bumblebee soldiers to ce him on the throne without him stumbling, but fortunately he had pulled it off here. He still could not help sweating at the many, <em>many</em> eyes turned his way. The bees once again saved him, as the workers crawling over his crownpped up his sweat before it could drip down his face.


    Fortunately, the sigmaka appeared as nervous as he felt. King Ratuatapi did not have bees top up his sweat as he disembarked from his mount and stepped forward.


    ¡°I am King Ratuatapi. Thank you for weing us today, Sacred Den Master Belissar. I¡­hope that we may establish peace and prosperity between our peoples.¡±


    Belissar blinked as King Ratuatapi nearly stumbled over his words. He didn¡¯t know how the sigmaka aged, but if they were anything like humans then King Ratuatapi appeared simr in age to himself, possibly even a few years younger. He had been trying to steel himself to face some sort of wise and experienced ruler¡­though, for all he knew King Ratuatapi could still be far more experiencedpared to himself even if younger. Still, the way King Ratuatapi sweated and kept ncing around at the bees at least reassured Belissar he wasn¡¯t the only one ufortable here.


    He used his Tower sight to nce at the bees without moving his eyes, as rmended by Chief Rohsuak, and took heart from the soldier bee army hovering around him. He then deployed yet another tactic rmended by Chief Rohsuak to reply: nodding slowly with a light hum while he tried to remember what he was supposed to say.


    ¡°Then¡­shall we proceed?¡±


    He just managed to remember to swing an open hand towards the Shrine of Bees¡­and managed to catch himself before his usual ¡°um.¡± He then had to resist the urge to sigh. This was all very exhausting.


    King Ratuatapi nodded slowly as well. Second Queen Berbiya and Chief Rohsuak then led their respective rulers towards the Shrine of Bees, with the armored sigmaka and karnuq warriors following along. Belissar and King Ratuatapi walked up to the shrine alone¡­save for Niobee and the other bees on Belissar¡¯s person. Chief Rohsuak had told him something about the order mattering or something but Belissar just wanted to finish up already so he went ahead and started.


    ¡°I, Belissar, Keeper of the Bee Tower, swear in the name of my patron, the God of Bees, to honor the deal agreed on today. To respect thend, the borders, and the sovereignty of King Ratuatapi, his n, and his people, and never to vite them without permission, so long as neither King Ratuatapi, his n, or his people harm my people or vites my borders, nor allows any other to do so from hisnds.¡±Fortunately, Chief Rohsuak could remind him of the exact wording as he spoke it. Well, she had him do his best to memorize it on his own, but apparently the exact wording was very important here so they both agreed not to take any chances. Chief Rohsuak had fought hard for the various conditions within the oath, after all, so it would not due if Belissar forgot them or identally left a hole by forgetting a specific word.


    Upon finishing the final word, the Shrine of Bees began to glow, pulsing once with light before falling dim once more. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as he felt something settle upon him and constrict around his heart, and it took all his self-control not to begin trembling. It appeared an oath sworn before the shrine of a god was not to be taken lightly. He was once again d that Chief Rohsuak had helped with this and worked so hard on the exact wording.


    King Ratuatapi jumped a bit when the Shrine of Bees glowed, then gulped.


    This novel''s true home is a different tform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°I, King Ratuatapi, rule of n Ratuatapi and of all sigmaka, swear in the name of my ancestors and on the lives of my people, with the God of Bees as witness, to honor the deal agreed on today. To respect thend, the borders, and the sovereignty of Sacred Den Master Belissar, and the mission he performs on behalf of the gods, and never to vite them without permission, so long as neither Sacred Den Master Belissar or his servants harm my people or vite mynds, nor allows any other to do so from hisnds.¡±


    The Shrine of Bees pulsed once again. King Ratuatapi apparently could not control himself and shivered lightly. Then, both he and Belissar turned to one another and shook hands, nodding at each other silently.


    Chief Rohsuak smiled and held up her hand, creating a bright and color me around it.


    ¡°Let our peoples know peace!¡±


    The karnuq all mmed the butts of their spears against the ground and cheered. The bees all began to buzz their wings, filling the air with a thunderous roar as the buzzingbined into one.


    Second Queen Berbiya nodded.


    ¡°Let our people know peace!¡±


    She then red at Fourth Queen Pezuya. The Fourth Queen limply drew her sword and raised it into the air. One by one, the sigmaka guards followed her and lifted up a cheer of their own.


    And so, Belissar and King Ratuatapi agreed to peace.


    After the oaths, the karnuq brought out a couple of tables to hold a small banquet with all the best food they could prepare, along with some mana honey courtesy of Belissar and the bees. Second Queen Berbiya, on the other hand, had arranged for some gifts as well, so the sigmaka made their own contributions. Karnuq and sigmaka then intermingled and sat amongst each other, while severalrge bowls of honey and honeydew were set aside for the bees. Belissar and King Ratuatapi sat next to each other at a smaller table. Neither of them said anything as they ate and drank. They were supposed to show off the two leaders being friendly, Chief Rohsuak said, but Belissar couldn¡¯t think of anything to say.


    Fortunately, King Ratuatapi broke the silence first.


    ¡°So¡­you like bees, huh?¡±


    Belissar jumped a bit but managed to calm himself and nodded.


    ¡°Yes. Yes, I do.¡±


    He smiled a bit at Niobee, who waspping up a bowl of honeydew next to Belissar¡¯s te. She stopped for a second to dance happily at the attention before resuming herpping¡­all the while keeping her eyes on their guest.


    King Ratuatapi watched her as well, and nced at the bees still crawling on Belissar¡¯s flower crown.


    ¡°I¡¯m truly impressed. My ancestors supposedly tried to tame monster bees in the far past, but never managed to do so before we made our way underground. We had to stick with aphids, since even the giant ones are docile.¡±


    Belissar turned to face King Ratuatapi.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯d like to hear more about those aphids. The bees love their honeydew¡­oh, and we do as well.¡±


    King Ratuatapi smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯m d, I raised the ones that made that jar myself. Well, I say raised, but the aphids mostly do their own thing. We just have to make sure they¡¯re healthy and well-fed and they take care of the rest for us.¡±


    Belissar nodded along.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same for bees, actually. My¡­mentor always said the bees will be bees regardless of whether we¡¯re there or not. We just do our best to give them a nice home and help them deal with any problems, and then let them do their thing.¡±


    King Ratuatapi grinned.


    ¡°Sounds like my mentor as well.¡±


    From there, Belissar and King Ratuatapi started discussing the intricacies of beekeeping and giant aphid ranching, to the approving nods of Chief Rohsuak and Second Queen Berbiya. The second queen, for her part, turned to the woman beside her. Fourth Queen Pezuya was staring down at her te and mumbling.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this better, Fourth Queen?¡±


    The fourth queen lifted her head up just enough to re at her.


    ¡°Better? You call us dooming ourselves to subjugation by a domineering force we cannot contend with ¡®better¡¯?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya gave her a sharp look.


    ¡°Compared to the alternative? Yes, yes I do. Which is why I worked so hard to bring about this oue, you know, and why the First Queen agreed with me in the end. As long as no one breaks the agreement, there shall be no subjugation period.¡±


    She then made a mischievous smile.


    ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t seem to hate that honeb there. If you are so opposed to our new neighbors, perhaps I should take the evidence of our doom off your te?¡±


    The fourth queen looked away with a huff, but also protectively crouched over her te. Second Queen Berbiya let out a light giggle before turning her eyes back to her own te. For the first time since the Sacred Den was discovered, she could truly enjoy her meal. Her eyes lit up as she bit into a huge chunk of honeb.


    And what a meal it was.

 POG 136.1 - Bees Best Friend

    POG 136.1 - Bees'' Best Friend


    Tarwantrad looked away with her arms cross and her cheeks puffed. Urubran smirked. Tarwantrad nced at him, saw his smirk, and turned away with another huff. Urubran chuckled and shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Tarwantrad¡­or, well, I¡¯m not, but I do understand this is upsetting for you.¡±


    She clenched her teeth.


    ¡°¡­how? <em>How</em> did you get the blessing before me?!¡±


    Urubran shrugged and then smiled, his eyes full of mirth. Tarwantrad scowled.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t you say it¡­¡±


    ¡°I built a home for the bees¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say it!¡±


    ¡°¡­and made them happy.¡±Tarwantrad grabbed her hair, pulled, and screamed, drawing looks from pedestrians and other caf¨¦ patrons.


    ¡°How?! How are your bees happier than mine?! All you did was stack some rocks and dead wood together! I wove together a wonderful grove of their favorite flowers, right into the walls of their home!¡±


    Urubran raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who told me they actually prefer flowers a bit further away from their hive, though?¡±


    Tarwantrad sped her mouth shut to try and hold in her next scream. Urubran chuckled once more and then began to rub his chin. He decided he should probably stop teasing her there if he ever wanted her to speak to him again.


    ¡°Hm, you know, that¡¯s probably it.¡±


    Tarwantrad narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°What is?¡±


    Urubran looked up at her, now with a serious expression.


    ¡°We both know it¡¯s unlikely my bees are happier than yours, and we both know it¡¯s impossible your bees are unhappy in the first ce. So, the key is probably in the homes.¡±


    Tarwantrad crossed her arms once again.


    ¡°Are you saying your bee home is better than mine?¡±


    Urubran shook his head.


    ¡°We both know that you know bees better. The home you made is probably better too. But¡­I built mine myself.¡±


    Tarwantrad furrowed her brow.


    ¡°What are you¡­¡±


    But her eyes started to widen as she trailed off. Urubran sped his hands together.


    ¡°Let me guess¡­did you use your blessing to form the home?¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    Urubran smiled a bit as Tarwantrad stared off into space with wide eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably it. It¡¯s not about making the best possible home for the bees¡­it¡¯s about doing something for the bees that fits the God of Bees. Using your blessing to grow flowers would probably fall more into your patron¡¯s domain than the God of Bees'', if I had to guess?¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s face fell as she slumped forward. She then whispered in a barely audible voice.


    ¡°Can you¡­show me what you did? I, um, don¡¯t know how to build things.¡±


    Urubran¡¯s smile grew.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do you one better.¡±


    He held out his hand and a me grew above it. The me spread and thinned out until it was more light than heat, and then the light flickering in its center began to shift and swirl, turning into an image. An image of a box made out of wood. Tarwantrad looked up, and then tilted her head.


    ¡°What¡­is this?¡±


    Urubran shrugged.


    ¡°Got it from the God of Bees. It¡¯s called Belissar¡¯s Beehouse.¡±


    The Queen of All Bees¡¯ awareness slowly grew as she tried to move her groggy body. She shook herself and waved her abdomen about to try and boost her breathing. She spread her wings out, trying to soak up as much sun as possible. Bees milled in confusion all around her, with some of the guard bees opening and retracting their mandibles over and over.


    She soothed them as soon as she could. She knew that their instincts told them that bees showing signs of sickness or poisoning were to be removed from the hive by all means necessary¡­but that she, as the Queen of All Bees, could not be removed. She may, in fact, need tomunicate to them that not all poisoning is worth a death sentence.


    Indeed, this sort of poisoning could even be desirable.


    This was not the first time the Queen of All Bees had tasted alcohol. The various nt gods who made use of her services had shared with her their wines and ales before, but this was different. This was <em>mead</em>, an alcohol made from honey. That was, therefore, made with the help of bees. That could <em>only</em> be made with the help of bees. It was, therefore, an alcohol fully within her domain¡­and therefore one that could affect her deeply. That spread to her innermost being, such that she took on its properties to represent them in full.


    Once again, Belissar had proven himself her best dungeon master, even if he had not been her only. She had been only vaguely aware of mead, having never been offered it by a follower before.


    Now¡­well now she had <em>ns</em>. ns based on an aspect of her being that was new even to her. She now understood why the various gods kept asking her to take it up¡­and now she nned to delivery.


    Yet another thing her best dungeon master would need to be rewarded for. And now, that moniker had begun to take on meaning. She may not have been their main patron, but she had now been established in other dungeons as well. And, thanks to Belissar¡¯s efforts, she could only imagine more would follow.


    Indeed, they would follow sooner than even she imagined.


    Just then, one of the flowers in her domain began to grow. New buds split off and bloomed and split off again as the flower grew far beyond its normal size. It emitted a sweet scent as it began to resemble a tree more than a flower with all its branches, each holding a budding flower of its own. And then, the flowers began to change color, shape, and even species.


    Soon, they began to assemble themselves into the form of a woman. Flowering trees made up her legs, a huge bell flower became her skirt, a pitcher flower became her torso. The branches of flowering bushes and creeping ground cover twisted into her arms, a pair of sunflowers bloomed as her eyes, and rose vines grew back downward as her hair.


    The God of Flowers had arrived. And a momentter, she leapt at the Queen of All Bees, wrapping her arms around the bee.


    ¡°BEE! Why didn¡¯t you tell me you have a dungeon now?!¡±


    The Queen of All Bees was going to answer but the sight and smell of the God of Flowers overwhelmed her, and instead of answering she began drinking sweet nectar from one of the flowers on the God of Flower¡¯s arm. In fact, all the bees in the area began to swarm around the God of Flowers,pping up sap and rolling around to cover themselves in pollen. This caused even more flowers to bloom and grow on the God of Flower¡¯s body, which continued growing as more and more bees arrived. Soon, flowers with smoking centers drew the attention of burning bees, blood bees swarmed a flower dripping red liquid, bees with ice for chitinnded on a flower surrounded by frosty mist. The God of Flower¡¯s body grew in size and gigantic flowers began to bloom from her back to hold the weight of equallyrge bees.


    The God of Flowers then spun around, swinging the God of Bees back and forth.


    ¡°This is amazing! We have to celebrate! You should have told me, we could have issued joint quests to our followers from the start! But anyways, we¡¯ll talk about thatter. Let me get¡­wait, are you drunk?!¡±


    A vine extended from the God of Flower¡¯s arm to pick up a jar on the ground.


    ¡°This is¡­mead?! Bee, you got mead after all?! Hey, hey, let me have some too! And then I want to see your dungeon! I can¡¯t imagine the flowers that will grow with all those bees! And then our power will intertwine and I can bring you to all of mine! This is going to be great!¡±


    Somewhere, deep down, the Queen of All Bees wondered if it was a good idea to let the God of Flowers drink mead. After all, mead was made of honey, which itself was, most of the time, made from the nectar of flowers. So, what would happen if the God of Flowers then drank it? But such concerns quickly faded at the sight of all the wonderful flowers blooming in front of her.


    Well, it would be fine, wouldn¡¯t it? She was set to get more meadter in any case, and the God of Flowers was one of her closest friends, one who always gave her as much authority as she could. She herself was not one of the most popr gods, so she didn¡¯t have all that much to spare, but she always prioritized the Queen of All Bees.


    Suddenly, though, the taste of the nectar changed, growing a bit less sweet as something else slipped into the nectar.


    ¡°And then¡­you can tell me why you let that God of Fire into your dungeon first. So, let me drink some of this mead, ok?¡±


    Ah, that was right. The God of Flowers¡­had some thorns as well.

 POBee 136.2 - In Bee-fense of Her King

    POBee 136.2 - In Bee-fense of Her King


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. The banquet had concluded and the sigmaka departed for home. He was currently meeting with Chief Rohsuak and the bee queens to discuss what had happened.


    ¡°Really? They were going to attack us?!¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded, no smile on her face this time.


    ¡°I believe Fourth Queen Pezuya nned on it, at the very least, whether or not the rest of them were in on it I cannot say. Her reaction to the bee army was too extreme, and then there was Second Queen Berbiya¡¯s hasty conversation with her. I¡¯m guessing she was hoping to ambush you, but thought better of it once she saw the soldier bees.¡±


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°They would really do that? Just attack us out of nowhere after all those talks and agreements?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak sighed, letting her shoulders droop.


    ¡°In the end, Sacred Den Master, agreements are just that. Unless enforced by power, whether yours or someone else¡¯s, they can be broken at will. ¡­I must admit that we ourselves have done so in the past, when necessary to survive.¡±


    Belissar ground his teeth.¡°Then, how can we trust them? What was the point of all this?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak stepped forward and patted his shoulder.


    ¡°That was the point of this. For the sigmaka, they have the reassurance that your patron god will enforce the agreement on your end. And as for them¡­¡±


    Chief Rohsuak grinned with a dangerous glint in her eyes as she waved to the soldier bee army still hovering around.


    ¡°Now they know you have the strength to punish them should they deceive you.¡±


    Belissar slowly unclenched his jaw, then sighed and let his own shoulders droop. This whole affair had been¡­exhausting, and a clear reminder of how out of his depth he still was. Sure, he knew how to make Tower rooms now, but he didn¡¯t know a thing about dealing with people even as an equal, much less as a superior. And, had he done it wrong, it could have ended up in disaster. The sigmaka could have attacked, leading to a war and dead bees and karnuq. Or he may have agreed to a very poor deal indeed. He didn¡¯t even think to ask that the sigmaka reciprocate when they initially demanded he respect their territory. That¡­well that could have led to the exact kind of rtionship he had with the vige beforehand.


    He took a deep breath and looked up.


    ¡°Chief Rohsuak¡­can you teach me more? Um, about making deals and talking with leaders and stuff. I¡­think I need to know more before we have any more talks like this¡­¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled at him.


    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to.¡±


    Niobee watched from atop her King¡¯s head as the outsiders finally went home. She found she very much enjoyed the position. Her King¡¯s hair wrapped around her like the petals of a flower, but his body below provided a warmth no normal flower did, while his mana embraced her from all sides. Additionally, from here, she could keep watch of his blindspots, ensuring that no one could approach her King from above or behind.


    But, s, all things muste to an end, and so she lifted off of her King¡¯s head. She had other tasks she needed to attend to today. Her King was not like other queens, after all. Niobee was aware her King was a human, and that humans were different from bees. From what she observed, humans were more like the solitary bees, with each individual making their own nest. As a result, while her King could raise queens and build hives better than anyone else, he did not lead them the way a monster bee queen would. But that was fine! Niobee¡¯s old queen didn¡¯t either, after all. In her old hive, the workers just followed their instincts and did whatever work was in front of them. And when they had to make decisions, they all decided as a group.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    So, Niobee did something simr. If her King didn¡¯t make a decision, then his bees would make it themselves! If there was a task he left unaddressed, then Niobee would take care of it! That way, her King could continue raising queens and building hives, as a good queen did, while she did any other jobs needed, like a good worker did!


    ¡­she still wasn¡¯t certain on the difference between a queen and king and how her King could im to be a drone while fulfilling all the tasks of a queen in amazing and incredible ways. But figuring that out was not her job, so she focused on what was.


    Mainly, deciding what to do about these new outsiders. Niobee didn¡¯t like them. They seemed to make her King feel bad, and she had decided that she would sting anyone that made her King feel bad. But her King also didn¡¯t want her to sting them, since that would lead to a fight that bees might die in. He was too kind. It was only natural for bees to sting those who got too close to their hive. And it was only natural for bees to die. Niobee herself had watched thousands of her own sisters perish over the years, though for some reason she herself continued on, until it was just her, her queen, and her King who endured. She felt that her fellow bees would have been happy to die in order to keep away people who made her King feel bad.


    But bees dying would also make her King feel bad so she didn¡¯t ask the soldiers to do so. It was a bit of a conundrum. How should she best take care of her King? How should she protect him when talking to people who made him feel bad if stinging them and losing bees would also make him feel bad? But well, Niobee then realized the obvious solution. All she had to do was make sure they could sting the outsiders without losing bees!


    So, that is what she did. She flew to the core room and began to dance on the core. The mana flowing in and through the core had its own dance to it, twisting and flowing to touch everyone and everything within her King¡¯s domain. It was a hive on a grander scale than any other¡­and Niobee found she was something like amuner for it. The flow of mana passed through her before heading off to¡­somewhere. She didn¡¯t know. But she could watch the mana as it passed and learn from it. She could see the Firstborn, both angry to find out the outsiders may have attacked the King, and yet proud that her army had intimidated them enough to stop. She could see the First of the Fifth as the queen paced relentlessly through her hive, as worried for the King as Niobee was. She could see the Fourth of the Seventh watching the outsiders with interest, her scouts following them as far as they were allowed to go. She could see one of the heavily woundedncers buzzing her wings, left behind by the army. She could see a newly hatched digging gardener visiting the mushrooms hidden in the depths of the Dirt Tunnels. She saw the slime bee and gravity bee workers cooperating to gather nectar from the gravilion flower, the gravity worker helping the slime bee extend a tunnel of slime from the flower to the edge of the flower¡¯s magic and funnel nectar and pollen to other workers. She could see one of the Flower Meadow queens curled up in the new stone mini-hive, struggling to adapt as the hot honey all around her burned her body.


    And then, Niobee began to dance. And the mana of the core began to dance with her. A stream of mana passed into the healing honey the woundedncer was drinking, increasing its potency. A river swirled into the stone mini-hive and the queen within, helping her connect with the Fire mana all around her. The Firstborn, the First of the Fifth, and the Fourth of the Seventh all contacted a little tendril, reminding them of the King in that moment and renewing their strength. The Firstborn set about to discuss the bumblebee soldiers with the other queens, and how the army might use their strength. The First of the Fifth turned her pacing into action, rushing off to review all of the Apiary queens and how she might assist them. The Fourth of the Seventh flew off with renewed vigor, taking her scout party to map out newnds.


    Niobee would do anything she could to make sure the hive was as strong and healthy as possible. Because if the hive and the bees within it were strong enough, they could then sting whoever they wanted without losing anybody!


    And then, she paused. She groomed herself a bit, rubbing her legs over her hairs and her antennae. And then, slowly, Niobee resumed her dance. The mana flowed once more¡­but not to any bees. A light stream of mana adjusted the mana honey the dangerous one was adding to her pot, calming a concerning build up of mana within it. Mana flowed through the body of the helpful one as he cut another boulder of stone, allowing him to cut yet another without rest. Mana enveloped the karnuqrvae as they ran about, encouraging them to grow strong.


    This was the other reason Niobee did not sting the new outsiders. She had watched the karnuq for a while now¡­and so far they had proven her fears wrong. They had not hurt her King like the other humans had. Instead, they assisted him, working for his hive as they could. Perhaps, she could one day consider them part of the hive. After all, her King, a human, had be the best queen she could ever ask for. So, perhaps these karnuq, too, could be adequate workers.


    And if that was the case¡­then perhaps the new outsiders would not need to be stung after all. Niobee knew that she didn¡¯t fully understand how human hives worked, and these humans were different from either her King¡¯s humans or the karnuq. So, perhaps, in time, they would prove themselves as the karnuq had, and would stop making her King feel bad.


    And if they did not¡­then Niobee would be prepared to protect her King, and never again let anyone treat him the way his old hive did.

 Chapter 137: Belissars Acade-Bee

    Chapter 137: Belissar''s Acade-Bee


    Belissar woke up the next morning to an immediate surprise.


    <em>A non-patron god, the God of Flowers, wishes to offer you a quest, and will grant you a blessing should you seed. ept?</em>


    <em>New mission received: Earn the blessing of a new secondary patron.</em>


    Belissar blinked, then rubbed his eyes, then blinked again. Yes, both messages were still there afterwards. It appeared he had attracted the attention of yet another god. And the God of Bees had preempted his question and approved with a mission of her own. So, he had no reason to refuse or dy.


    He couldn¡¯t help but grin as he epted the mission. The God of Flowers! If there was any other god he wanted to invite into his Tower, that was the one! There was no better partner for bees!


    <em>Offer epted.</em>


    <em>New mission received: Spawn or evolve one Flower attribute monster with the help of bees.</em>


    Belissar nodded. That made sense, it was a simr mission to the God of Fire¡¯s. Then he paused and tilted his head, rubbing his chin as he furrowed his brow. How, exactly, should he spawn or evolve a Flower attribute monster? For the Fire attribute he had had a burning queen already evolving, so he hadn¡¯t actually needed to think about it.


    But then he smiled. With the help of bees, the mission said. Belissar would have preferred that even if it hadn¡¯t been specified. And that also revealed the likely answer. Perhaps Cross-Pollination between the right sort of flowers would result in a flower that counted as a monster in and of itself? His bees had already cross-pollinated slime flowers which spawned monsters, so why not a flower that was a monster?Belissar then got up fully, ate a bit of honeb, and began reviewing his day with Niobee and the worker bees keeping track of various topics for him. The karnuq had just about gathered enough stone to upgrade the Bee Barracks, so he¡¯d have to ask the Flower Meadow queens about that upgrade. Additionally, he now had the DP for another store purchase, another topic to bring up to the queens and Chief Rohsuak after today¡¯s purification. And as the reports wrapped, Belissar brought up a topic of his own.


    ¡°Hey Niobee, could you ask the gardeners to gather after tonight¡¯s purification as well?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Belissar didn¡¯t particrly know which, if any, of his flowers might be a monster. But he figured if anyone did, it would be the gardeners, so he aimed to get their input on the matter. Additionally, he wanted them to spread flowers of all sorts to the Fairy Grove, which meant gathering flower seeds from all across the Tower, so he thought it might help them if they could talk to each other as well.


    With that, he set off to start his day. He had to make his rounds to visit the bees and gather some honey, present offerings to the gods, practice his mana, and then start lessons with Chief Rohsuak, as well as his own beekeeping lesson for the karnuq. It was going to be a busy day.


    Belissar and Chief Rohsuak sat in her house with Niobee hovering around. Her home was now apleted building with walls of stone adorned by wood furnishings. Muuraqi had been hard at work and at this point, most of the karnuq now lived in stone houses. Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile as he nced around.


    ¡°We have to thank your bees for their help as well. We could not have built our homes as quickly as we did without them.¡±


    Belissar smiled at that, and then they got into it. Chief Rohsuak nodded and hummed a bit.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the vition.


    ¡°I believe you have already learned the most important lesson of a leader.¡±


    Belissar jumped.


    ¡°Huh? Really?! I¡¯ve, um, never led anything before this. At all.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak gave him a warm smile.


    ¡°In my opinion, the hardest and most important lesson to learn is that it¡¯s not about you. A good leader should care for their people above themselves, which means setting aside your own pride, desires, and preferences for the good of the whole. From what I have seen, you already do this.¡±


    Belissar couldn¡¯t really say anything, so just fidgeted instead. Niobee, ever present as always, flew around to respond in his ce.


    ¡°King is best king! Was always best king!¡±


    Chief Rohsuak chuckled and nodded while Belissar fidgeted even more. She then let her smile drop and narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°I think for you, Sacred Den Master, the next lesson is to ept conflict.¡±


    Belissar frowned at that.


    ¡°ept conflict?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded, keeping her serious expression.


    ¡°I was not able to mention it at the time given the urgency of the situation, but the sigmaka were quite demanding of you, and most Sacred Den Masters that I know of would have rejected them out of hand for their tone alone.¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Even if it led to war?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Even if it led to war. In this case, it worked out, as they were amenable to an equivalent agreement, so your willingness to ept their terms averted an unnecessary conflict. But that will not always be the case. One day, you will encounter people who would take advantage of your desire for peace and demand terms that are detrimental to your side if you are not willing to fight. And there are some people who will not bother with negotiations in the first ce. What will you do in those cases?¡±


    Niobee once again flew between them, buzzing her wings as she extended her stinger.


    ¡°If hurt King, Niobee will sting!¡±


    But for once, Niobee didn¡¯t make Belissar smile. Instead, his face fell.


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t want my bees to get hurt¡­¡±


    Niobee fell still at that. Chief Rohsuak watched in silence. She was about to speak when Belissar continued. He looked to Niobee, reaching out to brush her back.


    ¡°¡­but, I know that¡¯s not how they see it. So¡­¡±


    He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he opened and narrowed them.


    ¡°I think¡­if someone wants to take advantage of us, wants to hurt the bees, then we shouldn¡¯t let them.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak softened her expression just a tad and nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Hold to that resolve, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    From there, Belissar, Chief Rohsuak, and Niobee began discussing different situations, how to approach negotiations, and situations the karnuq faced when negotiations went wrong. Belissar could not say he enjoyed those conversations. The thought of people fighting and killing his bees made his blood boil and his stomach churn. But it was necessary for him to consider. He doubted the Tower Lords would be as agreeable should they discover him, and even the sigmaka had nearly betrayed them despite the agreements.


    And in the end, Belissar would do anything necessary to keep his bees safe.


    After that, Belissar, Niobee, and Chief Rohsuak stepped outside of her house and made their way to an open space near the karnuq vige. Several other karnuq were waiting for them, including some of the children who had yed with the bumblebee soldier the other day. Now was time for a far more pleasant lesson, in Belissar¡¯s opinion. Chief Rohsuak joined the rest of the karnuq and nodded at him.


    ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready, Sacred Den Master. We are honored to learn from you.¡±


    Belissar nodded. It was time to start the beekeeping lessons.


    ¡°Um, right. So, first things first, let me show you how I make a beehouse.¡±


    There was some wood Belissar had asked the karnuq to prepare for this lesson. Belissar figured the best way to teach them about his beehouses would be to build one with them. Overall, he nned to teach them how to build and manage beehouses before he let any bees move in.


    ¡°We found that if you put these frames at the right distance apart, the bees will build straight honeb within them. With regr bees, you might need to put someb in the corner to get them started and stop them if they start building between the frames, but if you have it at the right distance they should leave that space empty. That way, you can pull the trays right out whenever you need to check the hive or gather honey.¡±


    To be fair, that lesson was only relevant for regr bees, since monster bees could be asked nicely to build theirbs in any shape desired without any trays at all. They could even figure it out themselves without him asking at all. But the God of Bees¡¯ mission said to teach the karnuq beekeeping, not Tower keeping, so Belissar figured he should teach them how it would work under normal circumstances as well.


    Belissar put together the bee house, exining its various parts and what he did with them, then upgraded thepleted beehouse to a room feature. He smiled as one of the trays began glowing immediately.


    ¡°And this¡­¡±


    He enjoyed the gasps of the karnuq as he pulled out the magicallypleted tray.


    ¡°¡­is what it looks like when it¡¯s full.¡±


    And so, Belissar began instructing the karnuq in the art of beekeeping.

 Chapter 138: A Crushing Victor-Bee!

    Chapter 138: A Crushing Victor-Bee!


    The time had finallye. Belissar finished up the day¡¯s beekeeping lesson by passing out the honey from the tray, which was greatly appreciated by his students. After that, he made his way to the battle meadow to prepare for the day¡¯s purification, rearranging the first floor rooms. As usual for the daily purifications, the Dirt Tunnels was first, followed by the battle meadow, and then the Lava Field.


    The Hunger coalesced and, this time, took the form of a small turtle shade. Belissar rubbed his chin and quickly nodded his head.


    ¡°Change of ns, everyone! I¡¯m moving the Lava Field in front of the shade. Third of the Sixth, hang back and keep your hive out of sight, be prepared to evacuate if the shade heads your way.¡±


    With the buzzing of countless salute dances in the background, Belissar quickly made the changes. Since the shade was already in the Dirt Tunnels, Belissar could only ce the Lava Field between the tunnels and the battle meadow, but he put the entrance to the Lava Field right along the shade¡¯s path, before even the first Pit Trap. His hope was to test the defensive features of the Lava Field against a turtle shade, both to test the room¡¯s power against the turtle¡¯s robust defenses, and also since the turtle was slow enough for the Third of the Sixth to evacuate her hive if worst came to worst.


    Fortunately, the shade acted as he hoped. Once it found the door to the next room, it crawled inside. It slowly made its way across the volcanic rock, growling with a low rumble as the heat raised all around it, but it continued forward without any ill effect.


    But then came the moment Belissar had been waiting for. The mini-volcano began to rumble, sending tremors echoing across the room. Then, with an explosion of light and ash, a ming boulderunched from its mouth into the sky, burning across the air like a shooting star. It plunged towards the ground, mes roaring all around it as it descended down. Itnded with a crash, kicking up waves of ash and smoke as ming debris scattered across the area.


    It had alsonded in an entirely different section of the room from the shade, which made its way forward without any sort of response.


    But Belissar held his breath as yet another boulderunched¡­and then sighed as it struck the entrance to the room, long after the shade had left. Then came another¡­and another¡­


    It was on the fifth boulder, just before the turtle shade reached the firstva river in its path, that the boulder finally struck true. And, in Belissar¡¯s opinion, it had been worth the wait. The shade <em>vanished</em> under the cloud of ash and fire, which was still rising as Belissar immediately received the message.<em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°We won, everyone. The shade got crushed by a mini-volcano boulder.¡±


    Belissar chuckled as he watched the bees start their celebration dances, then rubbed his chin. The mini-volcano proved powerful indeed, it could crush at least a smaller turtle shade in a single blow, and anything that survived would find itself on fire and choked by smoke and ash. Yet, the boulders were not at all urate, or particrly fast. A faster shade may have crossed the room before it was struck, at least if it could get past theva rivers. Belissar might be able to deal with that by manually activating the volcano¡­but what if the shades specifically dodged the attack? The boulders were not exactly hard to miss as they descended. Belissar felt it may not be wise to rely solely on the volcano.


    In the end, it would stille down to his bees. The volcano might not catch a fast shade before it could cross the room¡­but that would change if there was an army of burning bees blocking their way.


    Belissar nodded to himself. In the end, the room did as he hoped. The volcano was powerful enough to deal with a shade that might ward off his bees, and his bees could hopefully handle anything nimble enough to dodge the volcano. It would be a powerful addition to the defense once the Lava Field bees raised a soldier army of their own.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    And with that, it was time to decide on the rewards.


    <em>Small Purificationpleted! Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +100 DP</em>


    <em>- +20 Max Mana</em>


    <em>- Shortcuts</em>


    Belissar blinked, and then focused on thatst option.


    <em>Shortcut</em>


    <em>Type: Utility</em>


    <em>Mana Upkeep: 3</em>


    <em>Description: A shortcut enabling quick travel between floors and rooms. Only usable by those the dungeon master permits. Corrupted entities may not use, as contact with corruption will disable shortcut until purification.</em>


    At first, Belissar tilted his head¡­but his eyes slowly widened as he thought a bit further. Quick travel between floors and rooms¡­he was guessing that meant the shortcuts could be used to bypass rooms otherwise in the way? Would that let his bees quickly travel between the rooms as necessary? Would that allow the karnuq to bypass the first floor if they wanted to leave the Tower, so that Belissar didn¡¯t need to move the Lava Field out of the way each time? That seemed like an amazing feature to have.


    And even his worry that a shade might use it was resolved by the feature¡¯s own description. Not only could he decide who gets to use the shortcut, the Hunger specifically would not be able to use them since they''d be disabled on contact. With that, there was no reason to hesitate.


    <em>Shortcuts are now avable!</em>


    Belissar wanted to try one out right away, but instead he turned to Niobee.


    ¡°Hey Niobee, can you ask a bee to remind me about shortcuts at tonight¡¯s meeting?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    He put it aside for the time being, for now was the time to celebrate with the bees.


    Belissar once again gathered with the queens and Chief Rohsuak, along with the gardeners as he had requested.


    ¡°So, we have a lot to go through tonight. First¡­um, sorry I made this choice without telling you all, but we have a new feature. They¡¯re called shortcuts¡­¡±


    Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes began shining the moment Belissar said the name. The bees began to buzz their wings and dance about as Belissar read out the description. The Fourth of the Seventh flew right in front of him.


    ¡°Can fly right to Beyond from Orchard?!¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin, but slowly nodded.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to test it, but I think so.¡±


    At that point, Chief Rohsuak cleared her throat.


    ¡°Actually, I can assist here, Sacred Den Master. I¡¯ve encountered shortcuts in other Sacred Dens and they do exactly as you think. You can use them to go straight from the entrance of the Sacred Den to higher floors, or to move between otherwise disconnected rooms.¡±


    All of the queens, lead by the Fourth of the Seventh, began dancing at that.


    ¡°Amazing, incredible!¡±


    Belissar smiled and nodded.


    ¡°I think it will be. We¡¯ll start setting some up tomorrow morning, so¡­maybe think about where you¡¯d like to be able to go over the night?¡±


    All the bees saluted at that, while Chief Rohsuak grinned.


    ¡°Next¡­we have another three thousand DP to spend. We can get another room for thatst open slot, another monster type, or up to three new room features. Oh, um, we¡¯ve never actually considered these before, but we can also buy extra room slots, more mana, or new perks. Those are more expensive, though, so we¡¯d have to save up. Does anyone have any suggestions?¡±


    Belissar actually had an idea of what he wanted to buy, but he was trying to get the bees to share their opinions with him, so he didn¡¯t mention it just yet. They mainly had the usual responses of ¡°more flowers,¡± ¡°more bees,¡± and ¡°whatever King chooses!¡± Belissar chuckled and turned to Chief Roshuak. He would certainly like to hear her thoughts, though he knew that she was holding her tongue intentionally so didn¡¯t think she¡¯d speak up this time.


    Surprisingly, though, she did.


    ¡°One thing to consider, Sacred Den Master. Now that we are opening trade with the sigmaka, consider that the more types of goods your Sacred Den can produce, the more we will have to bargain with. They may also wish to send challengers one day, you may wish to prepare for that if it is something you want.¡±


    Belissar nodded at that. Those were good points. He ideally wanted some of those aphids and wasn¡¯t sure if the sigmaka would part with any, so having more to trade could be a good idea. Likewise, sigmaka challengers wasn¡¯t something he had considered, but he guessed he could always invite them in if he wanted some? That would improve his DP ie and help with that mission to help challengers receive blessings that was still ongoing.


    On the other hand, he was not sure he wanted to let any sigmaka into his Tower just yet, especially armed ones. He had gotten along with King Ratuatapi well enough and the sigmaka swore not to harm his bees or the karnuq, but finding out that the sigmaka might have attacked him made him wary of inviting them back in anytime soon.


    Belissar¡¯s own preference started to solidify but he had one more question to ask before he made the final decision. He looked around towards the gardener bees, who were currently hovering a bit further away and behind their respective queens.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask the gardeners something now: can we cross-pollinate some sort of monster flower?¡±

 Chapter 139: Con-Bee-nient Improvements!

    Chapter 139: Con-Bee-nient Improvements!


    The gardeners flew forward, the queens hovering back to make room for them. They flew amongst themselves, milling about and exchanging dances and pheromones for a few minutes. Eventually, one of them slowly flew forward, beginning an unsteady dance.


    ¡°Sorry, don¡¯t know.¡±


    Belissar smiled and shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I just wanted to check if you did. Is there anything you think we might need for that?¡±


    The gardeners convened once more before the responder returned to answer again.


    ¡°Sorry, don¡¯t know. Maybe new flowers, or more mana.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll see what I can do then. You all just keep up the good work and let me know if the flowers need anything.¡±


    The gardeners saluted at that, leaving Belissar to rub his chin. At first, he had thought that maybe a new monster choice might give him a chance to fulfill the God of Flowers¡¯ mission. He quickly dispelled that notion, though. He hadn¡¯t yet seen any monster choices that weren¡¯t bees, so the odds were low that he¡¯d get a flower monster. More importantly, the mission specifically said he had toplete it with the help of his bees, so getting a flower monster by a choice might not work even if he was offered one.Still, that didn¡¯t mean choices couldn¡¯t help here. If they needed a specific environment, he could try to pick an appropriate room. If they needed a specific object, or more nts, then maybe a feature could help. And Cross-Pollination itself was a perk, so there might be an answer there as well. The problem was that Belissar didn¡¯t know what would or wouldn¡¯t help in general. He had no idea how to raise a monster flower, or what would be needed to do so. He figured cross-pollination and the gardeners would be the key, but how exactly he wasn¡¯t sure. So, if the gardeners didn¡¯t know any specific requirements, they¡¯d just have to try different methods until they learned what worked.


    He turned to Chief Rohsuak one more time.


    ¡°Do you or any of the karnuq know anything about monster flowers? Juosiutik, maybe?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak thought for a moment.


    ¡°I will ask her but¡­in my memory, our interactions with monster nts were minimal. There were some magical nts in the Sacred Dens I¡¯ve visited, though I am not certain if any of them were monster flowers specifically. We also encountered a few monstrous nts on our journey but, as you may imagine, most of our interactions were short and violent. I can tell you which of them were mmable, but not how they grew.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin and then nodded.


    ¡°Ok, could you ask Juosiutik and let me know whatever you do know? I¡¯ll hold off on any purchases until then.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded. Belissar wanted to make the purchases sooner rather thanter but figured that one day wouldn¡¯t hurt. He might as well wait for as much information as he could. He turned to the gardeners once more.


    ¡°Um, as you may have guessed, we have a mission from a god to raise a monster flower. I think for now, just try to cross-pollinate as many new types of flowers as we can and let me know if there are any you think could be a monster flower. Also, let¡¯s try to nt as many flowers as we can in the Fairy Grove, maybe you all could coordinate to make sure we get them all?¡±


    The gardeners all saluted as one at that. Belissar smiled at them.


    ¡°Thank you. That was all I needed you girls for, so you can go home now.¡±


    The gardeners saluted and checked with their queens, who sent them home at Belissar¡¯smand. Belissar then nodded at Chief Rohsuak and all of the queens save for those who lived in the battle meadow.


    ¡°That was all for everyone, we¡¯ll meet again tomorrow to decide on the purchases. I do need to talk to the Bee Barracks queens, but the rest of you can head home for the night.¡±


    This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Belissar turned to the queens in question while Chief Rohsuak and the other bees dispersed. He pointed over to the stack of rocks.


    ¡°So, I guess it¡¯s a bitte to ask this but¡­how would you all feel about turning the Bee Barracks to stone? Would that make things more or lessfortable for you?¡±


    The Second First of the First took the lead and responded immediately.


    ¡°Would make barracks stronger?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°At least, harder to destroy.¡±


    The Second First of the First immediately danced the affirmative.


    ¡°Whatever King chooses!¡±


    All of the other battle meadow queens followed suit. Belissar made an amused smile. He figured that¡¯s how they would respond but wanted to at least ask.


    ¡°Got it, are you and your hives ready to upgrade now or should we wait for tomorrow morning?¡±


    ¡°Can now!¡±


    Belissar nodded and focused on the Bee Barracks.


    <em>Bee Barracks Upgrades:</em>


    <em>- Swap to Bee Apartment (Cost: 25 DP)</em>


    <em>- Change material to stone (Cost: 200 DP or 50 if materials provided)</em>


    <em>- Boost growth for inhabitants (Cost: 50 DP)</em>


    <em>- Boost coordination for inhabitants (Cost: 50 DP)</em>


    He selected the change material option, confirming that he had provided enough material for the discount. The Bee Barracks and the stack of stone blocks next to it both began to glow. A momentter the light faded, and the stone pile had vanished entirely.


    The Bee Barracks itself now had stone walls, a stone roof, and a stone floor. Belissar looked inside with his tower sight and found the frames remained wood, though some of the pirs that held them in ce had converted to stone as well.


    He turned to the queens, intending to ask them what they thought. He found them already dancing in the air.


    ¡°Amazing, incredible!¡±


    He smiled at that.


    ¡°d you like it.¡±


    It seemed far tougher than before, though Belissar hoped it would never be put to the test.


    The next day, Belissar awoke, intending to hear the reports, eat his breakfast, and then make his gathering and tribute rounds as usual. His eyes widened as he stepped out of the bedroom, however, to find the Second First of the First, the First of the Fifth, the Third of the Sixth, and the Fourth of the Seventh queens all waiting for him. The queens saluted as soon he stepped in while Niobee danced before him.


    ¡°King! Queens came to report for shortcuts! Talked together¡±


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Thank you all. Shall we get to it, then?¡±


    ¡°Ok! First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter had idea. Give all rooms and entrance shortcut to Orchard, so all bees can go to all rooms or outside! All queens want too!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened a bit as all the queens danced to confirm Niobee¡¯s report.


    ¡°Ah¡­that¡¯s a good idea!¡±


    The queens danced happily, especially the Fourth of the Seventh, at his response. Belissar went ahead and thought about shortcuts. Once again, his tower sight zoomed out to show the Tower as a whole. A transparent door appeared in his sight along the Apiary wall, which he could move about. He could move it along the walls or even the ground, the door transforming to a tunnel entrance when he did. He ended up cing it on the Apiary wall closest to the bee apartments for easy ess. He then had a variety of options on the door¡¯s appearance. He could leave it visible as any other entrance, but also had options to conceal the door from those not permitted to use it, or to hide it all together. For now, he chose to conceal it from those not permitted.


    A transparent second door then appeared. Belissar could move this one out of the room entirely, which he did. He took it all the way down to Orchard, then ced it on the front wall close to the bees¡¯ grove. The two doors then materialized as Belissar confirmed the cement.


    Once he did, another message appeared.


    <em>Shortcut (2F Orchard ¨C 4F Apiary) Permissions:</em>


    <em>- Defenders: All permitted</em>


    <em>- Challengers: All permitted</em>


    <em>- Specific individuals allowed: none</em>


    <em>- Specific individuals denied: none</em>


    As described, Belissar was able to adjust who could use the shortcut. Defenders could be set to specify monsters or sworn defenders only, or none. Challengers included numerous groupings, such as allowing or blocking animals, or those blessed by a particr god. For now¡­Belissar blocked all challengers, setting this shortcut to defenders only. For now, he left it on all defenders; while he mainly intended this one for his bees, he trusted the karnuq enough not to block them without reason. They hadn¡¯t left their area of the Tower without permission in any case.


    ¡°Ok, set one up. Shall we check it out?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Niobee and the queens all followed along as Belissar left the Apiary farmhouse and walked past the Bee Apartments. There a new door opened up within the tree wall surrounding the room, disying the Orchard. Belissar stepped through, and found himself right in the Orchard. It was no different than stepping through the other room entrances.


    He smiled as the bees flew through and began zipping about.


    ¡°This seems pretty useful.¡±


    From there, he did as suggested, and created a shortcut between every room, save the karnuq rooms, and the Orchard, as well as one that led right to the Tower¡¯s exit. Now, the Orchard wall by the grove was full of doors¡­and his bees could go anywhere they liked.

 Chapter 140: An Informed Bee-cision?

    Chapter 140: An Informed Bee-cision?


    The First of the Fifth was just hovering in the air, staring as scouts from all the different hives flew in and out of the new door. This¡­changed everything. The bumblebee soldiers could now fly right from their nest to the Flower Meadow. The Apiary queens had but to fly to the closest wall to make their honey deliveries. Her foragers could ess every flower in every room nearly as easily as the mana flower patch next to her hive.


    Her mind buzzed with the implications. Resources could now be pooled and shared between all the King¡¯s hives. Specialized honey could be produced anywhere and delivered to anywhere. Hives far away from the Flower Meadow could contribute soldiers to the army as easily as the queens that dwelt there. Queens and messengers could meet at will.


    She was truly proud of her daughter for this suggestion. And now, as the queen the King had tasked with organizing the others, it was her turn. She would have to see this wondere to fruition.


    She started to fly once more as she began to n¡­


    After setting up those shortcuts, Belissar made his honey-gathering and tribute rounds, then headed out for the karnuq floor. Chief Rohsuak was waiting to greet him when he arrived. The first thing they did was set up shortcuts for the karnuq as well. He ced two shortcuts in the karnuq¡¯s flower meadow, setting up the doors next to the regr room exits. One led directly to the Tower¡¯s exit so that the karnuq coulde and go at will, while the other led to the Orchard to connect the karnuq with the rest of the Tower¡­and the bees.


    After that, Chief Rohsuak, Metsaitti, and Juosiutik all gathered with Belissar in Chief Rohsuak¡¯s house to discuss their encounters with monster nts¡­


    ¡°It, um, drinks¡­blood?¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°The roots were covered in thorns and wrapped around anything that approached. We saw a bunch of desated animal corpses in their grasp. We saw one wolf-mole get caught¡­it wasn¡¯t pretty. Ultimately, we took a detour around the area. Never saw what it looked like on the surface.¡±Belissar ruled that one out.


    ¡°Seemed to have acid running through it, extremely corrosive. Any wound would cause it to spray out. There were also these bulges on the roots that would explode with even the lightest touch. We didn¡¯t see any corpses, but I presume the roots would drink up any liquified remains.¡±


    Belissar gulped as Chief Rohsuak spoke.


    ¡°I¡­see. Um, anything else?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shrugged.


    ¡°They were highly mmable, acid included. We had to wait a while for the fumes to clear up, though. There was some pool of liquid that smelled terrible, but we avoided it, so I can¡¯t tell you more.¡±


    Belissar guessed he was ruling that one out too.


    Juosiutik shook her head.


    ¡°There¡¯s very little in the records I have about monster nts. I did find this excerpt regarding some swamp flowers, but it¡¯s more about preventing monsters than raising them.¡±


    Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°Well, I guess anything might help? I don¡¯t really know what I¡¯m looking for, to be honest.¡±


    Juosiutik nodded.


    ¡°Says here there are flowers in the bogs that would start attracting slimes if left for too long. This could be avoided by draining nectar from the flowers on a regr basis.¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.


    She let out a sigh.


    ¡°That¡¯s all, though. If there was more about those flowers, those notes were lost. I don¡¯t even have a picture of them. If I had to guess, though, I would guess the slimes like to drink the nectar?¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°Huh, sounds like the slime flowers.¡±


    Juosiutik froze.


    ¡°Slime¡­flowers?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Or flower, since there¡¯s only one right now. It, um, apparently spawns the slimes itself, rather than attracting them, so maybe it¡¯s different?¡±


    At that point, Juosiutik approached Belissar in such a way that Niobee responded. The conversation quickly derailed to Belissar describing the slime flower in as much detail as he knew¡­


    In the end, none of the karnuq¡¯s encounters held any concrete leads for Belissar. He moved on to discussing negotiations and diplomacy with Chief Rohsuak, and then instructing the karnuq on beekeeping.


    After that came the daily purification. Belissar swapped the Lava Field back behind the battle meadow and let the soldier bee army handle the purification as usual. The options weren¡¯t particrly notable so he went with mana.


    And then, finally, he was back with the queens and Chief Rohsuak, ready to make a purchase. He nodded at everyone.


    ¡°I think we should go with room features this time.¡±


    With no particr leads on monster flowers from either the gardeners or the karnuq, Belissar was left deciding on his own. Room features were a catch all that could include anything from traps to resources to geographical features, so he figured there¡¯d be a decent chance that something there might help flowers be monsters. A new room was another option, since a new environment could lead to new flowers, but Belissar decided to hold off on that. He was still waiting to see what became of the Fairy Grove, and there was a chance he might want to add a second one with thest empty room slot, so he figured he may as well wait for the next expansion before expanding the room options. Additionally, since he didn¡¯t actually know what he was looking for, going with the cheaper room features and so getting more options may increase the chances of getting something useful.


    And if all else failed, and the room features didn¡¯t help with monster nts at all¡­well, more resources would give them more products to trade with the sigmaka, while more traps could improve his defenses in general.


    The bees, of course, praised him for making a choice as they did for¡­well, practically everything he did. Chief Rohsuak simply smiled and nodded. And with that, Belissar brought up the DP store.


    He could only hope it wouldn¡¯t be allmons this time¡­


    <em>Extra room feature choice purchased. One room feature choice now avable.</em>


    <em>Please select a room feature:</em>


    <em>- Dirt Trails (Rarity: Common, Type: Utility, Decoration)</em>


    <em>- Beeswax Candles (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Fire, Decoration)</em>


    <em>- Boulder (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Decoration)</em>


    Belissar red at the message in silence for a moment. Allmons, and two he had seen before. But, well, ring at it wasn¡¯t going to change the choices, as far as he knew, so he heaved a sigh and then started reading them out.


    <em>Dirt Trails</em>


    <em>- Type: Utility, Decoration</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 0</em>


    <em>- Description: A trail of packed dirt. Slightly boosts speed of ground movement.</em>


    Belissar shrugged at that. It still didn¡¯t help any of his flying bees. He guessed it was a little more useful thanst time he saw it now that he had the karnuq¡­but he had also just installed a bunch of shortcuts, so faster movement wasn¡¯t really a concern for him right now.


    <em>Beeswax Candles</em>


    <em>- Type: Bee, Fire, Decoration</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 1</em><em>(0 if wax is regrly provided)</em>


    <em>- Description: A beeswax candle that provides light, and a bit of heat. Effects may vary if special wax types are provided.</em>


    Beeswax candles were the same as before. Again, maybe they would help light the way in the Dirt Tunnels, but he could also make candles himself if he really wanted to. There <em>was</em> that line about special effects, though, so maybe it was worth taking as a feature.


    And then, finally¡­


    <em>Boulder</em>


    <em>- Type: Ground, Decoration</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 0</em>


    <em>- Description: A big rock. Can hold certain features that require rocky or Ground-attribute terrain.</em>


    ¡­it was a rock. A big rock, sure, but a rock. Maybe it would have been useful if he didn¡¯t have basic resource minerals to provide useful stone but otherwise¡­it was a rock. Maybe he could put it on a hill and roll it down on a shade? If he could make hills steep enough, that was, as the Flower Meadows only allowed gentle slopes¡­


    Belissar rubbed his chin. Come to think of it, he <em>was</em> able to make vertical entrances to Dirt Tunnel rooms. They could hypothetically drop rocks down those. Or down a Pit Trap as an alternative to fire. Now that he thought about it, big rocks were surprisingly useful¡­


    But the question was, did it justify taking as a feature? Hypothetically, Muuraqi could cut big rocks for him from the mineral nodes, so he again didn¡¯t necessarily need the feature to implement those ideas. In fact, which, of these three choices, was worth taking?


    Belissar shrugged.


    <em>Beeswax Candles are now avable!</em>


    When in doubt, Belissar chose bees. The line about special waxes, in particr, drew his attention. Perhaps his bees could do something with these? He would, however, ask the karnuq about the dropping rocks n at some point.


    Belissar red at the DP shop before making the next purchase. He may not have known what he actually needed right now, but he sure would like to get something other than a repeatmon option¡­

 Chapter 141: The Best Bee-cision!

    Chapter 141: The Best Bee-cision!


    Belissar held his breath as he confirmed a second purchase.


    <em>Extra room feature choice purchased. One room feature choice now avable.</em>


    <em>Please select a room feature:</em>


    <em>- Spike Trap (Rarity: Common, Type: Trap)</em>


    <em>- Firebomb (Rarity: Umon, Type: Fire, Trap)</em>


    <em>- Random Resource Mineral (Rarity: Common, Type: Resource, Variable)</em>


    Belissar exhaled his breath, letting the tension flow from his body. Finally, finally the DP shop had given him a room feature that wasn¡¯t amon! He had been starting to wonder if the DP shop just couldn¡¯t give him anything better, so it was nice to confirm that wasn¡¯t the case. He had just been extremely unlucky!


    Somehow, that didn¡¯t make Belissar feel better despite getting what he wanted, so he stopped that line of thought and began reading out the choices.


    <em>Spike Trap</em><em>- Type: Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 1</em>


    <em>- Description: A spike held within a surface under tension. Springs out to impale target when triggered.</em>


    Well, this one was quite simple. But that didn¡¯t mean it wouldn¡¯t be useful, for this one was a direct way to attack shades. Most of his traps either didn¡¯t directly harm shades, like the Sticky Honey Traps or the gravilion flowers he still didn¡¯t understand the use of, or else were passive like the Pit Traps and Thorny Roses. Using a Spike Trap instead of a Sticky Honey Trap would turn a given trap from debilitating to deadly¡­assuming the spike was fast enough to hit a shade and strong enough to pierce it.


    On the other hand, it was a one manamon option, so Belissar guessed it wouldn¡¯t be all that impressive. At least, probably notpared to the next option.


    <em>Firebomb</em>


    <em>- Type: Fire, Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 5 (3 if fuel provided)</em>


    <em>- Description: A container filled with mmable material (oil by default). Explodes and ignites on contact, covering the area with burning fuel. Fuel may be provided and may change behavior depending on type.</em>


    Belissar nodded. Well, that was certainly an option. Indeed, it took his original n of coating shades with honey and kindling and then setting them on fire to the next level, wrapping it all up in an explosive container that could be ced anywhere and would ignite itself. So, not only could they make his Pit Traps deadlier, they could forgo the need for the Pit Traps in the first ce.


    The only downsides were that the indiscriminate explosion meant the bees would need to keep their distance from any such traps, or the mes that resulted. They did have some fire resistance, though, especially the burning bees, so even that might not be a major issue. Worst came to worst, he could just ce the bombs in the Lava Field.


    It was worth considering, at the very least.


    <em>Random Resource Mineral</em>


    <em>- Type: Resource, Variable</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: Variable</em>


    <em>- Description: Unlocks a random resource mineral type for use in matching features and rooms.</em>


    Belissar rubbed his chin. The description sounded like it¡¯d give him another option for Basic Resource Mineral nodes? That was certainly helpful¡­though he might have preferred a resource nt as so far his bees hadn¡¯t interacted with the mineral nodes save the salt one. It would help the karnuq, though, and could provide another resource to trade with the sigmaka.


    As usual, he turned to the others and asked them what they thought. Most of the bees had little opinion on this set of options, though the Third of the Sixth was curious about the firebombs and the digging queen showed some interest in the minerals. Belissar made a note of that before ncing at Chief Rohsuak. To his surprise, he found her rubbing her chin.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    ¡°I think¡­it would be possible for us to build something like this firebomb.¡±


    Belissar jumped at that.


    ¡°Wait, really?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak slowly nodded, continuing to rub her chin.


    ¡°I vaguely recall we use to do so back before we became nomads. Wecked the resources to attempt such things on our travels but that¡¯s no longer the case. You¡¯re already growing me radish, which we can use to ignite it. We¡¯d have to look into suitable fuels but Juosiutik can probably figure something out with your mana honey. And we¡¯ve confirmed the sigmaka have y we can trade for, so we can use that to make a shell.¡±


    She then made a knowing grin.


    ¡°Getting it to explode onmand might be more difficult but we¡¯ve both experienced Juosiutik¡¯s¡­more dramatic experiments, so I suspect we could figure something out.¡±


    Belissar crossed his arms while rubbing his own chin.


    ¡°Huh. If that¡¯s the case¡­should we try for another mineral?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you, Sacred Den Master. More resources is always appreciated, and spike traps can be quite deadly to the unaware. Additionally, it will take us time to make a working firebomb, and our first attempts will likely be far shoddier than what the Sacred Den will make.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin a bit and then nodded.


    ¡°I think¡­that¡¯s fine. We have the Lava Field and the mini-volcano so¡­I think the mineral is better.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak inclined her head while the bees all danced a salute.


    ¡°As you say, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    <em>Random Resource Mineral selected.</em>


    <em>Alum is now avable!</em>


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°Looks like we got alum. Um, I heard it¡¯s valuable¡­and maybe used for dying or something? I don¡¯t know much beyond that.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head as well.


    ¡°I know it as a valuablemodity, but I am personally unaware of its use. I will ask my people.¡±


    Belissar ended up shrugging.


    ¡°Maybe the sigmaka will like it. Let¡¯s try one more, then?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak inclined her head again while the bees saluted, so Belissar bought one more choice. This time, he was at peace. He had already gotten an umon option this time, so he¡¯d be satisfied even if the next choice was allmons.


    <em>Extra room feature choice purchased. One room feature choice now avable.</em>


    <em>Please select a room feature:</em>


    <em>- Rare Random Resource nt (Rarity: Rare, Type: Resource, Variable)</em>


    <em>- River (Rarity: Common, Type: Water)</em>


    <em>- Treasure Chest (Rarity: Common, Type: Resource)</em>


    Belissar¡¯s jaw dropped. A rare option?! From the DP shop, which previously gave nothing butmons?! And a rare nt at that?! It took all of Belissar¡¯s self-control not to select the option then and there. First of all, it was a nt. nts meant flowers for the bees to gather from. Second of all, it was rare! It was rare for him to receive rare options, especially from the DP store! And a rare nt, with the potential of rare flowers? How could he pass that up? Not to mention, rare flowers might open the door to fulfilling the God of Flower¡¯s mission!


    Belissar convinced himself to at least read out the options for the bees and Chief Rohsuak first, if only to see their reaction. He watched the bees intently as he slowly read out the description.


    <em>Rare Random Resource nt</em>


    <em>- Type: Resource, Variable</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: Variable</em>


    <em>- Description: Unlocks a random resource nt type for use in matching features and rooms. Type selected will be of rarity rare or better.</em>


    He smiled as he watched the queens start to fidget and dance around.


    ¡°Rare nt?¡±


    ¡°New flower?¡±


    ¡°Rare flower?¡±


    Which was just about his reaction too. He at least forced himself to nce over at Chief Rohsuak. She just made an amused smile and shrugged.


    ¡°It seems to me a decision has been made.¡±


    Belissar shook his head then turned back to the bees and smiled.


    ¡°Rare flower?¡±


    All of them began zipping about at once.


    ¡°Rare flower!¡±


    Belissar chuckled as he made the choice.


    <em>Rare Random Resource nt selected.</em>


    <em>Soaring Beeblossom is now avable!</em>


    Belissar saw all he needed to know he had made the right choice. But, of course, he read out the description, for who wouldn¡¯t want to know more about beeblossom?


    <em>Soaring Beeblossom</em>


    <em>- Type: Air, Nature</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 10 per node, 5 to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- Description: A flowering nt that has taken to the skies. Large, fluttering petals catch and strengthen the wind, enabling this flower to soar upon the breeze and join its pollinators in the air.</em>


    Belissar smiled as the bees burst out into dancing.


    ¡°Amazing, incredible!¡±


    And indeed, it was. A flower named for bees that could also fly, if he was reading the description right. That sounded very much perfect for his Tower. He immediately moved to make a patch¡­


    <em>Current Applications: Flower Meadow, Lava Field, Fairy Grove</em>


    Belissar tilted his head at that. So, he couldn¡¯t put this flower in the Apiary or the Orchard¡­but could put it in the Lava Field of all ces? That¡­seemed very strange indeed. He shrugged, though, and proceed to ce one in the Flower Meadow, right where he, Chief Rohsuak, and the Queens were gathered.


    A small patch of the ground began to glow. The nearby flowers began to sway as a gust of wind began blowing up and out of the patch. A group of white and pink flowers sprouted and bloomed¡­and then the entire patch lifted up out of the ground and soared into the air. The petals of the flowers fluttered, appearing like a cloud of butterflies as the flowers soared up and up. Higher and higher, until the gust cut off. The flowers continued to flutter and asionally glow, each time they did a slight breeze blew out and across the ground. The tangle of flowers began to bob up and down in the air as the gust below picked up again, the wind of the patch below cutting in and out to keep the flowers aloft.


    Belissar and Chief Rohsuak both simply watched with wide eyes as the bees danced about. An amazing and incredible flower indeed.

 POBee 141.1 - A Bee-posterous Proposal

    POBee 141.1 - A Bee-posterous Proposal


    The King, having filled his domain with new and incredible wonders, called the meeting to an end and retired to his chambers. The karnuq representative left as well. The First of the Fifth considered including her but decided to hold off. She had not yet secured the cooperation of the other queens, so it was not yet time.


    The First of the Fifth thus began to dance before the rest of the queens dispersed. Fortunately, they were all investigating the King¡¯s newest flower, and so still concentrated together.


    ¡°Have proposal, can meet now?¡±


    The queens danced the affirmative and returned as one to the Memorial. The Conduit remained as well, watching over their meeting. The Firstborn danced first.


    ¡°What¡¯s First of Fifth¡¯s proposal?¡±


    The First of the Fifth didn¡¯t hesitate before beginning the dance that could change everything.


    ¡°Shortcuts mean all hives close, all flowers close now. All hives can gather from all flowers if want. Queens and gardeners should gather and coordinate foraging. Ensure maximum honey production, cross-pollination for all flowers, and avoidpetition.¡±


    The First of the Fifth then paused. Now was the moment she hesitated, for she knew that she asked a lot. To take additional time out of the queens and gardeners¡¯ busy days to meet was already a sacrifice. To pool resources, for each individual hive to surrender its im to its local flowers? That was unthinkable. But the First of the Fifth knew, too, that the King loved all bees to an unthinkable degree. So, she felt that it was eptable, nay, appropriate even, for the King¡¯s bees to take unthinkable measures. That all may grow together as the King desired. So, she prepared herself. She recalled all the arguments and reasoning she had thought up before this moment, and moved to convince all of the other queens, many of which she had held in contempt, that this idea was¡­


    ¡°Ok!¡±The First of the Fifth froze and stared at the Fourth of the Seventh.


    ¡°¡­what?¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh repeated her dance.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    The First of the Fifth stoodpletely still. The Fourth of the Seventh¡­agreed? Just like that? Well, this <em>was</em> the queen that freely gave of her honey to the First of the Fifth¡¯s daughter, and then joined their hives together, so perhaps she was unusual from the start. Still, having one supporting queen was certainly beneficial. It should hopefully make it easier for her to convince the others. So, she turned to the Firstborn, who surely would be the toughest one to¡­


    She found the Firstborn already dancing.


    ¡°I agree, is good idea! Hive of hives should forage as one.¡±


    Now the First of the Fifth truly froze, her mind going nk. In all of her predicted oues of this talk, not in a single one did she imagine the Firstborn agreeing with her. So, ordingly, she had no idea how to respond to this situation. The Firstborn, the oldest among them, the one who led the King¡¯s army, just agreed to give up all her authority over the Flower Meadow¡¯s resources? Agreed to spend her time on meetings which could have been used raising or training more soldiers? All for an idea proposed by the First of the Fifth, who had done all in her power to usurp the Firstborn? The First of the Fifth did not know how to react.


    But, well, time spent in shock was time wasted, so the First of the Fifth¡¯s mind resumed soon enough. If the Firstborn was convinced, the Flower Meadow would surely follow. Indeed, the other queens of the Flower Meadow were dancing their support. Which meant, all she had to do was convince the remaining queens. The bumblebee queens were¡­currently running rapidly in a circle around the gathering of queens. Well, she expected as much from them. And that just left¡­the Third of the Sixth, newly appointed queen over the Lava Field, and then the rest of the Apiary queens.


    Stolen story; please report.


    The Second of the Sixth danced first.


    ¡°Yes, am willing. As long as flowers shared fairly.¡±


    The rest of the Apiary queens followed suit, and the Third of the Sixth had no objections as well. The First of the Fifth was once again stunned into silence.


    <em>All</em> of the queens¡­agreed? Just like that? Without her giving even a single one of her arguments or reasons? She¡­had known the Firstborn talked about an idea of a hive of hives. She had not known that all the other queensmitted to the idea to this degree. She found herself at a loss. Had she been¡­the <em>only</em> queen to think differently?


    But while the First of the Fifth was pondering her entire life¡¯s efforts one more, the conversation carried forward. The First of the Second from the Flower Meadow danced next.


    ¡°Need a queen to coordinate. Nominate First of the Fifth.¡±


    The Firstborn danced the affirmative.


    ¡°Is good idea. First of the Fifth well organized, good at honey production.¡±


    The First of the Fifth snapped out of her haze and spun around, unable toprehend the proceedings. She, too, knew that it would best to have an overall coordinator. She also believed herself to be the most suitable queen for the job. One look at the Flower Meadow queens¡¯ honey production methods would convince anyone of that, and the King himself had already ordered her to organize foraging and specialization for the Apiary. But, even so, she had not nned to take up the task, nor to nominate herself for it. She knew that she had misperceived the King¡¯s will early on in her life, and her machinations during that time had surely earned her many enemies. She knew that if she were to take on the task, the others would resist. Therefore, for the sake of convincing the other queens, she had nned to nominate another.


    So, thest thing she expected was to be nominated by the Flower Meadow queens. The Fourth of the Seventh agreed as well, though perhaps that was to be expected given how closely she worked with the First of the Fifth¡¯s own offspring.


    The First of the Fifth turned to the Apiary queens. The Flower Meadow queens had lived far away and had authority over flower patches of their own. They, perhaps, would not have understood fully what the First of the Fifth had been like before. But not so with the Apiary queens. These were the queens that had been fully suppressed by her in the past. Would they now willingly allow her a position of such authority? They had agreed to her management of the Apiary, but that had been a direct order from the King and facilitated by the Conduit. This was a voluntary decision under no suchpulsion. The First of the Fifth awaited their objections, which she would ept and step down.


    The Second of the Sixth crawled up to her and stood face to face, her antennae twitching and her wings buzzing. She then slowly began to dance.


    ¡°I¡­agree. Think First of the Fifth will do well.¡±


    The First of the Fifth buzzed her wings and began spinning about. She frantically rushed the Second of the Sixth, exchanging mana and pheromones directly through her antennae.


    ¡°Really? Second of the Sixth is sure? I¡­I hoarded flowers, King¡¯s attention before! Might do again!¡±


    The Second of the Sixth stood firm under the assault and danced the affirmative.


    ¡°First of the Fifth did, have not forgotten. But First of the Fifth has changed. Helping bees now, gave up flowers. As long as continue, is fine.¡±


    She then turned to the Conduit.


    ¡°Conduit can watch, ensure flowers shared?¡±


    The Conduit zipped about.


    ¡°Ok! Will!¡±


    The Second of the Sixth turned to face the First of the Fifth once more.


    ¡°Then is ok. First of the Fifth wants all bees to grow now, right?¡±


    The First of the Fifth trembled, but slowly began to dance.


    ¡°Yes. Want all of King¡¯s bees to grow, will make King happy. Want¡­hive of hives to grow.¡±


    The Second of the Sixth danced a confirmation at that and then slowly backed away. One by one, the Apiary queens each danced their assent. The Conduit herself thennded nearby.


    ¡°Then, decided! Bees gather to discuss foraging! First of the Fifth will coordinate! All bees work together for King!¡±


    Every single bee present danced a salute at the Conduit¡¯s words. The First of the Fifth then fell still once more, her mind still catching up to this turn of events. The Second of the Sixth still stood before her and danced.


    ¡°Keep up changes, ok? Have not forgotten but will work with as long as First of the Fifth helps us grow.¡±


    She then flew off. The Firstborn crawled up to her next.


    ¡°Great idea, First of the Fifth! Will help hive of hives grow! Know you¡¯ll help a lot, really good at making honey!¡±


    The First of the Fifth barely managed a thanks dance. At that point, she fell to the ground as a heavy weight collided with her. The bumblebee queens had charged her down and were now crawling over her, grooming her as best they could. The Conduit danced happily about.


    ¡°Bees trust First of the Fifth now! First of Fifth should work hard to help them!¡±


    The First of the Fifth slowly managed to extract herself from the bumblebee queen pile and stood before the Conduit. Her mind finally began to work again and she danced a salute.


    ¡°I will. Will not let bees or King down.¡±

 Chapter 142: An Overdue Bee-view

    Chapter 142: An Overdue Bee-view


    The next day, Belissar received a special report from Niobee during breakfast.


    ¡°Oh, the bees are going to coordinate gathering?¡±


    Niobee danced the affirmative.


    ¡°Yes! First of the Fifth says with shortcuts, all bees can gather from all flowers now, so going to work together!¡±


    Belissar smiled and nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    Indeed, Belissar had some vague ideas about that sort of thing when he set up the shortcut, but to think his bees had alreadye together and worked it out. They really were the best.


    Belissar then crossed his arms and hummed. If the bees were going to be coordinating to that degree, then he should decide how he was going to support them. Previously, he had just gone and made one of every flower type in every room that held bees, so that all bees would have ess to all flowers. He had already stopped doing that after speaking with the First of the Fifth about specializing certain hives and then sharing honey, and it seemed that shortcuts would take that idea to the next level. Now, all the bees could share a single patch of flowers no matter where in the Tower it was located¡­and the gardeners could help spread those flowers if more of them were necessary.


    Belissar nodded and then turned to Niobee.¡°Once they¡¯ve met and figured out their gathering, they should let me know what they think about the flower numbers. Um, specifically, if we need more of a certain flower type I can make more patches. But if we have too many of certain type, I could also remove some patches and get some mana back to use for others. So, um¡­¡±


    Belissar paused to think for a second.


    ¡°¡­yeah, let me know once they know how many of each type of flower patch they need.¡±


    Niobee danced the salute.


    ¡°Ok! Will!¡±


    Belissar nodded at that. While he didn¡¯t want to remove any flowers, it would be silly to spend mana on flowers the bees didn¡¯t need now that they were going to share all of them. Reiming some of the redundant patches, if any, could allow him to afford more of the expensive types, like the new soaring beeblossom.


    Speaking of which, Belissar had initially nned to create two more soaring beeblossom patches. One would go in the bumblebee meadow for the bumblebee and Apiary queens. The second would go in the Lava Field¡­mostly because Belissar was curious as to why he could put them in the Lava Field. But now, he decided to wait until the queens met and reported before making anymore. The bumblebees and Apiary hives could now reach the battle meadow¡¯s flowers as easily as their own. And as for his curiosity¡­well, he could always ask the gardeners to spread the soaring beeblossom to the Lava Field and so avoid spending mana just to sate his curiosity. All he needed was a bit of patience.


    So, after receiving the rest of the reports for the day, Belissar put aside the beeblossoms and focused on the other two features. He created two alum patches, one for the karnuq and one for the bees. He had no idea if either party could actually use them, but they were fairly cheap at three mana each so it wasn¡¯t a major concern if no one could figure out what to do with them for now.


    Following that, he ced a bunch of beeswax candles in two of the three Dirt Tunnel rooms, the one on the karnuq¡¯s floor and the one on the Apiary floor. Hopefully, that would make it easier for the bees and the karnuq to gather the materials, nts, and mushrooms within. He did ce a few in the first floor Dirt Tunnels, which he decided to tentatively call the battle tunnels. He lined them on the final tunnel leading to the battle meadow, so the bees could see any shades about to exit. He also asked Niobee to ask the bees to start providing wax, normal wax to the Apiary floor¡¯s tunnels, and then wax from the specialized bee queens for the battle tunnels. Just to see what, if anything, different types of wax would do.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    He considered whether or not to ask the bees to provide wax for the karnuq¡¯s tunnels¡­but figured he could ask the karnuq to do it themselves now that they had regr ess to honeb. In fact, he could work that into beekeeping lessons on the various uses of beeswax. He nodded as he made his decision, maybe one day the bees would take over if they moved into the karnuq¡¯s beehouse, but for now the karnuq would help maintain that feature themselves.


    With the new features addressed, Belissar set out about the rest of his day, excited to hear what his bees woulde up with.


    The First of the Fifth was spinning about in circles. She was surrounded on all sides by gardeners andmuners, with her own daughters andmuners dancing about to try and help out.


    In preparation for her task, the First of the Fifth decided first topile reports from the gardeners. She could not efficiently allocate flowers to foragers unless she knew the status of those flowers, after all. So, she had requested all the hives with gardeners send reports on the flowers they had visited, so she couldpile them all into an overall picture of the King¡¯s domain.


    As it turned out, the reports were staggering. The King had recreated an entire flower ecosystem for each of the rooms that had been settled by hives, owing to a time when each hive treated its own resources as separate from the others. There were, therefore, a vast number of flowers to report on¡­and with them, a vast number of issues and opportunities to address.


    The mana flowers were, as a rule, overworked, receiving entirely too much attention from the hives. On the other hand, most of the mundane flowers had been neglected to various degrees. Cloudberries and sweetvetch had produced a special honey type especially suited for winter, but then had been neglected as unnecessary since the King¡¯s realm maintained a constant climate. The floating flowers the King had nted in the ponds had been written off and ignored after they were found to possess no specialpounds. The flowers the King and Fourth of the Seventh used to weave stems together had not received any cross-pollination since the only visitors were harvesting entire nts rather than nectar and pollen and hadn¡¯t been visiting any other flowers on the way there. The mushrooms and nts in the Dirt Tunnels besides the Ground mana flowers had also gone neglected as most of the bees had trouble foraging in the darkness and the digging beehive had only recently hit its stride. There was a vine and a mushroom both with noticeable mana density, neither of which had never been foraged, even! Additionally, there was a mushroom the dangerous one had stated possessed a deadly poison; a fact confirmed by the Conduit herself! As for the Orchard, the trees there had been receiving some visits, but the gardeners indicated they needed far more cross-pollination before they¡¯d show results like seen in the mundane flowers. And then there was the question of the flowers in the karnuq hives, which the gardeners pointed out had seen few to no visits by bees whatsoever. Their status as of now was entirely unknown but was assumed to be neglected as a result.


    Additionally, only her hive had been focused on cross-pollination in the first ce. The Flower Meadow queens had been too focused to spare the effort, while the Orchard queens only had mana flowers and the apple trees and so hadn¡¯t seen any results. As for the Apiary, she herself had actively prevented the other queens from gathering from what she had considered her flowers, preventing any sort of cross-pollination efforts by anyone other than her. Even now that she was no longer doing so, the Apiary¡¯s focus on specializing queens meant she still hadn¡¯t introduced cross-pollination methods to the Apiary as a whole. As a result of all these things, the gardeners now reported that the rate of cross-pollination was far lower than it could have been.


    This¡­was entirely intolerable to the First of the Fifth. The narrow focus of the hive of hives and her own misguided perceptions hadbined to produce the worst result she could possibly imagine: staggering inefficiency. Countless opportunities had been overlooked, vast resources had gone unutilized, and favored flowers had been pushed beyond their limits.


    The First of the Fifth decided this would change. She decided that this <em>must</em> change. If it did not, honey production would drop across the board for all hives while the quality of the honey served at the King¡¯s table would diminish. And that could not be allowed, no matter the cost. So, the First of the Fifth received the reports with renewed fervor. The King and the hive of hives both had asked her to manage foraging for maximum efficiency. And this she would do; whatever efforts were required of her to see it done.

 POBee 142.1 - Ominous Bee-haviour

    POBee 142.1 - Ominous Bee-haviour


    The Fourth of the Seventh flew across the forest,ing to a rest on top of arge tree branch. Her workers and soldiers gathered around her, along with twomuners. One of themuners was her own, but not the other. The other was squat, with thicker carapace, legs, and mandibles and a brown color to her hair, for she was from the digging hive.


    And this was not their first time working together, either. Previously, the King had asked the Fourth of the Seventh to help map out the sigmaka¡¯s territory. The digging queen raised a pair ofmuners, sending one with the karnuq as the neers escorted them through the tunnels below, while the other traveled with the Fourth of the Seventh. As a result, the Fourth of the Seventh and her scouts were able to follow along and figure out where the tunnels below matched up with the surface, at least up to where the sigmaka tunnels went underneath the Hunger. Her hive then marked out those borders, apparently scouting and foraging for nectar was fine, but building hives was forbidden in that area.


    That made sense to her. Her instincts told her that nearby hives could try to rob her own, to which her bees would respond with violence. But apparently King and the sigmaka didn¡¯t want to hurt each other, so it made sense to keep a bit of distance and avoid that sort of thing. Well, the hive of hives also didn¡¯t do that to each other, but maybe neers living in the Beyond still did. She didn¡¯t know but trusted that the King had it figured it out!


    What she did know is that the King had asked her to scout out the surface above the sigmaka¡¯snds, which she was happy to do! So, she and her scout hive flew to the center of the area, then the scouts began to spread out in every direction while the Fourth of the Seventh coordinated viamuner. She watched through dozens of eyes as they passed between trees and over bushes, taking note of any flowers or anything out of the ordinary.


    So far, it was more of the same. The sigmaka area was on the southwestern side of the King¡¯s Tower. The ruins she built her mini-hive, on the other hand, were located to the northwest, with the entrance to underground in between them both. From the initial flyover, the Fourth of the Seventh felt the mana concentration in the area was slightly lower than in the north side, and they had not identified any additional ruins. Her scouts found and sampled additional flowers, but none that they had not found elsewhere in the Beyond.


    The diggingmuner helped point out where the tunnels below came close to the surface, and so where entrances might be constructed. The scouts marked out these areas as well, flying around them extensively to fix them in their memories. They found at least one tunnel, a small hole with signs that some sort of animal had gone in and out.


    The Fourth of the Seventh beat her wings as she danced about. She wondered what sort of creature had arrived from underground. The hole seemed too small for a sigmaka or karnuq, and whoever had made it had clearly not stuck around. She assigned one of the scouts to remain nearby and keep an eye out for if they returned.


    Additionally, this discovery meant that the Fourth of the Seventh would need to keep up the scouting patrols, not just here but all across the Beyond. Living things other than the karnuq and the bees were starting to arrive and discover the refuge the King had purified. Soon, the bees would not be alone out here. And the Fourth of the Seventh intended to know when they located new neighbors! Or predators to be stung. That was also possible, perhaps even likely. But that¡¯d be fine, then the Fourth of the Seventh could try hunting like the karnuq apparently did!


    As the day wore on, the scouts continued to make their way through the forest floor. At this point, some of them diverted up towards the canopy, scouting out the view from above, searching for flowers from the trees, and looking out to see if any flying creatures had located the purified area. Some of them approached the border with the Hunger, taking care not to stray too close. The Fourth of the Seventh watched through their eyes, having them stay to observe the enemy for a moment.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the vition.


    It was a writhing mass of ck mist with rainbow undertones, so densely packed that it became like a sea, held back by the invisible power of the King¡¯s Tower. The border wasn¡¯t clearly delineated, the Hunger constantly pushed and flowed into the purified zone, only to fade and disperse the further inside it got. And this motion was not limited to the border. The Fourth of the Seventh had one of her scouts fly high, even above the trees, to look out across the Hunger. It twisted and writhed, with waves moving across its surface and colliding into one another. Tendrils and wisps and columns all rose and fell from the surface up towards the sky, as if reaching for the lights above. Through the constant motion, the Fourth of the Seventh almost thought she could distinguish shapes at time. One wave almost seemed to hold the head of one of the invaders she had seen before it collided into another and dispersed. Sometimes the shifting colors of the Hunger seemed to form into red eyes for but a moment before they melted back into the ck. And sometimes the tendrils and wisps rising into the air curled into what seemed like wings or legs or other such things.


    She instinctively recoiled, even though she couldn¡¯t keep her eyes off of it. She felt as if she was being watched by a predator, a monster sniffing about the walls of her hive, heedless to the threats of her guards. She could imagine the monsters that invaded her home forming out of the constant motion and charging across the Beyond. She buzzed her wings.


    The hive of hives would not allow that to happen, the Fourth of the Seventh included. And to think there was an entire hive of King-like beings living deep underneath it all, without the protection of the King or his Tower or the Queen of All Bees, where at any moment the Hunger could pour in and attack. The Fourth of the Seventh couldn¡¯t imagine such a thing.


    But, ultimately, anything she thought she saw melted back into the mist before fully forming. The Hunger was in motion and trying its best, but it couldn¡¯t reach her here. For all the fear she felt, the power of the King¡¯s Tower was stronger. The very mana that flowed within her held the monsters at bay. And so, it would, so long as the hive of hives continued to protect their home.


    So, even if one of those tendrils formed into something, she wouldn¡¯t worry. Even that one that looked like a pair of wings. Even as that pair of wings began to p. Even as a form broke off from the column of mist it was attached to and began to fly, not dispersing apart as normal.


    The Fourth of the Seventh paused, then began to brush her eyes and antennae. She had just been about to sound the rm, her workers and soldiers were already buzzing around her and telling her to return to the King¡¯s Tower. But¡­the shade didn¡¯t approach them. Indeed, it was flying <em>away</em> from them, towards other flying shades beginning to form. These, too, flew away from the purified zone, towards a couple more ck dots hanging in the sky in the distance.


    ¡°Queen¡­need go! Dangerous!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh danced her affirmative and took off. But as she started to fly back, she danced out somemands as well.


    ¡°Keep an eye on. Hunger¡­doing something different. Need to see, report to King.¡±


    Her workers saluted and themuner ryed the order to the scouts. The scouts all began to fly up above the canopy, keeping their eyes on the flying shades as best they could from this distance. The ck dots they were headed to began to grow a bitrger even as the flying shades grew smaller. The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s mind raced even as she flew back towards the safety of home. What was the Hunger doing? Why would the shades fly away from the King¡¯s realm, which they were so intent on destroying? Were they gathering together for an attack? Was the Hunger about to swarm and escort a new queen somewhere? Did the Hunger even have queens?


    Her questions only grew as the dots grew closer and the shades approached them. Her scouts started to see little shes of light appear around the dots. That¡­was strange. As far as her workers had seen, the Hunger didn¡¯t make lights like that. Even the lightning and fire the invading shades had produced didn¡¯t light up the area like normal lightning and fire did.


    It was only as she reached the gates of the King¡¯s Tower that she started getting some answers. The dots flew close enough that they stopped being dots. Her scouts could see some sort of tiny winged creatures flying through the air, sending out shes of light towards the flying shades that approached them.


    She froze right at the entrance, much to the chagrin of her workers.


    ¡°Something¡­under attack?¡±

 Side Story 142.2 - Arrival

    Side Story 142.2 - Arrival


    Belissar was just walking towards the karnuq for lessons when he felt a frantic pull on his mana. His Tower sight shifted to find the Fourth of the Seventh dancing frantically at the Tower entrance.


    <em>¡°King! See something flying over Hunger! Getting attacked by shades!¡±</em>


    Belissar¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he spoke through the Tower mana.


    <em>¡°Niobee, get the army ready! Chief Rohsuak, there¡¯s an emergency! We could use you and the hunters!¡±</em>


    Both of them replied and set about to fulfill hismands. Belissar then paused. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to still his beating heart.


    He was reacting before thinking. Chief Rohsuak had pointed out that, while responding decisively to an emergency was important, as a leader he should stop and think about the situation as a whole as soon as circumstances allowed. The Tower itself was not under attack, nor was anyone he knew. He looked through the eyes of the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s scouts and found the battle still far away, over the Hunger, so not anywhere they could intervene just yet.


    He took another deep breath and opened his eyes. He had time to think. So, some sort of flying creatures were headed this way and currently under attack by the Hunger. Since shades had formed, the army needed to get ready to respond, that much was clear. But¡­what should he do about the flying creatures? They could be wild animals that would turn hostile if they saw him, they could be injured and in need of assistance, or maybe they were even intelligent? They were bear people and skunk people so why not bird people? Point was, he didn¡¯t know who they were or how they would react if the bee army joined the battle.


    So, he reached out.


    <em>¡°Chief Rohsuak.¡±</em><em>¡°I¡¯m at yourmand, Sacred Den Master. May I ask what¡¯s going on?¡±</em>


    He nodded even though she couldn¡¯t see him.


    <em>¡°Something is flying over the Hunger. They¡¯re currently under attack by shades and headed this way. I¡¯d like to talk about how to address the situation before they arrive.¡±</em>


    Her voice came through, with no hint of amusement or mirth this time.


    <em>¡°I understand. Let¡¯s quickly consider some possible scenarios then.¡±</em>


    Belissar and Chief Rohsuak then started discussing what to do depending on who exactly the neers were and how they might act, and how they might best deal with the shades in those scenarios. Belissar could only hope they¡¯d figure it out before the battle arrived¡­


    Niobeended in the Orchard, right before the shortcut to the Tower¡¯s entrance. The Second First of the First had already arrived and was discussing the situation with the Fourth of the Seventh and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter. All around them, soldier bees were flying in from the shortcuts and assembling into their formations. The three queens all stopped and saluted to Niobee as she arrived.


    ¡°Conduit, army gathering. Will be ready to move soon, whenever Kingmands.¡±


    Niobee brushed the antennae of the Second First of the First.


    ¡°Good, thanks!¡±


    She then turned to the Fourth of the Seventh.


    ¡°Can look through scouts? Want to see.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Niobee could always get glimpses of what was going on, but for this she was going to look more forcefully, so she thought she¡¯d ask. The Fourth of the Seventh happily agreed, though, so Niobee gathered up her mana and started to dance. It took a bit more effort since her target was outside of the Tower, but Niobee pushed it through until she could fully see everything the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s scouts could.


    She watched as the flying creatures approached. She didn¡¯t know what they were, but there was something about them that seemed¡­familiar. As they flew closer, she started to see that they weren¡¯t alone. There were little figures on their backs.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°More humans, or human like things. Will probably talk to King.¡±


    The Second First of the First danced about.


    ¡°Like karnuq, sigmaka? Should help then?¡±


    Niobee danced the affirmative.


    ¡°King will probably want to. Will help, but keep eye out. Don¡¯t let hurt King if¡­¡±


    But then Niobee froze mid-dance. The three queens nced at one another before the Second First of the First stepped forward and touched Niobee¡¯s antennae.


    ¡°Conduit? Is something¡­¡±


    Then Niobee suddenly leapt into the air, buzzing her wings as loud as she could as she extended her stinger. She began to zip about, spreading attack pheromones as she started to dance.


    ¡°They¡¯re here! Bad humans who hurt King!¡±


    ¡°My lord! Get down!¡±


    Ruckanos threw himself t against his saddle, clinging on for dear life. Another wyvern flew just above him, its scales catching and tearing the edges of his cloak. Its rider, the captain of his guard, drove ance right into a shade flying in towards Ruckanos¡¯s nk, dispersing the monster. Neither Ruckanos nor his captain had anytime toment on the exchange, however, as their wyverns peeled away and spun about to gain distance from one another, just as another pair of bird shades began to dive towards them. The captain hefted hisnce once more while Ruckanos tried to chant a spell through chattering teeth.


    Of course, now, of all times, the Hunger had decided to strike, right when the group was at their most exhausted. The trip from thetest purified zone had been the longest yet, a flight over thergest unbroken sea of the Hunger they had encountered. The captain had wanted to turn back, even, for they were forced to pass the point where they could no longer return. But Ruckanos had pressed on. The gods hadid out this specific path for them so Ruckanos believed they would find something before their strength was spent.


    And now, just when they had spotted a purified zone and his faith had been vindicated, the Hunger struck. It was inevitable, really. People imed that wyverns flying so high in the sky that the air froze would keep them safe from the Hunger, but there was no such thing as safe when it came to the Hunger. Wyverns flying so high they were barely visible from the ground had been attacked when sparrows flying barely above the Hunger¡¯s surface had not. There was no discernable rhyme or reason to when or how the Hunger would attack. So, the longer one spent near the Hunger, the more certain they would eventually be attacked, no matter the precautions. It had been a miracle they had not been attacked yet on their long journey. Ruckanos had hoped their guiding god would keep it that way.


    But now, just before the finish, they would face their greatest challenge yet, when all of them were exhausted and spent. It showed nearly immediately. Thencers had been slow to form up and had thus allowed some of the shades to infiltrate their formation and attack the mages. One of the mages fired off a quick lightning bolt at an approaching shade, but it absorbed the attack with no apparent effect and tore the mage to shreds. It then unleashed a wave of ck lightning that sent the mage¡¯s mount hurtling to the ground¡­along with one of thencers who had btedly moved in to assist. Within moments, they had lost two of their number, and now Ruckanos himself was under assault.


    The captain nced around and grabbed a horn tied to his belt, blowing it to grab everyone¡¯s attention. He then pointed hisnce towards the one clear spot in the distance.


    ¡°Breakthrough and make for the Tower! And no lightning, they¡¯re immune!¡±


    His guards may have been exhausted, but they were well-trained and quickly reacted to themand. The captain took the lead, hisnce glowing with mana, and the others formed up around him. They aimed theirnces forward and then drove all of their wyverns ahead at full speed. The mages followed along, flinging fireballs and gusts of wind to cover the nks, while those specialized in lightning began casting support spells instead, boosting the speed of the group. Ruckanos and the augur tried to keep their wyverns in the center.


    A group of shades rushed in front of the group and together released a huge surge of ck lightning, but Ruckanos¡¯s mages countered with lighting of their own. The captain then smashed right through the surge, hisnce wrapping up the lightning around it as he thrust it forward. The mana coating hisnce pushed forward, piercing through a shade before the tip of hisnce even made contact with it. The otherncers followed suit, though did not fare so well. One was wrapped in lightning by a shade still pierced on hisnce. His wyvern stayed aloft, but his speed slowed to a crawl and he was quickly left behind. Ruckanos resisted the urge to look behind as he heard the man scream.


    But his sacrifice would not be in vain. The formation had pushed through the flock of shades, and the powerful wings of the wyverns propelled them forward. The shades fell behind, while ahead of themy the bright green of a purified forest.


    His hair tingled as a bolt of ck lightning shot passed him, but Ruckanos spurred his wyvern onward. The green grew in his vision even as he saw flickers of ck in the corners of his eyes. Below them, the Hunger writhed and more shades joined the fray. A massive tendril of pure Hunger suddenlyshed up from below and the formation scattered. One of the mages made a wrong turn, screaming as the tendril of ck mist engulfed him and his mount.


    At this point, Ruckanos no longer paid any attention to anything happening around him. His sweat froze as he dug into the sides of his wyvern, channeling as much mana as he could stuff into the reigns. Anything he could to force the beast to move even a little bit faster. His eyes were locked upon the green ahead, the zone of safety just barely out of reach.


    And then, finally, his vision turned green and blue. He was surrounded by trees below and clear skies above. He panted heavily and gulped. He turned around, shivering as he imagined what he might see. His eyes widened.


    All around him, men fell into the saddles of wyverns as exhausted as they,nding right on the trees. The Hunger remained in the back, held back by the power of the gods. The bird shades gave up their pursuit, diving down and melting back into the Hunger.


    Ruckanos took a deep breath.


    They had made it.

 Chapter 143: Belissars Bee-cision

    Chapter 143: Belissar''s Bee-cision


    Ruckanos was leaning across his saddle, holding his head. Behind him, the augur sat on another wyvern, currently fiddling with some ritual or another. The captain was in the midst of a rollcall, checking on the men. He finished up and flew his wyvern over to Ruckanos, a firm and neutral expression on his face.


    ¡°My lord, we lost five hands with their wyverns and all supplies. An additional four are wounded, one seriously enough that he will not be able to fight before recovering.¡±


    Ruckanos groaned and clutched his head tighter. They had made it but¡­their force was already pitifully small andcking in Tower Guards with full blessings. The captain was about the only one, Ruckanos had notmitted to any god prior to gaining a Tower of his own. The rest of his guards had also not been allowed the opportunity until then. If they continued to take losses like this on the journey, Ruckanos might find himself facing his lost Tower and its thief all alone.


    But then, he heard a voice behind him.


    ¡°We¡¯re¡­here.¡±


    He and the captain both turned to look at the augur.


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    The augur¡¯s eyes were open wide.


    ¡°I¡¯ve checked our current position against the charted path. Thest flight was longer than expected so¡­we have arrived at our destination.¡±Ruckanos stared at him for a moment before he started to grin.


    ¡°Captain, prepare the men for an assault.¡±


    The captain furrowed his brow.


    ¡°My lord, is that wise? We did not have the strength for a Tower subjugation even when we started this mission. Now, with our casualties¡­¡±


    Ruckanos shrugged.


    ¡°That was the point. You know as well as I that none of us were meant to return. But the situation is different now. We have been led here by one of the gods themselves, to a Tower we know is young and led by someone entirely unworthy. It¡¯s a miracle the Tower still exists, and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it stillcked a patron. For what other purpose would we have been led here then to cast the unworthy aside and rece them with a proper Tower Lord?¡±


    The augur frowned.


    ¡°I¡­would be cautious about assuming the will of the gods, my lord. But¡­I suppose they were unusually direct with their assistance this time. Still, perhaps I should make another offering?¡±


    The captain nodded.


    ¡°That would also give the men a chance to rest, my lord, and allow us to scout the situation. If we are to prepare for an assault, the men will need to be in their best shape. ¡°


    Ruckanos heaved a massive sigh.


    ¡°Very well. Let us have a short rest, then, but do not dither about, captain. We should not keep the gods waiting.¡±


    ***


    Belissar paused for a moment. He had gathered with Chief Rohsuak and the karnuq hunters now and they were all walking towards the Orchard and its shortcuts.


    ¡°Ok, looks like there are people on the back of the wyverns¡­so it will probably be a diplomatic situation then? I guess then one of your people should go with the bees?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Understood. Metsaitti will lead our hunters along with the bee army.¡±


    The group passed into the Orchard¡­and Belissar¡¯s eyes went wide. The air was filled with loud buzzing. The bees were all zipping about, no longer in tight formations but in a swarm flying every which way¡­with stingers extended.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°What¡¯s got them so¡­¡±


    But then, Belissar saw it through the eyes of a scout bee. The face of one of the riders as hended within the purified area. The karnuq eyed the swarming bees with concern as Chief Rohsuak turned to Belissar.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master, what is the matter?¡±


    But he barely heard her speak. He barely had a thought in his mind at all; he didn¡¯t even notice the shades call off their pursuit. Instead, he began to tremble.


    It was him. He was here. Belissar smelt smoke, saw flickering mes, and felt a sharp pain in his back. His heart pounded and his head felt light. He¡­


    Then, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Chief Rohsuak looking at him with worry.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master, are you alright? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Belissar continued trembled but gulped.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­him. H-Humans, the Tower Lords. And¡­i-it¡¯s the Tower Lord¡¯s son. The one who burned down my vige and nearly killed me.¡±


    The bees buzzing intensified further. Belissar felt more than saw Niobeend on his head. She crawled over him, buzzing her wings and brushing him with her antennae.


    ¡°King¡¯s enemy! Niobee¡¯s enemy! Bees will sting! Protect King!¡±


    Chief Rohsuak patted his shoulder again and he nced over. He felt heat begin to emanate from her body, while Metsaitti and the karnuq hefted their spears.


    ¡°We are with you as well, Sacred Den Master. If this man is your enemy, just say the word and we will strike him down.¡±


    Belissar watched her for a moment as Niobee continued to crawl over him, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. That¡¯s right, he wasn¡¯t a helpless peasant living on his own anymore. The bees and the karnuq both stood at his side. So, he tried to turn his thoughts away from fire and smoke and pain and towards the people around him.


    He thought of Niobee and all of her efforts to save, guide, and protect him. How she brought him here, led him to the Tower¡¯s core, and didn¡¯t hesitate to throw herself in harm¡¯s way on his behalf.


    He thought of the bees and all the times they had shared together. The Flower Meadow queens and their resolute courage, facing terrifying shades time after time again without hesitation orint. The Apiary queens and their restless work, giving him more honey than he knew what to do with. The Orchard queens and their joy when he built them a home. The worker bees swarming over new mana flowers, the soldier bees training day in and day out to guard the Tower, Beero and the others training magic when their wings failed them, and the bumblebees happily zipping about. He thought of all they had built together.


    And he thought of all they had lost. The first group of queens who had perished due to his own mistakes. The soldiers who had died facing the a wolf-shade for the first time, when the soldier army was still learning how to fight. The soldiers who had sacrificed themselves to keep two shades in a pit long enough for Belissar to burn them. Those who had died trying to hold back the first bird-shade. Beero and the other wounded who had lost their wings, yet still strove to do nothing more but return to the fight. The drones who gave their lives to bring the new hives to life.


    He thought of the karnuq, the first people to treat him well since his parents and the old beekeeper. He thought of his lessons with Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik. He thought of the hunters who once challenged his Tower every day. He thought of Noiggakuq, sneaking in at night to deliver flowers. He thought of Metsaitti facing down a shade in the forest, of Chief Rohsuak burning the turtle shade that repelled his bees. He thought of Muuraqi helping him build stone beehouses, while the soldier bees helped the karnuq build houses of their own. He thought of Juosiutik¡¯s passionate conversation with the First of the Fifth. He thought of the karnuq children ying with a bumblebee soldier.


    He opened his eyes and red out into the air, clenching his fists until they shook.


    No.


    The Tower Lords were not taking another home from him. They would not take all that he and the bees and the karnuq had built, all that they had fought and died for. So, if the Tower Lords hade here to burn and kill once more, they would not find the quivering peasant from before. Nor would they find a Tower Lord, but a Tower Keeper, blessed by two of the gods and apanied by his countless friends and allies.


    Belissar slowly unclenched his hand to reach up and brush Niobee. He nced at Chief Rohsuak and gave her a nod. Then he turned and looked up at his bees, swarming about him. They began to slow down as they noticed his attention.


    He felt his heart catch but a moment at the thought of what was toe, of the bees that would be put in harm¡¯s way. But this time, he put it aside. The bees were more than ready to defend their home, whatever the cost. It was what they longed to do. Niobee seemed ready to go out and attack even if he didn¡¯t give the order. He didn¡¯t me her after theirst encounter with the man approaching.


    And the Tower Lords would not give him a choice regardless. Even if they did note in force, they thought of people like the karnuq as subhuman monsters. They thought that the gods hated the sight of peasants even stepping foot inside a Tower, much less taking charge of one. They would not leave him be.


    And this time, he could do more than run. He could stop the burning of his home. He could stand up to a Tower Lord¡¯s son. He could fight back.


    He narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth.


    ¡°Everyone, prepare for battle.¡±

 Chapter 144: It Is Your Desti-Bee

    Chapter 144: It Is Your Desti-Bee


    Belissar looked up at the swarming bee army and frowned.


    ¡°Niobee, could you help me calm them down?¡±


    Niobee flew unsteadily in response.


    ¡°Calm down? Not going to go sting now?¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°We will, but let¡¯s see what they do first. If theye here¡­no point in wasting all those traps, right?¡±


    Niobee¡¯s dance resumed speed.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    With that, she zipped off into the sky, touching antennae with the queens to cool down the attack pheromones. The queens slowly brought the soldier bees back under control, having them cease their swarming and gather into formation instead. Belissar turned his attention back to the iing humans. They were resting up and passing around some food at the moment. Belissar was a bit tempted to send the army now but decided against it. The wyverns were big and had flown in at quite the speed, reminding Belissar of the big bird shades. In fact, they had outrun those very bird shades on their way here, if the shades attacking them were the same type.That being the case, Belissar didn¡¯t want to fight them out in the open where they could outrun the bees and dive through them. He wanted to first see them restricted by the Dirt Tunnels and the traps within.


    He rubbed his chin at that. He thought, and thought, and thought some more.


    He made his choice and moved the rooms of the First Floor around. He ced the Flower Meadow just after the Dirt Tunnels, so that it would be the first thing the humans encountered when leaving.


    The more he thought about it, the more he was concerned that about the wyvern¡¯s speed in the open air. He did not want to give them a chance to get flying and build up speed. Having them exit out into the Lava Field and its mini volcano <em>might</em> stop them before they even reached the bee army¡­but what if it didn¡¯t? What if they just flew over theva and evaded the boulders? If that urred, then having them exit into a room without the bee army just gave them a chance to take off and get airborne.


    If, on the other hand, they had to exit the tunnels directly into the waiting stingers of the bee army? Then, like the bird shades before them, they¡¯d be surrounded by bees before they had the chance to move.


    Belissar nodded, making his final decision. He went on to let the bees and the karnuq know what the n was.


    He could only hope it would be enough¡­


    Ruckanos sighed as his wyvern finally began to beat its wings and rise into the air. The men werecking in enthusiasm. They had been silent as they rested and they were silent now as they climbed their mounts, their heads hanging low.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t as if he didn¡¯t understand. His body, too, felt heavy under the sheer fatigue of their previous journey, surely unprepared for the task at hand. But what a task it would be! They had been led here by the gods themselves! Surely the men could show at least a little spirit on behalf of the gods, couldn¡¯t they? Sure, the gods remained silent during the augur''s offering this time, but surely theck of news meant their mission hadn''t changed?


    But there was nothing for it, so Ruckanos said nothing as the group took off and made for the center of the purified zone. Surely, they would warm up once the mission got started. And even if they did not¡­Ruckanos would let nothing stand between him and his destiny.


    Soon, they arrived. Ruckanos frowned. They found the Tower without issue and indeed it was young¡­but it was not as he expected. The Tower now rose four stories into the air¡­and had golden banners. The symbol, a beending upon a flower, was not one he recognized, but he understood what the symbol itself entailed.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    This Tower had been blessed by a patron god.


    He turned his head as the wyvernsnded in the clearing before the Tower, ncing back at the old man behind their formation.


    ¡°Augur, which god is this?¡±


    The augur furrowed his brow.


    ¡°I¡­have no memory of this symbol. It was not one recorded in the archives.¡±


    Ruckanos narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The augur shook his head.


    ¡°The gods are beyond the ken of us mortal men, and though it is rare, new ones <em>have</em> been discovered over time. Though, if I were to hazard a guess¡­that color is the same as the divinations. I believe the patron of this Tower was the one who guided us here.¡±


    Ruckanos crossed his arms at that, rubbing his chin. The god who led them here¡­was the patron of this Tower? But¡­why would they do such a thing? Ruckanos had expected the gods to be displeased with whoever was desecrating this Tower¡­but then why would they have given it their blessing? Did they change their mind? Did they give the unworthy would-be lord a chance only to find them as poor a master as feared?


    But how could that be true? Not only had the Tower survived but had risen to four floors already. It was hardly months old at this stage, so that should not have been possible. It normally took weeks for a Tower to gather the mana reserves for an expansion, much less four. If Ruckanos didn¡¯t know any better, he¡¯d have said this Tower Lord was doing impossibly well for himself.


    And deep within his heart crept the tiniest of doubts that perhaps he was not intended to take charge of this Tower.


    But that couldn¡¯t be, could it? Whoever was in charge of this ce could not have prepared beforehand like he had. They¡¯d have stumbled about, not understanding a thing that they did. It must have been a sheer ident, or perhaps excessive intervention by the gods, that the Tower even survived this long. Perhaps the patron was clearing the way for him, intervening to keep his Tower intact, nay, growing even, for the day that he arrived to im it.


    He held tight to that hope as he strode forward.


    ¡°Captain, prepare to march.¡±


    The captain frowned.


    ¡°Commander¡­¡±


    Ruckanos just turned to stare at him, raising an eyebrow. The captain sighed and then saluted.


    ¡°It shall be done.¡±


    The captain sent a scout inside while arranging the rest of them into formation, while the augur carved a ritual formation into the dirt below. He ced a lightly glowing crystal carved with numerous runes in the center, touching a specific one. The crystal¡¯s light turned green before it melted into the ritual, which itself pulsed with green light.


    The signal that they had found a Tower. Ruckanos had a brief thought to stop the augur, to let the Conve remain unaware of his sess, but he decided against it. Let the Convee, it would take them ages to reach this far into the wild. He¡¯d have long resolved any mistakes he had made by the time they arrived, if they ever did.


    He turned his attention back to the Tower, just as the scout reported that the initial entrance area was clear. The captain turned to face him and he nodded. The captain took one deep breath, and then gave themand.


    ¡°Move out.¡±


    And with that, Ruckanos marched to his destiny.


    In the back of their formation, a wounded rider frowned as he opened up his bag, just before the captain gave themand. He looked down and saw the queen bee exit her hive once again. He bent down to whisper to her.


    ¡°Last stop, little one. We¡¯re going into that Tower and I fear none of us wille out. You need to leave now or you¡¯ll die too.¡±


    The queen bee stared up at him, with those big eyes that felt like they pierced into his soul. Then¡­she began to crawl up out of the bag. She climbed to the top and began to stretch her wings. For a brief moment, the man¡¯s heart lifted. Maybe, just maybe, she had understood him?


    She paused though, upon seeing their surroundings, including the Tower. She stared at the Tower for a minute, and then crawled back down into the bag. The man sighed and his shoulders drooped.


    ¡°Move out.¡±


    But it was toote. Themand was given, and they were heading to their doom. He looked up at the Tower and its banners. His eyes widened a bit as he looked once again at the pattern there.


    A beending on a flower.


    He nced back down towards his bag and then up to the banner. Maybe, just maybe, this Tower wouldn¡¯t be so bad for his little friends? If at least one of them could survive this¡­


    He closed his eyes and bowed his head for a moment.


    ¡°Please, whichever god is watching over this ce¡­take mercy on the little one. She and her children did not choose toe here. They don¡¯t deserve to share our fate.¡±


    And then it was over. He looked up and steeled his heart, wrapping his reigns around his good arm. With his other arm wounded in thetest fight, it¡¯d be up to his wyvern to do most of the job, but he still intended to do his duty as best he could. He doubted he could change his fate or that of his charge at this stage, and after all they had done they deserved whatever came. He hoped to change the fate of his little friends, but he had already done all that he could.


    All that was left now was to see it through, whatever maye.


    Staring forward as he did, he did not notice the queen¡¯s eyes glow with golden light as one of the banners fluttered¡­

 Interlude 144.1 - Peer Bee-view

    Interlude 144.1 - Peer Bee-view


    The queen heard the water man¡¯s voice and crawled out. She understood the voice as some attempt atmunication, though how it carried any meaning she couldn¡¯t say. It certainly was no elegant dance.


    But she did understand that when he directed the sounds towards her that they either had arrived at a safe spot, or else were about to leave one. Since they had been flying beforehand, it had to be the former, so she crawled out to take stock of their surroundings.


    She froze immediately when she saw the world beyond. Before them was a mighty mountain of stone, covered with golden banners. Banners that she had never seen, but still recognized somewhere deep within her.


    This ce belonged to the Queen of All Bees.


    Which meant she had arrived at her destination. She stood still, awaiting instruction. While her preference would be to fly out and sting her enemies, she knew that the Queen of All Bees must have brought her here for a reason. She would not reveal herself until she knew why.


    A momentter, she was surrounded by a bright light, and then found herself before the Queen of All Bees once again. She danced her salute dance and then the Queen of All Bees replied with a single step.


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    She saluted once again and then found herself back in the world. The Queen of All Bees had spoken. She had arrived, but the time was not ripe yet. So, instead, she crawled back inside her hive at the bottom of the bag and began to quietly awaken her children.


    The time was not ripe yet, but she knew that the moment soon approached. She intended to be ready. For once it arrived, she would have her revenge. Once the captain gave the all clear, Ruckanos guided his wyvern to step inside the Tower. He found himself inside a subterranean tunnel, made entirely of dirt. He scoffed at the sight.


    No entrance hall. No guards or servants to receive visitors. No adornments to honor the gods. Look, the shrine of the patron god was left sitting in the dirt, for the gods¡¯ sake! The Tower was clearly in the hands of some feral barbarian. He¡¯d imagine even the mindless peasants would know better than this!


    He dismounted his wyvern for a moment and strode over to the shrine. It was a strange thing, with a giant bee in ce of any sort of man, but it was not Ruckanos¡¯s ce to judge the gods. Indeed, what greater honor would there be but to introduce a new god to the Conve? So, instead, he smiled and bowed his head.


    ¡°You¡¯ve suffered much, haven¡¯t you? But fear not, your chosen Tower Lord is here now, and I shall set things right as you havemanded.¡±


    The shrine did not respond but they rarely did. Ruckanos knew the gods would not bother with his words alone, so he intended to prove himself via his deeds. So, he turned to remount his wyvern¡­


    Only to find that his men had all dismounted theirs. The captain pointed to the tunnel ahead.


    ¡°I¡¯d rmend we proceed on foot,mander. These tunnels are too cramped for the wyverns. We¡¯ll have to lead them through ourselves.¡±


    Ruckanos held back a sigh as the men fixed light crystals to their helmets, shining beams of light down the dark tunnels. They then drew their des and proceeded ahead of Ruckanos and the mages.


    They had hardly begun their march when they came to a stop. The captain stepped forward and poked the ground with his sword. Arge section of the ground vanished to reveal a hole. Ruckanos raised an eyebrow.


    Pit Traps, huh? A waste of a feature choice, and azy one at that. Servants and monsters could dig something like that easily enough. Concealing it was another matter but little more difficult in the grand scheme of things. Pit traps were, therefore, something that could be employed en masse with only the barest amount of effort. To waste one of the precious boons of the gods and the Tower¡¯s limited mana on such a thing¡­well, Ruckanos was once again reassured why he had been brought here.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.


    One of the mages stepped forward, carving a spell circle into the dirt just before the pit. Then, after a quick chant, the ground itself extended across the pit and hardened, forming a bridge across. Ruckanos¡¯s men strode across as easily as walking on the ground. The wyverns, on the other hand, were long enough to crawl over the pit with little assistance.


    If this was all the Tower currently had to offer, Ruckanos questioned how it had survived this long in the first ce.


    They continued onward until once again the captain halted them. He nced around a bit before taking a step and waving his sword out ahead of him.


    A momentter, a stream of golden liquid poured down from the roof. When it hit the ground, it did not spread out in a pool, but clung together in a viscous blob. One of the vanguard tilted his head.


    ¡°Is that¡­honey? I guess that would exin the bee decorations but¡­as a trap?¡±


    Ruckanos raised an eyebrow, but the captain narrowed his eyes as he inclined his head so that his light shone across the honey. Ruckanos caught a glimpse of purple in the otherwise golden mass.


    ¡°Stickier than normal and probably poisoned. Easy enough to avoid but you¡¯re in for a bad time if you get drenched. Stay alert.¡±


    Ruckanos shook his head as he carefully stepped over the mass. The idea itself wasn¡¯t terrible. A sticky spray to restrict mobilitybined with a poison, an effective if basicbination. But the execution¡­the execution was atrociously sloppy. The trap had been ced too soon after thest, when the group was still on guard. And it had been ced by itself in an otherwise empty tunnel. No additional traps or even decorations to distract attention, no follow-up traps that struck if the first was disarmed, not even an ambush prepared to take advantage of the split attention. It was as if the traps had been ced entirely randomly, without any thought as to their use. His tutors would have had aneurysms had he presented such a setup.


    More and more, he felt he was dealing with a feral beast rather than an intelligent being.


    What followed was an excruciatingly boring journey. The twisting tunnels were filled with nothing but dirt and the asional, easily avoided trap. No monsters or defenders osted them, no servants came to greet them. No new traps appeared, nor did the two they had seen appear in any new patterns. They encountered some remnants as all who entered in a Tower did, but these were swiftly dealt with. And, of course, there were no rest zones to manage and contain them.


    This Tower was strictly amateur in every possible way, it seemed. Even the maze itself featured no particrly novelyout, as if the master had just left it as it first appeared. Which Ruckanos suspected they probably had.


    This caused Ruckanos to frown, because something didn¡¯t add up. How had such an amateurish Tower managed to survive, much less grow as quickly as it had? If the imposter Tower Lord was this ipetent at basic flooryout, then someone else must be responsible. He, of course, believed that the patron god was preparing the way for his arrival but he also did not delude himself into believing that the gods would intervene so directly as to defend the Tower personally from its own purifications.


    That left one answer: the imposter had been exceedingly lucky with their choice of starting monster and acquired something that could cover for their ipetence.


    Which brought up the most important question of all¡­where were all the monsters? They had traveled nearly an entire room and had not encountered a single living thing. If this were a normal Tower with apetent lord Ruckanos would have assumed the Tower Lord had intentionally ced a cramped, winding maze to buy time, allowing them to observe any iing threats and prepare for them ordingly. But he had already established that this imposter was nowhere near thatpetent¡­so why hadn¡¯t they thrown their monsters into the fray from the very start? Unless the patron god had again intervened to clear the way for the rightful Tower Lord?


    ¡°Halt.¡±


    Just then, the captain¡¯s voice cut through his wandering thoughts. He looked up ahead¡­and saw a dim lighting from around the corner. He smiled. Finally! The way out¡­or at least some civilization. The color of the light and the way it flickered was more indicative of a fire of some sort, maybe a torch?


    The captain silently motioned to two of his men and then the three of them crept forward together. But then, the captain sniffed, and then jumped back, pulling the two men along with him. He gave a hushed but frantic whisper.


    ¡°Wind!¡±


    The mages pushed forward one of their number, who tried to pull off a chant as he formed a spell circle right in the air with his own mana. The spell was sloppy, his hands shook, and his voice wavered, but he managed to pull it off. A gust of wind blew down the tunnel and around the corner, and the light suddenly cut out. The captain then motioned to the two men.


    ¡°Check them for poison. There was a strange smell on the air.¡±


    The captain crept forward quietly and glimpsed around the corner before making his way back.


    ¡°Wax candles of some sort, probably the source of the smell. Beyond that is the exit to an open field.¡±


    Ruckanos frowned. So, some sort of candle that spread poison via smoke? Again, not a bad concept¡­but the execution was all off. Letting the light flicker past the tunnel so they¡¯d clearly notice something had changed? Moreover, why hadn¡¯t the imposter ced candles throughout the tunnels so they wouldn¡¯t suspect anything wrong? He shook his head.


    Well, at least it was over. A new room was just ahead, this one wide open. Ruckanos doubted they¡¯d find anything interesting there, but at least they¡¯d pass through it quickly¡­

 Interlude 144.2 - The Field of Battle

    Interlude 144.2 - The Field of Battle


    The group rearranged their formation and began their march down the hallway. Ruckanos saw nothing but a sunlit field of flowers beyond the end of the tunnel. Had this been a normal Tower, he might have thought it suspicious, or possibly a rest zone. With this Tower¡­he guessed the imposter just put a random field of flowers haphazardly, wasting an entire room choice on what was likely a useless decoration of a room.


    But then, the captain stopped. Ruckanos only heard a light buzzing noise before the captain shouted.


    ¡°Brace!¡±


    The lead guards raised their shields just as five bees flew down in front of the entrance,rger than any bee Ruckanos had ever seen, asrge as his hand even. They did not make their way inside the tunnels, but hovered in ce and swung their abdomens forward. A cone of liquid shot from each bee.


    Thanks to the captain¡¯s quick reaction, most of the liquid sshed against the guards¡¯ metal shields. However, some flew past andnded on one of the guard¡¯s face. For a moment, he just dabbed at his face.


    And then he started screaming. The captain motioned and the other guards pulled him off the line to the few mages who knew a bit of healing magic. One of the mages managed to retaliate with a quick fireball but the bees flew away from the entrance long before it arrived. As soon as the danger had passed, the bees returned andunched another spray. One guard lifted his shield high to protect his face and got his legs drenched. Hested a moment longer before the poison sunk into his clothes, and then he started screaming too.


    The captain motioned forward.


    ¡°Move out!¡±


    The guards began a brisk march forward while the mages tried to cover them. The bee monsters were too quick and too far away, but the spells at least bought them some time.¡°Halt!¡±


    The captain suddenly called out but one guard, focused on the bees ahead, didn¡¯t catch themand and stumbled into a Pit Trap. He fell with a shout¡­and then Ruckanos heard one of those honey traps activate.


    Really? The imposter put a honey trap at the bottom of the pit? Why?


    The guards could do nothing but wait and endure the toxic sprays as two of the mages formed another bridge across the pit¡­two because one got caught by the sprays mid-spell.


    Once it finally finished, the captain pointed his sword forward.


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    The men rushed forward before they lost their nerve. Ruckanos ran with confidence, pushing the mages around him to do the same. They had been surprised, for sure, and had taken shocking casualties from a mere handful of bees. But what was any of that before the will of the gods? A couple of bee monsters would not stop him from grasping his destiny¡­


    Then, Ruckanos and the mages stepped out of the tunnel and into a flower field. Ruckanos was hit with a wall of sound, a cacophony of buzzing noises that nearly drowned out the captain¡¯s shouts. His eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped as he saw the sight beyond.


    He knew now how this ipetent imposter had survived. He knew now who or what had carried the imposter through.


    Because all around him, in the skies and on the ground, in every direction, was a countless number of bees.


    ¡°Fall back!¡±


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The captain¡¯s shout shocked Ruckanos out of his haze. He was about to object when a guard grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back. The captain and the front guards slowly walked backwards with their shields up, warding off a group of bees that dove down on them. The captain¡¯s sword shed and three of the monsters fell, but the other guards could not strike quickly enough to counter. Still, they managed to pull back into the tunnels.


    ¡°Captain, what are you doing?¡±


    The captain didn¡¯t even look at him, keeping his eyes on the tunnel ahead.


    ¡°Commander, retreat is our only option here. The Tower Lord is already hostile and we do not have the numbers to push through. We will not survive if we push forward. I am not sure we can even safely retreat if they push the issue.¡±


    Ruckanos scowled.


    ¡°Retreat is not an option, captain.¡±


    The front guards had to lift their shields to block another spray.


    ¡°And what would you have us do, Commander? We die if we push forward.¡±


    ¡°We die if we leave, too! Do you think help ising for us,mander? Do you think we¡¯re going to find supplies and safe haven here? Do you think the Conve will simply let us go even if we survive until they arrive? No, captain, our only options here are victory or death. The gods led us here, so there must be a way!¡±


    The captain grimaced while Ruckanos nced around.


    ¡°Why not the wyverns?¡±


    The captain shook his head.


    ¡°The skies are full of them, they¡¯ll never get aloft.¡±


    Ruckanos rubbed his chin.


    ¡°What about the mages? We cast a grand fireball to punch a hole and then fly through.¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    The captain paused.


    ¡°¡­they clearly avoid danger so¡­it might actually work. <em>If</em> we can get the wyverns out of these tunnels and airborne.¡±


    For a brief moment he turned and looked Ruckanos in the eye.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to take casualties, though, and we¡¯ll have an angry bee army on our tail. If we do this, we will not be able to retreat. There will be no going back.¡±


    Ruckanos narrowed his gaze.


    ¡°There never was.¡±


    The captain nodded and began to bark his orders.


    ¡°You four, and you two mages, with me. Everyone else, saddle up and prepare your mounts as best you can. You will not have long.¡±


    On the captain¡¯s orders, one of the mages on the ground created a powerful gust of wind down the tunnel. The toxic spraying bees showed up once more but were blown off course when they tried to approach the entrance. Ruckanos and the others tried to climb onto their wyverns as best they could. He had toy t to avoid bumping his head on the roof of the tunnel, but he managed to strap in as securely as possible.


    The captain then nodded and gave the order. He and the frontline guards with him rushed forward with their shields up while the two mages followed. The guards held their shields to ward off another dive attempt by the bees while the mages quickly cast their spell. A sphere of winds wrapped around the tunnel entrance, warding off the bees. The spraying ones attacked again but the toxic spray was blown away before itnded.


    The wyverns then crawled out one by one, digging their ws into the dirt to push through the wind. The wyvern-mounted mages then assembled around Ruckanos. They all lifted their hands and spoke as one.


    ¡°God of Fire, hear our plea. Let your fires rage and light our path. Let our enemies burn in the ze of your inferno, let nothing remain but ash and smoke.¡±


    A magic circle of red light formed in the air above all of them. A massive ball of fire began to form in the air, flickering in the heavy winds around them. The captain nodded at the two mages with him and they dropped their wind spell. The bees began to dive immediately but they were toote. A grand fireball had formed and now shot into the sky. Sweat dripped down Ruckanos¡¯s face from the heat, even at this distance, but he smiled as the fireball soared.


    He grasped the reigns and dug into his saddle. In but a moment, the fireball would explode and the sky would turn from ck and yellow to red and orange. They would have but a moment then to fly while the fire dissipated.


    But, once they did, Ruckanos doubted bees of this size could keep pace with a wyvern in flight. They would push past this army and move to confront the imposter directly. He knew that whatever the odds, the gods willed his victory. It would work. He knew it would work.


    Then, victory would be¡­


    At that moment, they heard a growling noise, like the grunts of a bear. A small but bright blue ball of fire flew out of nowhere and mmed right into the grand fireball, sinking within it. For a moment, Ruckanos thought he had imagined it.


    And then the fireball exploded. A curtain of blue extended out across the sky and engulfed the red mes, redirecting them to the sides¡­or down. Ruckanos ducked as tongues of fire fell from the sky. One of the mages was caught, screaming as he and his wyvern burst into mes.


    Ruckanos¡¯s eyes widened. Further across the field, he saw a group of bestial subhumans approaching, their leader wrapped in bright mes. While above, the bees buzzed angrily. And there were no longer mes nor winds to stop them.

 Chapter 145: Desti-Bee Fulfilled

    Chapter 145: Desti-Bee Fulfilled


    Belissar grit his teeth as he nced at the three fallen bees but he tore his eyes away. He knew deep down they were unlikely to win without casualties, but he still had hoped to do so. Unfortunately, the Tower Guard were indeed not to be trifled with.


    Worse still was that the humans did not fight like the Hunger did. The shades of the Hunger were relentless. Sure, they might try to bypass a fight when they could, but they always continued moving forward at any cost. Not so with humans, apparently. These ones fell back into the tunnels the moment they saw the bee army¡­and between the Tower Guard captain¡¯s sword and the mages¡¯ wind and fireballs Belissar didn¡¯t feel safe letting the bees pursue them into the tight corridor.


    Luckily, though, they just said their n out loud where Belissar could hear it, so he knew they nned to press forward. He frowned at that, but ryed their intentions to the Flower Meadow queens and Chief Rohsuak. He then turned to the karnuq. They were all standing in the Orchard, right before the wall of shortcuts.


    ¡°Could you help us out? It looks like they¡¯re going to use some big fire spell to try and push through?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak made a predatory grin.


    ¡°Oh, are they, now? Worry not, Sacred Den Master. I¡¯ll handle it.¡±


    She beganughing as she began to munch on mana honeb. Belissar kept rubbing his chin, though.


    ¡°Also, that Tower Guard captain at the front seems pretty strong, fast enough to hit my bees midflight. Any ideas on how to deal with him?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak just smiled and turned to Metsaitti. He sighed and began to roll his shoulders. Then he straightened up and struck his spear into the ground.¡°I¡¯ll handle him, Sacred Den Master. Could you separate him from the rest?¡±


    Belissar nodded and then the karnuq ran through one of the shortcuts, emerging right next to the entrance of the battle meadow. And just in the nick of time, the humans were in the midst of casting their spell. The fireball was massive¡­though its red colors seemed somewhat dimpared to Chief Rohsuak¡¯s own spells.


    They seemed especially dim as Chief Rohsuak burst into mes and cast a spell of her own. Her fireball was tinypared to that of the humans, but it burned far brighter. And when it exploded, it wrapped around the other spell and held it down. The bees hovered just over the surface of the mes, but none of them were hurt. Belissar released a sigh of relief.


    But the battle had only begun. The Tower Guard captain began barking out orders immediately, but Metsaitti grabbed a spear from one of the other hunters and lobbed it at the man¡¯s head. The captain was forced to block with his shield as Metsaitti rushed forward with own spear, the other karnuq hunters by his side. The other Tower Guards tried to form up around their captain¡­but as they pointed their shields down towards the karnuq squads of soldier bees began diving them from above. Some were stung right in the face and neck and fell to the ground. Others dove to the ground to avoid the bees, but fell out of the line as a result. Metsaitti¡¯s spear shed with the captain¡¯s sword and the captain was forced to give ground, separating from the rest of the humans.


    And with the spell dealt with and the captain upied, the bee army began their assault on the remaining humans. Some of the mages formed spells to attack the iing bees. Smaller fireballs shot into the sky but the bees evaded them. A gust of wind began blowing the soldier bee squads back¡­but then a bumblebee soldier took the lead and pushed through, with soldier bee squads following in its wake. One of the mages hit the bumblebee with a fireball but she pressed on, not slowing down in the slightest even with her hairs smoking. The bumblebee crashed into one of the mages, knocking him right off his saddle as the soldier bees began attacking the wyvern. The wyvern roared and snapped at them, spinning around to try and knock them away with its tail. Instead, it struck the wyvern next to it, knocking it and its rider over.


    A few of the wyverns began to take to the air but the bees were already upon them. Soldier bees began to sting the wyverns¡¯ wings andnd on their bodies en masse, pulling them to the ground as they were covered in chitin and angry stingers. Two wyverns managed to break free and begin rising into the sky, only for a shadow to fall over their eyes. ck forms fell from the sky and mmed into the wyverns¡¯ head and bodies, driving them back into the ground. Thencer bees could apparently pierce through wyvern scales without issue.


    In the meantime, Metsaitti continued to duel the captain. Metsaitti thrust quickly, pulling back his spear with ease whenever the captain parried him. But the captain¡¯s sword and shield were equally quick and Metsaitti didn¡¯t manage any blows. Indeed, the captain even began to push forward, forcing Metsaitti to step back and keep him at range. Metsaitti grunted and began to stir his mana, coating his spear as he thrust. But the captain did the same with his sword and shield and caught the blow as easily as any other. He knocked the spear away with a swing of his shield and stepped in with his sword. Metsaitti¡¯s eyes widened and he was forced to block with the shaft of his spear, having no time to pull the tip back into ce. The captain then smashed his shield into Metsaitti¡¯s side and kicked his abdomen as the karnuq bent forward.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    But Metsaitti was not alone.


    <em>¡°Metsaitti, duck!¡±</em>


    Metsaitti let the captain¡¯s kick knock him to the ground at Belissar¡¯s mental call. As he did, a bright yellow light passed overhead. Beero and the other wounded soldiers had hidden among the flowers as they conducted their dance, and now their lightning sting struck right over the karnuq.


    The captain barely had time to bring up his shield, just managing to avoid being impaled by the ephemeral stinger. But the stinger melted away as the lightningposing it jumped into the captain¡¯s shield and then into his body. He grunted and trembled as the lightning coursed through him.


    Metsaitti didn¡¯t miss that chance.


    He grabbed his spear and scrambled to his feet, pressing the attack. The captain¡¯s mana then burst as he stopped holding back, forming thick coatings around his sword and shield. He thrust forward before Metsaitti arrived and forced the karnuq to the side as a spear from mana extended out from his sword. He began to twist to follow up with a sh, but then a squad of sprayers attacked him from above and behind. He barely managed to block the spray but grunted as stray drops showered over him. He had no time to think about it, though, as he had to block Metsaitti¡¯s spear once again. He could see another one of those lightning spells forming in the field beyond, but Metsaitti kept him fighting. He tried another shield bash. Metsaitti dodged it this time, but the captain used the opportunity to turn and run in the direction of the magic circle¡­only for a squad of soldier bees to dive him from above. He managed to avoid being stung but one of them collided with his helmet, knocking him off course.


    And, coincidentally, right into one of the Pit Traps strewn around the Flower Meadow that Beero and the others were using for cover.


    He fell with a crash and was coated by the Sticky Honey Trap below. The Apiary soldiers, hovering above the battle in wait, began to dive even before he rose to his feet. He raised his shield up as he saw something diving down towards him¡­only for a small sliver of radish to bounce harmlessly off his shield.


    At least until it hit the honey.


    The wounded guard stood in the tunnels with his wyvern. He turned to the augur next to him, the two of them having been left behind on the death charge. The guard shrugged.


    ¡°I guess this is it.¡±


    The augur sighed, letting the weight of his age pull his shoulders down.


    ¡°I suppose it is.¡±


    The guard drew his sword with his one good arm, preparing for the end. But just then, he saw a sh of golden light from his bag. He turned to look.


    ¡°Hm? Is that you, little¡­¡±


    Before he finished, a swarm of bees exploded out of the top of his bag and filled the tunnel.


    The queen heard fires roaring and humans shouting and the buzzing of wings. Before she could react, though, she found herself once again before the Queen of All Bees. But this time, the Queen of All Bees did not dance herself. In front of her flew four queens with all of their hives. The four queens extended their stingers and sounded the attack, and all four hives flew forward.


    The queen needed no encouragement as she returned to the world. She immediate spread as many attack pheromones as she could. Her hive burst out of the bag in a raging swarm and flew down the tunnel. She ignored the two humans behind her in honor of the one who had carried her here and instead flew forward.


    And there, she saw him. One of the evil humans, the one who had stood tall above the rest on top of a mighty steed. The one who led the others on that fateful day. He, or maybe she, must be their queen!


    So, this queen knew exactly what to do.


    As she flew forward, her vision shifted one more. She felt, rather than saw, the four queens with the Queen of All Bees, as if they were flying with her. A surge of mana pulsed out from her and filled her workers, driving them to fly faster than they ever had before.


    The visions faded just as her hive burst out of the tunnel¡­


    Ruckanos fell off his wyvern as a truly massive bee collided into him. He rolled along the ground, groaning as he tried to rise to his feet. His eyes widened as he took in the scene before him.


    All around him, wyverns roared and men screamed as they drowned in a sea of ck and yellow and angry buzzing. A subhuman and the bee monsters worked together and drove the captain into a pit¡­that subsequently burst into mes. Someone, somewhere, was casting magic and flinging bee stingers made of <em>lightning</em> at anyone managing to stand. Bees with stingers the size and shape ofnces dove from the sky like ballistae bolts and pierced right through scale and armor alike.


    Ruckanos found himself subconsciously backing up. He began to tremble.


    What¡­was going on? What was happening? Were¡­were they <em>losing</em>?


    ¡°No¡­how is this possible? The gods¡­the gods led me here themselves! They want me to win! I¡¯m supposed to win!¡±


    But then he cried out as a jolt of pain shot through the back of his neck. He turned around¡­to find a swarm of angry bees emerging from the tunnel behind him. He screamed as he vanished beneath angry, buzzing stingers.

 Chapter 146: Family Bee-union

    Chapter 146: Family Bee-union


    The queennded on her hated enemy as her hive stung him. She stirred up her mana and stung him with all she had. Then she did it again. And again. And again and again and again until he stirred no longer. Most of her remaining workers were spent on the task but she had no regrets. Her purpose had been achieved.


    She danced upon her fallen foe.


    ¡°That was for worker! And Hive-Builder!¡±


    Then, and only then, did she take stock of the situation. Unfortunately, she had spent most of her hive on that one enemy, so she wasn¡¯t sure what she¡¯d do about the¡­


    She found herself staring at a swarm of bees. A swarm of bees beyond anything she had seen, save in her visions of the Queen of All Bees. Even the smallest of the bees wererger than her,rger than any bee she had ever seen. Thergest of them¡­wereparable in size to hive predators or even the humans.


    And now she found herself in their territory. With only a handful of workers of her own. She began to slowly crawl backwards when one of them began flying right towards her. She braced for the worst but then the big bee stopped right in front of her¡­and began to dance.


    ¡°Queen mother?¡±


    The queen was confused at first¡­until the bee¡¯s mana touched hers. The moment it did, she knew, and she began to fly.


    ¡°WORKER!¡±¡°Queen mother!¡±


    She flew to her worker and began to crawl all over her.


    ¡°Worker! It¡¯s you! Found you!¡±


    ¡°Queen mother! How get here?¡±


    ¡°Queen of All Bees helped! Tolde with evil humans, so did!¡±


    Her worker then stopped.


    ¡°Right, need to sting the rest. Hang on.¡±


    Her worker began to beat her powerful wings. The queen took a moment to look around her. The rest of the evil humans¡­were no more, in by a hive more powerful than she could have possibly imagined.


    The only humans remaining were the two waiting in the tunnels. The queen began to dance on her worker¡¯s back.


    ¡°Ah¡­that one, not evil. Helped get here, gave water.¡±


    Her worker stopped.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    The queen confirmed. Her worker hung in the air for a moment. The other bees had begun following her, but stopped as she did.


    ¡°Hang on, need to ask King.¡±


    The queen paused at the unfamiliar dance.


    ¡°King, what that?¡±


    Her worker began to zip around in the air.


    ¡°King is best king! Leads hive of hives!¡±


    The queen was now thoroughly confused. The dances held meaning, but none she had ever encountered. But as she slowly parsed the meaning¡­her wings began to buzz.


    ¡°King¡­is like queen? Worker¡¯s¡­queen?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Her worker¡­had been taken by a new queen? A new hive?


    The queen began extending her stinger.


    ¡°Who?! Who took worker?! Show me!¡±


    A short whileter, the queen was frozen solid.


    ¡°This is¡­?¡±


    He was here. The Hive-Builder lived as well!


    Her worker danced as she contemted the sight before her.


    ¡°Queen mother! Niobee¡¯s old queen!¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    The Hive-Builder¡¯s eyes grew wide, and then he broke out into a wide grin.


    ¡°Then that means¡­you were one of my old bees?!¡±


    The queen¡¯s mind was barely working at this stage, but she believed the Hive-Builder was asking if she had lived in one of his hives¡­so she danced the affirmative. The Hive-Builder then held out his hand. Mana stirred and twisted and grew so dense it turned visible¡­before turning into glistening honey pooling in his hand.


    ¡°Here,e on! I¡¯m so d to see you!¡±


    Instinct took over where conscious thought failed, and she climbed onto his hand to begin drinking the honey. It was sweeter than anything she had ever tasted. She barely noticed as she was lifted into the air.


    But¡­the evil humans were dead, both her worker and the Hive-Builder were back, and now she had the sweetest honey before her. For the first time since her home burned, all was right in the world.


    Belissar was giddy and nearly skipping. One of his queen bees was here! He had worried they all had died when the vige was set on fire, but they had survived! And not only survived, but came all the way here! He needed to build her a hive right away and¡­


    ¡°Um, Sacred Den Master?¡±


    He turned to find Chief Rohsuak with aplicated look on her face.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    She pointed towards the Dirt Tunnel.


    ¡°What would you like us to do about them?¡±


    Belissar tilted his head before looking down the tunnel¡­and seeing the two men and wyvern pairs still standing there staring at the soldier bees hovering before them.


    ¡°Ah¡­right, them. Um, Niobee, you said the queen said they aren¡¯t evil, or something?¡±


    Niobee danced the affirmative.


    ¡°Queen mother said helped her, gave water on trip here!¡±


    Belissar frowned. On the one hand¡­those were men who traveled with the Tower Lord¡¯s son. He guessed they would have been part of the group that burned his vige¡­and they had attacked his Tower. His heart twisted in his chest as he remembered the bees that had fallen once more.


    But¡­apparently at least one of them had helped this queen arrive here. He had saved one of Belissar¡¯s bees and helped them reunite. Did that make up for everything else they had done, today and before?


    Belissar furrowed his brow before sighing. Honestly, he couldn¡¯t decide right now. And he didn¡¯t really want to think about humans any more.


    But there was nothing for it, so he stepped forward. The two mens¡¯ eyes widened. The younger one bowed his head.


    Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The man looked up and sighed.


    ¡°Awaiting execution, sir.¡±


    Belissar turned to the queen in his hand. He pointed towards the young man.


    ¡°Is that the one? The one who helped you?¡±


    She danced the affirmative. Belissar nodded.


    ¡°In that case¡­I won¡¯t kill you.¡±


    The man¡¯s head shot up.


    ¡°Wait, what?¡±


    ¡°I said I won¡¯t kill you. You helped the bees survive.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes widened and quivered.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­are you sure?! I¡­I recognize you. You were one of the vigers, right? The vige we burned.¡±


    Belissar froze.


    ¡°You¡­remember me?¡±


    The man¡¯s head and shoulder fell.


    ¡°I¡­remember them all. I see you all every night. I don¡¯t deserve to live.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head. The man¡­felt bad? About burning the vige? Belissar¡­had no idea what to make of that. His chest burned and his head spun as he thought of that day¡­so he focused instead of the beepping up honey in his hand.


    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t want to think about that. You saved the bees, so you get to live. Let¡¯s leave it at that.¡±


    The man frowned.


    ¡°You¡¯re just going to let us go? We¡¯ll have to report to the Tower Lords, you know?¡±


    Belissar froze.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­a good point.¡±


    He furrowed his brow and grunted for a moment. Chief Rohsuak stepped forward.


    ¡°If you wish to spare him, Sacred Den Master, we could take him into custody for you?¡±


    Belissar¡¯s face lightened.


    ¡°Ah, thanks. Let¡¯s go with that then.¡±


    Belissar turned to face the man.


    ¡°How about I imprison you, then?¡±


    The young man hung his head.


    ¡°¡­as you wish.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Of course. And the other?¡±


    Belissar turned to look at the old man. He said nothing, just hung his head low and stared at the dirt with unfocused eyes. Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°¡­might as well? Um, unless he causes any trouble.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded and motioned to the karnuq. Metsaitti and the others approached the two men. The wyverns growled at them but the young man turned and calmed them down, leading them out of the cave. Belissar asked the bees to assist, so the soldier bee army surrounded the two men and wyverns as the karnuq led them out.


    Belissar heaved a sigh. What a day it had been. He nced down and found a corpse at his feet. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, this was one the Tower Lord¡¯s son.


    He gulped, and found his body began to shake. His stomach churned and he began to sweat. Now that he had time to think, he had really done it. By hismand, the bees had ended a fellow human life. Several of them.


    He took a deep breath and looked up, then shook his head. Fellow humans who had not hesitated to invade his home. Fellow humans who had not hesitated to burn his old home and kill both him and all the other vigers. Belissar wasn¡¯t close to any of them but that didn¡¯t mean he enjoyed watching everyone he had ever known put to the sword. If anyone deserved this fate, it was the men at his feet. He would not grieve their demise.


    He just wished he hadn¡¯t had to lose bees to do it.


    But more than any of that were the implications of this day. The Tower Lords had found him. They had arrived in force and acted as Belissar feared.


    And his bees, with the help of the karnuq, had ovee them. The same group that burned his vige hade to kill and destroy once more¡­and instead had met their fate. The bee army defeated them as it had an invading shade. The karnuq had stood by his side and struck down the humans that wanted to kill him.


    They could do it. They <em>had</em> done it. They had beaten the Tower Guard. They had defeated a Tower Lord¡¯s own son. They had stopped him from burning their homes.


    Belissar gripped his free hand into a fist. Niobeended on his head and tapped out a dance.


    ¡°King ok?¡±


    He slowly nodded.


    ¡°¡­we have a lot to do now but¡­yes. I think I will be. Let¡¯s just make sure they can¡¯t hurt the bees anymore.¡±


    ¡°We will! King is best king! Bees will sting all intruders!¡±


    Niobee began dancing on his head. Belissar felt a smile grow on his face, and his heart untwisted just a tad.

 Chapter 147: To Bee Remembered

    Chapter 147: To Bee Remembered


    Belissar wanted nothing more than to take Niobee¡¯s old queen, show her around, and then build her a nice beehouse¡­but there was a lot to do to clean up the battle. The most important of which was¡­to address the casualties.


    The three soldiers felled by the lead Tower Guard were only the beginning. With how many opponents they faced and how coordinated the enemy way, the soldiers couldn¡¯t keep up the perfect evasion and rotation they relied on. Soldiers were caught by stray swords and spears, or the wild swings of the wyverns¡¯ tails and ws. Fireballs and lighting bolts and des of wind cut though their formations when not blocked by the bumblebee soldiers. The bumblebee soldiers themselves had all survived but had taken good hits in the process.


    The Second of the Sixth led her medicinal hive as they swarmed across the field, with the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s soldiers helping them carry trays of medicinal mana honey. The injured were assembled and fed honey as the medicinal bees injected healingpound directly into their wounds. Those who had lost wings were already being weed by Beero and her team.


    And, those who could not be saved were gathered together for Belissar to carry to the Memorial.


    As for Belissar himself¡­


    His face fell as the worker bees curled up in his hand. To his horror, he realized that the bees that had stung the Tower Lord¡¯s son were mundane honeybees, likely from the old queen¡¯s hive. And that meant¡­they were subject to the normal rules of honeybees¡­including the loss of their stingers when they attackedrger foes. Belissar did his very best to help them with mana and medicinal honey¡­but these were normal bees. They possessed no mana of their own, so providing them with more didn¡¯t help much. And the medicinal honey was not enough to handle that level of damage.


    His shoulders drooped as he let out a sigh, then began to gather the fallen bees to carry with the others. There was nothing else he could do for them¡­save for this. He swore he would give their queen a wonderful home, so that their sacrifice would not have been in vain. The bees died, but the hive endured. Such was the way of things outside of his Tower.


    But within his Tower, he had a say in how things went. And he would do his utmost to make this sort of sacrifice a relic of the past for all bees who dwelt here.


    So came his next order of business. Now that the injured had been stabilized and the dead ounted for, Belissar made his way over to Chief Rohsuak and the karnuq. They were currently gathering the dead humans and wyverns andying them out. They removed the saddles and packs from the wyverns, as well as any packs or weapons from the humans, andid it all by the respective corpse.¡°Hello¡­Sacred Den Master.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak was breathing heavily but still managed to give a salute. Belissar nodded at her and then turned to Metsaitti, who was coordinating the karnuq¡¯s efforts.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­guessing we have to deal with all this?¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°What would you like us to do, Sacred Den Master?¡±


    Belissar wasn¡¯t in the mood for his usual questioning. Honestly, he didn¡¯t care what he was <em>supposed</em> to do with these bodies. He just wanted them dealt with and gone.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll try to absorb them, unless you had ns?¡±


    Metsaitti just gave a salute.


    ¡°As you will, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    Belissar gave a grunt and stepped forward.


    <em>Absorb lesser wyvern corpse? Samples: 0/3</em>


    Belissar waved a hand to confirm instead of speaking.


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Lesser Wyvern Spawner is now avable!</em>


    Belissar sighed. Well, he guessed that was something. A spawner for a new monster. A non-bee monster that would likely be prohibitively expensive even if he wanted them around. Right now, he didn¡¯t really, even if he could afford them.


    <em>ce Lesser Wyvern Spawner? Upkeep: 150 mana (300 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    But he definitely couldn¡¯t, so he wasn¡¯t even going to waste time thinking about that.


    And then¡­he turned to look at the human corpses and frowned. He really didn¡¯t want to do this, to be honest. But at this point, he didn¡¯t care. These men had burned his home ande to burn another. They had killed his bees. He would do anything he needed to prevent that from ever happening again.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.


    So, he took a step forward and lifted his hand.


    And then titled his head. Nothing happened. No messages appeared, no offers to absorb the corpses. He even bent down and touched one of them, but the Tower still didn¡¯t respond. Belissar shrugged.


    Well, he didn¡¯t really want to absorb or summon people, to be honest. So, if the Tower didn¡¯t want to either, he didn¡¯t mind.


    ¡°Ok, got what I needed. You can do¡­whatever you want with the rest.¡±


    Metsaitti blinked.


    ¡°What of their possessions, Sacred Den Master?¡±


    Belissar shrugged again.


    ¡°I guess let me know if you find anything especially useful and share anything that would help the bees. Otherwise, you can have it.¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°Thank you for your generosity, Sacred Den Master. And¡­what of the bodies? The ones that resemble¡­us.¡±


    Belissar sighed.


    ¡°How do you normally get rid of bodies? Of¡­enemies, I guess.¡±


    Metsaitti¡¯s expression softened. He stepped forward and ced a hand on Belissar¡¯s shoulder. Belissar looked up at the tall karnuq man, the weight of the hand heavy and warm on his shoulder.


    ¡°We did not always have the luxury to decide. But when we did¡­we burned them as we would any other. We always felt that the mes of the God of Fire were preferable to the Hunger¡¯s corruption.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak stepped forward at that point.


    ¡°If I may¡­our rites were developed in our time serving a Sacred Den of Fire. Perhaps it would be best if you came up with something rted to the God of Bees?¡±


    Belissar frowned and rubbed his chin.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m not sure what dead bodies have to do with bees, though?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak thought for a second before turning to look down the field, in the direction of the Bee Barracks.


    ¡°Why not bury them beneath the ground, to nourish the flowers?¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow¡­but then his face loosened. Not only was burial the norm back home¡­but the idea of nourishing the ground, and turning all this death into new flowers to support new bees. He nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Um¡­if I remember, those flowers by the Memorial like death, right? Maybe we should bury them under there.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded. Metsaitti stepped back and saluted.


    ¡°As you will, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    Belissar nodded back.


    ¡°Right.¡±


    And then walked off. Now, all that was left to do was to gather the fallen and arrange for the memorial service. Belissar¡¯s eyes moistened.


    But his heart felt just a little less heavy.


    The queen was sitting on her worker¡¯s back as her worker hovered around the Hive-Builder. What few of her other workers remained hovered around her, buzzing nervously at all the bees from other hives around them. The muchrger bees all of which held more mana than even her worker used to¡­though her worker had grown dramatically since they had been separated. The queen herself stuck close to her worker, for there was absolutely zero chance she could contend with even one of these mighty hives.


    And she stoodpletely still as she watched those mighty bees, those magical giants she couldn¡¯t imagined existed in this world, as they saluted and deferred to her worker. Her worker would dancemands and then the giants would set off to obey.


    The queen was utterly confused. Why would these monstrous hives follow a single worker whocked a queen, much less a hive? Unless her worker had joined one of their hives¡­but then why wasn¡¯t her worker working along with them?


    It was confusing, but it seemed for the moment that as long as she stayed close to her worker, she would not be attacked as a robbing intruder. She turned her attention, instead, to the Hive-Builder. And as she watched him, she could not help but tap a dance on her worker¡¯s back.


    ¡°Worker, what Hive-Builder doing?¡±


    ¡°Gathering bees! Will carry to Memorial!¡±


    The queen was even more confused. None of those words made sense to her. And why would the Hive-Builder carry fallen workers? They had died in an excellent location, far away from any hives that she could see where the risk of disease and decay spreading would be minimal. So why would the Hive-Builder move them?


    Her confusion only grew as the Hive-Builder carried the fallen bees, from her hive as well as the native ones, to what she recognized as one of his hives, surrounded by stone pirs. And then he put them inside?!


    ¡°Worker! What Hive-Builder doing?! Dead bees will cause disease! Should carry away from hive, not back inside!¡±


    Her worker, however, showed no signs of concern.


    ¡°No bees live in that hive, is for dead.¡±


    That did not answer the queen¡¯s questions.


    ¡°A hive¡­without bees? For dead?¡±


    Her worker confirmed.


    ¡°King honors bees that died for hive of hives.¡±


    The queen¡¯s dance steps grew ever more unsteady.


    ¡°Honor? What that?¡±


    Her worker hovered in ce for a moment before beginning her reply.


    ¡°King¡­loves bees. Doesn¡¯t like when bees die. Likes to thank bees when they do.¡±


    The queen¡­didn¡¯t understand. But her worker said no more, and she was too confused to figure out what else to ask. So, she simply watched from her worker¡¯s back. She watched as the bear-humans carried and buried the evil humans in the ground near the beehouse, while the King gently ced each fallen bee inside the house.


    The King then bowed his head, with water running down his face.


    ¡°Thank you, for your sacrifice. Thanks to you all, we stopped the Tower Lords. We did not let them burn our home. I will not forget you.¡±


    The queen¡¯s mind went nk as she saw the stone pirs begin to move. The images of bees carved into their side began to move and dance. They told her of bees that had flown into battle. They told her of entire hives that had perished stopping monsters she couldn¡¯tprehend. Of bees who had thrown themselves into pits of fire to ensure their hives¡¯ enemies perished. Of bees stuck down by beak and lightning from birds that could wield the very elements.


    And then, the most surprising of all.


    The carved bee images turned to her. They began a dance of gratitude.


    ¡°Outsider queen¡¯s hive, three thousand one hundred and twenty-six worker bees. Gave their lives ensuring the enemy leader¡¯s demise.¡±


    They¡­were thanking¡­her? They counted every one of her workers who had stung the evil human queen?


    The queen had no idea how to respond. And while her mind attempted to work, her worker began to dance. A slow, graceful dance, one that the queen had never seen before. All around her, the monstrous giants began to dance as well, following her worker¡¯s steps.


    She didn¡¯t know what was happening. But somehow, she felt something stir within her torso as she contemted these things. It seemed her worker and the Hive-Builder had changed greatly in their time apart.

 POBee 147.1 - Meeting the Hive of Hives

    POBee 147.1 - Meeting the Hive of Hives


    The Firstborn flew above the Memorial, her wings beating strong and steady. This battle had been one of their most costly yet in absolute losses, yet the Firstborn¡¯s mind stayed calm. Nay, she held herself high, having to keep her wings in check lest they carry her higher and away from the proceedings.


    Because today, they had won a victory of victories.


    Today, they had faced King-like beings that the Conduit named humans, as if the King¡¯s glorious form could be expressed with a single word. But apparently, he was not the only being to share that form, and the others were nothing like him. ording to the Conduit, these humans were enemies. They had destroyed an entire hive of humans the King dwelt in, burned the King¡¯s home, and scattered his hives. They mortally wounded the King himself in the process. He had only survived because the Conduit rushed to his side as the God of All Bees pulled her away to create this realm.


    In that, they were as bad as the Hunger. Worse, even, for they had apparently caused more devastation ande closer to killing the King than even the disaster that befell the First Dynasty of the First Spawner. The power required to do such a thing to the King¡­was unfathomable. And yet, it had happened. The Firstborn saw herself as the King trembled, brought to great trepidation upon learning these humans approached hisnds. He feared them more than the monstrous shades that hounded him so.


    And then the army hadid them low. More andrger enemies than they had ever faced, working together in a manner the Firstborn thought limited to her army. They held ws of cold metal andmanded the very elements through magic on par with the karnuq. They rode on beasts that dwarfed even thergest flying shades andunched fire and lightning and wind as if they had all the powers of all the shades put together.


    And yet, it was the King¡¯s army that emerged victorious in the end. They had triumphed over a foe that eclipsed the disaster of the First Dynasty, that had done worse to the King than any intruder he had faced since. They brought an end to an evil that gued the King¡¯s very heart and that drove the Conduit to uncontainable wrath.


    Today was a day the queens of the Flower Meadow could truly be proud of. No¡­a day that the hive of hives could truly be proud of, for they hadn¡¯t done it alone. The bumblebee soldiers had taken the blows her soldiers could not. The supplies from the Apiary had made the army what it was today. Beero and the wounded soldiers¡¯ ceaseless efforts gave the hive of hives magical attacks of their own and defeated a foe faster than any bee.


    And then there were the karnuq. If the Firstborn had any remaining misgivings about those outsiders, they were truly resolved. The karnuq had stood by their side, fought their foes, and struck down the King¡¯s enemies. The zing karnuq had spared entire formations of soldiers, the mighty karnuq had fought the enemy no soldier bee could, and the rest of their hunters drew the enemies¡¯ attention so that the bees could aim their dives in peace. The Firstborn could now include the karnuq in the hive of hives without hesitation.


    The Firstborn finished her thoughts as the memorial dance came to a close. She gave one final thanks and farewell to her soldiers that made today possible. Just then, she heard a loud p as the King requested their attention. She gave him her full attention.For speaking of outsiders, the bee clinging to the Conduit¡¯s back had not gone unnoticed. Nor had the Firstborn failed to notice that one of the evil humans was brought down not by her armies, but by worker bees from a hive she did not recognize. So, she watched with interest as the King called them forward¡­


    The queen¡¯s mind was still processing all that urred when the dance came to a close. She suddenly jumped as she heard a loud p. The Hive-Builder pped his hands and all eyes turned to him.


    ¡°Hi everyone, could I have your attention? There¡¯s someone I need to introduce.¡±


    The Hive-Builder held out one of his hands. Her worker flew over andnded on the hand, carrying her along.


    ¡°This is one of my queens from before! She¡¯s Niobee¡¯s mom, too, and she made it all the way here!¡±


    A murmur of buzzing wings sounded throughout the field. The queen¡­was confused one more. The Hive-Builder¡­was presenting her to his new queens? Wouldn¡¯t they just attack her as an intruding rival?


    This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    A massive queen came flying up to her, one many times her size and asrge as her worker. The queen shrunk back, trying to hide within her worker¡¯s fuzz. Fortunately, the giant queen stopped before her worker. She then began to dance.


    ¡°Hello! I am the First Queen of the Second Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line. Honored to meet Conduit¡¯s queen mother!¡±


    The queen froze. This giant of a queen who could squash her with a single leg¡­was¡­greeting her? An intruding rival queen? Why would she do that?


    And who or what was a Conduit?


    But before she could voice any of her questions, a second giant flew in, no smaller than the first.


    ¡°Hello, I am the First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Fifth Spawner, the first of her line. It is an honor to meet the Conduit¡¯s queen mother. I wee you on behalf of the hive of hives and the King.¡±


    And then another.


    ¡°Hello! Am the Fourth Queen of the First Dynasty of the Seventh Spawner! Is nice to meet you!¡±


    One by one, more giants came to dance before her, giving her greetings she didn¡¯t understand instead of impaling her with their massive stingers. Eventually she couldn¡¯t help but tap a dance out with a single leg, hoping no one but her worker would notice.


    ¡°Worker, what¡¯s going on? What are rival queens saying? Why aren¡¯t stinging?¡±


    Her worker somehow responded while staying still, her mana shifting about and touching the queen¡¯s own in ways reminiscent of a dance. She, again, had no idea what was happening, but could somehow understand her worker¡¯s intent.


    ¡°Is hive of hives! Instead of fighting, all of King¡¯s queens work together! Build one big hive made of many! Queen mother is Niobee¡¯s queen mother and King introduced, so all queens will wee!¡±


    ¡°I-I see, um, who is Niobee?¡±


    ¡°Niobee is Niobee¡¯s name! King gave!¡±


    ¡°N-Name? What that?¡±


    ¡°What King calls!¡±


    Somehow, each answer the queen received only raised more and more questions.


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s mind went nk as sheprehended the King¡¯s words.


    The Conduit¡¯s¡­queen mother?


    She was vaguely aware the Conduit had existed before the King¡¯s realm did, in a time before she was the Conduit and before the King was the King. A time where the King was but one of many in a hive of humans, and the least of them. A fantastical tale she had trouble believing. How could the King be anything but king? With all his wisdom and grace and power and love? How could anyone treat him as anything but king? The Conduit as well! The Conduit was an existence beyond mere bees. She was connected to the Tower and the King and the Queen of All Bees in ways the First of the Fifth couldn¡¯t fathom. The rival she couldn¡¯t ovee back when she was jealous and scheming, a power she still couldn¡¯tprehend even after acknowledging her position. Sure, the Conduit could <em>im</em> she was a normal bee before, a mere worker even, but the First of the Fifth just couldn¡¯t see how that was possible.


    And yet, here, today, was conclusive proof of these things. An army of humans had assaulted their home as the Conduit said they had before, requiring sacrifice from the bee army and the intervention of the karnuq to stop. And now a bee stood before them that they were told was the Conduit¡¯s queen mother. A small, tiny runt of a queen with scarcely a hint of mana that was currently trying to hide from their gaze. The First of the Fifth might even believe it if someone told her this wasn¡¯t a monster bee, much less an existence that gave birth to the Conduit!


    And yet, the King had stated just that, so it must be true. The Conduit truly was born from¡­a mundane honeybee of all things. And though the queen before them barely had any mana at all, if the First of the Fifth focused really, really hard, she found bits and traces. Bits and traces that matched the Conduit¡¯s signature. Not exactly, for the Conduit¡¯s mana was fundamentally tied to that of the King¡¯s realm itself, but close enough to clearly establish a familial connection.


    The First of the Fifth was paralyzed as she considered the implications of all these things¡­until a shadow passed in front of her eyes. The Firstborn moved to greet the new queen that the King himself had introduced to them. With that, the First of the Fifth shook herself out of her haze and flew forward as well, dancing her greeting.


    She would decide how she felt about the Conduit¡¯s queen mother showing up as a mere honeybeeter. For now¡­the King was introducing a queen he imed into the hive of hives. It was clear that the King and the Conduit both cared for this queen¡­and so the First of the Fifth would care for her as well. Such was the way of the King¡¯s hive of hives.


    She resolved herself as the rest of the queens greeted the Conduit¡¯s queen mother one by one. She would take care of this queen and show her the respect and love she deserved.


    She just¡­had to figure out how to do so. How exactly should she approach this queen? As the Conduit¡¯s queen mother, an existence that would naturally deserve immense respect and deference? As a small queen barely beyond a normal honeybee, who was clearly intimidated by the monster bees all around her? Should she offer her assistance beyond that of any other queen or would that be an insult to one who had raised a bee like the Conduit?


    But as the First of the Fifth pondered, another queen shot ahead of her with no hesitation at all.


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re from the Beyond?! Conduit¡¯s queen mother?! Amazing, incredible! Can tell me about the Beyond?! What was Conduit and King like then?! How got here, where came from?! Where Conduit and King came from?!¡±


    Ah, maybe she should start by addressing the Fourth of the Seventh.

 POBee 147.2 - A Bee-utiful Day in the Neighborhood

    POBee 147.2 - A Bee-utiful Day in the Neighborhood


    Eventually, the memorial and subsequent celebrations came to a close. Belissar couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit better as he had watched the bees dance around and slurp up honey. Apparently, they were more happy to have won the battle than they were to have lost any of their own. Belissar couldn¡¯t remain sad himself in the face of that, if for no other reason than that he didn¡¯t want to ruin their celebration.


    Afterwards, there was much to do and think about, but Belissar felt drained, so he decided to call it and head to bed. He woke up the next morning to find Niobee waiting for him as usual¡­with her queen still clinging to her back. She began her usual salute dance as she saw him.


    ¡°Good morning Niobee. Did your queen stay with youst night?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Belissar frowned. He may have been drained by the events of yesterday, but there was no excuse to have left a queen without a ce to stay. He needed to rectify that immediately.


    He was about to ask Niobee to speak with the queen for him when he paused. He tilted his head and then his eyes widened as he realized¡­he had already spoken to the queen and she had <em>responded.</em> He focused in more closely on her and found that she now had a bit of mana flowing through her.


    It seemed she was not just a normal honeybee any more.


    In any case, that was convenient, since it meant he could speak with her directly.


    ¡°Hi there, hope you slept well. Sorry I didn¡¯t prepare any ce for you to stay. I¡¯ll show you around and build you a home¡­um, if you want to stay here with us, that is.¡±The queen stirred on Niobee¡¯s back and looked up at him for a moment. She then slowly began to dance.


    ¡°Hive-Builder will¡­build new hive? For me?¡±


    Belissar saw something appear before his eyes but ignored it to focus on the queen. He gave her a warm smile.


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    The queen paused for a moment before her wings buzzed and she took off, zipping around in an aerial dance.


    ¡°Yes! Please! Will make Hive-Builder lots of honey!¡±


    Belissarughed and smiled as the queen zipped around him. And then finally took a nce at the messages trying to get his attention.


    His jaw dropped once he saw why.


    <em>ept offer of allegiance?</em>


    <em>New mission received: ept the Oracle of Bees into your dungeon.</em>


    <em>You have gained 1,273 sworn defenders.</em>


    <em>Unnamed bee, the Oracle of Bees, has be your sworn defender!</em>


    <em>Mission: ept The Oracle of Bees Into Your Dungeonpleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: One Bee-type Perk Choice</em>


    ¡°Ora¡­cle?¡±


    Belissar stared at the bee zipping around him, his eyes as wide as they could go. Oracles. For once, that was a term he knew. Mrs. Imkomos, the old beekeeper, had told them all about them, for it had been her lifelong dream to one day speak with one.


    And that was because oracles could hear directly from the gods.


    As such, they were afforded a ce of great honor by the Tower Lords¡­and protection. Such people rarely, if ever, interacted with the peasantry, though, so Mrs. Imkomos¡¯s dream remained just that to the day of her death. At this point, Belissar wondered if that was the choice of the oracles themselves or if the Tower Lords had secluded them away.


    But now¡­an oracle was here. One of his old bees, even, who herself was descended from the hives Mrs. Imkomos had raised before him. So¡­not only was he speaking to an oracle now, he and Mrs. Imkomos had even helped raise one. His eyes moistened but a smile grew on his face.


    ¡°I guess I can fulfill your dream now, at least¡­¡±


    He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath.


    ¡°So, um, I hear you¡¯re an oracle?¡±


    The queen paused her dance and flew before him.


    ¡°Oracle? What that?¡±


    Belissar blinked.


    ¡°Oh¡­um¡­have you spoken to any gods? The God of Bees in particr.¡±


    The queen picked up speed.


    ¡°Yes! Queen of All Bees told not to sting evil humans! Told to follow ande here, then sting!¡±


    Belissar blinked several times at that news¡­and then broke out into a massive smiled as his heart began to pound in his chest. The God of Bees had appointed an oracle and sent down visions from above¡­so that one of his old queens could reunite with him? He didn¡¯t think he could feel even more grateful to her than he already did, but he was just proven wrong.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you did¡­well, um¡­¡±


    Belissar thought for a moment about what he should do with this news before shrugging. Even Mrs. Imkomos didn¡¯t know exactly what oracles did or how the Tower Lords treated them. Belissar therefore had no idea what, if anything, he should do differently now that he knew the queen was the Oracle of Bees.


    So, he decided to treat her first as a bee.


    ¡°¡­shall I show you around the Tower? You can pick a spot that looks nice to you and I¡¯ll build you a home.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Please! Hive-Builder is best hive builder!¡±


    Belissar chuckled at that. It seemed the Oracle of Bees was, in fact, also a bee after all.


    The queen zipped around as her worker and the Hive-Builder led her out of the Hive-Builder¡¯s nest. The Hive-Builder was not only keeping her, he was going to build a hive for her again! She had not thought he would do so, not after seeing all the mighty and giant queens he had reced her and her former rivals with. How could she possiblypete with the magical giants? How could her hive produce honey on par with one that could sustain bees of that size? How could she drive them from any flower they wished to monopolize? How could she stop beesrger than any ho from robbing her hive?


    Apparently, though, the Hive-Builder did not mind that she was tiny and weak. He was giving her a hive all the same. Once again, he would check her hive and help remove the sick and the parasites. Once again, he¡¯d line her hive with warm furs to keep out the winter chill. Once again, he¡¯d provide them with extra provisions to ensure they couldst until spring.


    And he was even going to let her decide where the hive should go!


    ¡°This is the Apiary! The bees here mostly focus on making honey, so there are plenty of flowers!¡±


    The queen spun about, taking in the room before her. As the Hive-Builder said, flowers spread out across the room, including flowers she had never seen before. There were entire patches of flowers that were glowing with a soft blue light. The queen¡¯s eyes locked onto them, she felt them drawing her in. She subconsciously began drifting towards them¡­


    And then she heard the buzzing.


    She snapped out of her haze to see once of the giant queens from yesterday fly towards the. She quickly retreated to her worker¡¯s back, telling what few workers still apanied her to stand down and avoid confrontation.


    The giant queen stopped midair, though, and began saluting to the Hive-Builder.


    ¡°You remember the First of the Fifth, right? She¡¯s pretty much in charge of the Apiary, so she¡¯ll help you if we set up here!¡±


    The First of the Fifth danced to confirm as much while the queen shrank as much as she could. She looked beyond the First of the Fifth to see gigantic structures in the distance. She would have thought they were human hives, if not for the clouds of bees flying in and out of them, absolutely covering the glowing flowers that her drawn her in.


    This room¡­appeared to be upied.


    The Hive-Builder led her to another room. A field of flowers evenrger than the Apiary spread out before her. There were a handful of beehouses in sight, but no bees came and went from them.


    ¡°This is the bumblebee Flower Meadow. They actually prefer ground nesting, so there are a couple of beehouses you could use if you want.¡±


    The queen spread her wings and was about to go fly and inspect one when a shadow passed overhead. She began buzzing as something mmed into the Hive-Builder. She nearly activated her attack pheromones but her worker¡¯s mana calmed her down.


    ¡°Is fine! Look!¡±


    The queen looked with horror as several massive bees crawled all over the Hive-Builder. She thought he was under attack¡­but on closer look she saw the bees were grooming him instead. The Hive-Builder responded by grooming the bees, both parties rubbing their legs all over each other¡¯s hair.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you all too! This is Niobee¡¯s old queen! We¡¯re showing her around.¡±


    The queen dropped down as t as she could on her worker¡¯s back as one of the giants flew over. She remained as still as she could as antennarger than her entire body began to sweep over her.


    This room, too, waspletely upied.


    The queen looked up at the rows upon rows of flowering trees covering the sky above her¡­but she was not deceived. She knew, at this point, that where there were flowers, there were bees. The only question was what kind of bees she would find here.


    ¡°This is where the Fourth of the Seventh lives!¡±


    The queen froze, and began to tremble as she remembered the giant queen that had osted herst night, heedless to her terror as she danced overhead. She dove into her worker¡¯s hair and tried to hide as best she could.


    ¡°King! And new queen!¡±


    But she was toote.


    The queen could scarcely move as she clung to her worker¡¯s back with all her might. She had seen an army of bees no ho could contend with. She had seen a wastnd of ash and fire¡­that a magical queen was happily building a hive in. She saw tunnels where no light shined, and yet, there too another queen had already imed a territory.


    She was beginning to think she¡¯d have no choice but to beg one of the magical queens to take mercy upon her. Clearly, there was no room for a tiny, weak queen like herself to im a territory of her own.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s everything. Any ce you liked?¡±


    The queen didn¡¯t know how to respond. There were plenty of ces she liked, but none that had not been imed.


    ¡°King, not everything? More rooms?¡±


    The Hive-Builder rubbed his chin at her worker¡¯s question.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s the Fairy Grove but we¡¯re still checking if it¡¯s safe. I guess there¡¯s also the karnuq rooms? Um, would you like to see the room the karnuq live?¡±


    The queen just managed to move her legs enough to eke out a question.


    ¡°Queen mother asks what karnuq are! Karnuq are bear humans!¡¯


    The queen took a moment to ponder. The bear humans? They frightened her too¡­but they also appeared deferential to the Hive-Builder. So, if she tried to think of them as just a type of human, who were treating the Hive-Builder like their queen, then they didn¡¯t seem that bad. She slowly danced her reply, moving her whole body so the Hive-Builder could see.


    ¡°Can check.¡±


    The Hive-Builder nodded and led her to another room. The queen nced every which way as the Hive-Builder showed her about. She saw an asional worker, but few foragers and no queens. So, a ce the monster hives were scouting, but hadn¡¯t imed just yet?


    ¡°I was just adding beehouses here, so I guess you could move into this one if you¡¯d like.¡±


    The queen looked at the hive before her, then slowly danced a question.


    ¡°No other bees here?¡±


    The Hive-Builder shook his head.


    ¡°We just decided to move bees here recently, so none just yet.¡±


    The queen immediately beat her wings and soared into the air,nding on the empty hive.


    ¡°Here! Will move here! No other queens moving here, right?!¡±


    The Hive-Builder crossed his arms.


    ¡°Well, no, not yet. I guess that would work if you like it here?¡±


    The queen danced the confirmation with all her might.


    ¡°Yes! Here!¡±


    The Hive-Builder nodded.


    ¡°Got it. Go ahead and check it out, I¡¯ll let the karnuq know you¡¯re moving in here. Um, try not to sting them, ok?¡±


    The queen saluted with all her might and then dove into the empty hive, taking shelter within its thick and mighty walls.


    Safe! She was finally safe! A ce she could grow her hive where they wouldn¡¯t be immediately squashed by magical giants! She guessed there were the bear humans living nearby but that was fine, she had lived near humans her entire life after all. Much better them than rival queens who could crush her at will.


    It was onlyter that she noticed the beehouse, despite being empty, was already full of honey. As well as the massive currents of mana flowing through its walls¡­

 Chapter 148: Gather Your Bee-solve

    Chapter 148: Gather Your Bee-solve


    Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes went wider than Belissar had ever seen them. Her jaw even dropped.


    ¡°The Oracle of Bees? And you said she¡¯s moving into the hive in our vige?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°I know, I can barely believe it either. But, well, I guess she <em>is</em> the God of Bees, so maybe it makes sense?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak blinked, and then smiled.


    ¡°Ah, I guess that is true. In any case, we are truly honored to have her dwell here. I will ensure she is treated with the respect and hospitality she deserves as the representative of our patron.¡±


    Belissar nodded again.


    ¡°Thanks. Um, you may want to be careful around her hive for now. She¡¯s clearly not just a normal bee anymore, but her workers still seem normal, so they might try to sting you if provoked. You might need to hold off on gathering honey from that beehouse for now.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak saluted.¡°Understood, I¡¯ll let the n know to give her some space.¡±


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Thank you, sorry for suddenly deciding this without asking.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head.


    ¡°It is your right as Sacred Den Master. And we are honored that you would trust us with an oracle¡¯s safety.¡±


    Belissar smiled for a moment before his face turned grim.


    ¡°And that brings us to the other thing. Could youe and meet with the me and the queens? Maybe bring Metsaitti or whoever else you think might help.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded and then tilted her head.


    ¡°Of course¡­but may I ask what the meeting is for? That will inform who I would bring.¡±


    Belissar jumped a bit.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡±


    And then he looked out into the distance, narrowing his eyes.


    ¡°The Tower Lords have found us. We beat back one attack¡­but there could be more in the future. I wanted to discuss what we should do to prepare in case theye again.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak narrowed her eyes as she nodded.


    ¡°Understood, I was hoping to speak with you on that as well. We will be there, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    Belissar nodded back, then turned to leave. Niobee had already gone off to gather the queens at this point. He took a deep breath before walking towards the nearest shortcut as well.


    Belissar stood by the Orchard¡¯s Shrine of Bees, watching as queens from all across the Tower flew in from the shortcuts. Even Niobee¡¯s queen mother was here, clinging to Niobee¡¯s back as she seemed to enjoy doing. Chief Rohsuak arrived with Metsaitti and several other karnuq, including Juosiutik. Bees and karnuq both gathered around and saluted to him. He took a deep breath.


    ¡°Thank you foring, everyone. Sorry to interrupt your work, but I¡¯d like to take a break from the purifications today so let¡¯s have the meeting now.¡±


    He looked over his bees, smiling as his gaze fell on the Second First of the First and the other battle meadow queens.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°First of all, thank you all for fighting yesterday. Thanks to you, we defeated a Tower Lord, or his son at the least. I didn¡¯t think that was possible, but thanks to you all, it was.¡±


    The Second First of the First and the battle meadow queens began rapid salute dances. The karnuq saluted as well as Belissar thanked them in turn. He then took a deep breath, furrowing his brow.


    ¡°However¡­I don¡¯t think it¡¯s over. The Tower Lords¡­¡±


    He looked over at the karnuq, his face twisting as he realized what he was about to say. He gulped¡­but it had to be said. His Tower defenders needed to know what wasing.


    ¡°¡­they think of beastkin as subhumans cursed by the gods. They also think that peasants like myself defile Towers with our mere presence. So¡­I don¡¯t think they¡¯re just going to leave us alone now that they know where we are. Now that we killed one of their sons.¡±


    Some of the karnuq scowled, while the bees began to buzz their wings. Metsaitti narrowed his eyes and gripped his spear. Chief Rohsuak slowly nodded.


    ¡°Well, I understand why you were worried about finding people like yourself, then. And you are indeed correct that we should prepare for the worst. Did you have something in mind, Sacred Den Master?¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded, beginning to pace about.


    ¡°We¡¯ll keep up with the usual methods. More flowers, more bees, and more purifications. We should definitely expand whenever possible. We might need to increase the pace of that¡­¡±


    Belissar frowned as the battle meadow queens saluted. He knew that, ultimately, he was the one holding back the pace. His mana had outpaced the expansion purifications, so he could begin another right away if he wished. The reason he didn¡¯t was his desire to ensure they werepletely, fully prepared, so that they could keep bee casualties to the absolute minimum.


    But if they were willing to ept a few casualties here and there, they could conduct expansions earlier than he normally did. And he knew that the queens and the soldiers themselves were absolutely willing to ept those casualties. He was the only one who wasn¡¯t.


    It was something he needed to think about, and sooner rather thanter now that he knew the Tower Lords could reach him.


    However, he had another idea in mind for right now. He turned to face the karnuq.


    ¡°However¡­this time I¡¯m also thinking that we should try to work on your blessings. Back when I was just a peasant, I heard stories about the Tower Guard¡­the personal soldiers of the Tower Lords. They were said to be invincible. Bandits, witches, or even incursions, it didn¡¯t matter. When the Tower Guard showed up, every situation was handled.¡±


    He sighed and shook his head.


    ¡°Well, I also know that the Tower Lords lied about the gods hating peasants and beastkin, so I wasn¡¯t sure how much of those stories were true. But after seeing what that captain did, how strong he was¡­I¡¯m worried the Tower Guard parts might be true after all. So¡­I think we need some Tower Guards of our own.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded along.


    ¡°I agree. Our hunters and champions have been static for far too long.¡±


    She turned to face the other karnuq.


    ¡°The Sacred Den Master has been gracious enough to invite us into his home, with full ess to the shrines of the gods. It is high time that we begin to grow once more.¡±


    She gave a pointed look to Metsaitti.


    ¡°And I don¡¯t just mean the young and inexperienced.¡±


    He gave a sheepish nod as she turned back to Belissar.


    ¡°With that in mind, may I make two requests, Sacred Den Master?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°What do you need?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak held up her hand and created a small wisp of fire that danced around her fingers.


    ¡°Would you be willing to share some of the Third of the Sixth¡¯s Fire mana honey with us? I believe that with her help and with the God of Fire¡¯s presence in your Sacred Den that it would be possible to raise new champions of fire among our n.¡±


    She made a wry grin.


    ¡°Someone to carry the torch whose bones don¡¯t ache like mine.¡±


    Belissar turned to the Third of the Sixth.


    ¡°What do you think¡­oh, she¡¯s already dancing yes. You sure you have enough reserves, you need to keep growing you know?¡±


    But the Third of the Sixth just kept up her rapid salute dance. Belissar chuckled.


    ¡°We recently evolved a new burning queen as well, so that should be fine. Um¡­you aren¡¯t all going to go with fire, right?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled and shook her head.


    ¡°No, we will be sure to give the God of Bees her due as well. And that is my second request.¡±


    Her face turned serious.


    ¡°I would like for our hunters to begin training with your bees, and perhaps learn from them. Additionally, I would like to request that your bees allow us to participate more directly in your purifications. At least to fight along their side, and maybe even to handle the shades on our own from time to time. I believe that the God of Bees will approve of our hunters learning to fight like your bees and directly defending her Sacred Den.¡±


    Belissar turned to the Second First of the First.


    ¡°What do you say? Would you be willing to fight with the karnuq, and maybe let them fight on their own some time?¡±


    The Second First of the First gave an immediate salute.


    ¡°Brave warriors, helped defend hive of hives. <em>Part</em> of hive of hives. Honored to fight with.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nced at Metsaitti. The hunter blinked, then nodded and gave a salute of his own.


    ¡°I am honored you think of us so. We would also be honored to fight and train at your side.¡±


    Belissar nodded as bee and karnuq saluted one another.


    ¡°Thank you, we¡¯ll appreciate the help with the purifications as well. Next, there¡¯s something we can do right now to strengthen the Tower.¡±


    Belissar began to grin as all eyes turned to him.


    ¡°The God of Bees gave us a reward. We have another perk to decide.¡±

 Chapter 149: Deserved Bee-inforcement

    Chapter 149: Deserved Bee-inforcement


    Without dy, Belissar opened the reward.


    <em>Please select a perk:</em>


    <em>- Bee-Type Speed Boost (Small) (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    <em>- Bee Breeder (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    <em>- Swarming Soldiers (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    His eyes widened. All umons this time? That was a god¡¯s reward, no doubt. After just a second staring at the list without a singlemon, Belissar started to read out the descriptions.


    <em>Bee-Type Speed Boost (Small)</em>


    <em>- All Bee-type monsters receive a small boost to speed</em>


    <em>- May affect Bee-type rooms and features where relevant</em>¡°Huh.¡±


    Belissar scratched his chin. He hadn¡¯t realized that the stat boost perks also affected rooms and features. Though, he wasn¡¯t precisely sure how. Would moving faster apply to beehouses or the Apiary?


    He shrugged though. Even putting that factor aside, making all of his bees a bit faster was powerful enough in and of itself. The battle meadow queens certainly agreed giving that they were all fidgeting about. The Fourth of the Seventh had no such hesitation and was zipping about, putting a smile on Belissar¡¯s face.


    He moved on to the next perk.


    <em>Bee Breeder</em>


    <em>- Small increase to the rate monster bee queens produce offspring</em>


    A repeat offering and another one that was simple but powerful. Belissar would never say no to more bees, that would aid in every aspect of his Tower. More workers to forage and scout, more soldiers to fight, more gardeners to help his flower bloom, and moremuners to keep track of them all. But, most importantly and unlike the first time he saw this perk, Belissar now knew that the monster bee queens could raise new queens and new hives. A small increase in the number of bees born could be massive when it meant multiplying the number of hives.


    Though, the perk did mention monster bee queens, specially. Would it also apply to the bumble bee queens? The perk wouldn¡¯t reach as far as the speed boost if not, though it was still worth considering. The First of the Fifth appeared to do so as she began cleaning her antennae over and over. The battle meadow queens as well, resumed their fidgeting. He guessed they might be torn between the two perks.


    Belissar guessed that thest perk was not going to help with that.


    <em>Swarming Soldiers</em>


    <em>- Monster bee soldiers gain a small boost to speed and strength and a minor boost to all other stats when ten or more gather together. Effects increase with numbers up to a current maximum of thirty.</em>


    <em>- Slight boost to monster bee soldier coordination</em>


    <em>- Applies to soldier variations but not to soldier evolutions</em>


    All the battle meadow queens froze, and then flew closer as Belissar read the description. He made an amused smile as each word drew them in more and more. He guessed he knew which one they preferred.


    Indeed, the perk was powerful. It boosted all of a soldier bee¡¯s stats with the biggest boost to their speed and strength, helping them hit hard and fast. And the current size of the soldier bee army was such that it would always remain active, so for Belissar¡¯s soldiers it was a straight increase to their power.


    It was also useful in that it made soldiers, the mostmon defender of Belissar¡¯s Tower, stronger and more capable. Lancers were powerful but few in number. Sprayers introduced a new element to the army but also couldn¡¯t fight well up close. At the end of the day, it was the soldiers who were holding the line. Boosting their power would help the majority of the army stay relevant against whatever new kinds of shades the Hunger threw at them¡­or whatever new kinds of enemies arrived to assault them.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the vition.


    Additionally, the perk mentioned variations and evolutions. Belissar rubbed his chin at that. If he had to guess¡­it probably wouldn¡¯t affect sprayers orncers, then? What exactly would count as a variation? Did that mean it could affect the bumblebee soldiers, maybe?


    If it did¡­the big bumblebee soldiers getting a boost to their strength could be a sight to see. Depending on if the perk affected them at all and if it did if it counted them along with the monster bee soldiers or if it counted them separately. There weren¡¯t ten bumblebee soldiers yet, after all, as they needed significantly more honey than their smaller counterparts.


    So, that was the choice. Faster bees, more bees, or boost soldiers specifically in every way. Before deciding, Belissar turned to his bees and the karnuq.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    The battle meadow queens conferred and saluted to one another, then the Second First of the First flew forward.


    ¡°Think¡­soldier one best. Hive of hives is strongest when working together, good to make soldiers stronger when together.¡±


    The First of the Fifth paused and quickly began dancing to the Apiary queens. A momentter, she made her dance to Belissar.


    ¡°Lots of jobs to do now, lots of flowers to gather. More bees would help, if King decides!¡±


    Meanwhile, the Fourth of the Seventh was still zipping around.


    ¡°All of them! Any! Amazing, incredible!¡±


    Belissar chuckled as he turned to the karnuq. Most of them were staring nkly or furrowing their brow. Chief Rohsuak made a wry smile and shrugged while Metsaitti rubbed his chin. He slowly lifted his head to make eye contact with Belissar.


    ¡°All of them have their use but¡­Sacred Den Master, from what I have seen, you prefer to minimize casualties, correct?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Metsaitti crossed his arms as he nodded.


    ¡°In that case, it may be wiser to strengthen your army than to expand it. Though, I speak only as a warrior, so I cannot tell you which will make your Sacred Den strongest overall.¡±


    Belissar nodded and hummed to himself. Metsaitti had a point. A general speed boost would make it easier for his bees to dodge attacks. A boost to every stat for soldiers would correspondingly help in every way, making it easier to dodge attacks, easier to survive getting hit, and easier to defeat the enemy before they attacked in the first ce. Bee Breeder, on the other hand, gave him more bees, but didn¡¯t make the individual bees any more resilient. It could be useful for overwhelming the enemy and absorbing casualties¡­but only if Belissar was willing to take casualties in the first ce. More powerful bees also meant he could tackle more purifications and expansions, acquiring more floors and choices in the process.


    Though, Metsaitti did say he was thinking as a warrior. If Belissar tried not to think like a warrior¡­that would be thinking more like the First of the Fifth than the battle meadow queens? More bees not only meant more soldiers, but more workers and gardeners as well. More workers and gardeners would mean more honey. More honey would in turn mean even more bees. And not just more soldiers, more honey could allow the army to evolve more sprayers andncers or could let the bumblebee queens raise more of theirrger soldiers.


    Bee breeders would also help regarding new bees and flowers. More workers and gardeners would boost cross-pollination, meaning more and new kinds of flowers as well and faster spreading flowers. And bee breeders would directly help new queens set up their hives, with implications when new types of bees arose. For example, the Tower Guard had marched right through the Dirt Tunnels unopposed because the regr soldier bee army couldn¡¯t fight there either. If, however, the digging queen had expanded their hives and umted a decent batch of soldiers, Belissar could have attacked the Tower Guard while the wyverns were unable to fly at all. Or if the burning queen had an army of her own, then he could have considered fighting in the Lava Field and letting the mini-volcano do some of the work for the bees.


    Belissar frowned. This time, he wanted all the options and so had a hard time deciding which. Did he want to make the bee army stronger directly? Or did he want to focus on aspects of his Tower besides fighting? And how should he pick when one would help the other as well?


    He felt Niobeend on his head.


    ¡°King ok?¡±


    Belissar nced up at her and smiled. Indeed, there was one other bee who hadn¡¯t spoken yet.


    ¡°What do you think, Niobee?¡±


    ¡°Whatever King chooses!¡±


    He chuckled at that.


    ¡°And if you were choosing?¡±


    Niobee paused and her dancing slowed.


    ¡°If¡­Niobee chose?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Please, I¡¯d like to know what you think.¡±


    Niobee fell still. Then, slowly, she started to tap out unsteady steps.


    ¡°If Niobee chose¡­Niobee wants stronger bees. Need to sting enemies without losing bees. Won¡¯t let anyone hurt King again.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s mouth curled up a bit. Niobee¡­had a bit of an aggressive streak, didn¡¯t she? He reached up and brushed her back.


    ¡°And I won¡¯t let anyone hurt the bees.¡±


    Belissar made his choice.


    <em>Swarming Soldiers selected.</em>


    He decided that the brave soldier bees deserved the boost. Time after time again they risked and sometimes gave their lives to protect him and all the other bees behind them. He would not forget them or all that they had done, even ifncers could pierce their foes, sprayers could attack at a distance, or the karnuq could hold the line in their ce.


    He would reward them for their sacrifice, and in the process make them stronger and more capable of handling whatever else came their way.


    He closed his eyes and turned his Tower sight to all the soldier bees in the dungeon. The battle meadow soldier bee army training for its next battle. The construction squad helping the karnuq build a roof. The Apiary soldiers standing guard by the room to the core. Beero and the others demonstrating their dance to their new members.


    He stirred up his mana and sent it towards them.


    <em>¡°Thank you, for protecting our home.</em>¡±


    Every single soldier bee in the Tower paused¡­and then burst out into rapid salute dances.

 Chapter 150: Woe Bee to the Vanquished

    Chapter 150: Woe Bee to the Vanquished


    Belissar just watched the soldiers throughout the Tower with his tower sight, smiling as he did. He didn¡¯t know if he had made the best choice, but it certainly felt like the right one. He returned his sight to normal.


    ¡°Ok¡­I think that¡¯s all for now. Let¡¯s get back to work.¡±


    Most of the queens saluted, but then the First of the Fifth crawled forward.


    ¡°King¡­First of the Eighth has a question. Can ask?¡±


    Belissar broke out into a wide smile as he nodded.


    ¡°Of course. You all can always ask me anything!¡±


    The First of the Fifth did a quick ¡°King is best king!¡± dance before catching herself and dancing towards another queen, one with purple stripes. The Apiary¡¯s maddening queen, the First of the Eighth apparently, flew forward and performed a salute dance, thenunched into her question.


    ¡°King¡­workers found human alive in pit when filling honey trap. What should we do? Should sting?¡±


    Belissar froze.¡°What?¡±


    He zoomed with his tower sight to the Dirt Tunnels and quickly found the problem. There, in the final pit trap in the Dirt Tunnels¡¯ exit corridor, was one of the Tower guards, coated in maddening honey with the remnants of a dirt bridge scattered around him. He frowned as he rubbed his chin. There was a lot going on in the fight but he guessed he vaguely recalled someone falling into a Pit Trap on the initial charge?


    Well, he guessed no one else recalled either since the bees didn¡¯t set it on fire. He was about to give themand on reflex, but the words caught in his throat.


    The man was groaning. He appeared to be trying to speak but his face wasn¡¯t moving. The rest of his body stayed still, save for the asional twitch of a finger. His eyes were somewhat unfocused but began to quiver any time a bee approached.


    Belissar crossed his arms. This man, while one of the Tower Guards, was no longer a threat. He had most likely, and still was, paralyzed from being drenched in maddening honey. He couldn¡¯t even move.


    He was one of the Tower Guards, one of the men who burned his home and ughtered his vige. He hade along with the Tower Lord¡¯s son to attack Belissar¡¯s new home, resulting in the deaths of many bees. And yet¡­now that he was lyingpletely helpless at the bottom of a pit, Belissar hesitated to give the order to just end the man¡¯s life. Not when he had an alternative method of dealing with him.


    He heaved a sigh and turned to Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°¡­would you be able to handle a third prisoner?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak saluted.


    ¡°Of course, Sacred Den Master.¡±


    Belissar nodded at her.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    And then he turned back to the bees.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get him out of the pit, then, and take him to the karnuq. Oh, um, don¡¯t kill him, unless he starts moving and attacks or something.¡±


    The bees saluted.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master, I do have a question on that topic.¡±


    Belissar turned to Chief Rohsuak and nodded for her to continue.


    ¡°Do you have any ns regarding these prisoners? In particr, we are not able to speak with them, so we may need your assistance depending on what you wish to do with them.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°You¡­can¡¯t speak with them? Why? Are they refusing to talk?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°No, we simply do not understand each other¡¯snguage.¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    ¡°But¡­then how are you speaking with me? I speak the samenguage as them.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak made a light smile as she shook her head.


    ¡°That is because you are a Sacred Den Master.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Oh, that makes sense. Guess it¡¯s just another Tower power.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled.


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    Then Belissar crossed his arms once more. What should he do with the prisoners? He honestly had no idea. What did one do with prisoners anyways? He had obviously never had a prisoner of his own. The vige didn¡¯t have any either as far as he was aware, anyone who had done something wrong would normally have to pay a fine to the injured party and the vige chief. If they had done something exceptionally bad, they¡¯d be exiled or handed over to the Tower Guard. In either case, they were never heard from again, so Belissar had no idea what became of them.


    And even if he had, he did not want to follow the Tower Lord¡¯s example if he could manage it.


    ¡°Hm¡­to be honest, I can¡¯t really think of anything right now, what do your people do with prisoners?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shrugged.


    ¡°During our sojourn, we didn¡¯t take prisoners.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°I see. In that case, I guess just keep them from causing trouble? Ah, and keep them alive. As for thenguage thing¡­well, I guess I should talk to them now. I do have some questions regarding the Tower Lords. Um, if there¡¯s anything you need to say to or ask them, I can say that as well while I¡¯m there?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded with a salute.


    ¡°Thank you, Sacred Den Master. That should suffice for now.¡±


    He let out another sigh.


    ¡°Well, I guess we better get to it.¡±


    Belissar stood by the pit in the Dirt Tunnels and relit the beeswax candles¡­though not the ones made with wax from the maddening bees. He watched as two bumblebee soldiers descended into the pit. Numerous maddening workers crawled over the man,pping up the maddening honey still stuck to him. The man¡¯s eyes were shaking and he was whimpering¡­whimpering that only grew as the giant bumblebees descended upon him. But he still couldn¡¯t move or do anything, so theynded and wrapped their legs around him without issue.


    As one, the two bumblebee soldiers lifted the man out of the pit. Belissar smiled and nodded at them.


    ¡°Great work everyone. Let¡¯s take him over.¡±


    The worker bees saluted. The bumblebees couldn¡¯t zip around while holding the man, but they did buzz their wings.


    Belissar led the group to the karnuq settlement. Once there, the karnuq dressed up Belissar in the same getup he wore to meet with the sigmaka, and then Metsaitti directed him to the side of the room. There, a ring of karnuq hunters stood at guard while the karnuq vigers assembled arge stone structure. The two wyverns were off to the side with ropesshed all around them and soldier bees buzzing overhead.


    Metsaitti led Belissar to a smaller, more normal sized stone structure to the side of the one under construction. Well, it was only small inparison, it was still karnuq-sized sorge by Belissar¡¯s standards. Two karnuq hunters at the front of the building along with Juosiutik and a karnuq woman Belissar didn¡¯t recognize, and the Second of the Sixth with a group of medicinal workers. The hunters opened up the door as Metsaitti approached. Metsaitti stepped in, then Belissar followed him with the bumblebee pair and his usual soldier bee guards, and then Juosiutik, the woman, and the Second of the Sixth camest. The room was empty save for three bed rolls, and the other two humans. The bumblebees gently ced the man down on one of the bed rolls, then flew off so Juosiutik, the woman, and the Second of the Sixth could have a look.


    Belissar rubbed the two bumblebee soldiers¡¯ fuzz, and then turned his attention to the other two men while he waited. The old man was sitting and leaning against the wall, his eyes unfocused. The young man had stirred as they entered, however, and was watching with wide eyes.


    ¡°Is he¡­?¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°We found him in one of the pits. He¡¯s alive.¡±


    The young man slowly nodded. At first he moved to sit back down, but paused as Belissar remained. He slowly straightened himself.


    ¡°Do you wish to speak with us, Tower Lord, sir?¡±


    Belissar scowled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡±


    Even Belissar was surprised at how he spat the words out. Niobee, who was sitting on his head, and the soldier bees began to buzz their wings in response. The young man took a step back with his hands held up and bowed his head.


    ¡°I apologize.¡±


    Belissar took a deep breath.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­look, I¡¯m not fond of the Tower Lords. Not anymore. Call me Tower Keeper, or Sacred Den Master, or any other name for it. Just not Tower Lord.¡±


    The young man¡¯s face fell and he nodded.


    ¡°I understand, Tower Keeper.¡±


    Belissar sighed once more.


    ¡°Ok¡­then, I have questions for you.¡±


    The young man slowly nodded.


    ¡°I figured. What do you wish to know, Tower Keeper?¡±


    Belissar narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°I need to know how you got here. How did you find me, how far did you travel and from what direction? And how soon can we expect more of you?¡±


    The young man turned his gaze down to the ground and let his shoulders droop.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t expect any of us.¡±


    Belissar paused at that.


    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡±


    The young man took a deep breath.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t intended to survive. After what happened in your vige, the lord of Starami Tower was really upset. I heard the Conve got involved too. We were sent out as the first wave with an intentionally small force. We were supposed to die. So¡­I don¡¯t think any of them care about following us.¡±


    Belissar was processing this when Metsaitti suddenly grunted.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master, the man in the back flinched. I think he knows something.¡±


    Belissar turned his gaze to the old man, who had tried to go back to leaning against the wall. But his eyes were focused now, and he was averting his gaze.


    ¡°You there. What do you know?¡±

 Chapter 151: Interpreting the Prophe-Bee

    Chapter 151: Interpreting the Prophe-Bee


    The man¡¯s eyes twitched and nced every which way. But then¡­he stopped, looked Belissar in the eye, and then turned his gaze down with a heavy sigh.


    ¡°¡­it matters not. My life is over, I will not end it with yet another failure. Kill me if you must.¡±


    Belissar red at the man but he refused to raise his head anymore. Belissar turned to the young man.


    ¡°Who is he, by the way? Why did you bring an old man like that with you?¡±


    The young man rubbed his chin.


    ¡°He¡¯s an augur. I don¡¯t fully get it but they¡¯re supposed to divine the will of the gods, especially regarding Towers? I¡¯m not sure how but he was the one who figured out where to go. Ourmander imed a god spoke to the augur and told us where to go.¡±


    Belissar blinked at that.


    ¡°A¡­god led you here?¡±


    Belissar frowned. If the gods were getting involved¡­then the situation could be worse than he thought. He had thought the Tower Lords had lied about the gods disproving of peasants and beastkin after he was blessed by the God of Bees¡­but now a god had led the Tower Lords straight to him? Now that he thought about it, it was true that the gods were not a united monolith. They were individuals, unique and separate from one another. They could be different, and they could even be at odds with one another.So¡­perhaps the God of Bees and the God of Fire didn¡¯t care too much about him and the karnuq controlling a Tower¡­but that didn¡¯t mean there wasn¡¯t a god who did.


    Belissar narrowed his eyes at the augur.


    ¡°Which god did you speak with? And what did they say?¡±


    But the augur did not respond any further. Belissar continued ring at him for a while¡­but then he paused. And then Belissar started tough. The augur nced up at him, but Belissar ignored him now.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. If you don¡¯t want to tell us, we¡¯ll just ask the gods ourselves.¡±


    Belissar nodded to Niobee and she flew out of the prison. It didn¡¯t take her long to reach the karnuq settlement proper, and the beehouse there. Her queen mother stepped out of the hive as she approached.


    ¡°Worker!¡±


    ¡°Queen mother!¡±


    The two crawled over each other a bit before Niobee began to dance.


    ¡°King has a question for Queen of All Bees! Evil humans said a god sent them to King, wants to know which one and why!¡±


    The queen paused for a moment before beginning an unsteady dance.


    ¡°¡­not sure. Queen of All Bees talks to me, not sure how to ask¡­¡±


    But then she froze and her eyes began to glow with golden light. A momentter the glow faded and she began to dance quickly.


    ¡°Queen of All Bees said she did! Wanted to help me find worker and Hive-Builder! Amazing! Incredible! Queen of All Bees best queen of all bees!¡±


    Niobee joined her in the celebratory dance.


    Back in the prison, Belissar had a massive grin on his face. He couldn¡¯t help butugh, to the point that everyone in the room was staring at him. He hardly even noticed. He bowed his head on the spot.


    ¡°Truly, thank you. I can¡¯t thank you enough for this.¡±


    He took a deep breath, letting his joy and gratitude wash over him as he exhaled it with a smile. Only then did he notice everyone staring at him. Metsaitti tilted his head.


    ¡°Sacred Den Master?¡±


    Belissar turned to him, a smile still on his face.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°We asked the oracle and the God of Bees responded. There¡¯s no problem after all, she¡¯s the one who sent them. She wanted to help the oracle get here.¡±


    The augur froze, his eyes going wide.


    ¡°Ora¡­cle? That¡­that must be a lie. There were no oracles with us. Unless¡­no, the three of us are the only ones left and it¡¯s not any of us. There¡¯s no one else it could be.¡±


    Belissar shrugged. Well, the augur didn¡¯t seem helpful and he already knew which god he had spoken to, so instead of responding to him Belissar turned to the young man.


    ¡°Ok, you said we shouldn¡¯t expect the Tower Lords to show up again. Are you sure about that?¡±


    The young man jumped at being addressed but began to rub his chin.


    ¡°Um, fairly sure. We travelled a long way and skipped over several Towers on the way. We barely made thest leg of the journey, it was about as far as the wyverns could fly in one go. If we hadn¡¯t found your Tower, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to turn back. So, even if anyone cared where we went, it would take them a long time to follow us, I think. I¡¯m not sure how they¡¯d make thest leg either. Our captain wanted to turn around, but ourmander ordered us onward because he believed the gods were leading us¡­which I guess was actually true? It would have been a suicidal decision if he hadn¡¯t been right, I guess.¡±


    Belissar crossed his arms and rubbed his chin.


    ¡°So, we should have time. Since you¡¯re not reporting back, maybe they¡¯ll think you died.¡±


    The young man furrowed his brow.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­the augur over there did something before we entered the Tower. A magic ritual of some sort. I think it¡¯s supposed to let the Tower Lords know we arrived at a Tower, or something?¡±


    Belissar turned to re at the augur again. The augur red at the young man in turn, but said nothing. Belissar instead sent a message to the Fourth of the Seventh.


    <em>¡°Hi, Fourth of the Seventh? Can you scout the area around the Tower? We¡¯re looking for some sort of magic ritual or formation or something. It looks like¡­¡±</em>


    Belissar paused and turned to the young man.


    ¡°Um, do you know what it looked like?¡±


    The young man frowned.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get a great look¡­but it was carved into the dirt? I think it was glowing green at one point.¡±


    Belissar nodded and ryed as much to the Fourth of the Seventh.


    <em>¡°Ok! Will!¡±</em>


    He watched as the Fourth of the Seventh began to organize a scouting party and sighed.


    So¡­the Tower Lords might know where his Tower was after all. But at the same time¡­they were apparently quite far away, with several other Towers between them and a long, unbroken stretch of the Hunger at the end. Likewise, this particr party had not been expected to survive. So, there was no guarantee the Tower Lords would follow them even if they had passed a message back. Even if they did, they would not arrive immediately.


    So, they would have some time to prepare. But they would need to prepare, for it was still possible the Tower Lords would follow this party¡¯s path one day. Belissar nodded to himself.


    The young man seemed to have shared as much as he knew, and the augur still refused to speak. The most urgent questions were answered in any case and Belissar knew enough to guide his immediate actions.


    And that meant it was time to ask what he really wanted to know.


    ¡°Thank you. Now, let me ask you something important.¡±


    The young man gulped as Belissar focused in on him.


    ¡°Tell me about the bees, and how you brought them with you.¡±


    The young man froze, and then tilted his head.


    ¡°Um, the bees, Tower Keeper sir?¡±


    Belissar nodded, holding his intense gaze. The young man gulped.


    ¡°Um, ok. I found them at the bottom of my pack at one of the rest points. I¡¯m not sure how they got there¡­but they didn¡¯t sting me when I found the hive. I¡­¡± The young man¡¯s face fell. ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t want to hurt anything else at that point, so I figured I¡¯d let them be. I thought they¡¯d sting me when we took off again or when I needed something from the pack, but they stayed surprisingly docile¡­¡±


    As the young man spoke, the augur slowly turned his gaze to them.


    ¡°Bees? What bees¡­¡±


    His eyes began to go wide as the young man continued his tale.


    ¡°There¡­was a hive of bees traveling with us?¡±


    And then¡­the color of the god who set their path, the banners of the Tower, and the defenders that had struck Ruckanos down all flickered in the augur¡¯s mind¡­along with the Tower Lord¡¯s im that there was an oracle¡­


    The augur¡¯s face began to pale.


    But Belissar wasn¡¯t paying attention to him. He began to subconsciously smile as the young man described their journey.


    ¡°And then I wondered how they were getting water, so I figured I¡¯d share a bit. I tried to get them to leave at that point since we had found a nice purified zone, but they refused to budge. At first I thought it was that they considered the pack their home¡­but it sounds like there was something else going on?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes. The queen is intelligent and can speak with the God of Bees. She was trying to make it here.¡±


    The young man blinked, staring nkly into space.


    ¡°I¡­see?¡±


    Belissar chuckled and smiled at him.


    ¡°She was also one of the queens from my bees in the vige.¡±


    The young man¡¯s eyes went wide and quivered.


    ¡°¡­the one we burned?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°So¡­thank you, for taking care of her and helping us reunite. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not going to kill you now. So, um, let me know if you need anything. I can¡¯t let you go but¡­I¡¯ll take care of you like you took care of her.¡±


    The young man didn¡¯t respond. Belissar wait for a bit, then shrugged and turned to leave. He turned to Metsaitti.


    ¡°Make sure the young man isfortable. Um, let me know if you need me to speak with him or something. The others¡­well, we¡¯ll see when the other guy wakes up. The old guy can just¡­stay here, I guess.¡±


    Metsaitti saluted.


    ¡°As youmand.¡±


    And with a nod to Metsaitti, Belissar left. Leaving the two humans lost in their thoughts.

 POG 151.1 - Will of the Bee-vine

    POG 151.1 - Will of the Bee-vine


    The Fourth of the Seventh zipped about, but one of her scoutmuners stopped her.


    ¡°Queen, over here!¡±


    She spun about and sped at themuner¡¯s dance until she saw it. Several of her scouts hovered over a patch of dirt just before the Tower. Grooves had been carved in arge, circr pattern. The pattern asionally pulsed with a soft green light that was easy to miss amongst the grass and flowers.


    The Fourth of the Seventh danced happily about.


    ¡°Great work, everyone! Will tell King we found it!¡±


    But just as she was about to ry it to the King, the pattern shifted. The soft green light turned into a bright red. The Fourth of the Seventh reacted immediately.


    ¡°Get back!¡±


    At hermand her workers immediately flew away from the pattern. The Fourth of the Seventh did likewise, knowing that the workers wouldn¡¯t evacuate before her. A momentter, the pattern pulses with a light too bright to see.


    And then it fell silent and glowed no more. Belissar frowned as the Fourth of the Seventh reported. They had found the magic formation, but then it did¡­something. Turned red, shed, and then went dead. Now it was little more than grooves in the dirt, with not even a hint of mana circting within it.


    It had probablypleted whatever it had been intended to do.


    Belissar sighed. He had a bad feeling about it but what could he do? Neither he nor the bees had any idea what any of the grooves meant, if anything. He¡¯d have the karnuq look at it too but even if they knew what the formation was for, it seemed toote to do anything about it. He guessed he should assume that the Tower Lords knew where he was.


    He could only hope that the journey would be as long and difficult for them as the young Tower Guard said. At the very least, no bees had been hurt by the formation, so at least it hadn¡¯t been dangerous. He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d have done if more bees had been hurt by this whole affair.


    His mind wandered as he picked up a jar of mead and a tray each of every kind of honey he had stored. So, the God of Bees herself had sent the Tower Lord¡¯s son here to help one of his queens find her way back to him¡­as the Oracle of Bees now, no less. He couldn¡¯t be happier or more grateful to be reunited with one of his queens, as well as to hear directly from his patron the God of Bees.


    And yet¡­he had to wonder as to all of her purposes. Because in doing so, the Tower Lords were now aware of his existence and location. The man she had sent had led an assault on his Tower that imed many bee lives. As many bee lives as some of the worst of the shades, even, excepting the very first purification he hadn¡¯t prepared for.


    Did the God of Bees want the Tower Lords to know he was here? Did she think he was ready to face them? Did she have another purpose in mind he couldn¡¯t see? And why did she allow the Tower Lord¡¯s son to attack the Tower in the first ce? Couldn¡¯t she have told them to stop?


    But he shook his head as he arrived at the Shrine of Bees. He ced everything he was carrying in the wax chest, knelt before the shrine, and looked up at the statue of the God of Bees with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Thank you, for everything. Thank you for returning one of my queens to me. Thank for bringing her safely, and for all your guidance and support.¡±


    All of those questions still paled inparison to the joy he felt at being reunited with Niobee¡¯s queen. And if the Tower Lords came as a result of it, he¡¯d just have to trust in his bees and the karnuq to handle it. He¡¯d face as many Tower Lords as he had to if it were for the sake of his bees.


    As he spoke, the Shrine of Bees began to glow¡­


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    A group of monster bee soldiers and honeybee workers hatched out of wax cells on the floor of the Hive of All Bees. They nced around and buzzed their wings, spinning around in confusion. But as they did, four hives of bees flew towards them, led by four queens. The soldiers prepared to fly at first¡­until they recognized the mana of the queens. In addition to their own, individual mana, the queens each held an identical mana within them, a mana that each of the soldiers shared as well.


    One of the queensnded and began to dance.


    ¡°Hello! Am First Queen of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner of the First Bee Dungeon, the first of her line. Wee to Hive of All Bees, fellow bees of the First Bee Dungeon. Thank you for protecting our home.¡±


    Elsewhere, the Queen of All Bees watched as the queens greeted the iing bees. Normally, she let bees who arrived sort out their own ce and role, as was normal for bees to do. In this case, though, the newly arrived bees deserved a bit of extra consideration.


    That Niobee¡¯s former queen had grown enough in mana and awareness to provide the Queen of All Bees a second hook into the word was a pleasant miscalction. That said queen¡¯s new awareness and the loss of Niobee had caused her to lead her hive towards starvation was not. The Queen of All Bees had thus done all that she could to ensure the queen¡¯s survival. Fortunately, there was a group of humans that just so happened to be looking for her dungeon, so it had worked out. She had no doubt her favored dungeon master would wee her new follower with open arms, even if they hadn¡¯t already been acquainted. That her dungeon master and conduit would both be overjoyed to reunite with the queen pleased her as well.


    Unfortunately, the humans that carried the queen were hive-burners and enemies of her dungeon master and conduit alike. And establishing her first ever oracle in order to speak directly to the queen had burned through most of her umted authority, not to mention answering the humans¡¯ divination. The offering they had made didn¡¯t evene close to paying back the authority spent, but she had no other choice.


    It was unfortunate as well that the human empire would be aware of her dungeon¡¯s location if this n seeded, given that she had little influence among them, but they were far enough away that she felt it was worth the risk. With how difficult the journey had been for the group that carried her oracle, she knew that an army had no hope of making the trip anytime soon. Time during which her favored dungeon would only continue to grow, which she would encourage with all the authority she could muster.


    Of course, that meant she did not have the authority avable to answer the humans when they had actually arrived at her dungeon. And even if she did, she cared little for their fate. They had already burned hives and assaulted her favored dungeon master. They may have carried her new oracle through a long and dangerous path, but if they chose to repeat their crimes against bees, in the dungeon that bore her symbol no less, then they deserved whatever fate befell them. She left it to her favored dungeon master to decide, the strength of his hive more than sufficient to hand them either grace or justice as they deserved.


    Still, she could not help but feel some responsibility for the casualties that resulted. Part of her was amused that her favored dungeon master got so worked up over a handful of workers or soldiers, those who purpose it was to spend their lives for the hive. But in the end, her dungeon master¡¯s grief on behalf of bees struck right at her very core. How could she not resonate with one who cared so deeply for even the least of the bees? How could she not be moved by one who spared no effort to preserve every bee that he could, and who did all that he could to honor those he could not save?


    ¡°Belissar best dungeon master!¡±


    She had to calm herself from her spontaneous dance before resuming her train of thought.


    She would, therefore, not spare any effort to ensure that those bees he had not saved were taken care of as he would have wished.


    But in the end, the prize had been worth the cost. She now had an oracle to call her own, safely housed within her favored dungeon master¡¯s halls. She could now make known her will directly to the world at a fraction of the cost in authority. Her ability to assign missions and offer blessings would expand dramatically as well and extend beyond her dungeon shrines. And most of all, now that she could interact more directly with the people of the world, her name would grow among them. One day she, too, would be able to act beyond the reach of her few direct hooks.


    And so, those who had made it happen would be rewarded. The one human who had acted kindly towards bees on their trip would not be forgotten; his key role in carrying her oracle safely would be acknowledged. And then, of course, her favored dungeon master. While she could not reward him directly for the defeat of his fellow humans, she could at least reward him for taking in the oracle. In fact, that oracle only grew because of the worker that became the Queen of All Bees¡¯ conduit, and both of those only survived because Belissar took care of both while they were still mundane bees. She intended to see him grow, both to ensure his, the conduit¡¯s, and the oracle¡¯s future safety. And simply because he deserved it.


    Now, all she needed was to gather some more authority so she could make it¡­


    Just then, something pulled her attention. She watched as the offerings and gratitude came pouring in, her favored dungeon master once again filling her coffers¡­and tugging on her heart.


    This time, she didn¡¯t resist the dance.


    ¡°Belissar best dungeon master! Belissar best follower!¡±

 Chapter 152: An Insolent Bee-quest

    Chapter 152: An Insolent Bee-quest


    The Shrine of Bees shed, leaving a message before Belissar¡¯s eyes.


    <em>New mission received: Receive an oracle from the Oracle of Bees</em>


    Belissar blinked and then smiled. That was one he could do right away! He made his way over to the karnuq settlement and to the beehouse there. He watched as worker bees flew in and out of the hive to the nearby flowers. The hive was rtively small at this point, but with his tower sight he could confirm the queen had startedying more eggs, so it should recover. Well, if all else failed he¡¯d ask the First of the Fifth to lend a hand, she took good care of her fellow queens.


    He slowed down as he got near the hive, wondering how or even if he should approach. The workers were normal honeybeesst he checked so they might grow defensive of their home. Hecked the thick clothing he used beforehand, and absolutely did not want any of the hive¡¯s few remaining workers to sacrifice themselves stinging him. But then he remembered that the queen was his sworn defender now, and he could talk to her whenever he wished.


    <em>¡°Hello, queen? Is now a good time to talk?¡±</em>


    Within the hive, the queen stopped what she was doing and crawled towards the entrance of the beehouse, then took off flying. She flew straight towards him and then began to zip around.


    ¡°Hive-Builder! New hive is amazing, incredible! Buildsb by itself, makes honey by itself!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s face broke out into a wide grin.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you like it!¡±Before he could say anymore, though, the queen¡¯s eyes began to glow with golden light. Once the glow faded, she started a slightly unsteady dance.


    ¡°Queen of All Bees says Belissar best dungeon master! What¡¯s a Belissar?¡±


    Belissar, however, did not respond. His eyes slowly widened as he processed the message, then his smile grew asrge as it could as his entire torso grew warm.


    ¡°¡­thank you. I think you¡¯re the best god too!¡±


    <em>Mission: Receive an oracle from the Oracle of Beespleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: + 100 DP</em>


    The God of Bees¡­thought he was the <em>best</em> dungeon master? How was that possible? Was he truly doing a better job than all of the Tower Lords? Or was she just encouraging him?


    In either case, he truly was thankful to his patron. He would just have to keep doing his best for her and for her his bees.


    The Tower mostly rested and reorganized for the rest of the day, with ns made for the karnuq hunters to join the purifications and the bee army training the next day. The next morning, Belissar received a message from Chief Rohsuak.


    <em>¡°Sacred Den Master, would you be willing to help us speak with the prisoners again? We intend to move the surviving wyverns to the new enclosure and could use the young one¡¯s help pacifying them.¡±</em>


    Belissar nodded as he sent his reply.


    <em>¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡±</em>


    Not long after that, Belissar arrived at the prison once more. The augur still sat against the back wall of the room, muttering to himself under his breath, while the young man stood as he entered.


    ¡°Tower Keeper, sir. Did you have more questions?¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to move the wyverns to a big structure. We should be able to loosen some of their restraints, but we can¡¯t if they¡¯ll act violent. Could you¡­help us keep them calm?¡±


    The young man blinked but then slowly nodded.


    ¡°Ah, yes. I¡¯ll help with that.¡±


    Belissar nodded and left the room. Two karnuq hunters stepped in and escorted the young man out.


    A little while after they left, the augur stopped muttering. He looked up and then nced around. He couldn¡¯t see any of the beastkin either in the room or looking in through any of the openings. He knew that Tower Lords could, of course, see anything within their Tower whenever they pleased¡­but if the Tower Lord was currently working with the traitor, then¡­


    This could be his only chance.


    He hunched over and began to draw in the dirt of the floor. He did not notice the bee hidden on the roof, who now began a frantic dance.


    Belissar was watching and tranting as the young man rubbed one of the wyvern¡¯s heads when Niobee suddenly began buzzing loudly at his side.


    ¡°Niobee? What is it?¡±


    She flew before him, extending her stinger.


    ¡°King! Evil human doing something!¡±


    His eyes widened. The young man in front of him clearly wasn¡¯t and the injured one still hadn¡¯t fully awakened so¡­


    ¡°You mean the old man?!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s soldier bee escorts were already soaring towards the prison. Metsaitti gave Niobee his attention the moment she started to buzz and now barked amand.


    ¡°To the prison!¡±


    Belissar stood for a moment before running after the bees and karnuq. He switched to his tower sight and found the old man drawing something in the dirt.


    ¡°Careful, I think he¡¯s making another formation or something!¡±


    The bees flew in through some windows at the top of the structure, while Metsaitti rushed forward and kicked open the door. He stepped forward and thrust his spear forward as the soldier bees flew in from the sides. The augur gasped and scrambled to his feet, leaning t against the back wall as Metsaitti¡¯s spear stopped just shy of his neck. Belissar signaled to the soldier bees not to attack, so they also stopped before stinging. Instead, they hovered menacingly around the augur¡¯s head, their stingers pointed towards him.


    Belissar stepped inside the room a momentter and red at the man.


    ¡°What were you doing?¡±


    The augur gulped¡­and then his face fell. He hung his head and his shoulders as he heaved a long sigh.


    ¡°I¡­suppose I should tell you. I¡­was attempting to contact the gods.¡±


    Belissar narrowed his eyes at the man.


    ¡°The gods? Not the Tower Lords?¡±


    The augur slowly shook his head.


    ¡°I¡­understand you cannot trust me but¡­we were sent here by a god, only to perish nearly to a man. You now im an oracle came with us. I¡­I spent my entire life attempting to discern the will and movements of the gods. My entire family has devoted generations to the task, and yet the message I received was the most directmunication any one in my family¡¯s entire history had ever received. For it to have ended inplete disaster¡­makes no sense. Escorting an oracle would exin it but why here? Why to an unknown Tower filled with sub-humans¡­¡±


    Belissar snarled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call them that.¡±


    The augur gulped and slowly nodded.


    ¡°...I understand. To an unknown Tower filled with beastkin, on a journey fraught with peril that could have easily ended all of us. Why weren¡¯t we told of such an important passenger, or of the purpose of our journey? I¡­I must know the truth of the matter. Even if I must perish. My life has little meaning anyways.¡±


    The augur took a deep breath and raised his head, looking Belissar in the eye. He then bowed his head.


    ¡°Please¡­Tower Lord¡­allow me to visit the Shrine of your patron. Please allow me to ask one final question. You may kill me if you must, but I must know the truth.¡±


    Belissar frowned and crossed his arms.


    ¡°First of all, don''t call me that, it''s Tower Keeper. And then...why? I mean¡­why should I? You¡¯re the one who attacked. You won¡¯t answer any of my questions either. And now you¡¯re trying to do something in secret.¡±


    Belissar felt a fire grow in his chest and he snarled.


    ¡°And thanks to you, my bees died, so, you know what? I don¡¯t really care what you want. If a <em>god</em> sent you here, then why did you attack her Tower?! Why did you attack us?!¡±


    The augur¡¯s shoulders fell.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­we though the god was helping us correct our failure¡­but then¡­the god who sent us matched the banners of the Tower¡­and we still attacked. By the gods, what have we done?¡±


    The augur¡¯s knees gave out and he slowly slid down the wall. Tears began to fill his eyes. Belissar continued scowling but then he noticed the bees buzzing. He saw Niobee preparing to charge.


    ¡°King¡¯s enemy! Bees sting!¡±


    Belissar took a deep breath.


    ¡°Hold on, everyone.¡±


    He red at the man on the ground¡­the old man curled up at his feet. Some of the heat drained from his chest. His own eyes began to tear up at the thought of all the bees who had perished. His own shoulders drooped. He turned around.


    ¡°Whatever you were doing, don¡¯t do it again. Don¡¯t you dare do anything more.¡±


    As he began to leave, he heard a raspy, stuttering voice.


    ¡°Tower...Keeper¡­I¡­I will tell you everything. A-Anything you wish to know. Just¡­please tell your patron that¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Belissar froze, a storm raging in his chest. He slowly turned around and red at the augur. The augur lifted his head, tears streaming down his face.


    Belissar slowly opened his mouth.


    "...you are going to tell us <em>everything.</em>"

 Chapter 153: The Conclaves Bee-haviour

    Chapter 153: The Conve''s Bee-haviour


    Belissar crossed his arms and red at the man. Metsaitti pulled his spear back slightly, but kept it pointed forward, while the bees continued to buzz around in the air.


    ¡°Ok, first question. What exactly was that magic formation outside the Tower?¡±


    The augur slowly nodded.


    ¡°It¡­was our means ofmunicating with the Conve. We activate the signal formation upon discovering a rogue Tower.¡±


    Then his eyes widened slightly and he sighed.


    ¡°I¡­apologize, Tower Keeper, but it is already toote. The formation requires the constant addition of mana to maintain. If it goes twenty-four hours without maintenance, it will send out a final pulse. The Conve will assume that you are hostile and we are dead¡­they will arrive in force next time.¡±


    Belissar narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°And how soon will theye?¡±


    The augur¡¯s face rxed ever so slightly.¡°Ah¡­in that, the traitor¡­or other prisoner, I suppose, was correct as far as I¡¯m aware. I am no expert on Tower conquests, but I agree that our journey was long and fraught with peril. We passed several Towers on the way that the Conve will want to deal with first, and I am not sure how an army would make the final stretch.¡±


    Belissar nodded, but before he could rx the augur gulped and continued.


    ¡°...there is another angle you must consider, however. The Conve is looking for your Tower specifically. If yours was but a normal Tower, the journey would likely be too far for this Grand Subjugation. But it is not, so the Conve will not give up so easily. It may take a while, but they wille for you eventually.¡±


    Belissar growled at that.


    ¡°Why? What makes my Tower so special?¡±


    The augur¡¯s face fell and he sighed once more.


    ¡°¡­that is our fault. We were supposed to bind your Tower and ensure it remained where the Conve could monitor it, but we failed. The very purpose of the Conve and the augurs alike is to ensure that no Tower is misused, and for the first time that I have ever heard of we failed. If the Tower was born beyond the reach of the Conve then we would have had no choice but to ept it as the will of the gods, but for yours it was no one¡¯s fault but our own. It was imperative that your Tower was found. We¡­assumed that such was the will of the gods and that we could not fail in our mission to them.¡±


    Belissar red at him for a moment before scoffing.


    ¡°¡­from what I¡¯ve seen, the Tower Lords were wrong about the gods in general. They don¡¯t care at all about peasants or beastkin or any of that. I doubt they cared about your mission at all¡±


    The augur frowned.


    ¡°¡­you were one of the vigers, correct? I could see why you would think that given the circumstances but¡­it¡¯s a bit moreplicated.¡±


    Belissar felt heat stir in his chest again but he stopped himself, managing to spit out a word instead.


    ¡°Exin.¡±


    The augur took a deep breath.


    ¡°It¡­is true that the Conve has exaggerated the gods¡¯ views towards themon folk and the beastkin. But, to understand why, you must know the goal of the Conve. The truth is that¡­the Hunger is no natural disaster.¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes, yes, the gods sent it to punish the wicked kings of old or something like that. That¡¯s one of the first things in the doctrine.¡±


    The augur shook his head.


    ¡°No, the Hunger was our fault.¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    Belissar froze solid, his minding to a screeching halt.


    ¡°¡­what?¡±


    The augur¡¯s face turned grave.


    ¡°I do not know if it was a direct result of something the kings of old did, or if it truly was a response by the gods to their actions. The High-Council has specifically restricted the details so that no one may even think of repeating the past. But I do know that it was ultimately something that humanity did that specifically triggered the crisis. Not just a general sense of displeasure with the kings of old, but one single event.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. No words came out of his mouth as the augur continued.


    ¡°The Conve¡¯s primary task, therefore, is to prevent humanity from repeating a blunder of that scale. And in that, Towers are a matter of grave concern. As you have no doubt learned by now, Towers offer great power to their masters. You have the power to reshape the world within to your liking, to create matter and life out of pure mana, and to escape the very limits of humanity, while those you allow inside your Tower have the opportunity to earn blessings and grow beyond mortal men. But power corrupts and so the Conve was deeply concerned as the number of Towers grew beyond the original members of the High-Council. It was agreed to limit entry to the Towers to those with proven faith and loyalty, while the Tower Lords themselves agreed to restrict their own powers, lest that power corrupt humanity and lead us to defy the gods once again.¡±


    The augur paused for another breath before looking up at Belissar.


    ¡°That is why it is uneptable for us to have lost a Tower, where the Conve cannot reach it and where a rogue Tower Lord might grow arrogant with the powers it offers.¡±


    Belissar frowned as he considered this.


    ¡°But¡­did the gods actually say any of this to you?¡±


    The augur paused this time. His face began to drain of color.


    ¡°¡­in truth, I do not know. Only the High-Council knows for sure exactly what has been said in the past. Most oracles, divinations, and missions to the Tower Lords that were recorded and avable to all augurs were much more limited in scope. I¡­I never wondered before, but if your patron has sent an oracle from the safety of the Conve to your Tower in the wilderness¡­then your patron, at least, cannot disprove of your existence.¡±


    Belissar thought of his patron¡­and couldn¡¯t help a small smile as a bit of joy broke through the storm raging in his chest. He whispered to himself.


    ¡°Well, that much I don¡¯t need you to tell me.¡±


    He took a deep breath and nced around at the bees hovering above¡­and at Metsaitti, who remainedpletely focused on the augur. Belissar frowned once more.


    ¡°Ok¡­but what about the beastkin? You didn¡¯t mention that.¡±


    The augur slowly nodded.


    ¡°Right. The¡­beastkin were once the soldiers of the kings of old. They remained loyal to those kings even after the Hunger struck. They then defied and opposed the High-Council, all the way to this day. They, above all others, cannot be trusted with the powers offered by a Tower.¡±


    The augur then frowned.


    ¡°Though¡­if they are loyal to you¡­and dwelling within the Tower of an oracle¡­then perhaps the situation has changed.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s face scrunched up a bit.


    ¡°Metsaitti, you hear anything about serving kings of old or fighting Tower Lords?¡±


    Metsaitti slowly shook his head, though kept his eyes on the augur.


    ¡°Our people¡¯s tales don¡¯t go past our service to our previous Sacred Den Master. I don¡¯t know what is meant by kings of old, but I¡¯m guessing your referring to more people such as yourself?¡±


    Belissar paused and nced at the augur.


    ¡°The wicked kings of old were supposed to be human, right?¡±


    The augur nodded. Metsaitti shook his head again.


    ¡°In that case, we had never met any peoples such as yourself before you, Sacred Den Master, much less served them. If we ever had in the past, then it must have been a long time ago.¡±


    Belissar nodded, and then began to rub his chin. So, the kings of old did something that, one way or another, resulted in the Hunger, and the Tower Lords were trying to prevent anyone from repeating it by misusing a Tower or a gods¡¯ blessing? And the beastkin apparently helped the kings of old?


    He frowned. He didn¡¯t see why that meant lying to peasants, letting them die of gues, and then burning down their viges. That didn¡¯t seem like a good use of a Tower¡¯s powers in Belissar¡¯s opinion. And what did it matter what the beastkin once did if the karnuq couldn¡¯t even remember such a time?


    He was growing angry once more but he shook his head. It didn¡¯t really matter to him why the Tower Lords did what they did. The gods apparently hadn¡¯t specificallymanded it, and Belissar knew he had at least two of their approval at this point. The karnuq, too, weren¡¯t serving any wicked king of old that Belissar could see and had been far better people to him than most humans ever were.


    In the end, this all changed nothing. Belissar was going to build a Tower full of happy bees that the God of Bees could be proud of. If the Tower Lords thought that was a misuse of the Tower¡¯s power, then they could take it up with the gods. And if they came here in force once more, Belissar would not let them take all that the bees had built.


    Besides, even the augur was now questioning the things he was exining. Belissar stared at him as the old man curled up and began to mutter to himself once again. Well, the augur had answered his questions¡­and he <em>had</em> been sent here by the God of Bees. He took a deep breath.


    ¡°Niobee.¡±


    Niobee paused waving her stinger around to dance happily before him.


    ¡°Yes, King!¡±


    He looked at her and smiled.


    ¡°Could you go ask your queen mother if the God of Bees wants to say anything to this guy?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    The augur froze and looked up at Belissar, his eyes growing wider by the second. Belissar frowned but shrugged.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what the gods have to say about all this. If they want to speak with you, then I won¡¯t stop them.¡±


    The augur¡¯s eyes began to moisten, and he bowed his head low.


    ¡°Thank you¡­Tower Keeper.¡±

 Chapter 154: Receive the Prophe-Bee!

    Chapter 154: Receive the Prophe-Bee!


    A short whileter, one of the bee monsters returned, carrying a more normal sized bee on her back while several more honeybees buzzed around them. The augur watched as they hovered before the Tower Lord¡­or Tower Keeper, as he preferred to be called. And a wise man does not defy a Tower Lord if he can help it.


    ¡°Thanks foring. So, the God of Bees wants to say something after all?¡±


    The bees flew about in seemingly random patterns and circles as far as the augur was concerned. But the Tower Keeper derived meaning from them, one of their many gifts from the gods. The Tower Keeper nodded and stepped to the side.


    ¡°He¡¯s over here.¡±


    The augur watched as the small bee lifted off of herrger counterpart¡¯s back and flew towards him, apanied by the rest of the honeybees. So, this was the oracle that had traveled with them? Part of him wondered how a bee who couldn¡¯t speak with any tongue of man could be an oracle but the augur knew better than to question it. He had had the privilege of speaking with oracles in the past, as well as speaking with others who had as well, so he knew that oracles came in all shapes and sizes. A talking tree, a pool of water that imparted visions, even a pile of bones that formed words when dropped. If the God of Bees, as it were, chose a bee as their oracle, then that was their right. So, the augur rose to his feet to greet that oracle.


    It did make him curious as to how he would receive the response. The Tower Keeper <em>could</em> trante for the bee, it seemed, but an oracle should be able to pass the will of a god directly. Besides, the augur himself had failed to understand the intentions of this god even after receiving a direct message. He did not wish to hear another filtered through the Tower Keeper.


    He bowed his head toward the bee.


    ¡°I¡¯m honored to speak with you, Oracle of Bees.¡±


    The bees buzzed. The augur waited for a bit, then cleared his throat.¡°God of Bees, I am sorry. I am sorry that I misread your intentions and allowed my liege to assault one of your Towers. And I am sorry Ie before you with nothing to offer but my apologies. But¡­if you are willing to consider an unworthy one such as myself¡­please, respond to my plea, and I swear I shall do all in my power to see your will fulfilled.¡±


    The bees continued buzzing, so the augur took a deep breath and carried on.


    ¡°¡­what was your intention in sending us here?¡±


    He looked up and watched the Oracle of Bees. At first, she did not respond, just kept hovering and buzzing about as bees do. But, just as the augur began to furrow his brow, her eyes lit up. The augur¡¯s eyes widened as the bee queen glowed with a golden-yellow light¡­the exact same light he had seen during his divination at the start of their trip.


    The Oracle of Bees began to fly in circles and patterns once more. Her workersnded on the ground and began to crawl about. The augur watched them intently¡­and soon his eyes widened once more. The bees¡­were leaving wax on the ground. Wax in the shape of letters.


    <em>¡°Help tower, help oracle.¡±</em>


    The augur took a deep breath. So, it was true. Ruckanos had gotten it all wrong and led them into disaster with his delusions of grandeur. But the augur was no better. He knew better, and yet had not acted to stop the foolish boy. Indeed, if anything, he bore ultimate responsibility. Was it not the duty of the augurs to guide the Tower Lords to their destinies? What it not his duty to divine the will and movements of the gods so that the Conve could respond? But he had not convinced the boy who was not yet a Tower Lord, and so the group intended to escort an oracle to her intended home had instead invaded with force.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    The augur bowed his head.


    ¡°I understand. I will see it done.¡±


    The bees left one more word on the ground.


    <em>¡°Good.¡±</em>


    The augur took another deep breath. He could not help but nce at the beastkin still ready to stab him at a moment¡¯s notice. Here was a Tower Lord without the Conve¡¯s guidance, who had no training or instruction on how to fulfill his task. Who was specifically defying what doctrine he would have known as a simple peasant, seeing as how he had weed the beastkin in.


    And yet¡­it didn¡¯t matter. Oracles were afforded special privileges and protection, the voices of the very gods who granted humanity their Towers. None but the High Council could defy them, and most of the High Council never would. If a god, unknown or not, had sent their oracle to this Tower specifically, through trial and tribtion, all for the sake of helping it? The augur could not and would not defy them, no matter what the keeper of this Tower was doing with his powers.


    So he had already sworn. And so he would do.


    The augur turned and bowed his head towards Belissar.


    ¡°Tower Keeper, the will of the God of Bees was to help your Tower. So, I, Sehfitis, swear I will do all that I can to help you.¡±


    <em>ept offer of allegiance?</em>


    Belissar raised an eyebrow. He¡­had not expected this turn of events. This guy who worked for the Tower Lords and refused to speak with them¡­now wanted to be his sworn defender? What, really? Just what did the God of Bees say to him?!


    Well, Belissar had watched Niobee¡¯s queen mother dance instructions to her workers and could read the wax messages with his tower sight so he already knew¡­but that alone had been enough to convince the guy? And now he wanted to join the Tower, just like that? After all he had done?


    Belissar¡¯s eyes narrowed¡­but then he sighed. So, what was he going to do? If he rejected the guy¡­would he just keep him here forever? Toss him out of the Tower and just hope he didn¡¯t contact the Tower Lords? Execute the old man on the spot? This was a matter of prisoners and gods and oaths, not something Belissar had much experience handling. But handle it he must, for it was the business of Tower Lords, which he was no matter what other name he chose to call himself by.


    He didn¡¯t know how the Tower Lords treated prisoners wanting to join them and he didn¡¯t want to know. The karnuq, on the other hand, didn¡¯t take prisoners. And he wasn¡¯t close enough to the sigmaka to ask them. It was up to him to decide what to do.


    Or was it? Belissar turned to the one other group in the room.


    ¡°Hey Niobee, do bees ever take prisoners?¡±


    Niobee zipped over to him at his address.


    ¡°Prisoners? What that?¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Um, maybe¡­bees from other hives?¡±


    Niobee flew about unsteadily.


    ¡°Intruders?¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Um, kind of. They were intruders but now they aren¡¯t fighting.¡±


    Niobee buzzed her wings.


    ¡°Push intruders out, sting if have to! But¡­other bees but not intruders¡­¡±


    Niobee swayed in the air for a bit before starting to dance.


    ¡°Ah, had one worker from other hive try to follow. Lost hive, looking for new one. Worked hard, so bees let into hive. Joined hive.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened and then he smiled.


    ¡°I see. Thanks, Niobee.¡±


    Niobee zipped about happily as Belissar turned back to the old man.


    ¡°Sehfitis, was it?¡±


    Sehfitis nodded.


    ¡°Yes, Tower Keeper?¡±


    Belissar took a deep breath.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you help, then.¡±


    Sehfitis blinked and then started to smile, but Belissar then narrowed his eyes and red at the man.


    ¡°But hurt my bees, or the karnuq, or try to contact the Tower Lords, or anything like that, and we¡¯re done. Got it.¡±


    Sehfitis nodded.


    ¡°Of course, Tower Keeper.¡±


    Belissar brought up the sworn defender description one more time.


    <em>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.</em>


    He still didn¡¯t trust the guy. But the God of Bees had spoken to him and he was making an offer of allegiance. Supposedly, he would not be able to harm the dungeon or Belissar afterwards. Belissar could only hope that extended to the bees as well.


    If it didn¡¯t¡­well, he¡¯d let the bees do what they did to intruders.


    ¡°In that case¡­I ept your offer.¡±


    <em>You have gained 1 sworn defender.</em>


    Belissar could only hope this would help him protect his bees.

 Chapter 155: A Bee-utiful Name

    Chapter 155: A Bee-utiful Name


    Ok, so Sehfitis the augur was now his sworn defender. That was nice and all, but now that this affair was handled there were some wyverns Belissar and the karnuq needed to deal with. So, Belissar just gave Sehfitis as serious a look as he could muster.


    ¡°Stay here for now, and don¡¯t do anything again. I¡¯ll be back when I have time.¡±


    Sehfitis bowed his head.


    ¡°As you will, Tower Keeper.¡±


    Belissar gave onest nce to the man before turning and leaving. Once he left the room, Metsaitti followed.


    ¡°It seems it went well, Sacred Den Master? Should we continue guarding him?¡±


    Belissar paused.


    ¡°Oh, right, you couldn¡¯t understand most of that, right?¡±


    Metsaitti shook his head.¡°Not until the end, after he became one of yours.¡±


    Belissar blinked.


    ¡°Ah, right.¡±


    Then he rubbed his chin.


    ¡°¡­yeah, I think we should keep an eye on him for now. I¡¯m¡­still not sure about him, even with the oath and all that.¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Metsaitti gave orders to the karnuq hunters at the door, and then he and Belissar made his way over to therger building next door. There, they found the wyverns now with their mouths and limbs free, though still with ropes tied to their harnesses and the walls. The young human was calming them down. He turned and bowed his head.


    ¡°Ah, Tower Keeper, sir. We were just finishing up here. Thank you for preparing a space for them.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened a bit.


    ¡°Ah¡­um, you¡¯re wee? You¡­managed to get them inside all right? I thought you couldn¡¯t speak with the karnuq.¡±


    The young man and the karnuq hunters with him both shook their heads.


    ¡°We couldn¡¯t but¡­we managed to work it out somehow.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°I see. Oh, um, what¡¯s your name, by the way?¡±


    ¡°Hirkolos, sir.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°I¡¯m Belissar. So, Hirkolos¡­do you want to join the Tower?¡±


    Hirkolos froze.


    ¡°Um, sir?¡±


    Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°Your augur friend just swore himself to the Tower. Figured if I let him, then I should let you too. You cooperated and helped the bees, after all. It would let you speak with the karnuq, too.¡±


    Hirkolos stared out into space.


    ¡°The augur did? How did that happen? ¡­please forgive me for saying this, sir, but it¡¯s hard to imagine an augur joining a Tower with¡­beastkin.¡±


    ¡°Spoke with the Oracle of Bees, apparently that convinced him.¡±


    Hirkolos blinked at that.


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    Belissar shrugged again.


    ¡°So, how about you?¡±


    Hirkolos focused back on him¡­and then began to frown. Eventually, he hung his head.


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know, sir. I¡¯m just¡­confused.¡±


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Belissar didn¡¯t know how to respond to that so didn¡¯t. While he tried to figure out how to respond, Hirkolos continued.


    ¡°You see¡­when I was chosen to train as a future Tower Guard, we all thought it was a great honor. I was going to be a hero, to fight against the Hunger and the subhumans and witches and anyone else who threatened us. I was going to keep my home safe and serve the gods both, right? But then¡­my very first mission was to burn down your vige.¡±


    Belissar narrowed his eyes as unpleasant memories came back unbidden. Hirkolos looked off to the side.


    ¡°¡­is that really what the Tower Guard are like? How are we supposed to protect viges by burning them down? And if that¡¯s what we do, then just what exactly were we fighting for? Was that really the will of the gods?¡±


    Belissar growled and shook his head.


    ¡°No. The Tower Lords lied about a lot of things.¡±


    Hirkolos slowly nodded.


    ¡°That must be true if even an augur is having second thoughts now.¡±


    Then he hung his head again.


    ¡°But¡­I¡¯m sorry, Tower Keeper, sir. But I can¡¯t join your Tower Guard. Not again, not after¡­that.¡±


    Belissar narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be another Tower Lord. My Tower Guard¡¯s going to be different.¡±


    Hirkolos slowly nodded.


    ¡°I¡­believe you. But¡­I just don¡¯t know what I should do, anymore. I¡¯m sorry, Tower Keeper, sir. I can¡¯t swear to anyone, not right now.¡±


    He closed his eyes and bowed his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Take my life, if you must.¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do that, I already told you. Look¡­I¡¯m not going to be like them, alright? So, just¡­do what you want, and let me know if you want to join. I just¡­if that guy wanted to join, I wanted to let you if you wanted to, since you helped the bees. If you don¡¯t¡­then that¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll try to take care of you anyways.¡±


    Hirkolos slowly lifted his head and nodded.


    ¡°As you will, Tower Keeper, sir.¡±


    Belissar heaved a sigh as he turned away. Talking to these humans was proving¡­exhausting and bringing up a lot of memories Belissar would prefer to forget. But now, it was finally over¡­sort of. Now that the augur had sworn to help, Belissar probably should talk with him and figure out what exactly he could do. He knew vaguely that augurs were supposed to divine the will of the gods¡­but this one had apparently had some trouble with that? Besides, the God of Bees hadn¡¯t had any trouble making her will known to Belissar thus far, and he certainly didn¡¯t trust someone from the Tower Lords to take up that job. Which left a big question of what augurs actually did and how this one could help his Tower.


    Belissar didn¡¯t know and couldn¡¯t think of anything in particr, so he decided he would handle thatter. After all, right now he had thought of something far more important to do. Something in line with the very will of the gods themselves. He turned to Niobee, and the oracle queen on her back, and gave them both of smile.


    ¡°Shall we check on your hive?¡±


    The oracle queen paused, and then began to dance rapidly.


    ¡°Yes! Hive-builder check hive!¡±


    Belissar chuckled at that and then turned to Metsaitti.


    ¡°Could you let Chief Rohsuak know to gather everyone who wanted to learn beekeeping? It¡¯s a good opportunity to show them what I do with an upied hive.¡±


    Metsaitti saluted.


    ¡°Right away, Sacred Den Master. Or¡­should I call you Tower Keeper?¡±


    Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°Either or, as long as you don¡¯t call me Tower Lord it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Metsaitti nodded and set off. Belissar then did his best to push Tower Lords out of his mind and focus on his bees. He made his way to the oracle queen¡¯s hive¡­and then looked at her.


    ¡°Niobee¡­your mom doesn¡¯t have a name, right?¡±


    Niobee danced the negative.


    ¡°No name! Not from spawner, either.¡±


    Belissar turned his gaze to the queen herself.


    ¡°Would you like one, a name?¡±


    The queen danced unsteadily.


    ¡°Name is¡­what Hive-Builder calls worker? Worker has one?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes, I call her Niobee.¡±


    The queen¡¯s antennae twitched about.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Belissar opened his mouth, but then paused.


    ¡°Um¡­because she¡¯s my friend?¡±


    ¡°Friend, what that?¡±


    Belissar had to rub his chin for a bit at that one.


    ¡°Um¡­it¡¯s because I like her and want to distinguish her from other bees, so I gave her a name I can call her.¡±


    ¡°But can call worker worker already?¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°There¡¯s other workers, though, right? So, I gave her a name that other workers don¡¯t have. That way¡­she knows when I¡¯m talking to her and not another worker¡­or something?¡±


    The queen stood still at that for a long while before slowly starting a dance.


    ¡°I¡­see. Worker is special, so not just worker. Niobee is name for special worker?¡±


    Belissar nodded. He thought that was right?


    ¡°And you¡¯re a special queen, since you¡¯re Niobee¡¯s mom. So, do you want a name, too?¡±


    The queen stood still for a moment before breaking out into a quick dance.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Belissar let out a sigh and then chuckled.


    ¡°Got it. How about we call you¡­¡±


    He paused. He now realized that in his efforts to exin what exactly a name was in the first ce that he hadn¡¯t given any thought as to what Niobee¡¯s mom¡¯s name should actually be.


    ¡°Um¡­let¡¯s see¡­¡±


    The queen danced.


    ¡°Um let¡¯s see is name?¡±


    Belissar blinked and then quickly shook his head.


    ¡°Ah, no, I was still trying to think about what your name should be. It, um, generally is a unique word that doesn¡¯t refer to something else¡­sometimes.¡±


    The queen just looked confused again so Belissar decided to just think of a name instead of trying to exin. What should he call Niobee¡¯s mom, who was also the Oracle of Bees?¡±


    ¡°How about¡­Velebee?¡±


    Smashing together part of a famous oracle¡¯s name and Niobee was¡­pretty much in line with Belissar¡¯s naming thus far.


    ¡°Velebee?¡±


    The queen danced around once with unsteady steps and then stopped. A momentter, her eyes burst into golden yellow light that flooded the area, forcing Belissar to shield his eyes. When the light died down, he found the queen bee dancing about rapidly.


    ¡°Queen of All Bees says she likes!¡±


    Belissar smiled at that. Niobee began dancing around as well.


    ¡°Niobee likes too! King is best king! King¡¯s names best names!¡±


    Belissar chuckled and was about to respond when¡­


    <em>You have performed a service for the God of Bees: Naming the Oracle of Bees.</em>


    <em>Reward: +500 DP!</em>


    Oh, it seemed the God of Bees <em>really</em> liked it.

 POBear 155.1 - Bear Your Fangs!

    POBear 155.1 - Bear Your Fangs!


    Belissar noticed his karnuq students approaching.


    ¡°Velebee, would you mind if I let the karnuq watch when I check your hive? I¡¯m teaching them how to take care of bees.¡±


    Velebee stopped zipping about for a moment, but quickly resumed.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Belissar then thought of something.


    ¡°Ah, is it possible to keep your workers from stinging us during the lesson?¡±


    ¡°Can! Will tell not to sting.¡±


    Belissar smiled at her.


    ¡°Thanks, Velebee!¡±Soon, the beekeeping students arrived and began to murmur amongst themselves at the sight of the bees. Belissar gave them a smile.


    ¡°Hello, everyone. As you can see, someone¡¯s moved into the hive. This is Velebee, queen of the hive and the Oracle of Bees.¡±


    The murmuring only grew at that. Velebee danced a greeting and then flew back into her hive to keep her workers calm.


    ¡°Right, then¡­let me show you how I approach an upied hive and check the brood for health¡­¡±


    The karnuq with Belissar were not the only ones preparing for a lesson, however. Metsaitti led a group of karnuq hunters towards the end of the karnuq¡¯s Flower Meadow, with a soldier bee flying ahead of them. They came to a stop just before the short cuts the Sacred Den Master had made. Metsaitti turned to face the rest of the karnuq. Twenty karnuq hunters faced him back, almost their full number save for those guarding the captive humans and wyverns.


    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡±


    The karnuq all focused on him and saluted. Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and fight for the Sacred Den.¡±


    Metsaitti nodded to the soldier bee and she flew into one of the shortcuts. The karnuq stepped through after her¡­and stopped, gazing about with wide eyes. Even Metsaitti paused to take in the sight.


    They came out of a wall full of short cuts. All around them, bees from all over the Sacred Den buzzed and zipped about, flying in and out of the shortcuts. Clouds of worker bees flew with big balls of pollen stuck to their legs, soldier bees held entire trays of honey with ropes and flew them across the Sacred Den, and gardener bees directed squads of foragers while carrying seeds in their legs. A small grove stood in front of the entrances; worker bees flew down from the trees to dance with the bees passing through the shortcuts. Metsaitti heard one of hunters speak behind him.


    ¡°So, this is the real Sacred Den.¡±


    Metsaitti turned around and nodded.


    ¡°Yes, the Sacred Den Master now trusts us enough to let us see the den proper. Let¡¯s fulfill that trust.¡±


    The hunters nodded back to him, while the soldier bee buzzed.


    ¡°Why stop?¡±


    Metsaitti chuckled at that.


    ¡°We¡¯re just impressed by the Sacred Den, but we¡¯re ready now. Lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    The soldier bee led them through one of the shortcuts and they arrived out into the Flower Meadow where the Sacred Den¡¯s armies gave battle. Once again, they saw ck and yellow chitin spread out across the sky as the soldier bee army flew above them.


    One of the queens arrived before them.


    ¡°Hello, am the Second First of the First, called Firstborn.¡±


    Metsaitti saluted.


    ¡°Metsaitti, thank you for having us.¡±


    The Firstborn zipped about as she replied.


    ¡°Honored to fight with.¡±


    She then danced amand and a small bee flew towards Metsaitti. She appeared as a worker at first nce, until Metsaitti noticed the fluffy antennae and the slight glow to her body.


    ¡°This ismuner,municates directly with queen. Will givemands, hear messages.¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°She should stay with me, then.¡±


    Themuner flew over andnded on Metsaitti¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Do you have a ce you want us?¡±


    This book''s true home is on another tform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The Firstborn danced a confirmation.


    ¡°Yes,e.¡±


    The Firstborn led the karnuq towards the bee army. There, they saw the soldiers arranged in squads up in the sky, moving around seemingly at random but always staying with their squads. The squads took turns diving down towards the ground, where a bumblebee soldier stood. The bumblebee soldier beat her wings and leapt out of the way of one squad, then lifted her abdomen. The soldiers squads scattered as a sprayer crawled out of the bumblebee¡¯s fuzz and sent a cone of toxins towards the attackers.


    ¡°Practicing, bumblebee soldier acts as shade. Karnuq practice too?¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°We¡¯ll watch a few rounds and then jump in.¡±


    The Firstborn danced a salute and then flew off. Metsaitti gathered the hunters into a line so they could all see.


    ¡°Watch closely, everyone. We¡¯ll need to coordinate with them from now on.¡±


    The hunters saluted and focused on the practice fight. Metsaitti settled in to watch as well. As he had seen before, the bees relied on hit and run tactics, rotating their soldiers in and out of the fight. They kept the enemy off bnce with continuous attacks, ensuring that another squad was diving in as the first retreated.


    Metsaitti rubbed his chin. The karnuq were used to fighting in the enclosed spaces of the Underway where there was little room to maneuver. Some of the older hunters like himself still knew how to stay light on their feet, but the younger among them tended to stay immobile and face the enemy head on. That had its ce¡­but if they were going to be fighting in a wide-open field like this from now on, it might do well to start taking advantage of the extra space.


    Eventually, the bee on Metsaitti¡¯s shoulder started to glow and her mana touched his. He could somehow see her dance even without looking at her.


    ¡°Queen asks if karnuq squad wants turn?¡±


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°Yes. You four, with me.¡±


    Metsaitti and some of the older hunters took their turn using some practice spears. Metsaitti didn¡¯t bother adjusting their formation or tactics this time, wanting to see how it would hold up. So, they rushed forward as a tight group, thrusting a wall of spears towards the bumblebee. The bumblebee buzzed its wings and flew to the side, out of the way of the spears. Metsaitti shouted but, as he feared, their formation was too tight and they weren¡¯t used to wheeling around on the fly. The bumblebee turned and mmed into the hunter on the left side, knocking him back into the hunter next to him. As they tumbled, their spears waved around, colliding into the spears of the hunters still standing. Metsaitti himself was at the right side of the formation and so couldn¡¯t intervene with the others in the way.


    The bumblebee soldier was about to pounce on them when a squad of soldier bees dove down from above. Metsaitti shouted.


    ¡°Back!¡±


    The hunters scrambled to their feet as best they could and rushed back with no semnce of coordination. They looked to the ground as Metsaitti lead them back to the rest. Metsaitti then pointed to the next four.


    ¡°You bunch are up next.¡±


    Metsaitti thus led the hunters squad by squad, each of which got knocked over by a bumblebee. He couldn¡¯t help but shake his head and chuckle. The karnuq might be experts in the Underway, but they had a lot to learn.


    Finally, the youngest group went, consisting of Tyhgak¡¯s group plus Noigakkuq. This bunch spread out like they would against shades, the two spear wielders standing forward and to either side to give the archers clear shots. The archers opened up with a volley, forcing the bumblebee to dodge immediately. The two spear wielders advanced forward in the meantime, aiming for the bumblebee¡¯s intendednding spot. The sprayer crawled out at that point.


    Which is when Noigakkuq struck.


    The small karnuq suddenly appeared behind the bumblebee, charging forward with her spear. She managed a hit on the bumblebee¡¯s abdomen. The bumblebee buzzed its wings and the sprayer stopped its attack.


    ¡°Back!¡±


    At Metsaitti¡¯s shout, the group backed off, just as another squad of soldiers dove in. Metsaitti smiled as the group walked back.


    ¡°Well done.¡±


    And indeed it was. The youngest and least experienced among them had performed the best. That wasrgely because they had learned to fight in this very meadow and against the types of enemy the bumblebee soldier was simting, but that was littlefort to the embarrassed older hunters. Metsaitti had no doubt the rest of the hunters would work hard to adapt now.


    As the day wore on, the Firstborn flew over to the karnuq once again.


    ¡°King said to let karnuq fight but¡­is ok? Karnuq had trouble in training.¡±


    Metsaitti shook his head with a smile as the hunters all hung their heads.


    ¡°We¡¯re just a little out of our depth in this field. We¡¯ll fight in the Dirt Tunnels and fall back if it¡¯s too much for us.¡±


    The Firstborn saluted. Metsaitti turned to the hunters groaning on the ground and selected the oldest nine.


    ¡°Let¡¯s show the bees how we normally fight. Get ready.¡±


    The hunters steeled their faces and grabbed their spears. Shortly thereafter, Chief Rohsuak and the Sacred Den Master arrived for the purification. At Metsaitti¡¯s request, the Sacred Den Master moved the Lava Field away, connecting the Dirt Tunnels directly to the Flower Meadow. Metsaitti and the other nine hunters stood in the final hallway with the Flower Meadow to their backs.


    <em>¡°Here we go.¡±</em>


    They shivered as they felt a chill on the edge of their mana after the Sacred Den Master¡¯s message. They knew immediately that the Hunger had arrived.


    <em>¡°Looks like it¡¯s the fast ones, be careful!¡±</em>


    Metsaitti nodded.


    ¡°Brace spears and brace yourselves.¡±


    The hunters nodded and assembled into a tight formation of two rows, digging into the dirt as they held their spears forward. And then they waited, sweat dripping down their faces as they imagined the foe toe. After what felt like an eternity, they felt a chill growing on their skin, and knew that the Hunger approached.


    Two cat shades appeared, zipping down the hall. The monsters snarled as they saw the karnuq arranged before them.


    ¡°Hold!¡±


    Metsaitti shouted to steel up the hunters¡¯ nerve, not that it was needed. Nervous though they may be, these were the veteran hunters who had faced many a danger on their journey, and not one took a step back. The two cat shades spread their insect like wings as they rushed down the hall at blistering speed.


    ¡°Brace!¡±


    Just as Metsaitti shouted, a gust of wind surged down the hall, trying to blow the karnuq away. But the karnuq were far heavier than the average soldier bee, and had their feet firmly nted in the dirt. The karnuq in the second row pushed against the backs of the first, helping them to stay in ce. They gritted their teeth and their muscles bulged, but the karnuq held.


    And, most importantly, held their spears pointed forward. Immediately after sending the gust of wind, the cat shades elerated. Most of the hunters couldn¡¯t even track the shades as they rushed forward.


    But it didn¡¯t matter, for their spears filled the hallway. The two cat shades impaled themselves on the spears. One right in the mouth, bringing it to an immediate halt. One took a ncing blow to the shoulder, slowing it enough that Metsaitti turned and pierced its head before it could go any further.


    Back by the Bee Barracks, the Firstborn buzzed about. The soldier bee army had brought down many a foe before¡­but this was the first time that an invader had been physically stopped in their tracks by raw strength. And in the Dirt Tunnels no less, where bee army would struggle to maneuver. The karnuq would make a valuable addition to the hive of hives indeed¡­

 Side Story 155.2 - The High Council

    Side Story 155.2 - The High Council


    General Rippotis let out a hum as he rubbed his beard. Before him stood a woven basket, ced upside down with a small hole at the bottom.


    ¡°So the bees like to live in these¡­skeps?¡±


    He looked up at several women in thick clothes standing before him. One of them nodded.


    ¡°Yes, High Councilor.¡±


    He shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s general.¡±


    The woman jumped and immediately bowed her entire body.


    ¡°M-My apologies!¡±


    General Rippotis just raised his hand.¡°It¡¯s fine. You aren¡¯t from around here so I did not expect you to know. But, back to the bees¡­how then do you retrieve the honey?¡±


    The first woman held her tongue after being corrected, so another spoke up instead.


    ¡°We use fire, sulfur if possible, to smoke the bees out, then break apart the hive¡­General, sir.¡±


    General Rippotis frowned.


    ¡°That would kill them, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    The woman nodded.


    ¡°Yes, generally.¡±


    General Rippotis crossed his arms and hummed again. The women nced at once another.


    ¡°G-General, is there a problem?¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°There is. It is important for my purpose that the bees survive, and that they are happy. Neither of those things will be true if we kill them.¡±


    One of the women titled her head.


    ¡°Happy, General?¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Worst came to worst, he could just make the skeps and then just not gather from them, but that felt quite passive for a mission from the gods. The women nced at one another once again. But before any of them could speak, a soldier marched into the room and saluted.


    ¡°General, you have message from the High Council.¡±


    General Rippotis nodded.


    ¡°Leave it on my desk, I¡¯ll get to it.¡±


    The soldier shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, but it appears to be a priority summon. The entire High Council is gathering.¡±


    General Rippotis took a deep breath, and then shook his head.


    ¡°Very well, prepare my mount.¡±


    The soldier saluted one more.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    General Rippotis took one more look at the skep and then nodded. Perhaps a short break would be for the best. He turned to the gathered apiarists.


    ¡°I must depart for now, we will resume when I return. If you can think of a way to preserve the hives in that time, I would be most grateful.¡±


    With that, he set off, leaving the apiarists exchanging hushed whispers to each other.


    General Rippotis flew over the mountains on the back of a red dragon, arriving at the tallest peak. A tower shone there, the light at its peak a second sun during the day and a bright star in the night. White banners draped down the sides adorned with a bright yellow star. General Rippotis made a small smile. It had been a while since hest visited.


    The Tower had several tforms opening out to the air on its sides. General Rippotisnded on one of these and dismounted. Before he even climbed down, he saw a woman approach, dressed in simple white robes and a golden tiara. A woman who barely seemed three decades old, though the wisdom in her eyes hinted at a considerably longer life. She gave him a warm smile.


    ¡°General Rippotis, thank you foring.¡±


    General Rippotis returned her smile even as he shook his head.


    ¡°No thanks are necessary, Oracle Heigiosa. Even were it not my duty, I would alwayse should you call.¡±


    Her smile grew slightly as she shook her head in turn.


    ¡°And that is why I shall always thank you.¡±


    The two walked along inpanionable silence, both their subordinates giving the pair room. General Rippotis basked in herpany for as long as he would permit himself before breaking the silence.


    ¡°So, what is this about?¡±


    Heigiosa frowned.


    ¡°Apparently, the lost one has been found.¡±


    General Rippotis raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°The Tower we missed?¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.


    Heigiosa slowly nodded. General Rippotis frowned.


    ¡°How? It¡¯s impossible to find where they go afterwards, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Heigiosa nodded again.


    ¡°That is what we are gathering to find out. But I trust that Starami wouldn¡¯t havee before us again if he were not confident.¡±


    General Rippotis narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°I would assume not. And neither would Konilias permit him to do so.¡±


    Heigiosa shook her head.


    ¡°I¡­suppose he would not. He¡¯s been most cross about this affair. I tried to tell him that in the end the gods will take care of their Towers, but he would not hear it.¡±


    General Rippotis raised an eyebrow at her.


    ¡°And? Did the gods say anything to you?¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°Nothing as of yet.¡±


    Then she smiled.


    ¡°But¡­I can see that they are at work. It is most fortunate you remained behind this time.¡±


    He rubbed the back of his head.


    ¡°Yes, well, I suppose you¡¯re not wrong. I received a mission right before I set off, from a new god if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡±


    Heigiosa froze and stopped walking.


    ¡°A¡­new¡­god?¡±


    General Rippotis made an amused grin even as he preemptively lifted his hands.


    ¡°I was nning to tell you after Ipleted the mission¡­but since I am here now, I will tell you everything. After the meeting, perhaps?¡±


    Heigiosa stared intently at him and nodded.


    ¡°I will hold you to that.¡±


    He gave her a salute.


    ¡°As youmand.¡±


    Shortly thereafter, General Rippotis and High Councilor Heigiosa made their way to the chamber of the High Council, smiles no longer on their faces. The room was simple, made of rough andmon stone. Up on the walls near the roof were carved statues of all of the known gods, below that were no further adornments. The room itself held only a single round table with ten seats, seven of which were currently upied with the rest of the High Council. The pair took their seats, bringing all nine members of the High Council together. High Councilor Heigiosa nodded to each member and then turned to the door.


    ¡°Enter.¡±


    At hermand, the doors opened up and in strolled Lord Starami, the Tower Lord who had been on everyone¡¯s mindtely. He was tense and nearly scowling, but he held his head high as he stepped forward.


    ¡°Starami, Tower Lord of Starami Tower and Lord of the Conve. I thank the High Council for having me today.¡±


    High Councilor Heigiosa nodded and then motioned to thest remaining chair.


    ¡°Thank you foring. Please, have a seat.¡±


    Lord Starami did so. High Councilor Heigiosa gave him a chance to get settled before speaking again.


    ¡°Now, I am told that you have news to share?¡±


    Lord Starami nodded.


    ¡°I have found the missing Tower.¡±


    General Rippotis raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I assume you have some evidence for that im?¡±


    Lord Starami nodded.


    ¡°I sent off my son as agreed upon by the Conve. Before he left, however, he returned to the site of the Tower¡¯s birth and had the augur apanying him perform a divination. To my surprise, he received a response.¡±


    High Councilor Heigiosa narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°You are certain of this?¡±


    Lord Starami nodded.


    ¡°I personally observed it through the monster monitoring his departure. I would stake my life on it.¡±


    The High Councilor to the left of Heigiosa, High Councilor Konilias, scowled.


    ¡°Good, for you do just that if it turns out you are mistaken, Starami.¡±


    The High Councilors nced at one another until Heigiosa returned her gaze to Lord Starami.


    ¡°Please, continue.¡±


    Lord Starami nodded and did so.


    ¡°The augur apparently received a set of direction that would lead them far, far away from the Conve¡¯s territory. I was therefore not surprised that we did not hear from them by the time the rest of the first wave reported in. But then, just the other day, we received word from my son that a Tower had been located. Far, far away, in the location the directions would have led him to.¡±


    The High Council fell silent at this. High Councilor Konilias frowned.


    ¡°The evidence seems quite circumstantial.¡±


    High Councilor Heigiosa shook her head.


    ¡°Normally, I would agree. But¡­¡±


    She turned to nce at General Rippotis.


    ¡°It seems clear to me that the gods are at work here.¡±


    High Councilor Konilias narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°What exactly does she mean?¡±


    General Rippotis shrugged.


    ¡°I received a mission from the gods that dyed my departure for the Grand Subjugation, possibly from a previously unknown god. It seemed unrted to this matter but¡­the timing is highly coincidental.¡±


    High Councilor Konilias grunted.


    ¡°Hm, I had wondered why you had not run off again.¡±


    High Councilor Heigiosa turned to look at the other members of the High Council.


    ¡°I have not received any specific instructions myself, however. Has anyone besides General Rippotis heard from any of the Oracles, or received any unusual missions from the gods?¡±


    The High Councilors turned thoughtful, but one by one they shook their heads. High Councilor Heigiosa rubbed her chin.


    ¡°So, it is up to us to decipher their will. Still, given the circumstances, I feel that something important is going on here. We should not leave this matter be.¡±


    One of the other High Councilors, a fashionably dressed woman, tilted her head.


    ¡°Could it be that they are helping us locate the lost tower?¡±


    Another High Councilor, a man in simple robes like Heigiosa¡¯s, shook his head.


    ¡°Not every Tower is ced within our reach. If the gods saw fit to keep one from us, they would not feel the need to help us find it.¡±


    The woman councilor frowned.


    ¡°But¡­they did not keep it from us? We failed to bind one that was, did we not? That¡¯s a failure of our entire mandate, is it not?¡±


    She gave a pointed look to the Lord Starami, who managed to keep his face expressionless. Lord Konilias cleared his throat.


    ¡°In any case, whether the gods have spoken or not we have already decided upon a Grand Subjugation. Is there any reason why we should not advance in the direction of this Tower?¡±


    A man in armor next to General Rippotis saluted.


    ¡°Just say the word and I will lead my army forth.¡±


    But Lord Konilias nced at another High Councilor, a fashionably dressed man. The man cleared his throat.


    ¡°Lord Starami was the one responsible for this affair, and I was the one responsible for him. He shall lead the mission to seek the gods¡¯ will, and I shall arrange the campaign necessary for him to do so.¡±


    The well-dressed man and the armored man locked eyes. High Councilor Heigiosa nced at General Rippotis, but he just shook his head. She turned to Lord Starami.


    ¡°What of your son? He has already arrived at the location, has he passed back any further messages?¡±


    Lord Starami frowned.


    ¡°My son¡­is likely dead. The failsafe broke the signal a day after we received it.¡±


    High Councilor Heigiosa frowned.


    ¡°That is most concerning.¡±


    She closed her eyes for a moment before letting out a sigh.


    ¡°Very well. High Councilor Stadvolous shall arrange for the Grand Subjugation to move in the direction indicated. However, please take care if and when you approach the location in question. The will of the gods is not always obvious and it would not do for us to move hastily, particrly considering that our first arrival there has not ended well. In that vein, please provide us with regr updates on your progress. In the meantime, we all should pay extra attention to the oracles and to any missions we receive from the gods.¡±


    Lord Starami bowed his head.


    ¡°As the High Council wishes.¡±


    After the meeting, General Rippotis and High Councilor Heigiosa walked together once more. High Councilor Heigiosa¡¯s face was scrunched up, causing General Rippotis to frown as well.


    ¡°Something troubles you?¡±


    Heigiosa sighed.


    ¡°It is unusual for the gods to get involved this directly. Even we have never received such a specific location, even back when the fate of the world was at stake, so I feel this must be a matter of great importance to them. And yet, they have not spoken to us or to any of their oracles on the matter.¡±


    General Rippotis¡¯s frown grew.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    The two stood in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Heigiosa shook her head.


    ¡°The only thing I can think of is the mission you received. Please, General, approach it with all the care and determination you always disy. I fear it may be more important than we realize.¡±


    He saluted to her.


    ¡°I would do so were it not important at all. We owe the gods as much.¡±


    Heigiosa nodded.


    ¡°We do indeed. If I may ask and if you are permitted to share¡­what is your current mission? And who is this new god that issued it?¡±


    General Rippotis could not help but make a bemused smile.


    ¡°Well¡­it¡¯s bees.¡±


    Heigiosa paused and blinked a few times before tilting her head.


    ¡°Bees?¡±


    General Rippotis nodded.


    ¡°Bees.¡±

 POBee 155.3 - Experimental Bee-sults

    POBee 155.3 - Experimental Bee-sults


    Belissar watched as the karnuq hunters took turns at the Shrine of Bees. The shrine glowed bright for each one and Belissar noticed the hunters¡¯ mana grow stronger. It seemed that this indeed was the way forward for the karnuq to receive blessings, which in turn would progress one of his longest-running missions.


    He considered how else he might help them. He recalled Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik both mention that mana-infused food, like his bees¡¯ mana honey, would promote the growth of mana in those who ate it. Maybe he should start giving the karnuq more honey?


    On the other hand, they would naturally gain ess to more as he taught them beekeeping and invited hunters who fought in purifications to the post-battle celebrations, so perhaps things were fine as they were now. In any case, it was time for the celebration, so Belissar put those thoughts to the side and started to bring out the honey these hunters had earned.


    It would turn out, however, that the karnuq were not the only ones growing¡­


    A worker covered in small, glowing specks of mana flower pollennded on a water lotus, careful not to fall into the water. After drinking some nectar and flying off, the center of the lotus began to glow faintly¡­


    A gardenernded on the x flower, dusting her legs to brush off the glowing pollen. The workers didn¡¯t like to visit this one. It produced less nectar than other flowers, its nectar had no particr features of note, its pollen was heavy and hard to carry, and its delicate petals that couldn¡¯t support much weight made nectar collection difficult.


    So, the gardener took it upon herself to see that these flowers were properly cross-pollinated, allowing the workers to focus on more productive flowers. She brushed her antennae up and down the stem of the flower, mingling her mana into the trace amounts flowing through the mundane nt. If her observations were urate¡­the flowers were nearly ready to produce seeds. She¡¯d find out in the next day or two if her efforts would be rewarded¡­


    In the Dirt Tunnels of the Fourth Floor, a digging worker flew through pitch-ck tunnels. She could send out small pulses of mana through the air to identify her immediate surroundings, andnded at regr intervals to send longer ranged pulses through the ground. As such, she had no issue navigating without her sight.


    And then, finally, she found her target. Vines growing along the floor of the tunnels, melding into the darkness to hide from sight. But practically shining bright to her mana pulses given the density of their own mana¡­especially within their flowers. Shended on the closest flower and found it gushing with nectar for its first ever visitor.She drank as deeply as she could, then packed as much pollen into her pollen baskets as she could fly with, and then began the trip back to her hive. Leaving packs of mana-infused pheromones on the ground at regr intervals so that her sisters could fly straight here in the future¡­


    A digging gardener led a soldier bee into the Dirt Tunnels, releasing pheromones and mana so the soldier could follow her into the dark. She would have done the job herself, but this one required a soldier¡¯s size, so she had to slowly guide the bigger bee through the darkness.


    But, eventually, they arrived at their destination. A light began to glow in the tunnel ahead and the soldier picked up speed, now able to see where they were flying. And revealing the flower clutched in her legs, still slightly glowing.


    It had taken much, <em>much</em> convincing to persuade the queen to allow this. To expend an <em>entire mana flower</em>? Unthinkable. But the gardener had remained firm in her conviction. The queen sent other gardeners to check as well and all of them agreed with her assessment. The gardener had pointed out that some of the mana flowers from the King¡¯s patches would regrow overnight as well, and so the queen had finally relented.


    And so, the soldier bee carried the mana flower to their destination. At the gardener¡¯s direction, the soldierid the flower down in the dirt, right next to a glowing mushroom camp.


    The gardener had spent days poring all over this mushroom. She concluded that, frankly, there was no normal method by which they could cross-pollinate it. Mushrooms just didn¡¯t produce pollen or seeds the way flowers did, so the very idea of pollination was alien to them. In the end, it turned out that mushrooms were a different kind of life from nts, too different to pollinate one another.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    But the queen had ordered her to uncover the secrets of the mushrooms, and so she did. And in her endless attempts to analyze them and find some form of pollination, she discovered an alternative. Mushrooms were, ultimately, a form of scavenger. So¡­what if she nted the spores of the mushrooms in the body of another nt? A nt like the mana flower? She felt that if there was any way to cross-pollinate the mushrooms, this was it.


    Only time would tell if she was right.


    Pollen from a cloudberry flower melted into the glow of a mana flower of the First Floor Flower Meadow. A light blue, nearly white speck of light lifted from the mana flower and began to drift on the wind. It floated aimlessly, never approaching the ground, and a faint mist began to condense around it.


    Until a gardener bee flew up to it. Her antennae glowed slightly as she brushed them through the mist. She danced and reached for the mana of themuners linking her back to the hive.


    ¡°New seed. Room too warm. Looking for cold.¡±


    Then she waited, hovering by the light as it shifted about¡­though at a distance as she felt a chill spreading through her chitin. Eventually, the mana link to the hive began to grow and she felt themuner dance on the other side.


    <em>¡°No cold ce. Orchard gardeners say new room might work.¡±</em>


    ¡°Ok, will take there.¡±


    The gardener steeled herself and approached the seed once more, shivering as she passed through the mist. She wrapped her legs in a loose cage around the glowing light, holding it with mana rather than chitin. She then flew off, the light pulled along by her mana as she made her way to the shortcuts. She passed through and arrived in the orchard. A worker from the Orchard hives flew up to her immediately.


    ¡°Where going?¡±


    She danced as best as she could while keeping hold of the seed.


    ¡°Fairy Grove. New seed.¡±


    ¡°Ok! This way!¡±


    The gardener followed the worker to the Fairy Grove¡¯s entrance. A gardener from the Orchard hives flew over as they approached.


    ¡°New seed? What kind?¡±


    ¡°From mana flower, wants cold. Feels cold.¡±


    The Flower Meadow gardener couldn¡¯t help but shiver as she danced.


    ¡°Ok, this way!¡±


    The Orchard gardener took over from the worker and led the Flower Meadow gardener inside, and then the two gardeners flew through the Fairy Grove. The grove was¡­weird. The colors of the trees and the flowers seemed to shift ever so slightly, telling the gardener to turn to stay on course. The leaves above rustled and swayed and somehow made it seem like the sun¡¯s rays wereing from different directions, throwing off her orientation. Even the tiny-lightnings everywhere tried to pull her in different directions. The mana of the Tower, however, still flowed through this ce, and it told her to keep flying straight. And that is what the Orchard gardener did, so the Flower Meadow gardener did so as well.


    Eventually, they arrived near a nexus of rapidly shifting mana.


    ¡°Here!¡±


    The Flower Meadow gardener didn¡¯t need the Orchard gardener to tell her so. The seed in her legs began to vibrate as it resonated with the mana concentrating in the air. The temperature of the area was still too high but the rapidly shifting mana ahead of her contained asional shes of light-blue and white that matched the seed¡¯s own glow. Her instincts felt it should be sufficient to make up for the unsuitable environment.


    So, she simply let go of the seed. The seed agreed with her assessment as it drifted down, passing into the dirt near the nexus. The Flower Meadow gardenernded and brushed her antennae against the soil, buzzing her wings as her mana felt the seed begin to take root.


    ¡°Works! Thanks!¡±


    The Orchard gardener acknowledged her and then the two flew off. There was plenty to do before the seed grew¡­


    The First of the Fifth received the reports on the progress of cross-pollination efforts in the brood chamber of her hive¡­or rather, a brood chamber. This was technically not hers but her Third Daughter¡¯s, but she insisted on being here today. Because today¡­they would learn if the dangerous karnuq¡¯s methods had any merit.


    Because if they did, it was critical that the bees begin to adopt the new methods. Evil beings that dared im kinship with the King hade to invade and the King said more were on the way. The karnuq as well were taking a great role within the Tower, taking on duties that belonged to the hive of hives. The Firstborn even considered them part of the hive of hives outright. So, if the bees wished to protect the King from beings of simr scale to his own, as well as to keep up with the karnuq, they needed to grow.


    So, in addition to redoubling the cross-pollination efforts across the entire Tower, the First of the Fifth had instructed her Third Daughter to begin trialing methods inspired by conversations with the dangerous karnuq. Mixing the nectars was proving to dilute them too much to raise new brood and they had yet to determine a countermeasure. The dangerous karnuq could address this by just increasing the amount of ingredients, but that method proved difficult for the amount of nectar in a single brood cell. They were working on concentrating thebined honey by putting it through multiple rounds of mixing and evaporation, but that method would take too much time and effort to apply en masse even if it worked.


    But then, the First of the Fifth had an idea to bypass the issue entirely¡­because bees ate pollen as well as honey, especially when first growing. Up until now, she had been raising her brood on honey and pollen from the same nts in an attempt to reinforce their properties. But, what if she tried to mix and match the honey and pollen? Then she could raise arva on two different but undiluted ingredients. Well, it might work, or it might end up providing insufficient amounts of thepounds within to affect the growth of therva, so the same issue might still apply. There was only one way to find out.


    The First of the Fifth and her daughter both stoodpletely still as they watched the covered cell begin to bulge, and the nursery bees move to open it up¡­

 Chapter 156: Who Will Bee Chosen?

    Chapter 156: Who Will Bee Chosen?


    The next day, the bees told Belissar the First of the Fifth had reports to make during his morning briefing, so he moved over to her Bee Apartment first. He smiled as he saw the queen waiting for him at the entrance, along with one of her daughters and a worker.


    ¡°Hi there, First of the Fifth. I heard you wanted to show me something?¡±


    She danced happily and then brushed antennae with her daughter. The smaller queen stepped forward carefully.


    ¡°H-Hello, King. Am First of the Fifth¡¯s Third Daughter.¡±


    Belissar gave her a nod and a smile.


    ¡°Hello, nice to meet you.¡±


    Her dance picked up speed and she nearly tripped.


    ¡°N-Nice to meet! Have new bee!¡±


    The worker with them flew forward. At first, Belissar though she looked like another medicinal worker¡­but on closer inspection, her color was a bit greener than normal. Belissar checked what the Tower had to say.<em>Antidote Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Antidote Shot, Poison Sting, Brood Offspring, Brood Tender</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker raised on the nectar of healing herbs and the pollen of snakebane. It produces healingpounds specialized in neutralizing toxins and its stinger is optimized to deploy them. These changes make it poor, though not entirely incapable, atbat, though its venom is more potent than the base medicinal bee worker''s.</em>


    Belissar¡¯s smile grew.


    ¡°Excellent work, new bees are going to help out a lot.¡±


    The Third Daughter and her worker broke out into a happy dance. The First of the Fifth then slowly stepped forward.


    ¡°King¡­have request.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Sure, what is it?¡±


    The First of the Fifth paused for a moment before beginning her next dance.


    ¡°Want¡­to give honey to karnuq, the dangerous one. Dangerous one helped figure out way to raise new bees, want to help in return.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head. A dangerous karnuq¡­who helped figure out how to raise new bees? That had something to do with honey, he thought, so he figured there was only one karnuq who fit.


    ¡°By dangerous one do you mean Juosiutik?¡±


    He shook his head. Ultimately, it didn¡¯t matter which karnuq she was referring to.


    ¡°In any case, that¡¯s fine. You can give honey to the karnuq whenever you like.¡±


    The First of the Fifth stood still for a moment before breaking out into a rapid dance.


    ¡°King best king!¡±


    Belissar just chuckled as usual.


    After that, Belissar set off for his task for the day, and made his way to the Lava Field. It turned out that the First of the Fifth was not the only bee preparing to make a deliver to the karnuq today. As discussed in the meeting, the Third of the Sixth had now prepared trays of Fire mana honey and was ready to deliver them.


    They ran into a slight issue, however, in removing the honey trays from the Lava Field. The Third of the Sixth had not yet raised any soldiers, while the new burning queen from the Flower Meadow was still converting her hive over to burning types, so there were no burning soldiers avable to carry the trays. Even if there were, the linen ropes made by the Orchard bees started to smoke on contact with a tray full of Fire mana honey, so the bees¡¯ normal method of carrying trays wouldn¡¯t work.


    Belissar headed over to assist, seeing as he seemed to be immune from the Lava Field¡¯s heat. He hoped that, maybe, he might just be able to carry the honey safely as well. Well, if it worked he wasn¡¯t exactly looking forward to carrying trays made of stone all the way to the karnuq, but at least they had the shortcuts now to help with that.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred tform and support their work!


    He arrived to find the Third of the Sixth waiting for him and gave her a smile.


    ¡°Hello. Thank you for giving up your honey like this.¡±


    ¡°All honey King¡¯s honey!¡±


    Belissar wanted to object but knew it was pointless, so thought of something else.


    ¡°¡­and I want all of you to enjoy the honey too. So, thanks for making it, and making enough for other to enjoy.¡±


    The Third of the Sixth¡¯s happy dance picked up speed. When it finally came to an end, she led him inside the alcove where she built her hive. Belissar could see the air in the alcove distorting from the sheer heat within, but the burning bees didn¡¯t mind in the slightest. Belissar himself just thought it was quite toasty as he stepped inside and moved to the entrance of her hive. As per usual, he saw three glowing bs on the rock door in front of her hive. He tapped one and the stone tray slid out, holding a tray of bright red honey held in red-orange wax. The air seemed to glow and distort around the honey as the temperature somehow rose even more.


    Belissar gingerly touched the edges of the stone tray with his fingers and let out the breath he was holding. It was warm¡­but it didn¡¯t burn him, so he¡¯d be able to carry them after all. He gripped the edges of the tray as best he could and prepared to lift. Now, all he had to do was handle the weight of the stone trays all the way to the karnuq¡­


    Belissar blinked as he lifted the tray in one go¡­and held it without any strain. He tilted his head. Were the stone trays¡­always this light? He distinctly remembered the one Muuraqi first made being much heavier. Maybe the Tower was helping since this one was generated by the beehouse feature?


    Well, in any case, it was convenient, so Belissar put it out of his mind, stacked three trays on top of each other, and then carried them through the shortcut he ced by the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive. It did not cross his mind that the Tower¡¯s assistant only applied to initially gathering the resources and did not make them any lighter once removed from the Tower feature¡­


    Chief Rohsuak stood before a stone table. Six trays of delicious, delectable honey were spread out before her, but she kept her eyes up and away from them. She instead focused on the entire n gathered on the other side of the table, most of whose eyes were focusedpletely on the honey. She took a deep breath while everyone was distracted, steeling herself to do what must be done.


    ¡°First of all, let us thank Tower Keeper Belissar for his generosity.¡±


    She had discussed it with the n heads and they had decided to begin using the name the Tower Keeper had decided for himself. He wished to break with the Tower Lords he knew, while the karnuq wanted to forge a different rtionship than they had with the Sacred Den Masters they had known, so it was appropriate on both ends. Since the whole n had gathered now, it was a good time to make the change.


    Though, that was <em>not</em> the reason they were gathered.


    ¡°Metsaitti, Paloiku, step forward.¡±


    All eyes turned to the two hunters. Chief Rohsuak looked at the man and the woman, the oldest of the active hunters remaining.


    ¡°You, as the hunters who once braved the Sacred Den of Fire and received blessings from the Shrine of Fire, may each take one of the fire trays, if you are willing. You must consume the entire thing as quickly as possible, preferably in one sitting. Do not begin until I am ready and present.¡±


    She locked eyes with each of them.


    ¡°You must steel yourselves for this, for it will not be pleasant. I have spoken with the Tower Keeper and he has described what happened to the bees that consume this honey. Fire mana will spread within you and attempt to burn every inch of your body from the inside out. I shall also burn you from the outside at the same time. You must not only endure this, you must <em>allow</em> it, so that you may be changed from the ground up. You must embrace the mes even as they burn you down to your core. Only then may the God of Fire approve of you. Are you willing and prepared for this trial?¡±


    The two hunters both held her gaze and spoke in turn.


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded. She then pointed to the third tray of fire honey.


    ¡°The third tray shall be for the collective use of the n. Juosiutik will take a quarter section of it to assess and determine its uses. Further allocations shall be decided by Leijaliuk.¡±


    The honey herbalist and the quartermaster both nodded their heads, Juosiutik trying and failing not to look too excited. To be honest, Chief Rohsuak should have been the one with authority over the rest of the fire honey¡­but she did not trust herself. This was the delicious, delectable, and powerful mana honey, only now attributed with the same mes that stirred within her. It was only the need to raise new champions that kept her from sampling some as it was.


    And then, finally, thest two. The Tower Keeper had offered them three more trays of honey for the sake of raising champions, hoping that it would encourage some of the karnuq to ept blessings from the God of Bees. A fair concern, since if Metsaitti passed theing trial then both the chief and the lead hunter of the n would be blessed by the God of Fire.


    ¡°The Tower Keeper would offer these to those who are willing to devote themselves fully to his patron, the God of Bees. The patron of our home, the one we shall rely upon most going forward. Who among you is willing tomit to her now?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak made a slight smile as Noigakkuq stepped forward. Well, the girl was alreadymitted to the God of Bees with a unique blessing no less, so she expected this much. Chief Rohsuak nodded and motioned to one of the trays, one full of purple honey.


    ¡°Be warned, this one is toxic. We have learned that at least one of the invaders survived a full day drenched in it, so most likely not lethal, but you will be ingesting it directly. Do not attempt to do so without informing us.¡±


    ¡°I will too.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak turned to the next speaker and made a smile. Tyhgak had stepped forward.


    ¡°Are you certain? You are still young and have many options open? Tomit now will mean to decline all other paths, including that of Fire.¡±


    Tyhgak nodded, his gaze not wavering.


    ¡°I want to follow our Sacred¡­um, Tower Keeper?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded and pointed to the unattributed mana honeb.


    ¡°So be it. Tyhgak, you shall take this tray.¡±


    After two trays had been imed, a bunch of the karnuq all volunteered at once for the remaining one. Chief Rohsuak chuckled as she watched Juosiutik jump, the girl realizing she had missed her chance poring over the fire tray. But well, the Chief had other ns for thisst tray.


    ¡°Laaniasiu, step forward.¡±


    All eyes shifted to the karnuq man, the n''s doctor.


    ¡°This is medicinal mana honey, with healing properties. If you ept this, I want you to use it on yourself and not on your craft.¡±


    Laaniasiu nodded.


    ¡°I will, Chief.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded and then turned to the rest of the n, milling about and looking down at their feet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry if you were not chosen today. This is our home now, we are here to stay. If you missed your chance today, then renew your efforts and seek your opportunity tomorrow. The Tower Keeper and his bees continue to grow and continue to make more and more honey. Let us grow with them.¡±


    And so, five karnuq received full trays of mana-packed honey. Chief Rohsuak couldn¡¯t wait to see what would result¡­

 Chapter 157: Burn, Ba-Bee Burn

    Chapter 157: Burn, Ba-Bee Burn


    Metsaitti stood before the shrine, specifically the God of Fire¡¯s brazier. He knelt before it and ced the hide and butchered meat of a wolf-mole within, then broke off a small chunk of the fire honey and tossed that on top of the rest. The burning honey immediately caught fire, causing the me to re up and consume the meat and hide. Even the fireproof wax began to melt in the heat of the divine ze. Metsaitti bowed his head.


    ¡°Let your firee down upon me and find me worthy.¡±


    The fire red out, singing his face slightly. With that, Metsaitti rose. He walked up the slight incline back towards the karnuq settlement, carrying the tray of burning honey in his hands, ignoring the heat building in his palms. Chief Rohsuak was standing in front of a newly erected structure made purely of stone, with several holes arranged around bottom of the walls and arge one in the center of the roof, while much of the rest of the n gathered around it. Even the Tower Keeper and his ever-present beepanions stood off to the side, observing the proceedings. Fire began to spill out from the chief¡¯s mana, wrapping around her body and lifting her hair. Smoke drifted out of her mouth.


    ¡°Are you ready to walk through fire and smoke, to embrace the God of Fire with your very flesh?¡±


    Metsaitti held her gaze.


    ¡°I am.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded and stepped to the side.


    ¡°Then enter, and let your trial begin.¡±


    Metsaitti nodded. He stepped inside and then disrobed, handing his clothes to a karnuq waiting outside the door. Then, he took the tray of honey and stepped into the center of the room. He knelt down and took a deep breath.Then he began to consume the honeb as quickly as he could. Immediately, pain surged through his mouth, blocking out even the delicious taste of the honey. His tongue was numb after the first few bites, his throat burned as the honey slowly made its way to his stomach. Even from the very start, fire manashed out from the honey, spreading beyond his mouth and throat to his head and his neck.


    Soon, tears and sweat mingled together, stinging his eyes and blurring his vision. His entire torso was on fire as the fire mana passed through his chest and his stomach. His hands trembled as he felt his skin and fur scorching, but still he forced them to lift more honey to his mouth. He was barely shy of halfway through the mes.


    He was lifting the tray once more with his trembling arms when the honey hit his stomach proper and a new wave of fire mana surged through his being. He gasped as the mana raced through his body, feeling as though every inch was set a ze. From the tip of his head down to the end of his toes the fire raged.


    He tried to endure it. He vaguely remembered the chief¡¯s words and tried to embrace it. But that only caused the pain to increase by an order of magnitude. Metsaitti was out of his depth. He had been to the Sacred Den of Fire and prayed before the Shrine of Fire, yes. But back then he had been neither particrly zealous nor strong. His blessing was a generic one, with no particr connection to fire besides the shrine where it was granted. He, therefore, had no particr affinity for, or resistance to, fire. In this trial, he was no stronger than any other.


    He copsed to the ground as the fire rampaged through his body unchecked.


    Niobee watched as the King gasped.


    ¡°That¡­doesn¡¯t seem good. S-Shouldn¡¯t Chief Rohsuak do something about now?¡±


    The karnuq¡¯s queen didn¡¯t move, however, though she was frowning and grinding her teeth. Niobee turned her own sight to the karnuq in the building. He was trying to absorb the fire like the Third of the Sixth once did, but he was not curled up inside a sealed cell where he could allow his body to break down and rebuild himself, nor within a hive where his sisters and children¡¯s mana would flow around him. No, he was trying to do this alone, without changing his form at all. The Third of the Sixth had barely managed to pull it off, adapting to the fire mana just slightly faster than it could burn her. Niobee¡¯s judgement was that¡­the karnuq had little chance of doing the same.


    So, she helped. She started to dance and shift the mana of the Tower, directing it towards the faltering karnuq. It wrapped around him; it showed his mana how to adapt like the Third of the Sixth had. It encouraged him to let go of his form and allow the mana to act in ways other than burning him alive. It supported him in lieu of a hive. The King valued this karnuq, and the karnuq had fought well in defense of the hive of hives. Niobee would not allow him to fall.


    But, unlike with the Third of the Sixth, it was not enough. The karnuq still could not let go of his form like a bee in a cell could. He was still trying to fight alone, and not epting the mana of a hive. And¡­he was not a bee. He did not fit the mana of the Tower as well as the bees and so Niobee could not offer the same level of support. Most notably, the property of the Tower¡¯s mana to help bees resist fire did not apply to the karnuq.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Niobee tried to make up the difference by directing even more of the Tower¡¯s mana in support¡­but then she ran into a problem. She had bent the natural flows of the Tower¡¯s mana as far as they would go. To direct any more would take a more intentional effort. It would require effort. It would require permission.


    It would require the King.


    Belissar ground his teeth and wrung his hands. He watched with Tower sight¡­and it was not going well. Metsaitti appeared to be suffering¡­maybe even dying. And yet, Chief Rohsuak was not moving to respond. He saw her clench her fist, trembling ever so slightly. He heard her whisper to herself.


    ¡°Come on, Metsaitti. Please¡­¡±


    Belissar was about to ask her what was going on when Niobee suddenly began a frantic dance to his side.


    ¡°King! Want to help karnuq?! Need King¡¯s permission!¡±


    Belissar blinked as he turned to Niobee. He noticed, then, the flows of the Towers mana surging through Niobee and towards the hut, as well as a message from the Tower starting to appear before his eyes. But he shook his head before he got too confused or overwhelmed. Time was of the essence.


    ¡°Yes! If we can help him, then let¡¯s help! However we can!¡±


    ¡°Ok, will!¡±


    The flow of mana through Niobee exploded and grew several times in size, pouring down into the hut and the karnuq within. Belissar could only help that whatever Niobee was trying would work¡­


    Metsaitti ground his teeth and tried desperately to regain control over his body. But every time he did, a new wave of pain surged through him and drove all thoughts out of his mind. He knew there was a reason so few karnuq had ever been blessed to the level the chief was, but even he was not prepared for this level of pain.


    But, just as the pain nearly knocked him unconscious, a small beacon of light broke through his perception. He just managed to notice the words appearing in sight, trying to grab his attention.


    <em>ept improved dungeon bond?</em>


    Metsaitti didn¡¯t have the presence of mind to consider the meaning of the words. All he knew was that someone was reaching out to him¡­and so he grabbed onto the lifeline.


    Another stream of mana began to pour into him, this one yellow and buzzing though with hints of fire as well. It healed and soothed his burning body. It wrapped around the mes and his own mana and brought them together. It brought images to his mind.


    He saw his exterior body melt down and rearrange around his interior structure before rebuilding his body piece by piece. That¡­frightened him far more than burning to death. But then he saw something else. Images of an injured bee with lightning surging through and burning her body. He watched as she endured the lightning, then adapted to it, then harnessed it for herself until it became a part of her own body.


    He decided to try that one.


    He no longer tried to resist the mes, or grab hold of them. Instead, he tried to re his mana along with the fire as the bee had done with the lightning. The mana pouring into him attempted to assist with this, guiding him like a karnuq parent holding the hand of a cub walking for the first time. When the next surge of pain came, he surged his mana with it. He gritted he teeth again as he nearly loss consciousness, but the mana held him in the present. Bit by bit, his mana harmonized with the mes, following their burning path through his body.


    And then, he moved his mana¡­and the mes moved with them. Just a bit, just a tad. He couldn¡¯t control the mes¡­but, ever so slightly, he could guide them. Move them away from a part of his body in great pain to one already numbed. Or even out of his body entirely.


    He chose not to do this. To survive was not the point of this. So, instead, he concentrated the mes where they hurt less, just enough for him to think and act once more.


    And then he began to eat the rest of the honey.


    Pain surged through his mouth and throat and stomach once more, but this time he was ready for it. He red his mana along with it and guided it across his body, spreading it out so that his entire body could share the pain. He even found that he could move some of the fire outside of his body temporarily before pulling it back inside, allowing him to push it aside whenever the big waves of pain came so that it never overwhelmed him entirely.


    Outside, Chief Rohsuak stopped clenching her fist. She blinked, and then she slowly began to smile.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it. Keep it up.¡±


    She then stepped over and knelt by one of the holes at the bottom of the hut. She took a deep breath.


    Then she burst into mes¡­and sent them pouring into the hole.


    mes filled the room and surrounded Metsaitti, scorching his skin and hair. But he found he could treat these mes no differently from the ones inside his body. Rather than letting them burn him, he pulled them <em>inside</em> of himself, into the fires already rampaging within, before pushing them out again, letting the fire flowing out of him shield him from the fire all around him.


    It still hurt worse than anything Metsaitti had every experienced¡­but he could handle it. No, more than handle it. He started to be able to direct the mes, to control what part of his body he emitted it from. And once he did, he started to feel¡­wrong. It was wrong to just burst the mes out in all direction.


    He restricted the mes inside his body and searched for where it felt best. He concentrated the mes on his back, by his shoulders, and began emitting the fires there. The mes shout out from his shoulders and down his back before being pulled back within him. But that felt wrong too. Rather than surging them out and pulling them back in, he started to curve the mes, so they flowed out in one direction. They flowed out, and then they flowed back in, forming aplete circuit.


    And once they did, the flow began to stabilize and take shape. The fire stopped surging at random points, settling down into a steady ze. He finally started to feel¡­right again.


    He nodded and then looked down to take another bite of the honeb¡­only to find an empty stone tray.


    Which meant¡­he had done it.

 Chapter 158: Bee-porting the News

    Chapter 158: Bee-porting the News


    Eventually, the sound of mes and grunting stopped, leaving silence hanging on the air. All the karnuq held their breath and kept their eyes fixed on the hut. And then¡­finally, they heard a knock at the door. One of the karnuq cracked the door open and handed Metsaitti his clothes.


    A momentter, Metsaitti stepped out the door, a bit singed in ces but no worse for wear overall. Chief Rohsuak exhaled her breath and smiled, holding up her hand to stop the karnuq from swarming him.


    ¡°So¡­how did it go? Do we have a new champion of fire?¡±


    Metsaitti rubbed the back of his head.


    ¡°Well, not exactly¡­¡±


    mes burst from Metsaitti¡¯s body and concentrated at the back of his shoulders. They curled down and around before heading back into his body. Chief Rohsuak raised an amused eyebrow while all the other karnuq watched with wide eyes.


    Metsaitti now appeared to have a set of bee wings forged from mes. He made a sheepish smile.


    ¡°I¡­had some help.¡±


    Belissar, too, exhaled his breath as he confirmed that Metsaitti survived. He turned to Niobee and smiled.¡°Thank you for helping him, Niobee. Really, what would I do without you?¡±


    ¡°King is best king! Workers¡¯ job to help!¡±


    Belissar chuckled and held out his hand. Niobeended on it and he began to brush her back, causing her to lightly buzz her wings.


    ¡°Still, I appreciate all that work you do.¡±


    With that, Belissar finally turned to acknowledge the messages from the Tower.


    <em>Offer to improve dungeon bond with sworn defender Metsaitti?</em>


    <em>Offer epted, dungeon bond improved.</em>


    <em>Sworn defender Metsaitti now has limited ess to dungeon mana. Sworn defender will now be sustained by mana and restored to optimal condition where possible. Sworn defender gains increased resistance to hazardous dungeon features.</em>


    <em>Sword defender Metsaitti now requires 5 mana upkeep.</em>


    Belissar rubbed his chin. So that¡¯s what had happened, and why Niobee had needed his permission. Now that he focused on it, he could feel a stronger mana link to Metsaitti, about on par with the daughter queens. He looked closely and saw some of the wrinkles and gray furs Metsaitti had starting to fade.


    He apparently was also spending mana on Metsaitti now, but Belissar considered him well worth the price. This was the man who took on the Tower Guard captain, saving countless soldier bees from death. What was a bit of mana to keep him around?


    And, as it turned out, an improved dungeon bond was not the only thing Metsaitti gained¡­


    <em>A sworn defender¡¯s blessing has been upgraded into abination blessing by two of your patrons.</em>


    <em>Gained 10 DP.</em>


    If Belissar was reading this correctly¡­not only had Metsaitti passed his trial and gained a new blessing, but apparently both the God of Bees and God of Fire had worked to bless him. The God of Fire was obvious but he wondered how the God of Bees had gotten involved? He nced at Niobee. Maybe because she had helped?


    In any case, it made Belissar happy that the two gods had gotten to work together on this¡­as well as the fact that one of the strongest karnuq had grown even stronger.


    After Metsaitti¡¯s ordeal, the n decided to hold off on any more attempts for the day, and so dispersed back to their own tasks¡­including Juosiutik. She nearly skipped back to her hut as she carried a piece of honeb in a ceramic jar. It had been wonderful reviewing all her old recipes with her new powers and new sources of ingredients¡­but that was only the beginning. Her blessing title was honey herbalist, so she knew that her pathy in unlocking the potential of the ingredient none of her ancestors had every worked with before. Not even her mother.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    And now, she had ess to one of the new kinds of honey, one that was not and could not have been made by any mundane bees. A magical honey with overtly mystical properties. The potions she could potentially brew with something like that would go beyond just slightly more potent medicine. This was where she would truly begin to explore her blessing.


    But that exploration would have to wait just a bit, as Juosiutik came to stop just before her house. Hovering outside her door were bees¡­and not just the usualmuner that allowed connected her with the First of the Fifth and her Third Daughter. No, this time themuner was apanied by another worker and several of the soldier bees¡­who were holding an entire tray of bluish-green honey. Juosiutik walked forward in a daze, barely remembering to speak.


    ¡°Hello. Um, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Themuner immediately responded with a dance.


    ¡°Queen mother reports method was a sess. Wishes to thank dangerous one for assistance.¡±


    Juosiutik¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Wait, do you mean the potion honey or the potion bees? And which recipe did you use?¡±


    Themuner danced and the worker bee apanying her flew in front of Juosiutik. Juosiutik could tell they were one of the rumored medicinal bees¡­or so she thought.


    ¡°Potion bees. Used pollen from other nt instead of mixing nectars, worker grew up withpounds from both.¡±


    Juosiutik¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked at the worker bee, trying to remember every detail about it.


    ¡°And which nts did you use?!¡±


    ¡°Healing herbs and snakebane.¡±


    Juosiutik grinned.


    ¡°So¡­some sort of antidote bee? One who could make some kind of antidote honey from any flower¡¯s nectar?¡±


    Themuner danced the confirmation.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing. Oh, I¡¯ll have to tell Noigakkuq before she starts drinking the poison honey, if we can mass produce antidote potion now we can make sure she¡¯ll survive no matter what happens.¡±


    But before Juosiutik could run off, themuner flew before her.


    ¡°Queen wants to give reward now.¡±


    Juosiutik paused, and then slowly turned her head. Her eyes slowly widened further and further as she looked over the soldiers¡­and their cargo.


    ¡°Wait¡­that means¡­that tray of honey?¡±


    ¡°Queen is giving.¡±


    ¡°To¡­me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Juosiutik slowly turned to themuner and then bowed her head.


    ¡°This¡­is¡­incredible!¡±


    Before jumping up again and starting to run around the tray.


    ¡°This is the healing herb honey, right?! This is amazing, there are so many recipes I could try to integrate this into. This¡­this is going to revolutionize the n¡¯s medicine once I figure it out!¡±


    She spun around to face themuner once more.


    ¡°You¡¯ve no idea how much this is going to help! Please, let me know if there¡¯s anything I can do to thank you!¡±


    ¡°Queen mother says already have. Will be trying to raise more bees, though. Wants to know if have more recipe ideas.¡±


    Juosiutik made a grin as wide as her entire face.


    ¡°Oh, I have plenty! So¡­if I understand this correctly, the baby bees eat pollen as well as honey and that¡¯s how you got around the dilution issue. Let me see what my mom¡¯s notes say about pollen¡­¡±


    Beeropleted yet anotherb pattern made of lightning, willing the spell toplete. Theb shed, and then a small chunk of propolis with tiny-lightnings zipping over it plopped onto the ground.


    The wounded soldiers had the stinger spell down at this point, and the first generation of them were now teaching their newestrades the steps. But Beero knew they had a long way to go. They had but one spell. The karnuq queen appeared capable of manipting fire at will, while the invaders had used many different types of spells in their assault.


    Beero, thus, was working on expanding their repertoire and figuring out new ways to use their lightning. The King had created wax and propolis before, so that was what Beero tried next.


    It¡­wasn¡¯t going as well. Wax and propolis did note to her as easily as stinging foes, so even when shepleted the right pattern it didn¡¯t always trigger properly. And even when it did trigger¡­this was the result. A bit of propolis or wax that would drop useless on the ground. And unlike the King¡¯s version, the wax and propolis she made with mana would vanish a short timeter. As it was, Beero couldn¡¯t see a way to use this in either battle or work.


    But she would find a way, as she had before, no matter how much time or work it took.


    At this point, the wounded soldiers were all running low on mana, so they stopped their practice to have a meal¡­as well as meet with a new addition to the Memorial bees. The only one among their number who was not wounded at all¡­amuner assigned to them by the Firstborn herself. Now that they had proven themselves a potentbat asset, Beero¡¯s queen mother wanted the ability to speak with them at anytime¡­and vice versa.


    Beero happily buzzed both her remaining wings and her lightning recements. Every time she saw themuner was a reminder that they had once again found their ce in the hive of hives. So, she stepped forward as the wounded soldiers gathered and began to drink the honeb that had been left for them.


    ¡°Any news from hive of hives?¡±


    Themuner danced the affirmative.


    ¡°Gardeners say new flowers will soon bloom. First of the Fifth¡¯s Third Daughter has raised new bee type. Karnuq got fire wings.¡±


    Beero stumbled.


    ¡°R-Repeatst one.¡±


    ¡°Karnuq got fire wings.¡±


    Beero spread out her wings and pointed the lightning pair towards themuner as she danced.


    ¡°Wings¡­made of fire? Like this one, but with fire?¡±


    Themuner danced a quick mana-dance and waited a bit before replying.


    ¡°Yes, scouts confirm.¡±


    Beero froze solid as her mind raced. Their method of mana maniption worked¡­on things other than lightning?

 POG 158.1 - Fier-Bee Cooperation

    POG 158.1 - Fier-Bee Cooperation


    The world was on fire. Every corner of it was filled with fires of every size and color, catching, zing, sputtering out, and then catching again. The entire sky was a burning sun, the air was filled with smoke, the ground formed of smoldering charcoal, the seas made of burning oil. Hammers wrapped in fire struck melting anvils as forges behind them zed. Hearths flickered with calmer reds as the scent of warm meals mixed in with the smoke.


    And in the midst of it all, a man made of fire poked at a truly massive bonfire, stirring up the burning wood to improve the flow of air and help the fire grow. All the while, his eyes zed, watching over every fire that had drawn his gaze.


    The God of Fire smiled as he watched his favorite champion holding trays of honey packed with fire mana. It had been a joy to see her in good form once again, showing all these humans and bees what a real fire looked like. And fire honey! From bees that eagerly embraced the mes and happily settled by a volcano! Now, that was a good idea he hadn¡¯t considered before. He was very much looking forward to tasting mead made from that honey. Bee¡¯s little dungeon was just full of surprises.


    And well worth the investment, it seemed. His favorite champion was now going to raise him some more. She had started some grand fires in her time, but it was true she getting older as the mortals did. And indeed, all fires muste to an end, the hotter they burned the faster they ate through their fuel. But then their embers could be used to fan a new me and the cycle would continue. The God of Fire was curious to see what new mes his champion would start¡­


    He frowned as she announced the two hunters she had chosen. He remembered them, vaguely, if he dug deep down. Not that gods could forget, per se, but the pair hadn¡¯t really drawn his attention much at the time. They had visited one of his dungeons as children just bing adults. The girl he hadn¡¯t considered, she had been too young and unaplished for a full blessing by the time of herst visit. The boy¡­well, he had some skill, but that was it. Hecked the passion, the zing heat of a roaring me, or even the dim but steady glow of a smoldering ember. He was calm, cool, and calcting. All the things that fire was not. And he himself had but a passing devotion to the God of Fire, driven more by his proximity to the God of Fire¡¯s dungeon than any particr loyalty.


    So, the God of Fire had passed him some of the generic blessings all gods had ess to and had gone along with his day. Something involving spears, he didn¡¯t care to recall. He epted the boys¡¯ offerings and rewarded him as his deeds deserved, but he did not spare him any special interest.


    And now the boy, grown into a man, was attempting to embrace the mes. The God of Fire crossed his arms and let out a breath of smoke. He wasn¡¯t so sure about this n, it seemed his champion was letting her concerns as a leader outweigh her personal encounters with his blessing. Embracing the mes in the manner that his champion had in her youth took a special mindset. Not everyone loved fire as she did. And the thing about fire was that, well, it wanted to burn. It was not so picky about what. Someone setting themselves aze <em>was</em> a nice bit ofmitment to fire, but for those who did not love the mes it was as likely to kill them as bless them.


    Honestly, his champion should focus more on the little bee that inspired this whole trial attempt. Now that was a girl with zing passion!


    The hunter, on the other hand? The God of Fire gave him about fifty-fifty odds. Maybe less, seeing as he was set in his ways and had walked another path for a while. In this case, his strength and experience would make the trial more difficult rather than less, and the fact that they were earned in a dungeon of Fire had no bearing here. For someone like that, it was generally better to try and act in the service of fire¡­by burning something other than themselves.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    But that was the hunter¡¯s choice to make and the God of Fire was not one for carefully calcted probabilities. The God of Fire would acknowledge his resolve, and so would not hold back. The man would be subjected to the mes. If he managed to embrace them, he would be tempered and molded by them. If not, he would simply burn in his own folly.


    And so, it began. As the God of Fire expected, the man began to burn. He simply did not have the love of fire necessary to embrace the burn, or the raw power necessary to simply force his way through. The God of Fire shrugged. He felt for his champion, seeing as this was one of her people, but that was the risk they both decided to take. He¡¯d at least put in a good word for the guy at the Hall of Judgement. The manner of the man¡¯s death would give the God of Fire a solid im if he wanted, though he didn¡¯t think the man who failed to embrace the mes would want to join him in the afterlife¡­


    Then, the God of Fire paused, his mes flickering as he blinked his eyes. The man was receiving help.


    At first, the God of Fire shook his head. One could not pass a self-imposed trial seeking the blessing of a god with external help. It might allow the guy to survive, but it would not gain him any profit for the ordeal¡­


    At least, until the God of Fire felt the power of another stirring. He raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Bee?¡±


    On closer look, it was the conduit bee that was assisting the man, attempting to support his mana as monster bees naturally did within their hive. The God of Bees was then supporting that effort, inserting her power where the God of Fire withdrew his and tying them together. He may not have approved of mid-trial assistance¡­but apparently she did.


    The God of Fire raised an eyebrow¡­but he decided to allow it. The God of Bees was within her rights to intervene, seeing as he had been raising a champion of his own within her dungeon. It was generally polite to ask first¡­but it was also polite to ask the primary patron before the trial began in the first ce, and he didn¡¯t much care about either.


    And so, the man passed the trial with the assistance of a hive. He could not receive a full blessing from the God of Fire for he had not fully embraced the mes, but by coborating with the bees he earned the blessing of another. A champion that belonged to both of them. A hunter who would burn like fire and sting like a bee. The God of Fire could get behind that idea.


    Though, there was the matter of Bee jumping into a trial of Fire and making a joint-blessing without deciding it ahead of time. Again, it was her right in this case, but some gods got a bit uppity about that sort of thing. The God of Fire didn¡¯t much care, if something burned in the end, that was all that mattered. Still, he figured he should <em>probably</em> talk to Bee on the matter of champions and whatnot. She hadn¡¯t had much authority before this so there might be a lot she wasn¡¯t aware of, and while the God of Fire wasn¡¯t one for rules he also wouldn¡¯t just let her do whatever she wanted with his power. Or rather, he would, but he also wouldn¡¯t stop it from exploding in her face if she wasn¡¯t careful. And he wasn¡¯t the only god that might want to interact with Bee and her dungeon going forward, many of whom were less permissive than he was.


    He decided that he should show her <em>some</em> consideration, seeing as this was her first dungeon and all. He let out a sigh of smoke and shook his head. It wasn¡¯t often that <em>he</em> was the one telling other gods the norms and etiquette and all that other stuff he was more likely to burn through than remember. But it was not as if he had never nurtured another up-anding god before. Besides, he¡¯d admit he was growing curious about Bee¡¯s little dungeon and so did not want to see it fail, particrly by Bee identally crossing a god more uptight than himself. Young mes like these needed to be tended and shielded from the wind so that they could catch fully. The God of Fire would not see these ones snuffed out before they had a chance to burn bright.


    Not until he got his mead, at the very least.


    So, the God of Fire prepared to move to Bee¡¯s domain. Fire burned bright around him and swirled before him, opening up a path amidst the ze. He could see through to the golden world of wax and honey before him. He was about to step inside¡­


    And then he saw the God of Bees, wrapped up in flowers. Unable to move as shepped up nectar from the closest one.


    ¡°Now. Bee. Please tell me why you made your first joint champion with that God of Fire instead of me. You didn¡¯t even call me when you blessed the potion girl! I know she was your first one but she would¡¯ve been perfect for us!¡±


    The God of Fire slowly withdrew his view. It appeared¡­he was toote.


    And there were some fires even he wouldn¡¯t stoke.

 Chapter 159: Scare-Bee Situations

    Chapter 159: Scare-Bee Situations


    Belissar was walking over to talk with Chief Rohsuak when a message passed before his eyes.


    <em>New mission received!</em>


    <em>Mission prerequisites not fulfilled. Mission details will be unlocked once prerequisites fulfilled.</em>


    <em>Prerequisites remaining:</em>


    <em>- Complete mission: Spawn or evolve one Flower attribute monster with the help of bees.</em>


    <em>- Complete mission: Earn the blessing of a new secondary patron.</em>


    Belissar tilted his head at that. A mission¡­but that wouldn¡¯t show up until hepleted another mission? He shrugged, there wasn¡¯t much he could do if he didn¡¯t actually know what the mission was.


    ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll try to fulfill that as soon as I can.¡±


    The only thing he knew was that if the God of Bees asked him to do something, he¡¯d do his best to make it happen. Once he knew what it was he was supposed to do, that was.Since he did not at present, he resumed his prior task and walked over to Chief Rohsuak, who immediately began bowing her head.


    ¡°You have my deepest gratitude for your assistance, Tower Keeper Belissar. Had it not been for you, we would have lost Metsaitti due to my misjudgment. Thank you for saving his life.¡±


    Belissar figured he should probably say something.


    ¡°Um, you¡¯re wee? But, um, Metsaitti¡¯s important to me too, so of course I wanted to help. We, um, didn¡¯t interfere too much with the ritual, did we?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak sighed.


    ¡°For the God of Fire, yes, you did. But apparently the God of Bees stepped in to make up the difference andbined their blessings, so it worked out in this case. And even if you had caused the ritual to fail¡­that would have been preferable to losing Metsaitti. You made the right call, Tower Keeper. It was I who failed.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak frowned deeply.


    ¡°I should have known Metsaitti was not as suited for fire as I was. I suppose I allowed my reliance on him as our best hunter to cloud my judgement as a disciple of Fire.¡±


    She then shook her head and smiled.


    ¡°But thanks to you, it worked out. And I do look forward to seeing what the blessing of the me stinger can do.¡±


    Belissar nodded. He was curious as well. But above that, he was also worried. He furrowed his brow.


    ¡°So, um, what about the others?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak sighed again.


    ¡°We¡¯re rethinking things with Paloiku. I think a lot of hunters wanted to embrace fire not for the love of the mes or devotion to the God of Fire, but out of respect for me. I will ensure that the next hunter to brave the fire is truly prepared to do so.¡±


    Belissar could only slowly nod.


    ¡°What about the others? I gave you a poisonous tray, you know?!¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled lightly and shook her head.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about the other three trays, Tower Keeper. None of them are nning as dramatic a process as Metsaitti¡­or rather, I won¡¯t let Noigakkuq attempt such a thing regardless of if she wants to or not. In any case, Noigakkuq already has a full blessing from the God of Bees, so she will use the honey only to further develop her abilities. For Tyhgak and Laaniasiu, we don¡¯t know any specific trials for the God of Bees, so the n is to have them gradually consume the honey for the sake of boosting their mana.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Belissar was about to nod when he paused. He didn¡¯t know much about trials of the gods and was about to say as much¡­but then he realized there was someone who might. Two someones, even.


    ¡°What about asking Velebee? Maybe the God of Bees could tell you herself? And, um, I¡¯m not sure about this one but the augur did swear to help us. I guess we could ask him if he knows anything about the Tower Guard?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Ah. That¡¯s¡­I must apologize again, Tower Keeper. It seems I am too used to acting on my own. Asking the oracle is the first thing we should have done. As for the augur, as you call him¡­as he is sworn to your Tower it should be fine to ask him what he knows. I¡¯d caution against taking anything at face value, as he appears to have much different ideas on how a Tower should run than yourself and every gods¡¯ trial preferences are different from what I understand, but we could use the general example to inform further efforts.¡±


    Belissar and Chief Rohsuak made their way to Velebee¡¯s hive. After a happy greeting from the queen, Chief Rohsuak stepped forward, carrying a jug of the aphid honeydew from the sigmaka and cing it before the hive.


    ¡°Honored Oracle of Bees, I hope you find this to your liking. If you are willing, I wish to ask a question of the God of Bees you represent.¡±


    Velebee told one of her workers to check the jug¡­though she hardly needed to. Her workers had already smelt the sweet scenting from the jug and were starting to investigate on their own. Velebee then replied with an unsteady dance.


    ¡°Ok?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded and bowed her head.


    ¡°God of Bees, patron of our home. We wish to know how we may honor you, how we may embody you in our own flesh, and how we may spread your influence. If you have any guidance on the trials and challenges we must face, we would be most honored to hear from you.¡±


    Velebee¡¯s eyes began to glow and then she started to dance quickly.


    ¡°Queen of All Bees says work!¡±


    Chief Rohsuak looked up and blinked.


    ¡°Work?¡±


    Velebee danced the confirmation.


    ¡°Yes! Work for hive!¡±


    Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin, then her eyes began to widen.


    ¡°Ah¡­Juosiutik got her blessing when she finished processing her potion. Noigakkuq got hers by gathering and offering flowers. Muuraqi got his by building beehouses, correct?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    She cracked a small smile.


    ¡°I see. It seems the God of Bees prefers a more practical devotion to grand rituals. Very well, we will simply do our best to be useful.¡±


    Belissar and Chief Rohsuak then made their way over to the prisoners. He found Hirkolos and Sehfitis tending to the wyverns. Hirkolos was teaching the karnuq how to care for the creatures while Sehfitis was tranting. Sehfitis turned and bowed his head as Belissar approached.


    ¡°Tower Keeper, how may I assist you?¡±


    Belissar nodded at Hirkolos too before replying.


    ¡°We wanted to know more about the Tower Guard. How they train and how they get their blessings.¡±


    Sehfitis rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Ah, I see. I must warn you I am not a Tower Lord nor a Tower Guard, so I can only speak broadly on that matter. Each Tower Lord is different in any case, not to mention the differences in their patrons. In a general sense, however, it goes something like this. When a man is selected as a potential Tower Guard, he undergoes strict training to prepare for the challenges ahead. Physical fitness andbat drills are a must, of course, but he additionally must train his mind and spirit too. He must learn devotion to the gods and the Conve¡¯s mission.¡±


    Belissar turned to Hirkolos.


    ¡°Is that right?¡±


    Hirkolos frowned but nodded.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s about what I went through. I was still just a recruit, though, so I never got any further than that before we were sent off.¡±


    Sehfitis nodded.


    ¡°That was intentional. This young man was selected not for an existing Tower Lord¡¯s guard, but to form the core of a new Tower Guard. It is traditional that a potential Tower Lord is apanied by recruits, supervised by a single Tower Guard from their sponsoring Tower Lord, so that their Tower Guard may grow alongside them.¡±


    But Belissar froze. Because as his mind processed what the two men told him, he caught onto a very important implication.


    ¡°Wait¡­you all¡­weren¡¯t Tower Guards?¡±


    Both of them shook their heads. Hirkolos spoke up.


    ¡°Only the captain was a true Tower Guard. The rest of us were just recruits.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s head spun.


    ¡°So¡­all the Tower Guards¡­are like the captain?¡±


    Sehfitis rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Hm, the captain was a bit above average, but yes, broadly speaking.¡±


    Belissar began to tremble.


    ¡°A-And¡­how many Tower Guards are there?¡±


    Sehfitis tilted his head.


    ¡°Overall, or for a single Tower Lord? Well, overall, I could not say, and, again, each Tower Lord is different. I do believe, though, that the Lord of Starami Tower, the one who sent us, maintains a standing army of about ten thousand Tower Guards. Well, he is a well-aplished lord who¡¯s been at it for a couple of centuries¡­¡±


    But Belissar was no longer listening as he stumbled back. Ten¡­thousand? Ten thousand warriors on par with the captain that outfought Metsaitti and brought down multiple soldier bees with a single swing? He hadn¡¯t exactly counted them, but he was pretty sure he didn¡¯t have even close to that many soldier bees, while none of the other karnuq hunters matched Metsaitti in skill.


    And that was just <em>one </em>Tower Lord. There was an entire Conve of them. He slowly turned his head to Chief Rohsuak, who was frowning as well.


    ¡°Um, we may need to pick up the pace.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded grimly.


    ¡°I agree.¡±

 Chapter 160: Dont Bee Someone Else

    Chapter 160: Don''t Bee Someone Else


    Belissar turned to the two humans and narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°So¡­how do the Tower Lords train Tower Guards, especially that many¡­¡±


    The augur tilted his head.


    ¡°Well, I suppose this may be a surprise for you, but the method is fairly simple. Once a recruit has been sufficiently trained in both mind and body, they are permitted entry into the Tower, where they challenge themselves against the monsters spawned within, as well as face their first battles with the Hunger in the forms the Tower permits.¡±


    Belissar blinked.


    ¡°Wait¡­they fight the Tower monsters? The ones from the spawners we make?¡±


    The augur gave Belissar a funny look as he nodded.


    ¡°Yes, of course. Such has always been the case, even before the Conve codified Tower management methods. Humans challenge themselves to earn blessings and rewards from the gods, then fight to defend the gods¡¯ Towers in turn.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s face fell and he made a dark expression.¡°And¡­they kill the monsters?¡±


    The augur nodded.


    ¡°Of course, we believe that is why they respawn, after all. And the monsters attempt to kill them in turn. The challenge must be real to be acknowledged by the gods. A true life or death struggle produces the strongest champions.¡±


    Belissar stared nkly.


    ¡°I¡­see¡­¡±


    A short whileter, Belissar and Chief Rohsuak exited the prison. Belissar walked forward without a destination, rubbing his chin as he stared at the ground. Chief Rohsuak followed along, letting him think for a bit before she spoke.


    ¡°Tower Keeper, you have thoughts?¡±


    Belissar sighed and hung his head.


    ¡°I¡­I can¡¯t do it. I can¡¯t let you kill the bees¡­or have the bees kill you.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you should, either.¡±


    Belissar grimaced.


    ¡°But then¡­what are we going to do? You heard him, we need real challenges to raise real Tower Guards. How are we going to match ten thousand Tower Guards if we don¡¯t have the bees and hunters fight for real?¡±


    Belissar started as he felt a heavy pawnd on his shoulder. He looked up and towards Chief Rohsuak, who looked him closely in the eye.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that to be the only path, Tower Keeper Belissar. And I do not believe that to be the path suited for you or for our patron. I have seen more than one Sacred Den before and I have seen different rtionships between the masters and the people who live around them. Every god and every Sacred Den is different. We do not even call them the same thing.¡±


    Her expression softened as she gave him a smile.


    ¡°In your case¡­the God of Bees had already dered the method she wishes us to use. She did not ask us to fight and prove ourselves against your bees. She asked us to work <em>for</em> the bees. The exact thing you have always done.¡±


    Belissar watched for a moment before sighing once more.


    ¡°But then¡­what do we do? We have to do <em>something</em>, right? We¡¯ve only gotten¡­three of you blessed, right? And only one of those fights, right? That¡¯s¡­a lot less than ten thousand.¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Chief Rohsuak made an amused smile.


    ¡°Four now, if we count Metsaitti¡¯s blessing as new. But yes, we will need to pick up the pace.¡±


    She then turned serious and tapped Belissar¡¯s chest with her finger.


    ¡°I say, though, that we must think of methods that suit you and the Tower that you have built. You had none of these Tower Guards at all when you first established your Tower. You had no sworn defenders as you expanded your Tower higher. You had no trained soldiers at all when you came to our aid and took down a shade we could not. The God of Bees herself has entrusted you with her oracle. Trust in yourself, Sacred Den Master. The God of Bees and all of us already do.¡±


    Belissar stood, staring at her for a moment. His eyes widened a bit. He felt a spike of fear shoot through his chest¡­but also a warm feeling rising throughout it all. He flushed a bit and looked away before it grew too much to handle.


    ¡°I¡­see. And, um, thanks for your trust. I, um, hope I can live up to it?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled warmly at him.


    ¡°You already have.¡±


    To distract himself from any further feelings, Belissar started to think about the problem. So, if he wasn¡¯t going to have the bees and karnuq fight, how was he going to pick up the pace? And how was he going to give the karnuq real challenges, ones that fit the God of Bees¡¯ preferences as well?


    Belissar suddenly blinked.


    ¡°Huh¡­I think I have some ideas, actually.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak¡¯s smile grew as Belissar turned to face her.


    ¡°What would you say to learning some real beekeeping?¡±


    Belissar held another lesson on beehouse construction with the karnuq and then separated. For the next day or so, he¡¯d leave the karnuq to build some beehouses of their own before enacting the next stage of that n. That would also give him some time to address some additional ideas.


    Because a n to grow his Towers had to include the bees.


    He met with the First of the Fifth as well as amuner from her First Daughter. Not only was the First of the Fifth the one managing the growth and production of the hives, her first daughter was the queen managing the Orchard for the most part. And with the Orchard now being the nexus of all the shortcuts, the queens there could easily pass info to and from all the rest of the Tower. Belissar could, therefore, speak to the entire Tower through these two without having to interrupt all of the queens¡¯ work.


    The First of the Fifth happily greeted him as always. Themuner did so as well, though her steps were a bit more hesitant. Belissar smiled and nodded at them both beforeunching into it.


    ¡°I have some ideas on ways we can grow faster. Some of them are risky, some might not be possible at all. I want your twos¡¯ honest opinion on if these are possible.¡±


    He tried to look at them as seriously as he could manage.


    ¡°I also want you to tell me if these are going to interrupt anything the bees are already doing. I need to know what we¡¯ll spend to get them done.¡±


    The two bees saluted to him, then stared up at him, awaiting his words. Belissar held back a sigh. He wasn¡¯t sure if that had gotten through to them, or if they¡¯d still happily drop everything to pursue his ideas. But there was no getting around it if he wanted to ask them directly about his ideas.


    ¡°First, what do you think about raising hives in the Fairy Grove?¡±


    The First of the Fifth motioned to themuner, who began to ry her own queen¡¯s reply.


    ¡°Queen mother says is great idea. Lots of mana, will have lots of good flowers.¡±


    Belissar nodded. He was still a bit worried about the Fairy Grove and how little they understood it. But he also knew that it was indeed full of magical power and conducive to flower growth, so it was time to take the leap. He may not have been willing to set his bees and the karnuq against each other, but he also knew that he needed to be willing to risk the bees a bit more than he was doing. Letting them settle the Fairy Grove before they fully understood it seemed like a good ce to start. For all its unknown potential dangers, it was still a part of his Tower.


    ¡°Got it. Are there any queens who would prefer to move there or should I raise new queens¡­¡±


    Belissar had hardly finished when themuner suddenly burst out into a rapid dance.


    ¡°Queen says can handle! Daughters want to move!¡±


    Belissar could only hope she was honest about that, and not just saying so to fulfill his request. Though, from how rapidly and happily themuner was dancing, he had a feeling she was telling the truth after all. Even if not, her sheer enthusiasm was enough to persuade Belissar.


    ¡°Got it, let¡¯s do that then. Next, I¡¯d like to hear about the status of the Tower overall. Which rooms need more flowers, which rooms have enough flowers, if any rooms could use more bees. Anything you think we could do to help the Tower grow faster.¡±


    The First of the Fifth paused beforeunching into a rapid, barely intelligible dance, punctuated with ¡°King best king!¡± dances at random points. Belissar held back a chuckle as he tried to focus in on the report.


    Belissar was not the only one discussing new ideas, however. At that very moment, Beero was dancing before one of themuners.


    ¡°Really? Will?¡±


    Themuner glowed a bit before replying.


    ¡°Third of the Sixth said of course! Will! Has plenty of honey now!¡±


    Beerounched into the most rapid gratitude dance she could perform, repeating it until themuner told her the Third of the Sixth needed to get back to work. With her help, Beero and herrades could try something new¡­and see if there was a new path to assisting the hive of hives.

 POBee 160.1 - A Beeros Trial

    POBee 160.1 - A Beero''s Trial


    As Belissar spoke with the First of the Fifth, Niobee suddenly flew before him.


    ¡°King! Beero doing something dangerous again. Should go?¡±


    Belissar nearly started walking towards the battle meadow shortcut before he caught himself. His face scrunched up and he crossed his arms. Eventually, he took a deep breath.


    ¡°¡­no, I¡¯ll stay here. Let the Second of the Sixth know to go and wait on standby. You should go and help her if she needs it, if you need my permission like with Metsaitti then you have it.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Belissar took another deep breath as Niobee flew off and resisted the urge to check in on Beero with his tower sight. He had <em>just</em> resolved to let the bees take more risks in the name of growth, so he could not go running off in a panic every time one was in danger. In this case, Beero and the wounded bees had taken risks before¡­and came out of it stronger than ever. If they were doing it again, then he had to allow it. It was exactly what his Tower needed right now.


    He decided to trust in Beero to pull through as she already had. He decided to trust in the Second of the Sixth to take care of her should it turn out badly. And he decided to trust in Niobee to render any assistance they needed and to call him if they needed his help specifically.


    He would trust his bees as they trusted him.


    So, he did his absolute best to focus on the First of the Fifth¡¯s report and put the risky situation out of his mind.He didn¡¯t do very well, but he did try.


    Beero stood before the stack of bright red honeb lying before the Memorial. The other wounded soldiers crowded around her. None of them could go any further of this, the heat emanating from the honeb enough to surpass their tolerance should they step any closer. This was honey made from the nectar of a fire mana flower, further processed by burning bees raised with fire mana honey themselves in the Lava Field where Fire mana flowed through the very ground and air. This was the honey that nearly brought down the mighty karnuq soldier before the Conduit and the King himself intervened.


    It would be battle simply to approach the honey.


    Beero stilled herself and took a step forward. Then another. And another. She kept crawling even as the heat burned her chitin armor. Her wings buzzed, involuntarily trying to spread cool air and counteract the heat, her lightning wings crackling as her mana began to surge through her.


    But she kept going.


    Perhaps it would have been wiser to let one of the others do this. Some of the newest wounded soldiers hadn¡¯t taken up the lightning yet and Beero didn¡¯t know if the lightning would y well with fire. Additionally, one of the Flower Meadow queens had also be a burning queen like the Third of the Sixth and was raising burning soldiers who would have Fire mana from the get go. Beero could simply leave fire to them, maybe even wee them into the Memorial squads if any of those soldiers were injured in future battles.


    But that wasn¡¯t Beero. She was no queen, carefully considering the future of the hive as a whole. She was no King, deciding the course of every hive all at once. She was no Conduit, who could see all that dwelt within the Tower like amuner connecting every hive.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    She was a soldier. Her job was to charge into danger to protect the hive, and now the hive of hives. So that is what she did.


    She pushed right up to the honey, stuck her proboscis in, and began to drink.


    She immediately felt her insides begin to burn as the fire tried to set her aze. She tried to pull it into the stream of lightning surging through her, but the fire and the lightning collided. The fire bounced off the lightning and spread through her body instead, burning her further. Soon, pain red in every corner of her body.


    But, well, Beero was used to it. It wasn¡¯t the first time she had felt this way. And she was not alone, either. Previously, she had to drink mana honey directly from the King¡¯s hand. But now, the Conduit had grown as well. Beero could feel as the mana of the Tower turned towards her, boosting her reserves and easing her pain.


    So, Beero set aside the pain and got to work. As with the ck lightning before, she tried to draw the fire into the flows of her mana and make it her own. She stopped the beating of her wings and instead began vibrating her whole body, trying to generate as much heat of her own as she could. Once again, she failed. The lightning and the fire repelled each other, preventing the fire from being drawn into her mana. It seemed she was already full with lightning.


    It was then that Beero had a simple thought that had somehow never urred to her before. What if¡­she tried to turn the lightning off?


    She had never considered it. The lightning had been made a part of her. If she let go of it, she thought it would overwhelm her once again. But¡­that was the ck lightning. The lightning that had long since faded. All the lightning coursing through her now was generated by her own body and mana. It obeyed her in other ways. Why not this one?


    And deep down, she was not a lightning bee. She knew because the Fourth of the Eight had be a shocking monster bee queen, now raising actual shocking bees born with lightning. Beero was still a normal soldier bee, just with lightning in her.


    So, for the first time ever, she tried to turn off the lightning. And to her surprise, it shut off, just like that. Her mana stopped producing lightning. It took a second or two for the remaining lightning to fade, but just like that she was back to a normal monster bee soldier.


    Or not. Her mana continued to flow at an elerated pace, looping outside of her body where her missing wings would have been. And now¡­it was once again regr mana. Regr mana that was open.


    Once again, she tried to draw the fire into the mana. And this time, it took. The fire began to stream into the flows of her mana and follow along with it. She siphoned it out of the various corners of her body to strengthen the stream, which became a zing river of fire surging along the path of her mana. And as it zed and flowed, her mana began to wrap around and infiltrate into it, as it had done with the ck lightning before. This time, it was far easier. Fire from honey did not fight her the way lightning from the shade did. And more than that, her mana was more powerful than it had been back then, and her skill at manipting it was far greater.


    Bit by bit, the fire began to be hers. Before long, her missing wings began to reappear, now made of zing fire instead of crackling lightning. Her new fire mana now spread throughout her body, stopping all remaining fires from burning her. It flooded through her proboscis, allowing her to take in more of the fire mana honey without further harm. It wrapped around her body, protecting her from the heat scorching her chitin.


    She had done it. She had brought fire into her body as she had with lightning¡­and changed her mana from one to the other. She withdrew her proboscis and stepped away from the honey. Herrades crowded around her, dancing countless questions, but she stopped them, and asked them to take some distance.


    Her idea had been a sess but there was still onest thing she wanted to test. As she stepped out of the ze, shemanded the fire to fade as she had with the lightning. As with the lightning, the fire quickly cut off.


    Then, shemanded the lightning to return. She needed to know if she still had it within her, or if the fire had reced it entirely.


    At first, nothing happened. The lightning had been with her for so long that she could barely imagine being without it. And since it had been forced on her by an enemy, she wasn¡¯t certain how to bring it back. She tried rubbing her legs against her hairs and beating her wings to generate tiny-lightnings, hoping they would help.


    And they did. The moment she felt a tiny lightning, she instantly remembered the feeling of lightning surging through her body. Her mana leapt to respond to hermand.


    A momentter, her lightning wings returned.


    And then a sh of light filled her vision and everything went dark.

 POBee 160.2 - Beeros Home

    POBee 160.2 - Beero''s Home


    Belissar fidgeted about as the First of the Fifth concluded her report. He may have¡­missed a few details here and there, but the general picture was that things were going well. The bees had reached begun foraging from all of the nts in the dungeon and were starting to produce several new types of honey as a result, while the gardeners believed some new Cross-Pollination results were just beyond the horizon. The one room that needed anything was the Fairy Grove and itsck of bees, but Belissar had already arranged to some bees to move there.


    His bees could and would grow well with the rooms and flowers they already had, it seemed. If he wished to promote their growth even further, he would need to introduce new elements into the equation.


    It was then that Niobee called for him.


    <em>¡°King! Look!¡±</em>


    Belissar spun his head as he shifted to his Tower sight and zoomed towards the Memorial. He found a glowing ball of light so bright he wouldn¡¯t have been able to look at it directly with his own eyes. Niobee and the wounded soldiers gathered around it. Beero was nowhere in sight.


    <em>¡°Niobee?! What¡¯s happening?! Where¡¯s Beero?!¡±</em>


    <em>¡°There!¡±</em>


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. Beero was¡­in the middle of that light? But just as fear began to clutch at his heart, the light exploded outward. Thanks to his Tower sight, Belissar was the first to see what had urred.


    A bee stood where the light had been, her body still glowing with a gradually fading light. She was a bit smaller than the normal soldiers, though still muchrger than the workers. Her chitin was sleek and seemed to shine in the light¡­until the lightpletely faded and revealed that small pulses of light asionally came from the chitin itself. Her antennae had grown fuzzy with many smaller hairs branching off of it, much like amuner¡¯s. Two pairs of shimmering wings extended from her back, colorful lights asionally pulsing through them as well.<em>A monster has evolved!</em>


    <em>Monster Bee Battlecaster is now avable!</em>


    Belissar¡¯s jaw dropped as he focused on the bee.


    <em>Monster Bee Battlecaster</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minor</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Below Average</em>


    <em>Defense: Minor</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Dance Casting, Basic Elemental Conversion, Group Cast, Mana Poison Sting, Death Blow, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 20 (10 with Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier</em>


    <em>Description: This monster bee soldier has learned to manipte its mana externally as well as to convert its attributes, the two foundational skills of magic, and so is able to learn and cast spells. While its mana reserves and spells are not that impressive individually, it has an innate ability to group cast with other Bee-type monsters, making it exceedingly dangerous in numbers. Evolved from a soldier, this bee is particrly focused onbat-rted spells and retains some of its previous physical capabilities as well. In addition to existing monster bee soldiers evolving, monster bee soldiers may now be raised as battlecasters, though this requires notably more resources from the hive.</em>


    Belissar opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally managing to send a message out.


    <em>¡°Beero? Is that you?¡±</em>


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred tform and support their work!


    For Beero, the light faded almost as soon as it came. She instinctively knew she had evolved, so she immediately set about exploring her new body. She found, for the most part, her body had not changed that dramatically. She was a little smaller, her chitin was sleeker, and her antennae were fuzzier, but she was all in all still a soldier bee.


    On the outside, that was.


    Inside, the river of mana flowing through her had be a roaring torrent. Moreover, that torrent now touched every part of her. Previously, the mana flows were restricted to specific parts of her body, and both the mana and her body itself would resist if she tried to make it go elsewhere. Now¡­the mana flowed through every corner of her body like nectar from a flower. Every inch of her body was a smooth channel allowing mana to pass through without any friction. The mana itself obeyed hermand as naturally as her legs, flowing wherever she willed. It went down to the tip of her stinger, then up to each of her legs, then through her head to her antennae, and then back to her wings¡­


    Beero frozepletely. The mana was flowing through her¡­wings?


    Not¡­empty air?


    She tilted her head back as high as it would go so her big eyes could nce behind her¡­and she saw it. <em>Two</em> pairs of wings, lightly glowing as her mana concentrated within them. She tried to beat them. Both pairs responded, letting her feel a light breeze on both sides of her chitin.


    She slowly, gingerly, extended her wings out, one pair on each side of her body. She slowly began to beat them, a low buzz beginning to sound as she gradually picked up speed. She barely remembered to breathe.


    Then¡­slowly¡­gradually¡­she began to lift off of the ground. She nearly froze as she felt all of her legs leave the ground and the weight of the world tug on her once more.


    She¡­was flying. For the first time since she had lost her wings, she was flying on her own power once more.


    And then she felt the King¡¯s gaze on her once more. Her antennae swayed as the Tower¡¯s mana swirled around her, allowing her to feel the currents like she never could before. She could feel his intent approach her before it even arrived.


    <em>¡°Beero? Is that you?¡±</em>


    She immediately began a confirmation and salute dance¡­which quickly turned into a rapid flight as she realized she could once again dance in the air. She zipped about, beating her wings as fast they could go as she once again felt the rush of the wind against her chitin. Her wings lit up as her mana surged through them, boosting her far beyond what it had done before. She flew and she looped and she dove and climbed again. For a brief moment, all thoughts left her mind.


    She could fly again! She had wings again!


    She flew until she grew exhausted andnded by the Memorial once again. The other wounded soldiers crowded around her and she answered each of their questions. Then, each and every one of them rushed to resume their magic practice. Once again, she had shown them that there was a way back.


    Once she had recovered a bit, she beat her wings and took to the skies once more. She could have done this next part viamuner, but she wanted to do this herself. So she lifted into the sky and flew straight towards the Bee Barracks. The soldier bees guarding the entrance started to block as a bee they had never seen approached, but Beero sent her mana forward, carrying both her mana signature and her pheromones. The guards rxed once they realized she was one of theirs.


    And so, she flew right into the Bee Barracks, taking it in for the first time. Rows upon rows of trays filled with honey and countless worker bees going about their business. Brood tenders taking care of the young, workers beating their wings to process the honey, new bees breaking out of their cells. For a brief moment, she paused and took in the sight.


    Once again, she sent up a mental dance to her sisters who had gone to join the Hive of All Bees. She was home. And she was once more ready to take up their ce in defense of the hive.


    She broke out of her thoughts and zipped through the hive, searching until she found the workers whose mana and pheromones matched her own. It proved surprisingly difficult, the mana and pheromones of mana different hives blended together in this ce. She could even see drones twisting the mana of the hives together, intentionally promoting this effect. She had no time to question it, though, for all of her thoughts centered on her task.


    Until, finally, she found her. Shended before thergest queen of them all. The oldest of the living, the Firstborn.


    Her queen.


    ¡°Queen mother!¡±


    Her queen paused her work as Beeronded in front of her and began to dance.


    ¡°Got better! Have wings again! Can join hive again!¡±


    Her queen stood still only for a moment before beginning to dance as well.


    ¡°Amazing! Incredible!¡±


    The two danced happily for a bit and Beero crawled over her queen. Now, all was well in the world.


    But her queen had other ideas.


    ¡°Is great! But need to go back to Memorial, ok?¡±


    Beero froze.


    ¡°Queen mother¡­doesn¡¯t want in hive?¡±


    Her queen gently brushed Beero¡¯s antennae.


    ¡°No, want. But Memorial needs guard. Other soldiers need help, need to evolve and get back wings. Hive of hives needs wounded soldiers¡¯ lightning stings. Beero helped in ways no other soldier can, has more important job now.¡±


    Beero paused to consider this, thoughts of her still woundedradesing to mind. Her queen continued.


    ¡°Beero still part of hive. Still was without wings too. All bees part of hive of hives, all bees work for King.¡±


    Beero slowly began a salute dance. Her queen began to groom her hairs.


    ¡°Beero cane to hive whenever she wants, though!¡±


    Beero paused, and then began to dance rapidly once more.


    ¡°Ok! Will! Queen is best queen!¡±


    Her queen stopped her, however.


    ¡°No, is hive of hives. All queens best queens. King who built is best king. And Beero is best Beero.¡±


    Beero spent a bit longer getting reacquainted with her old hive. And then, she left, flying back to the Memorial. Her home. Perhaps not the home she remembered, but the one that she and herrades had built.


    Her queen was right. Herrades needed her. The hive of hives needed her. And her fallen sisters in the Memorial should not be left alone.


    She had found a way back where none existed. And now she would show others the way, even as she zed new paths.


    For she was, and always had been, a soldier of the hive of hives.

 Chapter 161: Momentous Bee-cisions

    Chapter 161: Momentous Bee-cisions


    ¡°King! Everything ok?! King ok?! Hive of hives ok?!¡±


    Belissar snapped out of his daze thanks to the First of the Fifth flying frantically before his face. He shook his head and then quickly gave her a smile.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine! Better than fine, actually. Beero evolved and we have a new type of bee now. I¡¯m going to go check on her, if that¡¯s ok?¡±


    The First of the Fifth slowed down.


    ¡°New bee? Amazing, incredible! King can do whatever King chooses!¡±


    Belissar chuckled and reached up to let hernd in his hand.


    ¡°Thank you for your report, and your work. It really helps.¡±


    Heughed a bit as the First of the Fifth¡¯s near unintelligible happy dance tickled his hand.


    Afterwards, Belissar made his way to the Memorial. He smiled as he found Beero just returning from the Bee Barracks. His heart swelled as he watched her zip about in the air.¡°Hi Beero, congrattions on evolving and on getting your wings back. I¡¯m happy for you.¡±


    Beero responded by zipping circles around him, more reminiscent of the bumblebees than of any waggle dance. Belissarughed while he waited for her to calm down a bit.


    ¡°Now then, I had a question. Do you think the other wounded bees could evolve like you?¡±


    Beero turned to face the other bees. Her antennae swayed about and Belissar could see mana swirling in response. He waited while she did her thing, until eventually she started to dance.


    ¡°Oldest squad can. Newest squads need more mana, can¡¯t for now. Soldiers without lightning can¡¯t until get lightning, get mana, learn dance.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Got it. We¡¯ll get you some mana more mana honey, and anything else you think might help. Let¡¯s try to get the oldest squad evolved.¡±


    Beero immediately resumed zipping about.


    ¡°Ok! Will! King is best king!¡±


    Belissar smiled a bit, but it was a little strained this time. Because this time, it wasn¡¯t only for the wounded soldiers¡¯ sake that he was going to help them grow¡­


    Belissar frowned. He was standing next to Chief Rohsuak by the Bee Barracks for the day¡¯s purification. This time, they were facing a pack of four small wolf-shades.


    ¡°It¡¯s the wolf shades. They¡¯re slower than the cats, but their tails and fangs are pretty dangerous. And they can breathe out some sort of Hunger-mist. We probably need to pull the hunters back, they won¡¯t be able to dodge the breath in the tunnels.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin.


    ¡°How dangerous is the Hunger-mist?¡±


    Belissar grimaced as he forced himself to review unpleasant memories.


    ¡°It kills worker bees instantly. Soldier bees can survive it but can barely move afterwards.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°In that case, it should be fine. I¡¯ll let Metsaitti know what to expect, but I believe they should still face this foe.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s frown grew but Chief Rohsuak just smiled at him.


    ¡°We¡¯re a bit more durable than the soldier bees. And as a Tower¡¯s sworn defenders, we¡¯ll have a bit more resilience to the Hunger than normal. We can take a hit, and a good knock will be good for them.¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Belissar wasn¡¯t sure about that but decided Chief Rohsuak should know her hunters best, so they proceeded as normal. The wolf-shades made their way through the tunnels¡­slowly, as they fell into the pits here and there. The other shades would help the victim out of the pit each time, though the effects of the maddening honey began to tell over time. Eventually, four intoxicated wolf-shades stumbled into the final hallway where the karnuq were waiting. Metsaitti swung his hand forward.


    ¡°Loose!¡±


    Belissar blinked as the karnuq filled the four shades with arrows. Somehow, he had forgotten that was an option. The wolf-shades never got close. Chief Rohsuak shook her head and sighed.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to wait until next time for the knock.¡±


    Belissar silently nodded.


    After the celebration, Belissar gathered the bees and Chief Rohsuak once more. He invited Metsaitti and Beero to participate as well. He took a deep breath as all eyes waited on him.


    ¡°As you can see, Beero has evolved into a new kind of soldier bee. She also says her original squad should be able to evolve soon as well.¡±


    He turned to the First of the Fifth.


    ¡°Could you coordinate with her to provide them with any additional honey they might need? I¡¯d like to get them evolved as soon as possible. Second of the Sixth too, they¡¯ll need you on standby in case anything goes wrong.¡±


    Both the First of the Fifth and the Second of the Sixth danced immediate salute dances. Belissar nodded, though this time without a smile. He took another deep breath.


    ¡°Ok, good. Because once we have a squad of battlecasters, we¡¯re going to try another expansion.¡±


    This is what Belissar had resolved. The karnuq were now risking themselves in purifications to grow and working hard to learn beekeeping. The Orchard queens would now brave the Fairy Grove, while Beero and Metsaitti both challenged the fire honey to gain new powers. Belissar could not, therefore, hold off on the expansions any longer. His Tower needed to keep growing, and he needed to ept the risks¡­and possible sacrifices¡­required to do so. He shouldn¡¯t try to shield his bees from the Hunger if the Tower Lords would just crush them allter.


    Beero¡¯s evolution was the final push. A squad of battlecasters that could both fly and cast spells was too good to pass up if they could get one quickly¡­and would be a very good card to have against a new shade. So, once Beero¡¯s first squad followed after her, they¡¯d go for it. Between the battlecasters, the karnuq, and Metsaitti¡¯s new powers, they should have enough to handle something new.


    Hopefully.


    Beero immediately danced a salute, with the bee queens following along. Metsaitti saluted as well in karnuq fashion.


    ¡°We¡¯re ready to fight, Tower Keeper Belissar.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smirked.


    ¡°Indeed. Metsaitti here¡¯s really excited to try his new powers, so please let him fight if you have the chance.¡±


    Metsaitti flushed and looked away as Chief Rohsuak giggled. Belissar even allowed himself to smile slightly. He could only hope it would go that well¡­


    The Firstborn flew forward as the King finished the meeting for the night. She wouldn¡¯t be long, they had much to do to prepare for the King¡¯s new battle, but her task was important.


    ¡°Have proposal for hive of hives. Memorial bees should be considered as new hive, special hive. Beero should be considered as queen. Hive of hives should give honey, workers, soldiers. Beero should join in queen meetings.¡±


    Beero froze and turned to stare at her as she finished her dance. This was why she had not taken Beero back into her hive. Because, ultimately, Beero was too important. It was she who discovered how bees could use magic, and so brought an entirely new dimension to the soldier bee army. It was she who discovered how wounded bees could still fight. It was she who had found not one but now two evolutions that both urred without special flowers. The first being when the magic honey she made helped the Fourth of the Eight to be a shocking monster bee queen. And now, when she herself had be an entirely new type of soldier bee, and created a way for wounded soldiers to heal themselves in the process. The King himself was set tounch a new expansion all off the back of Beero¡¯s achievements.


    Beero was no mere soldier bee at this point, and the bees she led now had their own unique ce in the hive of hives. The Firstborn felt it was now time to acknowledge what had already been true for a while, especially now that the wounded soldiers would start regaining their wings and might otherwise try to disperse back to their original hives. For Beero had already formed them into a new hive, not out of queens and drones and brood, but out of the sheer will of the soldiers to protect the hive of hives no matter the cost.


    A more fitting guardian for the Memorial the Firstborn could not imagine. Nor a more fitting bee to call her equal, if not her superior.


    The First of the Fifth responded first.


    ¡°King already invited Beero to meeting of queens. Already considers important, gave name like Conduit and Oracle. Bees should too.¡±


    Beero spun about as the other queens began to agree as well. She began a bunch of unintelligible and uncoordinated, though vaguely negative steps. But the Firstbornnded by her and brushed their antennae together.


    ¡°Beero has done well. Keep protecting hive of hives as already have.¡±


    Beero looked at her for a moment before slowly beginning a salute.


    ¡°As queen mothermands. Will work hard.¡±


    The Firstborn, though, danced the negative.


    ¡°No, as Beero decides, and as Kingmands.¡±


    The Firstborn stepped back and danced to the First of the Fifth. The two danced between each other before the First of the Fifth finally conceded and took the lead.


    ¡°Beero already named by King, so will call Beero. But will also have title of First Queen of the Memorial, the first of her line, in case Memorial gets more queens. All agree?¡±


    All the queens agreed. Beero could only stand still, fighting back the urge to salute as a soldier should.


    And so, the queens of the hive of hives weed the First Queen of the Memorial, the first of her line, the queen who was not a queen into their ranks.

 POBee 161.1 - An Incon-Bee-vable Hive

    POBee 161.1 - An Incon-Bee-vable Hive


    The next day, Belissar found himself surrounded by beehouses. He walked through them, rubbing his chin. He looked through each and every one, pulling out a tray from each. They were all different shapes and sizes, mostly all rough around the edges. But still, Belissar nodded. He turned to face the karnuq beekeepers¡¯ ss, all of them staring at him silently.


    He gave them a smile.


    ¡°This should do, at least as far as I¡¯m concerned. The true test will be if the bees like them. Are you ready for that?¡±


    The karnuq all saluted.


    ¡°Yes, Tower Keeper!¡±


    Belissar nodded in approval.


    ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll go get the first one.¡±


    With that, Belissar departed from the karnuq vige and walked over to an inhabited corner of their Flower Meadow. Once there, he ced a new monster bee queen spawner. He waited while the tree with a beehive built itself, and then a new monster bee queen crawled out of the hive. She shook herself off and began looking around, freezing once she turned towards him. She then took off into the air and began a salute dance before him. Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Hello, and wee to the Tower. This one would be the ninth spawner so¡­First of the Ninth?¡±He turned to Niobee for thetter question and she danced the confirmation.


    ¡°Yes! First Queen of First Dynasty of Ninth Spawner!¡±


    Belissar nodded before turning back to the new queen.


    ¡°First of the Ninth, I have a special request for you.¡±


    The First of the Ninth flew a single salute dance and then gave him her full attention.


    ¡°Over that way, you¡¯ll find the karnuq settlement, and a bunch of beehouses they tried to make. I¡¯d like you to look them over and, if you like any of them, to make your hive in the best one. I¡¯ll upgrade it into a Tower feature once you decide. But, if none of them are to your liking, then let me know and I¡¯ll have them make some more.¡±


    The First of the Ninth quickly saluted. Belissar smiled and continued.


    ¡°Also¡­I¡¯d like you and your hive to act mostly like normal bees towards the karnuq. Make sure you don¡¯t kill any of them, but your workers can sting them if they do something you don¡¯t like.¡±


    She saluted once more. This was Belissar¡¯s n to help the karnuq learn beekeeping as the God of Bees wished. The augur had mentioned that true challenge was important when raising Tower Guards, but beekeeping had been entirely too easy now that Belissar had magical monster bees he could talk to directly. So, for those karnuq learning beekeeping, Belissar decided to give them a more realistic experience. Within reason, he didn¡¯t want any tragedies urring between bee and karnuq, but he also wanted them to experience beekeeping when the bees weren¡¯t magically cooperative.


    So, the first step would be if they could make beehouses that a bee queen would choose to settle in. Belissar was about to send the First of the Ninth off when Niobee began to dance.


    ¡°King! Should introduce to Velebee?¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened just a bit.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a good idea. Right, let¡¯s introduce you to the queen already living here, and then you can check out the beehouses. Alright?¡±


    The new queen saluted once more. Belissar set off with her in tow¡­


    Velebee watched as new workers crawled out of their cells, brushing antennae with the older workers watching over them.


    At first, she had thought she¡¯d have to hold off on raising more brood until what workers she had left could forage enough honey¡­and winter was fast approaching, so she thought she might have to wait until spring. But it turned out the Hive-Builder had grown far more than she had anticipated. His hives were no longer simple fortresses, they were magic. She was more than little surprised when her workers reported she already had honey stockpiles by the end of the first day. On closer observation, she found the hive itself was spontaneously filling empty cells by some magical means.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    And then, the next day, <em>she</em> arrived.


    Her second day in this hive, Velebee had found herself cowering as a hit squad of gigantic soldier bees flew over her hive. She knew it had been too good to be true, this room was not beyond the reach of the giants after all. And would they allow her, but a humble honeybee, to take possession of a magical hive such as this one?


    She knew she wouldn¡¯t have, had their positions been reversed.


    So it was to her great surprise that, as she trembled, a queennded before her, and ordered her soldiers to drop a full tray of honey right in front of her hive. The queen said something about hives of hives or something like that, Velebee had been too frightened to pay much attention.


    And then the queen had left, leaving the honey behind and Velebee thoroughly confused. What sort of queen just¡­left their honey outside a rival¡¯s home? She had sent out workers to check it out¡­and they had not been ambushed by angry defenders. She simply couldn¡¯tprehend what that ¡°First of the Fifth¡¯s¡± intentions were.


    And then she found out that the honey was magical, stocked to the brim with mana like the honey her Niobee had once made. If she wasn¡¯t mistaken, this honey had more mana than even Niobee¡¯s did.


    Velebee had spent the rest of the day in anguish. If she hadn¡¯t been mistaken, honey like this would have allowed her to raise a full generation of Niobees and push her hive to heights she never could have imagined before. And yet¡­was it a trap? Why exactly had that First of the Fifth just left her honey here? Did the First of the Fifth intend to use her of robbing and wipe out her hive? But then¡­why wouldn¡¯t she have just wiped them out to start with?


    Well, while Velebee had been pondering her workers had been working and since she hadn¡¯t told them otherwise they moved the new honey into the hive, leaving Velebee despairing as to what would happen next.


    And then the First of the Fifth had returned the day after¡­and left <em>another</em> tray of magical honey in front of her hive.


    Velebee had thought long on this and spoken with her Niobee on the matter, for she simply couldn¡¯tprehend what was going on. Niobee had exined, then, what was meant by ¡°hive of hives.¡± All the bees here belonged to the Hive Builder and all worked on his behalf. Therefore, they considered all bees that belonged to the Hive Builder as one hive, and acted as such.


    That didn¡¯t seem possible to Velebee. The queens that lived in the Hive-Builder¡¯s hives before had shown no particr inclination to cooperate with one another, Velebee included. How was it possible that these bees had put aside their innate rivalry?


    And yet, here she was, not being stung to death by mystical giants. And now, Velebee was watching as new workers crawled out of their cells, raised not on the work of her brood but on honey freely given to her by hives that should have been her rivals and her doom. Workers that possessed the spark of mana within them, new Niobees to take care of her hive while her Niobee took care of the Hive-Builder and all his hives.


    This hive of hives thing was inconceivable¡­but if it was real then maybe it wasn¡¯t a bad thing.


    ¡°Hello, Velebee?¡±


    Velebee dropped everything, though, as she heard the Hive-Builder¡¯s voice calling her name. She flew out to find the Hive-Builder and her Niobee once more. She danced happily with her favored worker, before rushing to greet the Hive-Builder and thank him for the magical hive he had granted her.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee, I¡¯m d you like it. Also, there¡¯s someone I¡¯d like to introduce to you.¡±


    Velebee then realized that the Hive-Builder and her Niobee weren¡¯t alone. There, flying alongside them, was another queen. Not a giant this time, this queen was barelyrger than Velebee herself. But the queen was packed full of mana just like all the others, so Velebee had no illusions as to her identity. This was one of the magical giants, maybe a young one who had yet to grow.


    ¡°This is the First of the Ninth, she¡¯ll be living near the karnuq with you.¡±


    Velebee froze. The magical giants¡­were moving in? This ce wouldn¡¯t be hers after all? Her hive wouldn¡¯t be safe here either? Had that been the reason? Had the First of the Fifth been fattening her hive up so that a new giant could devour them?


    While her mind was racing, the Hive-Builder turned to her Niobee.


    ¡°Niobee, normally the oldest queen is in charge of a given room, do I have that right?¡±


    ¡°Oldest and most developed hive!¡±


    The Hive-Builder nodded.


    ¡°Got it. In that case, First of the Ninth, this is Velebee. One of my queens from before the Tower, Oracle of the God of Bees, and Niobee¡¯s mom. She¡¯s been living here a few days now, and I guess will be the main queen for this room if you have any issues.¡±


    Velebee recoiled as the young giant flew before her and then started to dance. No doubt a smug deration of her hives demise¡­


    Velebee froze. If she wasn¡¯t mistaken¡­the giant was¡­saluting to her? The young giant repeated her salute dance several times so Velebee could <em>not</em> be mistaken. Her Niobee thennded by her and began brushing her antennae.


    ¡°Queen mother ok?¡±


    ¡°Niobee, magic giant not eating hive?¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Magic giant¡­saluting?¡±


    ¡°Yes! King said! Queen mother in charge of room, other bees will follow!¡±


    Velebee barely managed to move her antennae.


    ¡°Magic giant¡­following¡­me?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Velebee stared at the young queen that would one day dwarf her, who instead of stinging her to death was repeatedly saluting. She looked at the Hive-Builder, who could now build magical hives that made their own honey. She considered the First of the Fifth just handing her magical honey for seemingly no reason.


    This hive of hives thing just got more and more inconceivable. But more and more¡­she was feeling that maybe it was real, and the bees here really weren¡¯tpeting with one another. And if that were true¡­then maybe the giants wouldn¡¯t be so frightening after all¡­

 Side Story 161.2 - A Bee-carious Quest

    Side Story 161.2 - A Bee-carious Quest


    The light of the sun filtered down the canopy of a warm forest. The canopies of the trees, the shrubs and the bushes, and the ground itself were all covered in flowers of every shape, size, and color. The air was filled with the singing of birds and the buzzing of bees. Bees, butterflies, and pollinators of every sort flew from flower to flower.


    In the midst of it all, Tarwantrad stood before a beehouse, carefully carved from the finest wood with flower designs adorning the walls. She smiled as she removed the roof and gently lifted one of the trays, watching the bees crawl all over the honeb and each other. She took her time looking over each brood cell she could find. Her smile grew as the queen flew out and danced a salute to her.


    ¡°You are enjoying the new home?¡±


    The queen danced her confirmation. Tarwantrad and the queen then red their mana slightly, moving the worker bees out of the path of the tray so that Tarwantrad could gently return it to its ce.


    Belissar¡¯s Beehouse. That was a human name, if Tarwantrad wasn¡¯t mistaken, and that had made her deeply suspicious at first. Tarwantrad hadn¡¯t met one personally, but all the lore and the histories agreed that humans were wasteful, arrogant, and shortsighted, and had no respect or affection for the world around them. What sort of human would have ever taken the time and attention to make their bees happy?


    But apparently this beehouse was approved by the God of Bees, so Tarwantrad gave it a chance. The results were¡­surprising. The trays were a neat and well-designed feature, allowing her to observe the inside of the hive without disrupting or destroying its structure. They had been carefully spaced from one another at the exact distance that the bees wouldn¡¯t fill the gaps with either propolis or wax, allowing her to continue moving them and allowing air and bees to move through the hive with ease. Well, that would be a disadvantage during cold weather but worked well in the heat, and Tarwantrad could see spaces that could be stuffed with furs, cloths, or other linings to inste if necessary.


    For a human¡¯s work, it wasn¡¯t bad. The precise spacing of the trays told of close observations and continuous adjustments that must have taken a long time to work out, a kind of care and patient effort she would not have expected from someone so mortal. And more, the trays could be removed without damaging the rest of the hive, thus allowing a beekeeper to gather honey without destroying the hivepletely. Tarwantrad did not gather much honey from her bees herself, but she could appreciate the desire to do so while keeping the harm to the bees at a minimum.


    Most of all, the bees seemed to like them. As did the God of Bees, enough to name this feature for a human. So, if there was ever a human she would have liked to meet, it would have been this Belissar, should they still live.


    Tarwantrad wrapped up her work on this hive and started preparing to tend to the flowers all around when she was suddenly interrupted.<em>New mission received: Find and visit the first Bee dungeon</em>


    Tarwantrad¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°There¡¯s¡­a bee dungeon?¡±


    She had to go and see this, even if she hadn¡¯t been granted a mission from her patron to do so. She shouted across her dungeon as only a dungeon master could.


    ¡°Nrling, I¡¯m going out! You¡¯re in charge until I get back!¡±


    <em>¡°Ok.¡±</em>


    With her dungeon safely in the hands of her assistant, Tarwantrad raced to the nearest shortcut, her mind racing even faster than her body. Her stride slowed down, however, as she almost immediately ran into an issue.


    Where, exactly, should she begin searching for the bee dungeon?


    She knew withplete certainty that no bee dungeon existed in thends of the fair peoples, at least none who participated in the Calwaskon Compact, if for no other reason that she would not forgive anyone who knew of such a thing and had not informed her. No dungeon was kept secret among the Compact to begin with, she should have met any such dungeon master herself at the dungeon fair if nothing else.


    So, that would mean she would need to venture into the darknds beyond the realm of the fair. She knew not if anything even remained out there besides the Hunger, so she had no idea where to begin her search. She would have to confer with the loremasters, or perhaps the wardens?


    Tarwantrad was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she nearly collided with someone trying to enter her dungeon. She jumped back and apologized, then looked at the woman who she nearly collided with. Another woman like herself, dressed in colorful garments adorned with flowers, and a crown of flowers in her hair.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Oh, hello Almablom, are you here to visit my gardens again?¡±


    Almablom shook her head with an amused grin.


    ¡°No, actually, I¡¯m here to see you.¡±


    Tarwantrad tilted her head.


    ¡°Me? Not that I¡¯m not happy to see you but I was just about to run out.¡±


    Almablom smirked at her.


    ¡°For your mission?¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    Almablom¡¯s face took on a serious expression.


    ¡°Because I have received an oracle from the God of Flowers specifically for you. She has given met a set of directions for you, as well as a warning. You are not to seek the aid of any other dungeon master on your quest, particrly from your fire friend.¡±


    Tarwantrad tilted her head.


    ¡°Urubran? Well, I suppose he would not be as excited about this as I.¡±


    She shook her head and then grinned.


    ¡°In any case, thank you, Almablom. Now I know exactly where to go.¡±


    Almablom leaned in.


    ¡°If you¡¯re really grateful, tell me what the mission is! This is the most specific and direct oracle I¡¯ve ever received! The most specific and direct one I think anyone has ever received, ever! You <em>have</em> to tell me what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Tarwantrad grinned at her.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to find the bees.¡±


    ¡°Give up your quest now.¡±


    Tarwantrad stepped back as if pped as the loremaster red at her. She and Almablom stood in dry hall, every inch of wall or free space upied by shelves filled with books and scrolls. The loremaster appeared as a man as young and fair as either of them, but with a piercing gaze that held more knowledge and memories than they would ever obtain. That gaze was now turned to her with all the force the loremaster could bring to bear, on that would brook no argument as the loremaster rose to his full height and towered over her.


    And yet, Tarwantrad regained herself and stepped forward, ring back at the loremaster.


    ¡°I will not. And why should I?¡±


    The loremaster continued to re down at her.


    ¡°That path is entirely too dangerous and filled with evil. It is folly to attempt and I will not see you throw away your life. We cannot afford it.¡±


    Tarwantrad gritted her teeth.


    ¡°And how do you know? You have not even checked the map!¡±


    The loremaster slowly shook his head.


    ¡°Because, young dungeon master, I do not need to. I know the path you have described; I have walked it before in the days before your birth. The directions you have given me would lead you inside the old borders of the fallen human kingdoms, the firstnds to fall to the Hunger. I doubt anything could still survive there. And I would fear greatly anything that did.¡±


    Tarwantrade clenched her hands into fists down at her sides.


    ¡°Still, I cannot give up. This is a mission from my patron, loremaster. There is a dungeon there I must find.¡±


    The loremaster didn¡¯t flinch.


    ¡°And? Who would take you there, dungeon master? What army could push back the endless tides of the Hunger that bar your path? Even if you could find one how would you convince them to go and die for your cause? Or do you intend to go yourself? Do you hope to sneak past the all-consuming corruption that infects every stone and twig along your route? No, young dungeon master, this is not the inside of your patron¡¯s domain, where the very air is full of her power. Where every monster and animal and tree and the very ground itself obeys yourmand. It will not go as you wish. And if you go, you will be torn to shreds, and we will be down a dungeon master even as our wards weaken by the day. You shall do no such thing.¡±


    Almablom frowned and spoke up as Tarwantrad and the loremaster continued to re at each other.


    ¡°Loremaster, that may be true, but I can confirm that these directions were given to Tarwantrad directly by the God of Flowers. Surely that bears consideration?¡±


    The loremaster turned his gaze to her.


    ¡°Yes, young oracle, you can confirm the God of Flowers has a significant interest in this matter. But you should know as well as I that the gods have their own agendas, and do not always take our circumstances into consideration when pursuing them. It is, therefore, up to us to consider those circumstances and decide if and when a task is feasible. In this case, it is clearly not, unless the God of Flowers has told you something I know not?¡±


    Almablom wilted under his gaze.


    ¡°She¡­has not.¡±


    The loremaster waved them off.


    ¡°Then go and think on this matter no further. If you must, consider how you may change our circumstances to make it possible. The first of which would be to strengthen the faltering defenses of the Compact. That should be your primary concern in any case, dungeon master. No other task takes priority.¡±


    Tarwantrad red at him once more but left without another word. Then she paused, and turned, heading towards another shelf. Almablom raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°So, what are you going to do now, Tarwantrad?¡±


    Tarwantrad shrugged as she pulled a scroll from the shelf.


    ¡°As the loremaster said. Consider our circumstances.¡±


    Almablom frowned.


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯d like to fulfill our god¡¯s request as much as you but you heard the man. He might be old and cranky, but he¡¯s not wrong. If this dungeon of yours is anywhere near the fallen human kingdoms, then there¡¯d be a <em>lot</em> of Hunger to get through.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded.


    ¡°And I do not intend to.¡±


    Almablom raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°But you don¡¯t intend to quit?¡±


    Tarwantrad shook her head and then made a small smile.


    ¡°The God of Flowers may not have considered our circumstances first and foremost, but you and I both agree that she very much wants this quest fulfilled. If that is the case, surely there must be a way within our grasp. I do not think she would give us directions as specific as she did if they were impossible for us to use.¡±


    Almablom nced around at the shelves.


    ¡°And you think the answer is here?¡±


    Tarwantrad shrugged once more and narrowed her eyes as she opened up a scroll.


    ¡°Whether it is or not, I intend to leave no stone unturned. I will find the bees, if it is within my power to do so.¡±


    And so, Tarwantrad began to review the ancient lore of her people, searching for a way to travel a path long and fraught with peril¡­

 Chapter 162: Aspiring to Bee

    Chapter 162: Aspiring to Bee


    After greeting Velebee, Belissar walked over to the new beehouses the karnuq had built, with all his beekeeping students fidgeting about. He nodded at them.


    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s see how you did.¡±


    He sent a silentmand over to the First of the Ninth. She flew into the area, flying above the beehouses. She crawled inside a few of them, spending about a minute inside each one before flying to the next. She crawled into one final one, spending a minute inside¡­and then another, and another. The karnuq all held their breath, waiting for her to exit, but she did not.


    Belissar walked over to one of them and gave her a smile.


    ¡°Congrattions, it seems she likes your beehouse.¡±


    The karnuq in question grinned and pumped her fists into the air. The other karnuq congratted her as best they could, though Belissar could tell their smiles were a bit strained.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry if she didn¡¯t pick yours today, everyone. Another queen will be born tomorrow, so you¡¯ll have another chance. Try to improve your houses as best you can until then.¡±


    The other karnuq nodded and then each moved to begin reworking their beehouses. Meanwhile, Belissar upgraded the First of the Ninth¡¯s home to an official beehouse feature, nodding towards the new karnuq beekeeper.


    ¡°Let¡¯s give her some time to get her hive up and running, and then I¡¯ll show you how to care for the hive¡­and collect the honey.¡±The new beekeeper grinned and nodded at that. Belissar smiled back as he watched the First of the Ninth drink up some of the magically generated honey and begin toy her first worker eggs. A new bee queen had found a home, and a karnuq had taken the most important step towards bing at true beekeeper. He couldn¡¯t wait to let Chief Rohsuak know of the sess¡­once she returned from her own mission that day.


    Chief Rohsuak marched through the Underway, escorted by Metsaitti, Leijaliuk, a group of hunters, and a couple of digging worker bees. The Tower Keeper informed her that soldiers of that variety were now avable, but Chief Rohsuak declined to bring them along. It would not do to let the sigmaka learn of <em>all</em> their tricks.


    Chief Rohsuak chuckled as she watched Metsaitti nce around far more than usual, his grip on his spear tightening and loosening repeatedly. Ah, she remembered the days when she had just received a new blessing...and wanted nothing more than to test it out.


    Unfortunately for him, the group encountered no threats by the time they reached the rotcap field. A group of sigmaka were waiting at the edge of it and came to greet them, Second Queen Berbiya at their head. The sigmaka woman smiled but it seemed a little strained to the chief.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to see you. I must admit, we were growing a bit anxious when we didn¡¯t hear from you. I was under the impression you wished to conduct the first trade earlier than this?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°I apologize for that. We have been distracted recently, with the attack on the Tower and all.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You were attacked? You and the Sacred Den both?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled.


    ¡°Just a scouting party, and it was defeated with minimal trouble.¡±


    Then she dropped her smile as she looked the Second Queen in the eye.


    ¡°However, they represent a muchrger empire controlling many Sacred Dens, and we have been warned they will return in force one day. You had best inform your king and make preparations as you can, they are apparently not fond of beastkin.¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Second Queen Berbiya frowned at that, but Chief Rohsuak returned to smiling.


    ¡°Well, that is outside of our present business. Shall we proceed with the trade?¡±


    <em>y absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. y is now avable.</em>


    <em>Rotcap absorbed.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Rotcap is now avable.</em>


    Belissar tried to absorb some of the honeydew and silk the sigmaka offered, but the Tower didn¡¯t offer to absorb either. He guessed for the honeydew he would need the aphids rather than the product? As for silk¡­he wasn¡¯t sure how that was made, but maybe it was an animal product as well?


    ¡°Is that it?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°The first trade was a small affair, but I believe they will expand their selection in the future.¡±


    Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, y is helpful enough, right? Not sure what to do with the rotcap, though.¡±


    She gave him a smile.


    ¡°If you ced it in the first floor Dirt Tunnels, it would be most displeasing to any uninvited guests.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°I guess, but would that work on a shade?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head.


    ¡°Most likely not, but shades are not the only threat we¡¯re worried about.¡±


    Belissar could only nod at that.


    ¡°True. Well, did they say anything about the Tower Lords? Maybe sending challengers or something?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head.


    ¡°Nothing yet.¡±


    Belissar sighed.


    ¡°Got it. Well, let me know if they do.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak gave him a salute.


    ¡°Of course, Tower Keeper.¡±


    They had agreed it would be best to inform the sigmaka about the threat of the Tower Lords. Belissar had hoped the sigmaka might help, even just sending challengers to try and grow stronger on their own would speed up his Tower¡¯s growth. But Chief Rohsuak had convinced him only to inform them of the threat at first so that they could gauge the sigmaka¡¯s reaction to the news.


    That felt like a waste of time to Belissar in a situation where time could be of the essence, but Chief Rohsuak pointed out they couldn¡¯t appear too worried. The sigmaka needed to believe that Belissar himself believed he could win, or else they would either flee or possibly even try to ally with the Tower Lords. Belissar didn¡¯t like all that, but this sort of thing was why he wanted Chief Rohsuak¡¯s help with all this to begin with, so he followed her lead as far as diplomacy was concerned.


    Instead, he focused on what he could do. He added some y deposits to the karnuq floor¡¯s Dirt Tunnels, then returned home to the Apiary farmhouse. He took out a tray of healing herb honey, took a deep breath, and then began to feast upon it.


    He had been training his magic on a daily basis, but still was limited to just making honey, wax, propolis, or mana stingers. Nothing that Beero and her wounded soldiers couldn¡¯t do, certainly nothing on the level of Chief Rohsuak. And he now knew from Beero and Metsaitti¡¯s experiences that there was far more to this magic than he had found so far.


    So, it was time he took a stab at it himself. Both Beero and Metsaitti grew by eating burning mana honey, so would he. Well, not burning mana honey specifically, since the Third of the Sixth had already donated a lot of her production recently. However, he generally only ate the regr mana honey for his meals, so he had plenty more types to try with.


    After seeing Metsaitti nearly burn to death, though, he decided to take it slow and try the medicinal mana honey first. Surely this one wouldn¡¯t result in a painful, fiery death¡­he hoped.


    He felt the honey as it passed down, his throat tingling from the medicinalpounds within. He could feel as well the mana of the honey pass into his body, searching for wounds and illnesses to address. Instead, though, he tried to do what Beero had said she did. He pushed his own mana to wrap around the mana spreading from the honey and join its flow.


    At first the mana just collided and pushed the medicinal mana away, causing it to dissipate. He frowned, but did not attempt the same thing again. Instead, he thought to Beero and Metsaitti¡¯s experiences¡­and realized there was one thing he was missing.


    ¡°Hey, Niobee, could you help me with this mana? I¡¯m trying to do what Beero did.¡±


    ¡°Ok! Will!¡±


    Niobee happilynded on his head and began dancing around, directing the Tower¡¯s mana into Belissar¡¯s body. He felt the mana reach for his own and the medicinal honey¡¯s, guiding them together. He closed his eyes and tried to let them. Of course, how could he try to learn bee magic without the help of bees?


    He was reminded of something Chief Rohsuak once told him, that to grow in his magic he should reflect upon the nature of his blessing. So, as Niobee tried to assist, he thought about bees. He imagined his mana not like a flow of water, but as a swarm of little bees, each onepping up some of the medicinal mana like honey and then carrying it where the hive needed it to go. He imagined them flying it outside of his body and storing it in a honeb of mana out in the air.


    He opened his eyes to find that honeb above his hand, dripping bluish-green medicinal honey made from pure mana.


    ¡°King did it! King is best king!¡±


    He grinned as he reached up to brush Niobee.


    ¡°<em>We</em> did it. You and I, working together, as any good hive should.¡±

 Chapter 163: Bee-suming Expansion

    Chapter 163: Bee-suming Expansion


    Belissar practiced his magic until it was time for the next purification. There were two small bird shades this time, but karnuq archers took down one in the tunnels and the bee army surrounded and dealt with the other when it reached the Flower Meadow.


    The next morning Belissar practiced his magic again, seeing if he could replicate the healing herb honey without actually drinking said honey. It took him a couple of tries but eventually he got it right. Now, he¡¯d be much more helpful when trying to save wounded bees.


    It still wouldn¡¯t help much in battle, but it was a step in the right direction. More than one right step, even, as Belissar felt that imagining his mana as a swarm of bees just¡­fit better, forck of a more descriptive exnation. Like that was the right way to grow further in his magic.


    After that, Belissar popped over to the karnuq floor to greet the newest queen. He introduced the newly born Second of the Ninth to Velebee, gave the new queen her instructions, and then headed over to the budding karnuq Apiary. The aspiring beekeepers all watched the Second of the Ninth intently as she examined theirtest work, while Belissar took the one sessful beekeeper over to the First of the Ninth¡¯s hive.


    ¡°Regr bees normally need a few days to start hatching, but monster bees do so overnight, so we should be able to check the hive now.¡±


    The karnuq¡¯s eyes sparkled as they walked over to the hive, noting worker bees already conducting their orientation flights to memorize the way home. Belissar lifted the roof and pulled out one of the trays.


    ¡°Here, you can see some of the brood cells. We mostly let the bees do their thing, but there are some things you should take note of. Look closely for any signs of parasites or intruders, or for eggs that seem too small for their cells. Or if you see them building a bigger cell outside of the normalb, that normally means their raising a new queen and getting ready to split¡­¡±


    Belissar had taught all the aspiring beekeepers this before, but reviewed with the new beekeeper now that she had a hive of her own. He then instructed her to wait a few days before attempting to gather honey. Well, technically the beehive feature was making honey on its own that she could have taken, but Belissar felt it better to let the bees use that honey to kickstart the growth of the hive.


    He heard another karnuq cheer as the Second of the Ninth chose her home. He congratted the new beekeeper and promised to teach him everything he taught the first once his hive raised its first workers. He then wrapped up the lesson with some feedback for the beehouses that weren¡¯t chosen, and went on his way.Now, he made his way down the Memorial, where Beero, Niobee, and the Second of the Sixth were working to evolve more battlecasters. He found one squad waiting by the burning honey while one of their number imitated Beero¡¯s feat, while the newer wounded soldiers were all drinking from a tray of regr mana honey or practicing the lightning stinger spell.


    Belissar was about to greet them when one of the soldiers began drinking burning honey. He stayed silent and watched as Beero led the soldier through the process, while Niobee directed the Tower¡¯s mana to assist and the Second of the Sixth kept an eye on the soldier¡¯s health. The soldier¡¯s lightning wing faded away, and was slowly reced by fire. Then the fire faded and was slowly reced by lightning once more, at which point the soldier was wrapped in a cocoon of light. She emerged as a fully formed battlecaster a momentter and promptly took off into the sky, zipping across the air on her restored wings as Beero had.


    Belissar smiled and slowly withdrew without drawing their attention. He hade to see how things were going, and now he had his answer. Three battlecasters had already evolved, so Beero seemed to have the process figured out. It seemed they¡¯d have a full battlecaster squad soon enough.


    And indeed, before the day was over, Beero was leading a squad of battlecasters as they danced together in the air. They formed a lightning stinger that shot down from the sky, striking the ground like a true thunderbolt.


    Which meant that tomorrow, Belissar would attempt another expansion.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the tform they originally published on.


    The next day, after greeting the new Third of the Ninth, everyone went to gather in the battle meadow. Belissar moved the Lava Field in between the Dirt Tunnels and Flower Meadow, and then looked over the forces they had assembled.


    The bee army was gathered once again, their formations and movements growing ever moreplex. Bumblebee soldiers hovered at the front of soldier bee formations, ready to lead the way. Lancers hung high above the army, positioned so that the sun would blind anyone looking for them. Beero and her battlecaster squad waited at the center of the army, ready to dance at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Additionally, two new squads were ready to join the fray. A squad of bright red burning soldiers mingled into the formation, the first soldiers of the Lava Field hives. On the ground was a squad of squat, brown soldiers with especially thick mandibles. The first digging soldier squad dug down into the ground, burrowing under the surface with their abdomens angled upward.


    Soon, the bee army would extend its reach into the Dirt Tunnels and the Lava Field. For today, the bees had decided to keep the new soldiers with the main army since there were only a few of each. But even still, the burning soldiers added a new kind of venom to the mix, while the digging soldiers could present a nasty surprise to anyone who only looked up.


    Finally was Metsaitti leading the karnuq hunters, with Chief Rohsuak on standby next to Belissar. The karnuq stood ready to face a shade directly should the situation call for it.


    Belissar took a deep breath.


    ¡°Everyone ready?¡±


    The bees all saluted as one, while Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti gave him a nod.


    <em>Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small+.</em>


    <em>Expansion purification attemptmencing.</em>


    Belissar did his best to ignore the chill of the Hunger and focused all his attention on the gate. If the shade was one better handled in the Dirt Tunnels, he¡¯d have to move the Lava Field out of the way quickly.


    At first, Belissar furrowed his brow. Every time before this, the expansion shade had been dramatically different from all who came before it. But not this time. This time, the shade was familiar from the start, as yet another smander began to take shape and crawl across the ground.


    At least until its back began to form. This time, the smander was no smooth and moist amphibian, nor was it wrapped in mes as before. This time, it was covered from head to tail in short, needle-like spines. The end of its tail ttened like a spade, and the spines grew especially dense on the t surface.


    <em>Expansion purification begun. Remaining hostiles: 1</em>


    ¡°Smander, but covered in spikes!¡±


    The bees saluted while Metsaitti nodded. The Flower Meadow queens, Metsaitti, and the karnuq hunters began discussing what the shade might be and how best to deal with it.


    In the meantime, the spiky smander made its way through the Dirt Tunnels, dealing with the Pit Traps much as the earlier smander had before. When it encountered the first Sticky Honey Trap, it jumped back right as the trap triggered, then crawled up onto the walls to avoid the honey on the ground. With no other different threats, the smander thus traversed the room without injury.


    In the final tunnel, the smander growled and shook its head. Smoke filled the tunnel from the beeswax candles, newly restocked with wax from the maddening bees. The smander then took off at speed, rushing through the hallway as quickly as it could. It reached the Lava Field, seemingly without much effect from the smoke.


    Belissar frowned. It seemed he might need to add more candles, or else a way to slow down a shade, if he wanted them to do much. But, well, the humans had dealt with them with ease, so Belissar hadn¡¯t counted on them for this purification.


    And just like that, the smander had cleared the Dirt Tunnels. It was now faced with the smoke, ash, and fire of the Lava Field.


    Which, predictably, didn¡¯t appear to discourage it in the slightest. It began crawling forward without any sort of hesitation, making its way to the firstva river. It dove right in and swam across it with ease. It seemed different form or not, this smander was as resilient to heat as thest.


    Perhaps the mini-volcano would have something to say about that, though. Belissar held his breath as the mini-volcanounched its first boulder into the sky. The shade paused and nced upwards, growling as it saw the ming boulder streak down towards it.


    And then it took off sprinting, moving at surprising speed, wiggling its body back and forth as smanders did. The first boulder missed, crashing into the ground.


    The mini-volcano fired a second.


    This one missed as well,nding into one of theva rivers.


    The third nearly hit the mark, spraying the smander with burning pebbles. It growled, but it was just far enough that the debris didn¡¯t do much damage, and the mes didn¡¯t affect it at all.


    It began changing its course anytime the volcano fired, weaving back and forth. The volcano got a few more near-misses, but no direct hits were scored. Fortunately, the smander traveled as straight a path as it could while maintaining its evasion, so it did not stray close to the burning hives on the edge of the room.


    Unfortunately, that meant that it arrived at the room¡¯s exit before the volcano managed to strike it directly.


    And just like that, the Tower¡¯s traps had been defeated. It would once againe down to its defenders to put a stop to this shade¡­

 Chapter 164: How to Find Victor-Bee?

    Chapter 164: How to Find Victor-Bee?


    The smander burst into the Flower Meadow. It growled as it saw the bee army flying in the air above it but the bees were already in motion. A squad of sprayers had already moved into position andunched their spray.


    The smander moved as well. It swung its tail up over its body. There was a hissing noise, like steam from the spout of a kettle, and then the spines on its tail shot out from its body.


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.


    The sprayers got off their own attack but did not expect to be countered at the same time. And the spines flew much faster than the breath attacks of previous shades. The entire sprayer squad was showered in spines and fell from the sky.


    ¡°No! Get out of range!¡±


    The bees reacted even before Belissar shouted, taking further distance and beginning random evasive maneuvers. The smander¡¯s tail spines regrew quickly and itunched another attack up at the bees, forcing them away. A second squad of sprayers moved in to attack once it did but its spines regrew before they reached their own range. They were forced to break off the attack and evade.


    The karnuq prepared to bar the shade¡¯s path as the bees pulled back but the shade didn¡¯t attempt to make a run for it. Instead, it continued growling and flinging spines at the bees up above. Apparently, this one intended to fight.


    The queens in the Bee Barracks danced to one another about the situation.


    ¡°Send soldiers?¡±¡°Too many spines, can¡¯t get close.¡±


    ¡°Bumblebees?¡±


    ¡°Too big and not fast enough, will get hit.¡±


    ¡°Lancers?¡±


    ¡°Can try!¡±


    With that, the queens ryed themand and thencers prepared to dive. Once they had begun, the bee army opened up paths in the sky for them to pass through.


    But the shade noticed and flung spines towards the change in the formation. Onencer took a spine to the abdomen, which managed to pierce through her chitin and knock her out of her dive. The others took evasive action, which pulled them off course. The dive had failed.


    The queens¡¯ dance turned frantic until one of them came up with another idea.


    The sprayers made another run. As expected, the shade turned and attacked them, driving them away. But a second sprayer squad attacked at the same time from the other direction. The toxic spray hit the shade¡¯s tail. It hissed and spun around, but the second squad had already pulled back. With an effective tactic established, the bee army began its assault in earnest. Sprayer squads rotated in and out in groups, at least two squads moving to attack simultaneously with each run.


    The karnuq moved to join in as the queens ryed the situation to Metsaitti. They stopped at a distance from the shade and the karnuq archers took aim. At Metsaitti¡¯smand, they loosed a volley of arrows. Most of the arrows were deflected by the wall of spines on the shade¡¯s back, but one or two found their mark. The shade roared as toxic sprays and arrows pummeled it from all sides.


    And yet, Belissar frowned.


    ¡°Be careful everyone, it will probably do something else¡­¡±


    Even as he spoke, the shade curled up, pulling in its legs and wrapping its tail around its body so that spines poked out in every direction. It took a deep breath and began to puff up. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Look out!¡±


    Karnuq hunters with shields rushed in front of the archers and the bees began taking more distance at Belissar¡¯s cry. A momentter, spines burst out from the shade in every direction. A handful of bees were hit, but the spines spread out the further they travelled so the bees were able to evade the worst of it.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    The karnuq were not so lucky. Unable to take more distance, they were hit by a heavy concentration of spines. The shields prevented any hits to the face or vitals¡­but did not cover the entire body of arge karnuq. Many hunters cried out as spines lodged into their arms and legs. Metsaitti had the uninjured hunters and the archers grab those that fell to the ground and pull them away.


    Belissar clenched his teeth together. The bees attempted a counterattack while the shadecked spines, but with the distance they had taken the shade regrew its defenses before they arrived in range. This wasn¡¯t working. They had gotten some hits in but this shade was bigger than the usual. It would take some time before the sprays impacted its ability to fight. And while the bees had mostly dodged the mass spine attack, it hadn¡¯t been perfect. A few bees would likely be hit every time it happened. And worse, the karnuq were nowrgely out of the fight, with many of their frontline warriors injured.


    They needed a way to hit harder and faster. And fortunately, they had the means to do so.


    Before Belissar himself could say anything, Beero and her battlecaster squad had moved up to the front formations of the bee army. A squad of sprayers began their attack run to try and draw the shade¡¯s attention, while the battlecasters began their dance.


    But the shade paused its attack the moment Beero and the others began dancing. It whirled to face the growing mana concentration in the air and redirected its attack towards them. It took some toxins from the sprayers as a result, but the battlecasters were forced to break off their dance and evade.


    They tried several more times, including multiple sprayer squads in the attack, but each time the shade prioritized the battlecasters. The sprayers just weren¡¯t enough of a threat to pull the shade¡¯s attention. And there was only one squad of battlecasters.


    The queens, however, came up with a solution, albeit a risky one. The uninjuredncers had reset their position back in the sky and were waiting the order to dive again. The queen inmand gave it and they began their attack. The bee army once again opened up a path for them. The shade turned to face it.


    At the same time, Beero¡¯s squad flew forward and began their dance once again. The shade hesitated for a moment as it felt the mana gathering behind it. It tried to curl up and prepare an omni-directional attack once more¡­


    And then a digging soldier burrowed beneath it stung her stinger up into the shade¡¯s unprotected belly. The shade roared, jumped up, and thrashed about before remembering the approaching threats. It quickly lobbed its tail spines at thencers and forced them to break off, before spinning around, puffing up a bit, and firing off its body spines as quickly as it could.


    It had not had as much time to breath andcked some spines on its tail, so the spines were neither as fast or numerous as before. Still, Beero and her battlecasters were not that far away, so the attack was still enough to threaten them. The cast would fail once more.


    If not for the bumblebees, that was.


    Three bumblebee soldiers, including the one that had carried Beero around before, dropped from the sky and hovered just in front of Beero and her casters. Spines dug into their chitin, but did not pass through their big bodies. No spine managed to reach Beero or the casters.


    And so theypleted their dance and a stinger of lightning struck down on the shade. It screeched as lightning coursed through its body, sending it writhing across the ground.


    The rest of the bees did not miss that chance. The digging soldier squad immediately popped from the ground and began stinging the shade from beneath. Soldiers swarmed over it from above and began to sting its smooth body before its spines regrew. One of thencers had pulled up out of the dive and regained a bit of height, so she resumed her dive from her current position.


    She couldn¡¯t build up all that much speed, and so couldn¡¯t sting with a full-force dive. But the smander was nowhere near as tough as a turtle shade, without its spines its hide couldn¡¯t resist even point-nk stings from a soldier.


    It had no chance against a half-height dive from ancer. And she drove her stinger right down on top of its head.


    The shade fell to the ground, and moved no further as it faded away.


    <em>Expansion sessful.</em>


    <em>Reward: Floor limit increased to 5. Receive one perk choice, and two random reward choices.</em>


    Belissar exhaled his breath. They managed to take it down in the end.


    But then he surveyed the field and frowned. The karnuq were performing first aid on their wounded hunters, quickly wrapping bandages around bleeding wounds as the shade¡¯s spines faded into mist. An entire squad of sprayersy on the ground, what few still survived now with tattered wings. More sprayers and soldiers fell scattered across the ground, while three bumblebee soldiers and one of thencers waited in pain for the medicinal bees to arrive.


    And this was only the first of what would have to be many expansions. Belissar closed his eyes, took another deep breath, and then began running towards the front, stirring up his mana to produce medicinal honey. Such thoughts could wait. For now, there were many wounded to tend to¡­

 Chapter 165: The Kings Sorcer-Bee

    Chapter 165: The King''s Sorcer-Bee


    Belissar grimaced as he arrived at the scene. The Second of the Sixth¡¯s medicinal workers were swarming over the field, injecting healingpounds with their stingers, feeding healing honey to the wounded, and patching over bleeding injuries with wax and propolis. But¡­hers was but one hive, and there were many wounded to tend to.


    The karnuq and the bumblebees presented a particr problem, in that they were much, muchrger than the usual bees, and had each taken many wounds. They were, therefore, taking a lot of medicinal workers to tend. Even the Second of the Sixth¡¯s hive was stretched thin.


    Belissar did what he could, making medicinal honey with his magic to help feed the wounded, but he was just one man. He could only feed one wounded at a time even though he could make enough honey for more.


    And in the meantime, he could see wounded bees across the ground, slowly moving tattered wings as they waited their turn.


    He clenched his jaw. If only he could help them. If only he had a better way of getting them the honey. Even as a human many times the size of a bee, he was a drop in the bucketpared to a hive.


    As he thought, his mana stirred, feeling as if a swarm of bees flew and crawled within his veins. The mana swarm rushed towards his hands where he was trying to make some more honey, another honeb pattern forming out of mana in the air above his palm.


    But this time, honey did not drip out of thebs. He felt the mana swarm surge from his body into theb. Belissar tilted his head as he observed theb. For a moment, he clenched his jaw tighter. And now, of all times, his spell was failing. He could not even contribute what little he should be capable of.


    But then he paused. One of the cells on the honeb pattern began to bulge. Belissar¡¯s eyes opened wide.


    A translucent bee made of blueish-green mana crawled out of the honeb pattern. She spread her wings and flew off with a buzz,nding by the nearest wounded bee. She dripped a small pool of medicinal honey by the bee¡¯s mouth, then flew to its injury and stung a thin medicinal stinger in. She turned back into glowing light that flowed into the injury.And she wasn¡¯t alone. One by one, more translucent mana bees crawled out of Belissar¡¯s spell. Slowly, he made a slight smile and nodded.


    ¡°Please, heal them all.¡±


    The spell-bees reacted immediately, flying off to wounded bees and karnuq alike. Belissar kept up the flow of mana as long as he could, until his head pounded and his vision spun. He was vaguely aware of Niobeending on his back and channeling more mana into him, and he channeled that mana towards the spell as well.


    Thest thing he remembered was swaying as Juosiutik and Metsaitti ran towards him.


    Belissar slowly came to, finding himself lying among the flowers. Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti were looking down at him with concern, while he could feel many, many bees crawling all over him, including Niobee and the Second of the Sixth.


    ¡°King! You¡¯re awake!¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. What happened?¡±


    Belissar tried to lean up but a winced as a piercing pain shot through his head. Metsaitti held his back, supporting him until the pain faded. Chief Rohsuak let out a sigh.


    ¡°You overdrew your mana with your new spell, Tower Keeper. An autonomous spell that seeks out multiple targets is quite demanding.¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m living proof that overdrawing your mana won¡¯t kill you, but I wouldn¡¯t rmend doing it often. It is not a pleasant experience.¡±


    Belissar frowned as he held his head.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡±


    Then his eyes shot open and began to quiver.


    ¡°Wait, then what about the wounded?!¡±


    Metsaitti held him back from jumping up. Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile.


    ¡°All tended to. Thanks to you, all the wounded were stabilized until the healers and medicinal bees could get to them. We have suffered no further losses today.¡±


    Belissar exhaled his breath andid back against the flowers. If all the wounded had made it, then it was worth whatever pain he was feeling now. He smiled slightly as he felt the Second of the Sixth¡¯s hive poured over him, while Niobee kept frantically dancing on top of him. He reached up to brush her.


    ¡°I¡¯m ok. Um, just need a minute to rest?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded at that.


    ¡°A day I would say, but yes. Do not use your mana for the rest of it.¡±


    Belissar nodded and slowly stood up, wincing slightly. Every inch of his body ached, not enough to prevent him from moving butining whenever he did.


    ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll rest once we¡¯re done here.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak held her tongue as Belissar walked over to the nearest fallen bee, gathering her in his arms. She turned to Metsaitti and nodded. They, too, began to gather the fallen, with the rest of the uninjured karnuq joining them one by one.


    Belissar led the bees and karnuq in a memorial for the fallen, and then the Apiary bees supplied honey trays for the victory celebration. This time, the karnuq contributed as well. Smoked wyvern and wolf-mole meat joined with plentiful fruits, berries, mushrooms, and cave potatoes into an impressive spread, made all the better by the overflowing mana honey to spread and dip across it all. Belissar watched the karnuq sing and dance with the bees flying all around them and smiled. He looked forward to the day he had enough mead to share with them.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    They decided, however, to take it easy for the night, so Belissar retired as the celebrations wore on. It was not until the morning, after greeting the new Third of the Ninth and getting her settled, that Belissar gathered the queens, Chief Rohsuak, and Metsaitti by the Memorial.


    They had fought the battle, honored those who sacrificed to achieve it, and then celebrated the victory. Now¡­now it was finally time to see the fruits of theirbors. Belissar brought up the messages from the Tower he had been too fatigued to reviewst night¡­


    <em>Expansion sessful.</em>


    <em>Reward: Floor limit increased to 5. Receive one perk choice, and two random reward choices.</em>


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Rare Monster Choice (At least one rare or better option)</em>


    <em>- Rare Room Feature Choice (At least one rare or better option)</em>


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Feature Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- +150 max mana</em>


    Belissar nced around at the bees and karnuq alike.


    ¡°Does anyone have any ideas or preferences on which choices we should take?¡±


    Neither bee nor karnuq spoke up at this stage and Belissar nodded. He had already decided what to do, if no one had any objections. The Tower had plenty of flowers and mushrooms the bees were just starting to forage from, and the gardeners had their work cut out for them ensuring all those nts were cross-pollinated and their seeds spread. So, Belissar felt that this time he wanted more rooms and more bees. The choices lined up nicely for that.


    <em>Rare Monster Choice selected.</em>


    <em>Please select a monster:</em>


    <em>- Lumber Bee (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee, Nature)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Honeypot (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Dancer (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)</em>


    As usual, Belissar began to read the options aloud for the others.


    <em>Lumber Bee</em>


    <em>Vitality: Average</em>


    <em>Strength: Average</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Below Average+</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minor</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Wood Cut</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 20</em>


    <em>Description: A monster carpenter bee evolution. The Lumber Bee¡¯srger size allows it to not only bore into trees, but to bite through branches or small trunks entirely. Its sharp and powerful mandibles can also bite through living things that stray too close to the nest. May evolve from monster carpenter bees if avable, females mayy monster carpenter bee eggs.</em>


    The carpenter bees had returned, and with a vengeance. These bees were on par with the bumblebee soldiers in sheer size, possibly bigger. They had thick mandibles with sharp edges to hack and saw through entire tree trunks, which would make them incredibly useful both in and outside of battle. And that part at the end¡­it seemed like Belissar might get ess to the original monster carpenter bees if he selected the lumber bees as well?


    It was a solid option all around. Though, to his knowledge carpenter bees only gathered in small groups if anything, and the optioncked the brood mother or brood offspring skill. They probably couldn¡¯t form hives like the other bees could, and likewise his existing hives wouldn¡¯t be able to raise lumber bees themselves.


    A point worth consideringpared to the next option.


    <em>Monster Bee Honeypot</em>


    <em>Vitality: Below Average</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Minor</em>


    <em>Magic: Below Average</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Below Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Processing, Storage, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker variant specialized in honey production and storage. It trades its stinger for a specialized abdomen that can hold and process an impressive amount of honey at once, or wax and propolis as required. Note that its unwieldy shape andck of a stinger make it unsuited for foraging or battle, and it thus can only be raised by prosperous monster bee hives. They will, however, improve both the quantity and quality of honey, wax, and propolis produced by their hive as all of their mana and body aremitted to their singr task.</em>


    At first, Belissar wasn¡¯t sure about this one. Between the results of thetest purification and the strength of the Tower Lords he would have to face one day, Belissar would really have preferred a morebat-oriented option this time. These monster bee honeypots were anything but.


    Still, he shouldn¡¯t discount the impact of more and better honey. Honey was ultimately the limiting factor in the soldier bee army¡¯s size, as well as the number of evolved bees they could raise. Didn¡¯t the battlecaster description specifically state that it would cost a hive more resources to raise? Not to mention that more honey could help more karnuq receive blessings as well, allowing him to raise his own Tower Guard. If better quality honey also improved mana content, then that might also mean they could raise new types of bees more easily with new honey types. The First of the Fifth had informed him that they had to reach a certain level of mana density for a given honey type before they could raise or evolve a queen with it.


    So, honeypot bees wouldn¡¯t add any new options to his Tower in and of themselves, but they would improve and speed up all of the efforts his bees were currently undertaking. And that made them a powerful choice.


    But would they be more powerful than thest option?


    <em>Monster Bee Dancer</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Below Average</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minor</em>


    <em>Special: Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Death Blow, Brood Offspring, Hive Dance</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Communer, Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Description: Monster bees, by nature of the quantity of magical creatures gathered in one area, produce an ambient mana that links them together. Communers can tap into this mana to expand this link. Monster bee dancers take this a step further, adjusting the mana itself to affect the rest of the hive in turn. Their dances resound through the hive¡¯s mana, boosting the other bees in various ways depending on the dance. While they are not incapable ofbat, they are not specialized in it and are most effective when kept from harm.</em>


    <em>In addition to evolving from existingmuners, new monster bee workers may be raised as dancers, though this requires notably more resources from the hive.</em>


    This one was¡­interesting. Belissar wasn¡¯t entirely sure what to make of that description at first. Apparently the dancers could affect the mana of the hive¡­and strengthen the other bees?


    At that moment, he nced over at Niobee. She, apparently, could move the Tower¡¯s mana around by dancing, redirecting it to help other bees with their tasks¡­or even him and the karnuq. Perhaps the monster bee dancers would do something like that? Would they make all the bees better at their various jobs? Would they be able to help other bees evolve like Niobee had with Beero? Would they be able to help the karnuq as well, as with Metsaitti?


    If so, that could be a powerful option indeed.


    Which meant that now, Belissar had to choose which of these options his Tower needed most¡­

 Chapter 166: A Choice of Bees

    Chapter 166: A Choice of Bees


    Belissar nced over at the bees, intending to ask their opinion. He found the First of the Fifth hadnded on the ground. Her body was trembling, she kept beating her wings and twitching her antennae while starting and stopping the first steps of a dance. She paused when she noticed him watching her, and then began to dance with slow, deliberate steps.


    ¡°Honey?¡±


    The other Apiary bees all burst into motion at this, zipping about as they danced their agreement. Belissar chuckled as he turned to the queens of the other floors. The Second First of the First danced a confirmation dance as well, continuing on with a <em>bit</em> more detail than the First of the Fifth managed.


    ¡°Bee army depends on Apiary¡¯s honey. Want to help.¡±


    Belissar nodded to acknowledge her resolve as Beero and the other battle meadow queens danced their agreement. Meanwhile, the Third of the Sixth had joined the Apiary queens in zipping about.


    ¡°More honey! Can give more fire honey!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh¡­was also zipping about in a happy dance. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter danced a more subdued confirmation¡­though only subdued inparison. She still danced about quite rapidly.


    The bumblebees just started rapidly circling the group after the monster bees began their dance.


    Belissar nced over at Velebee before remembering he hadn¡¯t actually exined to her what was going on here. Fortunately, Niobee was already doing so, dancing along with Velebee. Niobee flew back over to Belissar a momentter.¡°King! Queen mother says more honey is good!¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Thanks, Niobee!¡±


    He then nced over at Chief Rohsuak. She chuckled as she watched the bees zip about.


    ¡°Well, I do want to say that the dancers are probably stronger than you think. A good support blessing should not be underestimated. But it appears the rest of your council is decided, and I cannot disagree. Honey is central to everything the bees do, correct? It would also then be central to the God of Bees. There will be no loss focusing on that.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Got it, thanks for the advice.¡±


    He then looked up at everyone with a grin.


    ¡°Well, sounds like honeypots are a good idea. How about we check out the other choices before we make the final decision?¡±


    ¡°Ok! Whatever King chooses!¡±


    The bees all danced a salute as one. Belissar smiled andughed again as he opened the next choice. This time, he was aiming for a new room to go with the new floor.


    <em>Umon Room Choice</em><em>selected.</em>


    <em>Please select a room:</em>


    <em>-Apothecary¡¯s Hut (Rarity: Rare, Type: Nature, Resource, Crafting)</em>


    <em>- Swamp (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Water, Field)</em>


    <em>- Large Lake (Rarity: Common, Type: Water, Field)</em>


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened. A rare option from an umon choice? He couldn¡¯t help his anticipation as he focused on it.


    <em>Apothecary¡¯s Hut</em>


    <em>Type: Nature, Resource, Crafting</em>


    <em>Innate Features: Apothecary¡¯s Lab, Herb Garden</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 20</em>


    <em>Description: An apothecary¡¯s hut set in a small forest. Comes with all the equipment necessary to craft potions, poisons, or anything an apothecary can concoct. The room can focus the dungeon¡¯s mana during the process to improve results, or to allow for new recipes. It alsoes with a garden well suited to growing potionponents, including more exotic herbs that may have stricter growing requirements otherwise. Small size and the focus of the mana make it unsuited for growing foodstuffs in anything beyond individual quantity.</em>


    <em>Not particrly suited for monsters, though the mystical nature of the garden and the craft can lead to unexpected results.</em>


    Well, this room had some obvious uses¡­and an obvious user. Belissar nced over to find Chief Rohsuak staring at him with an unusually serious gaze.


    ¡°Tower Keeper Belissar, I feel I must warn you. If you do not end up selecting this room, do <em>not</em> ever mention it was an option to Juosiutik.¡±


    Belissar gulped as he nodded. He could only imagine Juosiutik¡¯s reaction to the room¡­especially if he <em>didn¡¯t</em> select it.


    As for the others, Swamp was a repeat option and a fairly straightforward one, though as before Belissar thought it might be a good defensive option. A shade could get stuck in the mud while the bees flew circles around it. Additionally, the trees and nt life of a swamp would provide cover for the bees should they face more shades like the spiky smander. The human mages as well.


    In fact, the more he thought about it, the more Belissar thought it would be a good idea to have some sort of wooded area as part of the defense. Right now, the bees only had the wide open Flower Meadow and Lava Field where there was no cover, or the cramped Dirt Tunnels where they couldn¡¯t use their flight as well.


    Though, he could always move the Fairy Grove or Orchard to the front if necessary, or even make another of either if he didn¡¯t want to risk the bees living there. Additionally, both forests and swamps appeared asmon options, so if he didn¡¯t necessarily have to pick on this time. His DP was currently sitting at¡­


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    <em>DP: 3095</em>


    Oh. He already had enough for another room choice. So, yes. Chances were he didn¡¯t need to use this choice if all he wanted was more trees.


    And that left thest option.


    <em>Large Lake</em>


    <em>Type: Water, Field</em>


    <em>Innate Features: None</em>


    <em>Mana upkeep: 5</em>


    <em>Description: Arge freshwaterke that will upy the majority of or all of the room. A perfect environment for freshwater aquatic monsters and a significant challenge for terrestrial intruders.</em>


    It was quite simple. Just a room full of water, though from the looks of it he might be able to add some banks or small inds if he wished. But simple though it may be, it could be quite useful. He immediately thought of the fire smander shade, would that shade have been able to swim? Thest two shades were specifically protected against fire, in fact, so maybe putting a big body of water in front of them could trip the Hunger up for a purification or two. Would the Hunger be able toe up with something that could swim in bothva and water? He wasn¡¯t sure. And there was one ring w in that n.


    The bees couldn¡¯t swim either.


    Unless he got some sort of water bee? The First of the Fifth <em>did</em> report that the water lilies would likely cross-pollinate soon, so that might actually be possible fairly soon. Still, the bees were only now raising soldiers to fight in the Dirt Tunnels and Lava Field. Did he want to add yet another room the Hunger could walk, or maybe swim, through uncontested?


    He turned to the bees again. The First of the Fifth danced first once more.


    ¡°Apothecary Hut¡­helps dangerous one?¡±


    The edge of Belissar¡¯s mouth curled up at the bees¡¯ nickname for Juosiutik. He saw Chief Rohsuak try not to grin. Metsaitti blinked for a second before stifling augh of his own.


    ¡°Yes, very much so.¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s dance picked up speed.


    ¡°Dangerous one helped raise new bees. Should help if can.¡±


    Belissar nodded at that. Juosiutik had provided many new flowers and mushrooms for the Tower, helped the bees raise a new type, and was the first karnuq blessed by the God of Bees as well. He felt helping her with her craft could definitely be a good idea.


    He only hesitated because if he selected both monster bee honeypots and the apothecary¡¯s hut, then he¡¯d be devoting both the new room and new monster choice to options that wouldn¡¯t help directly in battle¡­just after a shade has caused numerous casualties. He would probably need to spend his DP on a more battle rted choice in that case. Even if he was trying to pick up the pace, he didn¡¯t want the bees or the karnuq to face the next new shade type without at least some reinforcements.


    Though, maybe more and better honey and whatever potions Juosiutik could brew with this room might provide solutions for that he wasn¡¯t anticipating?


    In any case, there was at least one more choice to go through before making the final decision.


    <em>Please select a perk:</em>


    <em>- Armored Lancers (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    <em>- Fire Duration Boost (Minor) (Rarity: Common)</em>


    <em>- Bee Hybridization (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    The very first perk had the Second First of the First and the battle meadow queens perking up. Belissar himself smiled as he opened it up. It sound like exactly what they needed.


    <em>Armored Lancers</em>


    <em>Description: Lancer type bees grow thicker, tougher, and harder chitin for a boost in defense, especially when diving. May slightly reduce agility.</em>


    And it was. Had thencers had the defense to just brush off thetest shade¡¯s spines, they could have ended the fight with their first dive. A straightforward and powerful boost.


    Belissar was tempted to take it immediately but continued reading the rest for the sake of thoroughness.


    <em>Fire Duration Boost (Minor)</em>


    <em>Description: A minor boost to the duration of fires past what their fuel supply would indicate.</em>


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but shrug. Fire was great and all but he hadn¡¯t run into a situation where a fire went out before it finished burning a shade, so this one just didn¡¯t seem that necessary. He <em>could</em> see Chief Rohsuak smiling knowingly at him, so he supposed he may not realize what the ultimate benefits this sort of perk could provide.


    Still, this was a bee tower with some fire, not a fire tower with some bees, so Belissar moved onto thest one.


    <em>Bee Hybridization</em>


    <em>Description: Improves the rate of bee hybridization, both when mating and when raising new bee types within a hive. Slightly decreases the resources and time required for queens to raise bees of a different variety than their own. Slightly decreases the resources and time required for queens to raise evolved bees.</em>


    Belissar fell silent. He thought that armoredncers was the clear winner of this bunch¡­until he read this perk. One of the main draws of honeypots was that they¡¯d help the bees raise new types. This perk would do so even more directly. And then there was the ¡°when mating¡± part. Did that mean that new queens could change if they mated with drones from a different type of hive?


    But the biggest surprise, the one that made this perk a possible match for armoredncers was thest part. Decreasing the resources and time for queens to raise evolved bees¡­which would mean bothncers and battlecasters. If the soldier bee army had two squads ofncers, couldn¡¯t they have just had them dive from different directions, so that if one was forced away the other could stillnd? Or what if Beero had two squads of battlecasters? Well, the shade did have that all-directions attack¡­but what if they had the second squad of battlecasters orncers waiting to attack right after that, before its spines regrew? That also could have ended the fight far more quickly¡­and without requiring thencers to survive a hit head-on.


    Additionally, weren¡¯tmuners and gardeners also evolved? Sprayers too, right? So, while armoredncers would make one type of bee better at their job, this perk would allow for more of every type of bee. It would help with everything.


    This would be a harder choice than he thought. He furrowed his brow as he rubbed his chin for a bit before checking with the bees on their thoughts.


    Belissar nced over and found the First of the Fifth once again fidgeting and beating her wings. He couldn¡¯t help a lightugh. He had a feeling he knew what her opinion was. Surprisingly, the Second First of the First and the battle meadow queens had fallen silent this time. He had expected them to push for thencers but apparently they were as conflicted as he was?


    Meanwhile, Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin, nodded to herself, and then spoke up.


    ¡°Tower Keeper, forgive me for interrupting but¡­I wish to inform you that if you are concerned specifically about the protection of your defenders that we have some ideas on that front. With the y you¡¯ve made for us, we are nning to expand our metallurgy efforts in earnest¡­and while we have not discussed it yet, I n to devote the n¡¯s efforts to improving our armor after thetest battle. I just wanted to inform you so you can take our ns into ount with your own.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head but nodded.


    ¡°Oh, ok. Got it¡­¡±


    At first, he wasn¡¯t sure why Chief Rohsuak had brought that up now¡­but it took only a moment of thought to realize the answer. The karnuq would improve their armor¡­and begin forging metal as well. If the karnuq had been outfitted with metal armor, then the hunters likely would not have been incapacitated by the shade¡¯s spine attack. They could have held the shade¡¯s attention and attacked it in earnest.


    Or¡­an armored karnuq with a metal shield could be the one to block the spines while Beero and her squad finished their cast.


    So, if he was going to get armored karnuq¡­maybe he didn¡¯t need armoredncers right this moment? And in that case, maybe it would be better to focus all the choices on new bee types, with options that would help all the bees?


    Belissar nodded again, this time with a smile.


    ¡°I see, thank you for letting me know.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak inclined her head.


    ¡°Of course, Tower Keeper.¡±


    And with that, Belissar made his choice. He already knew what the bees desired. He already knew what the God of Bees desired. He already knew what <em>he</em> desired. All he needed to know was that he was not dooming his bees to unnecessary death by doing so¡­and with the karnuq¡¯s help, he wouldn¡¯t. There was no longer any reason to hesitate.


    <em>Monster Bee Honeypot now avable. Monster bee queens may now spawn monster bee honeypots.</em>


    <em>Apothecary¡¯s Hut is now avable.</em>


    <em>Bee Hybridization is now avable.</em>


    He couldn¡¯t wait to see the bees that would grow from all this.

 Chapter 167: To Bee, or to Bee, Which Shall it Bee?

    Chapter 167: To Bee, or to Bee, Which Shall it Bee?


    ¡°AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! KING IS BEST KING!¡±


    The First of the Fifth immediately began zipping around Belissar at maximum speed once he announced the choices. The rest of the monster bee queens soon followed suit, while the bumblebee queens tackled him and began grooming him all over. Belissarughed and petted the bumblebees in response.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you all like it.¡±


    He heard Chief Rohsuak chuckle to the side.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t the only one. I suspect Juosiutik will have much the same reaction once she¡¯s informed.¡±


    Belissar smiled at that.


    A momentter, he furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Ah, actually, there¡¯s one more choice to make before you go, everyone.¡±


    It took another moment for the bees to calm down, but soon all of them gave Belissar their full attention. He had nearly forgotten but he had the DP for another choice and realized it would be best to make that choice now.At first, Belissar thought it¡¯d be best to buy a new room. The Swamp had got him thinking and at this point he really wanted a room where his bees could both fly and have cover. But he realized that there was no need to purchase a new room for specifically that purpose. He could simply ce a new Orchard or a new Fairy Grove to achieve that same effect. Indeed, it might be smarter to use a Fairy Grove rather than a new type of room so that any malicious effects the fairy circles might have could be turned on the shades.


    There were still reasons to buy more rooms. Even with an Apothecary and another Orchard or Fairy Grove, the new fifth floor would have a room slot open. And then there was theke idea of adding a room that would challenge the Hunger in a different manner than the Lava Field and force it to adapt to wildly different conditions. But still, there was no specific and urgent need for another room, at least not pressing enough to grab one without considering the other options.


    Additionally, Bee Hybridization promised not only to speed up the birth of new bee types his bees already nned to raise, it promised to unlock even more new bees when existing bees mated with one another. And that meant that unlocking more bees would have apounding effect.


    On the other hand, mating only really applied to queens and drones, and so far the only variations on those hade from flowers rather than monster choices¡­although, Belissar now recalled that he had options for new queen types. So, perhaps there was as much argument for a new monster as for a new room.


    And when in doubt, Belissar asked the bees.


    ¡°So, we can either get a new room, a new bee, or more room features. What do you all think we should get?¡±


    The First of the Fifth was not vibrating in ce this time, and let the others dance first this time. The bees were mostly split between new bees and new room features, most of them didn¡¯t seem to consider new rooms in this case. Chief Rohsuak indicated the karnuq didn¡¯t have any pressing needs their current resources couldn¡¯t cover, so Belissar decided to go with a new bee.


    <em>Extra monster choice purchased. One monster choice now avable.</em>


    <em>Please select a monster:</em>


    <em>- Monster Digger Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Ground)</em>


    <em>- Monster Giant Resin Bee (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee, Nature)</em>


    <em>- Monster Carpenter Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Nature)</em>


    Belissar frowned just a bit before shaking his head. No bee queens, and if he wasn¡¯t mistaken no monster bee types period this time. But, well, he was trying to build a Tower for all bees, and the bumblebees had certainly proved themselves useful. He would not discount any bee without giving it a look.


    Though, monster digger bees only took a brief look to discount in the end. He already had digging monster bees, a monster bee type that could do the same thing as digger bees inrger hives. Maybe digger bees had something to them that would set them apart in time, but in the short term they wouldn¡¯t provide anything his Tower didn¡¯t already have.


    This narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Which meant it was time to review the only new choice of this batch:


    <em>Monster Giant Resin Bee</em>


    <em>Vitality: Average</em>


    <em>Strength: Average</em>


    <em>Speed: Below Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Average</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minor</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Resin Ball, Bite</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 20 (10 with Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Description: A giant resin bee, thergest of mundane bees, that has gathered enough mana to be something more. Its size, already impressive for bees, has been unlocked by mana to unknown heights. When threatened, the resin balls it gathers for its nest may be thrown.</em>


    <em>Note that it nests in burrows and tunnels bored into trees but is not capable of boring on its own. May require a wood-boring species to nest and reproduce, as well as treesrge enough to match its size.</em>


    This one was certainly a monster of a bee. A ck bee with massive, almost beetle-like jaws with a white stripe on its back. The bee would apparently be born the size of a soldier bee and would only grow from there, matching or eclipsing even the bumblebee soldiers. Its jaws could be used for lifting, or apparently throwing, while its stinger started approachingncer territory by sheer size alone.


    And yet, this bee had some notable downsides. It apparently couldn¡¯t construct its own nests without assistance¡­and Belissar had neither a wood-boring bee nor any trees he thought would berge enough to house these things when fully grown. If he went with this option he¡¯d likely be limited the ones born from the spawners for the foreseeable future, unless they were willing to nest in underground tunnels instead.


    And that left carpenter bees. Which¡­might just be a very solid choice in the end. He knew now from the previous monster choice that carpenter bees could evolve into lumber bees. He wasn¡¯t sure if they could do so without him selecting a choice¡­but Beero had just gone from a soldier to a battlecaster on her own so perhaps it was possible. And if it was, Bee Hybridization might be able to help with that.


    Even if not, just having a bee capable of cutting through wood would be useful in and of itself. The soldier bee army already had squads helping the karnuq out with construction, if there were bees who could cut the wood then the bees might be capable of building wooden structures all on their own. And perhaps, if the option appeared again, they¡¯d be able to prepare burrows for the giant resin bees.


    Well, the choice wasn¡¯t perfect. Belissar had really been hoping for abat option to help the bee army with future purifications. Neither the digger bees nor the carpenter bees could do that unless they evolved into some new kind of bee. The giant resin bees might be able to by sheer size alone, but his Tower as it was couldn¡¯t really support them, and he wasn¡¯t sure the amount born from the spawners would provide enough of an impact.


    He turned the question to the others but since none of these were monster bee types the queens didn¡¯t really have much of an opinion. The Second First of the First was slightly curious about the giant resin bees and the carpenter bees but didn¡¯t express a strong preference. Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti, on the other hand, both deferred to Belissar in matters of bees, so it was up to him to make a decision.


    He took a deep breath as he made his choice.


    <em>Monster Carpenter Bee spawner now avable.</em>


    In the end, both giant resin bees and carpenter bees were useful, though not in the way he wanted for this choice. So the choice came down to this: he realized he couldn¡¯t make those giant resin bees happy with the resources avable to his Tower. And if they weren¡¯t happy, neither he nor the God of Bees would be happy. So he went with the bee he knew he could provide for.


    ¡°Thank you, everyone, that¡¯s it for today. I¡¯ll see you for the purificationter.¡±


    The queens saluted and dispersed for the day, as well as Metsaitti. Niobee hung around as usual while Chief Rohsuak remained to help with cing the new room. Belissar moved the Apiary and the rooms on its floor up to the fifth floor, keeping them by the core, and then ced an Apothecary¡¯s Hut, this time on the empty slot of the Orchard floor, on the far side from the shortcut wall and the Fairy Grove. He, ah, didn¡¯t think Juosiutik¡¯s work and the Fairy Grove would mix particrly well.


    Then, he linked up the new Apothecary¡¯s Hut to the karnuq floor¡¯s Flower Meadow. He tried moving the shortcut entrance away from the walls so it would be more convenient for the karnuq. He found that not only could he move the entrance onto the ground, but when he reached one of the karnuq structures the shortcut entrance could jump onto the walls.


    He then had a thought and quickly sent a word to Juosiutik.


    <em>¡°Hey, Juosiutik, sorry to interrupt but I want to ce a shortcut to a new room in your house. Could Chief Rohsuak and Ie over to figure out where exactly to put it.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Tower Keeper! Yes, of course! Whatever you need!¡±</em>


    Belissar nodded at that and blinked away the new rooms in his vision for a moment before turning to Chief Rohsuak. He made a grin at her.


    ¡°I figure we should ask Juosiutik where we should put the door to her new room. We probably shouldn¡¯t keep her waiting.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled back and shook her head.


    ¡°No, we should not.¡±

 Chapter 168: How to Bee Normal?

    Chapter 168: How to Bee Normal?


    Belissar and Chief Rohsuak made their way over to the karnuq¡¯s settlement¡­at least until they heard a scream. The two ran over to find the first karnuq beekeeper running from a swarm of angry monster bees. They weren¡¯t stinging her, but they were diving and buzzing as loud as they could. Belissar exchanged a concerned look with Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t want to keep Juosiutik waiting, but I need to handle that.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak just nodded silently.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go inform Juosiutik.¡±


    Belissar ran over, waving his hands.


    ¡°Hey, over here!¡±


    The beekeeper ran to him. The bees stopped once they saw him, starting a salute dance. Belissar let out a sigh and then turned to the beekeeper.


    ¡°What happened? What did you do?¡±


    Her face scrunched up as she frowned.¡°Nothing! I was just going to check on the hive like you showed me, Tower Keeper, sir, but they started attacking before I even got close?¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow at that and then turned to the bees.


    ¡°Is that true?¡±


    The workers began to dance.


    ¡°Drove away intruder!¡±


    He couldn¡¯t get much more out of the workers, but fortunately Niobee had already flown to the hive in question, and now returned with the First of the Ninth. Belissar gave Niobee a nod of thanks before turning his attention to the queen.


    ¡°Could you exin what happened here? Why did your hive attack?¡±


    The First of the Ninth gave a salute.


    ¡°Like King said! Acted like normal, drove away intruders!¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Did she do anything to the hive?¡±


    The First of the Ninth enthusiastically danced the negative.


    ¡°No! Didn¡¯t let get close!¡±


    Belissar frowned and crossed his arms. Normal bees could act aggressively, of course, and Belissar had his fair share of stings back at his old apiary, but he still felt this was abnormal. He normally didn¡¯t get swarmed by the bees, just stung by a guard bee or two¡­save during honey collection but he¡¯d resort to smoking when he did that. Both the karnuq beekeeper and the First of the Ninth confirmed that the karnuq had only approached the hive.


    Belissar was going to ask the First of the Ninth for more detail, but Niobee was already dancing with her and brushing her antennae, so he left it to her while considering thing himself.


    His eyes widened as it hit him. He had told the First of the Ninth to act like normal bees. He had meant normal, mundane honeybees¡­but maybe the First of the Ninth didn¡¯t interpret it that way. Maybe she thought he meant act like normal <em>monster</em> bees. After all, she was born a monster bee, so why would she know anything about her mundane ancestors? Why would she act like a honeybee?


    As Belissar furrowed his brow, Niobee flew back to him.


    ¡°King! First of the Ninth said acted like normal monster bee! Doesn¡¯t know how regr bee acts.¡±


    Belissar let out a sigh. Well, that confirmed it. This would be a problem, huh.


    He tilted his head. Or would it?


    ¡°Come with me. Niobee, could you bring the Second and Third of the Ninth too?¡±


    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    He turned back to the karnuq beekeeper as the bees saluted to him.


    ¡°Sorry about that, I¡¯ll have a talk with them. I¡¯ll let you know once it¡¯s safe.¡±


    She slowly nodded and gave him a karnuq salute.


    ¡°As you say, Tower Keeper.¡±


    Belissar then took the First of the Ninth over to Velebee¡¯s hive, while Niobee brought the other two queens.


    ¡°Hive-Builder! Niobee! Happy to see!¡±


    He smiled at her.


    ¡°Happy to see you, too. Um, I have a request, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Velebee¡¯s dance grew a little unsteady.


    ¡°Request? Hive builder has work, for me?¡±


    Belissar nodded. Velebee¡¯s dance once again picked up speed.


    ¡°Ok! Will do!¡±


    He smiled again.


    ¡°Thanks Velebee. Could you teach these queens how to act like normal bees.¡±


    Velebee again stumbled.


    ¡°Teach magic giants¡­to act like normal bees? Why?¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Well¡­they¡¯re a bit too aggressive towards beekeepers. Could you teach them how regr bees act around, well, people like me?¡±


    Niobee flew over and exined further. After a bit, Velebee danced a quick salute.


    ¡°Ok! Can!¡±


    Belissar grinned and thanked her, then left her with the other queens. He let out a sigh. Well, hopefully that would take care of things. He¡¯d have to observe tomorrow to see if they got it right.


    Magic giants, huh? It was easy to forget but these were monster bees. Sure, Belissar found them even easier to work with given he could just talk to them directly, but it was true they were no normal bees. Even normal bees didn¡¯t just let people take their honey at will, what would a hive with a soldier bee army do to a beekeeper who couldn¡¯tmunicate with them? King Ratuatapi even mentioned that his people had tried, and failed, to raise monster bees in the past.


    He may have given the karnuq a harder challenge than he thought. Well, hopefully Velebee would be able to instruct the queens back to normal honeybee levels of aggression, otherwise he might have to rethink this n.


    In any case, he had kept Juosiutik waiting long enough.


    He arrived at Juosiutik¡¯s house to find the girl and Chief Rohsuak both sitting at a table. Juosiutik¡¯s arms were crossed, she kept ncing around, and her leg was bouncing fast enough to rattle the table. Her eyes lit up as Belissar entered the room.


    ¡°There you are, Tower Keeper!¡±


    She nearly shot up but Chief Rohsuak gave her a look, so she slowly, intentionally, rose to her feet and gave a salute.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to see you, Tower Keeper, sir.¡±


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we get to it?¡±


    ¡°Yes! What kind of room is it, Sacred Den Master?! Is it an Apiary?! Or a new environment suited for new kinds of nts?!¡±


    Chief Rohsuak just sighed and shook her head as Juosiutik lunged forward, running right up to Belissar. Belissar¡­expected this, so he just chuckled.


    ¡°None of those, actually. It¡¯s an Apothecary¡¯s Hut.¡±


    Juosiutik wentpletely still and silent for a moment.


    ¡°An¡­Apothecary¡¯s¡­Hut?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Ites with a bunch of tools for potion-making, and is supposed to use the Tower¡¯s mana to help you make stuff. It alsoes with a garden that¡¯s apparently supposed to grow difficult things more easily? Well, we¡¯ll have to see¡­um, are you alright?¡±


    Juosiutik had begun swaying about.


    ¡°An apothecary¡­made by a Sacred Den¡­that¡¯s¡­¡±


    Chief Rohsuak walked over, grabbed Juosiutik¡¯s hand, and led the girl back to a chair before she copsed. She again shook her head and chuckled.


    ¡°Suffice to say, she is most grateful for this, Tower Keeper.¡±


    It took a bit of time for Juosiutik to speak coherently again, but Chief Rohsuak helped him ce the door to the new room. She was most interested in the idea of shortcuts ced on buildings, though she didn¡¯t make any requests at this time. Belissar and Chief Rohsuak then led a dazed Juosiutik through the new shortcut.


    They came out into a hut made of stone and wood in different sections. There was a room with cauldrons ranging from tiny to massive all arranged around several fire pits. Another room was lined with tables covered in mortars and pestles and all sorts of containers and contraptions Belissar had never seen before. Some of the tables had geometric patterns carved into them as well, most in circr shapes. There were also storage shelves and barrels, along with a cer, racks for drying, and even a separate smoking hut. Outside there was an empty garden with some small, pre-plowed furrows, poles and trellises for vines, nter beds, pots, and other empty ces where nts could be grown. There were two ponds and even two small caves lined with soil. One waspletely dark, while the other had a small hole in the roof to let in sunlight but felt surprisingly cold inside.


    Juosiutik had to sit down several times, including now.


    ¡°Am¡­am I in heaven? This is the God of Alchemy¡¯s home, right?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak chuckled as she shook her head.


    ¡°I assure you, Juosiutik, you are still very much alive.¡±


    Belissar nodded and then motioned about.


    ¡°I can change a few things if you like but, um, I don¡¯t really know what most of this stuff is for. So, if there¡¯s anything you¡¯d like me to change, please let me know.¡±


    Juosiutik reached out andid her hand on the wall of the hut.


    ¡°No, this is perfect, Tower Keeper. I wouldn¡¯t change a thing¡­¡±


    Then her eyes widened a bit.


    ¡°Ah, actually, there is one thing. Would it be possible to make a shortcut to the Third Daughter¡¯s hive? Ah, that is, the First of the Fifth¡¯s Third Daughter. We¡¯ve been working together, so I¡¯d love to be able to show her my ingredients and potions directly.¡±


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but smile. Juosiutik¡¯s only request¡­was to give the bees easy ess?


    ¡°I¡¯d be more than happy to.¡±

 Chapter 169: How to Bee Queen?

    Chapter 169: How to Bee Queen?


    Belissar did as Juosiutik asked and created a shortcut between the Apothecary¡¯s Hut and the Apiary, as close to the First of the Fifth¡¯s Bee Apartment as he could manage. He thought briefly about trying to ce said shortcut in the apartment itself but decided against it. This was Juosiutik, the dangerous one herself, that they were talking about so having a direct connection between her workspace and a hive full of mana honey might be¡­unwise.


    He stepped through the shortcut and went over to greet the First of the Fifth, informing her of the new room and shortcut¡­as well as his next course of business.


    ¡°I¡¯m also going to ce a carpenter bee spawner now. It¡¯ll be in the Orchard, though, so maybe the Fourth of the Seventh or one of the hives there can take care of them?¡±


    The First of the Fifth immediatelyunched into her response.


    ¡°First Daughter is there! Will take care of.¡±


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Sounds good, thank you. Great work taking care of everyone, I appreciate that.¡±


    He left the First of the Fifth to her resulting happy dance and made his way down to the Orchard. He quickly let the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter know what was going on, but turned out she had been informed by the time he arrived and was prepared to assist, so Belissar was able to get right to it.


    He, Niobee, and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter moved a bit further away from the Grove and the shortcut wall, though still on the same side of the Orchard, and brought up the spawner. This one appeared as a dead tree trunk with multiple holes bored into it. As soon as he ced it, a fuzzy carpenter bee crawled out of one of the holes, looking much like a bumblebee save for her smooth abdomen. She flew up to him, hovering before him, and he gave her a smile.¡°Wee to the Bee Tower. I¡¯m Belissar, this is Niobee and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter. You can ask any of us if you need anything.¡±


    The carpenter bee buzzed her wings and zipped around at that.


    ¡°For now, just do your thing. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter can help, too.¡±


    Belissar then moved to make a home for the new bee. He knew carpenter bees preferred to bore holes into wood, so he went with the bee nest feature rather than a beehouse. He tried to see if he could ce it on the nearest apple tree.


    It didn¡¯t work, this time. Belissar frowned. Maybe they¡¯d have to bore some holes into it first before he could make it into a bee nest?


    He nced over at the carpenter bee but she had already begun foraging from the nearest tree. He decided to wait until she made her own home, then he¡¯d see if he could upgrade it into a bee nest. If not, he¡¯d have to figure something else out¡­


    While Belissar pondered homes for carpenter bees, he decided to check in on the wounded bees. Once he arrived, he paused and just watched silently for a bit, for he saw a most interesting sight.


    Bees of all sorts were swarming over the Memorial.


    The wounded bees were all there, of course, both the newly injured from the recent purification and all those who had been there from before. The Second of the Sixth¡¯s hive he expected, the medicinal bees flying from wounded to wounded to monitor their recovery and apply stings and honey as necessary.


    What he didn¡¯t expect were the countless worker bees following their queens and assembling into groups, all in front of Beero. Belissar spoke softly as not to interrupt.


    ¡°Hey, Niobee, do you know what¡¯s going on there?¡±


    Niobee did, as he expected.


    ¡°Queens decided Beero is queen of Memorial, Memorial bees are new hive! New hive needs workers, but Beero can¡¯ty, so hive of hives is giving!¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°I¡­see?¡±


    Well, not really. Beero had gotten promoted, somehow, but also still wasn¡¯t a queen? And apparently the wounded bees were making their own hive at the Memorial?


    ¡°Huh. Well, if they¡¯re making a hive¡­I guess they¡¯re going to live here, now? They¡¯ll probably need a house then.¡±


    ¡°Wounded bees already live here!¡±


    Belissar froze solid, his eyes widening in slow motion as he took in Niobee¡¯s dance.


    ¡°The wounded bees¡­have been living here? Outside?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Belissar began to tremble. He knew that Beero and the wounded bees hung around the Memorial most of the time. But¡­he had assumed that they returned home to sleep and stuff. Apparently though, that assumption was wrong. In fact, now that he thought about it, how would the flightless bees even return home? Did he think they just crawled the whole way back each day?


    And that meant that¡­the wounded bees¡­the bees who had given the most to protect the Tower¡­had been living outside all of this time.


    Belissar spun right around and began marching out of the room.


    ¡°Niobee, we¡¯re building a home for Beero and her new hive. I¡¯m going to go arrange some supplies. Can you let Beero know and ask her what sort of home she wants? We have Beehouses, Bee Nests, the Bee Barracks, and the Bee Apartment. This one should be special, though, so if she has any ideas on what we can do differently I want to know.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Niobee flew off as Belissar marched straight towards his lumber stockpiles. He would not rest until Beero had the home she deserved.


    The indomitable Beero, the soldier who let neither lightning, shade, nor crippling injury stop her from protecting the hive of hives, was currently panicking. She paced about in frantic circles while buzzing her regrown wings as more and more workers assembled before her, waiting for instructions. <em>Her</em> instructions.


    She had no idea what was happening. Or, rather, she knew what was happening on a factual level. The other queens had dered her one of them and the bees gathered at the Memorial as a separate hive, but were aware that Beero couldn¡¯t exactly raise workers of her own. So, they were donating workers that would sustain Beero¡¯s hive. That much she understood.


    But this was all too much for her. Just days earlier she was nothing but a soldier. She attacked intruders and obeyed her queen. That was it. All of her deeds and achievements had been nothing more but an extension of those duties, adaptations for her crippling circumstances. Nothing she was, had, or had done, though, prepared her to be <em>queen</em>. She knew nothing about raising brood,manding children, organizing workers, building hives, or producing honey. She had no idea what to do.


    Even if she had, these were workers from another hive. The queens had donatedmuners but Beero couldn¡¯t even use them. She had no link to them, mana or otherwise, and could not issue themmands save by manual dance. And even if she was connected to them¡­she was a soldier. Her only interactions with the link between the hive was to receive orders from her queen. She had no idea how to reach out to another member of her hive, or how to sendmands through that link.


    She was going to waste these workers. She would waste their efforts, and the generosity of the queens who had donated them to her. This was a job she was not suited or prepare for, and she had no idea how to even start. And she had to figure it out quickly. Already there were countless workers milling about in confusion and unease, waiting for her to issue orders she didn¡¯t know, all while more and more of them continued to arrive and add to the confusion. Her hive had not even formed and already was bing a disaster.


    And then yet another queen arrived to add to the chaos.


    ¡°Hi! Brought workers!¡±


    The Queen of All Bees had not taken mercy on her, it seemed. The Fourth of the Seventh hade. The courageous queen who now led the scouting of the Beyond <em>in-person</em>, a feat not even the Flower Meadow queens had attempted. The queen who had pioneered countless innovations in hive management, a true master pushing the envelope of organization. This was the queen that had arrived at the moment of Beero¡¯s greatest failure, when her inability to issue even the simplest ofmands was squandering the efforts of countless workers.


    ¡°Brought firstmuner and drone too! Will help!¡±


    Beero was too ashamed to even reply. So, she was busy trying to curl up and hide from view when the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s drone crawled up to her and began brushing her antennae.


    A shock passed through the mana to every corner of Beero¡¯s body. She leapt up and stared at the drone. His mana was brushing against her own and¡­trying to pull it in? Well, she had no idea what he was trying to do, but she was not going to object to anything the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive wanted to do. It wasn¡¯t like she had any better ideas.


    She watched as he pulled her mana and twisted it with his own. For a moment, all thoughts of the disaster unfolding before her stopped. With her new body and senses, she could see and feel mana in a way she never had before. She could see the mana ofmuners and workers from other hives bouncing off her own. She could see the drone somehow pierce through this natural resistance, enticing her mana to work with his of its own ord.


    She was fascinated as he pulled her mana and walked towards the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s firstmuner, then began to pull on her mana as well. He twisted the three strands of mana together, manipting them at a level she had never imagined possible.


    Until¡­she could hear it. She could feel it. She stared in awe as her mana linked with the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s firstmuner. The firstmuner began to dance and spread her mana out towards the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers¡­and Beero could feel them. She could feel them all, each worker hovering about.


    Was this¡­was this how a queen felt her hive?


    The firstmuner danced a salute.


    ¡°Workers connected, waiting for Beero¡¯s orders.¡±


    Beero was pulled from her revelry as she recalled her predictment. It took all her courage and will, but she could not help but speak the truth. Surely, the Fourth of the Seventh had seen through her anyways.


    ¡°¡­don¡¯t have any. Don¡¯t know how to build hive,mand workers.¡±


    As she feared, the Fourth of the Seventh appeared prepared for that, and now passed her judgement.


    ¡°That¡¯s ok! Firstmuner will help! Takes care of hive for me, can help!¡±


    The firstmuner danced her confirmation.


    ¡°Yes. Queen likes to leave, so workers figured out how to work on their own. Will teach how if Beero needs help.¡±


    Beero crawled up to the firstmuner and brushed their antennae together.


    ¡°Really? Can? Can teach how to be queen?!¡±


    The firstmuner hesistated at that, but the Fourth of the Seventh replied in her ce.


    ¡°Can! Firstmuner is bestmuner! Like queen!¡±


    The firstmuner then slowly danced her confirmation.


    ¡°Queenmands, so will do.¡±


    Beero nearly copsed from the relief. Even as she recovered, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s firstmuner gathered donatedmuners from all the other hives and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s drone then linked her mana to theirs. The firstmuner then went on to suggestmands to her, which Beero ryed to the gathered workers. Slowly, surely, the workers stopped milling about and began their assigned tasks, foraging for the first honey and building the firstbs needed for a hive.


    This¡­this was going to work! As long as these two were here, Beero could do it after all! She wouldn¡¯t waste the queens¡¯ generosity! She wouldn¡¯t fail her queen mother¡¯s expectations! She could build a hive after all! Beero slowly began to grow more sure of herself¡­


    At least until the Conduit arrived and told her the King himself wanted her opinion on a magical pce, after which Beero began panicking once more¡­

 Chapter 170: How to Bee?

    Chapter 170: How to Bee?


    Belissar spent the rest of the day gathering materials and working on the Memorial hive. Upon Beero¡¯s request, he would build a second Bee Barracks like the first, positioned just before the Memorial. The Bee Barracks would bergely as the first, but Beero and Belissar dide up with some new ideas.


    The karnuq helped him carry lumber and stone to the battle meadow. At first, Belissar wasn¡¯t going to bother then seeing as they had wounded to take care of, but when he went to ask them for material Chief Rohsuak insisted. There were plenty of karnuq who hadn¡¯t participated in the battle, such as Muuraqi, and Chief Rohsuak reminded Belissar that working for the bees like this was precisely what the God of Bees wanted as her trial.


    The karnuq quickly brought over the necessary materials. Muuraqi¡¯s mana could cut through stone like a hot knife through butter, or stick separate pieces together like they had been solid from the beginning, so with his help the new barracks took shape rather quickly. The soldier bee army also flew over to help once they saw what was happening, dramatically speeding up work on the roof. By the end of the day, Belissar hadn¡¯t finished all the frames, but the basic structure was alreadyplete.


    Belissar was thus able to implement the new ideas. First, Belissar made the roof t, with an entrance and a ramp directly up to it, so that the wounded soldier bees would have a ce to perform their magic dances. Beero specifically requested tforms for them, and so he obliged. Belissar also ced a stone parapet around the edges of the roof to help shield the bees from spines, breaths, or any other long-range attacks a shade mighte up with. His hope was that, should a shade reach this barracks, the wounded soldiers could rain spells down on it without exposing themselves to danger, even if they couldn¡¯t fly.


    Belissar¡¯s own idea was to ce a shortcut directly within the Bee Barracks, now that he knew he could. He linked this one to the Bee Apartment the Second of the Sixth lived in, so that her medicinal bees could fly directly to Beero¡¯s hive when they wanted to check on the wounded. Both Beero and the Second of the Sixth enthusiastically approved of the n when he proposed it, and even now he could see medicinal bees exploring the new structure.


    Now all he had to do was finish up the trays and convert the structure into a proper Bee Barracks feature and the Memorial hive would beplete. To Belissar¡¯s chagrin, though, the time for the purification arrived before he finished. Still, the wounded bees now had a roof over their head, so Belissar could tolerate finishing up tomorrow.


    Because like it or not, his Tower needed to grow, lest there be far more wounded next time¡­


    Metsaitti stood alone in one of therger caverns within the Dirt Tunnels. With the casualties in the bee army and most of the karnuq¡¯s veteran hunters wounded, Tower Keeper Belissar had considered skipping today¡¯s purification. Metsaitti had stopped him by volunteering to face this one personally.


    It would be good for him, both to fulfill his duty to the Tower and to face challenges on behalf of his patron gods. But, well, if pressed Metsaitti just might admit that he was also excited to use his new blessing in battle. He had explored his new abilities since the trial, but he would not be able to take their full measure until he had used them to y an opponent in a true battle.And, so long as the iing shade wasn¡¯t one of the fireproof ones, today would be the day.


    <em>¡°Looks like it¡¯s the wolf shades again. Do you need help?¡±</em>


    Metsaitti shook his head at the Tower Keeper¡¯s question.


    ¡°No, I can handle that.¡±


    <em>¡°Ok. Just be careful.¡±</em>


    Metsaitti nodded and then took his stance, facing the tunnel ahead. He stirred up his mana as he felt the chill of the Hunger creeping ahead, his shoulders bursting into mes that took the shape of bee wings.


    The tunnel ahead was just a corner that opened right into the cavern, so the shades entered the room the moment they came in sight. Metsaitti kicked off the ground before he even saw them. His wings red up, beating and sending tongues of me flickering behind him. He had learned, sadly, that the wings were more of a focus for his mana than a physical limb, and so he had not been able to achieve flight so far. But he did discover that it was possible to boost his speed at the very least, and so he dashed forward faster than he ever had.


    The first shade growled and began to run into the room but Metsaitti was already thrusting his spear forward. He was still out of range of his physical spear, but his mana coated his weapon and thrust forward as well. Instead of the usual spear of mana, his mana formed into a bee stinger made of mes.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    It pierced right into the shade¡¯s side. The shade let out a yelp.


    A momentter, it burst into mes. Metsaitti grinned, baring all his teeth. Yes, he enjoyed this blessing indeed.


    Metsaitti handled the shades with little issue, his experience and new blessing making short work of them. Belissar grabbed some more mana as usual. That put him over a hundred avable, but he nned to make some big purchases the next day so it wouldn¡¯t go to waste.


    The next day came and Belissar got up bright and early, ready to finish Beero¡¯s barracks. But just before that, he had a few people to check on. He needed to greet the new carpenter bee that would spawn, and he wanted to check on the karnuq bees to see how Velebee¡¯s instruction was going.


    So, first, he stepped out into the Orchard and walked over to the carpenter spawner, ready to greet a new¡­


    ¡­squad of bees? Or several, even?


    Belissar blinked as a bunch of carpenter bees all hovered before him, led by the one from yesterday. As far as he knew, the first carpenter bee hadn¡¯t even attempted to bore any tunnels yesterday, just going to sleep right on top of a flower. So, he had no idea how it would have been possible for her to raise children by now.


    Or¡­did she? Belissar took a closer look at the spawner.


    <em>Monster Carpenter Bee Spawner</em>


    <em>Monsters: Monster Carpenter Bee</em>


    <em>Cooldown: 34 minutes/1 hour 12 minutes</em>


    <em>Current Monsters Spawned: 20/80</em>


    Oh, so the carpenter bee spawner had a much higher limit and much lower cooldown than the monster bee queen spawners did. That made sense, now that he thought about it.


    It also made it a bit more urgent for him toe up with an idea for a carpenter bee home. There were now twenty carpenter bees sleeping outdoors! Though, from what he¡¯d seen in the wild, that wasn¡¯t particrly umon for them.


    He thought about as he left the carpenter bees to carpenter bee business, and made his way over to the karnuq. Time to see if the monster bees could learn honeybee business¡­


    Paisijik lumbered forward towards her hive, eyeing the bees at they flew in and out. She was currently wrapped in her winter gear, with a heavy fur coat around her body, fur pants tucked into tightly strapped boots, and a scarf and fur hat covering her face. She was sweating up a storm, but these were the thickest garments she possessed, with as few gaps as possible, as the Tower Keeper had rmended. So, she bore with it, ignoring the heat as best she could as she lugged a small jar towards the beehive.


    Yesterday had been¡­humbling. The Tower Keeper made it look so easy, and she could understand the bees¡¯ ownnguage, so she assumed it¡¯d be the same. She¡¯d just walk up, say hi to the bees, and do as the Tower Keeper her taught her.


    Then the bees attacked.


    She supposed if it was going to be that easy that the Tower Keeper wouldn¡¯t have bothered with the lessons. She tried talking to the bees but they seemed to ignore her. And so, she had no choice but to run off.


    But that would not deter her today.


    She stepped forward cautiously, keeping an eye on the bees, waiting for the moment they began to react to her. As she stepped within ten karnuq paces of the hive, the bees began to turn towards her and buzz. She slowed down, very gently taking her next step.


    The bees had frightened her yesterday. She had heard what they could do, how they swarmed over shades that even the hunters couldn¡¯t handle. She thought she was dead when they swarmed around her, buzzing from every side. But they had not stung her, mostly just charging at and headbutting her. In hindsight, she realized she wasn¡¯t truly in danger.


    But that didn¡¯t mean that they liked her or tolerated her presence. And until they did, she would not seed.


    So, she reached back into her own memories, of stories her parents had told her. They had been herders, once, before their exile. Most of their herd was lost when they were kicked from their home, the rest did notst long on the sojourn. Her family had thus been at a loss, unable to put any of their skills or craft to work. They were little more thanborers, unable to truly contribute to the n.


    That would change now, if she had anything to say about it.


    Her family had certainly never interacted with bees, much less monster bees, but Paisijik believed that they were animals deep down. And if they were, then some of what her family knew of animals should apply. Paisijik thus decided to approach today by following the most basic rules of domestication there were.


    She took a few steps forward. The buzzing grew louder and some of the bees began to take off from the hive, slowly hovering towards her. A few began dives towards her direction from a distance. She took that as her cue to stop. She knelt to the ground, ce the jar down, and opened the lid.


    Wild animals mostly considered other beings as either threats or food. If she didn¡¯t want to be considered a threat, she needed them to associate her with food. So, with the Chief¡¯s permission, she brought a jar of honeydew.


    The bees around the hive continued to buzz at her, but some of the foragersing and going sniffed the honeydew. One of them drifted towards her direction, hovering out of range as it watched her. She remained still.


    The forager slowly hovered forward until eventually itnded on the lid of the jar. It crouched down and extended its little tongue into the sweet liquid. Itpped up the liquid for a full minute before it buzzed its wings and flew back to the hive. Paisijik smiled, and resisted the urge to move.


    A few minutester, more foragers flew out of the hive and began to drink from the honeydew. Paisijik remainedpletely still until the jar was empty.


    Then, she slowly stood up and backed away until the bees stopped buzzing at her.


    She would stay patient, and take this slowly, until the bees recognized her as a provider instead of a threat. And then¡­then she would be the first karnuq to learn the Tower Keeper¡¯s own craft¡­while reviving her parents¡¯ own.

 POBee 170.1 - Bee a Honey, Bee a Defender

    POBee 170.1 - Bee a Honey, Bee a Defender


    Belissar nodded in approval as he watched the first karnuq beekeeper feed the bees and back off. Velebee¡¯s lessons seemed to have worked, the First of the Ninth had been wary but not overly aggressive. Though, he wasn¡¯t sure if that was due to Velebee¡¯s teachings or the more cautious approach by the beekeeper, but either way she seemed to have a n and it seemed to be working.


    Satisfied he wouldn¡¯t need to intervene, he moved to finish up Beero¡¯s barracks.


    The First of the Fifth watched the first honeypots as they crawled out of their cells. They were roughly the size of a newly born queen, withrge abdomens to match, though their abdomens featured several depressions ringed byrge hairs. They didn¡¯t cost quite as much as a soldier, but closer to that than to a worker. It was a notable expense, though one she could manage. And since she had workers on full-time honey processing, her hive already had suitable candidates for the evolution. She had been able to start evolving them immediately.


    And now came the moment of truth. The First of the Fifth would not pass up any opportunity to improve her honey quality, but she still had her apprehensions. She was introducing an entirely new factor into her well-tuned processes, even giving up some of her most skilled and experienced workers to do so. Would these new bees fit into her process, or would she need to rework the entire method to amodate them? If so, would it be worth disrupting her entire production line, especially at a time when the soldier bee army needed to replenish losses and new bees had joined the hive of hives?


    Her eyes were glued to the honeypots as they crawled out of the nursery and towards the honey production lines. They were slowerpared to before, unused to their greater size, which only increased the First of the Fifth¡¯s worries, but they made it. They took up positions right in the intake lines, where the foragers would drop off the nectar and pollen. A momentter, foragers were passing them resources.


    The First of the Fifth was taken aback as she felt the honeypots¡¯ mana stir. She watched as the honeypots began the process of bubbling¡­but not solely with their mandibles. No, bubbles of nectar began to form in the depressions on the honeypots¡¯ abdomens, held in ce by their specialized hairs. They began to vibrate their bodies as well, increasing their own temperature to the precise level the First of the Fifth preferred for evaporation.


    Then, the bubbles shrunk down as the honeypots pulled the nectar back inside¡­and formed again in another row of depressions after some time digesting. The First of the Fifth buzzed her wings. The honeypots could apparently perform multiple rounds of digestion, bubbling, and evaporation within their own bodies, a process that normally required several bees for each bit of honey. And, with each stage of the process, the mana density of the nectar grew as the honeypots¡¯ own mana constantly circted through it.


    When it was done, she watched as the honeypots pooled thepleted product in a cup of chitin where their stingers would normally be. Regr workers couldp up the honey with ease, and then transport it to the cells for to either raise brood, refill the long-term stores, or prepare deliveries for other hives.


    Before any workers did, the First of the Fifth crawled to the nearest honeypot and sampled the honey herself. Her workers knew to wait for her to test the honey, only once she had determined its quality would she decide where it would go, and only then would they resume their work.She dipped her proboscis into the honey¡­and immediately began buzzing her wings. The honey¡­was perfectly up to her standards. The viscosity and sugar content were at precisely the levels she desired, the honey perfectly digested and evaporated. The honeypots had lost none of their expertise for their evolution.


    But that was not why her wings buzzed now. This honey brimmed with mana in excess of any honey she had tasted before. Long had the First of the Fifth determined the precise limit of how much honey her workers could infuse into each particr type of nectar. Even if she had all her workers line up and process a bit of nectar far beyond necessity, with each bee pushing all her mana into the mix, eventually the nectar would be filled. Any additional mana at that stage either failed to infused, pushed some of the existing mana out, or caused the honey to breakdown entirely. So, the First of the Fifth had determined the ideal point where additional mana infusing was no longer worth the effort and set that exact number of workers for each of her production lines. They subsequently improved the mana-density of their honey by foraging nectar from innately higher mana-density flowers.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The honeypots had just blown that paradigm apart. Not only had a single honeypot infused the nectar past the density where diminishing returns set in, she had managed to infuse this nectar with <em>more</em> mana than its previously determined maximum limit, in a far more stable manner. The First of the Fifth immediately turned her attention on the honeypot, checking its mana reserves. To her shock, the honeypot was absolutely fine, having expended but a fraction of her mana. The cirction method the honeypot was using was naturally infusing the nectar overtime as the honeypot conducted multiple processing cycles on her own, resulting in far less wasted mana for the honeypot.


    All the eyes of all the honeypots and workers were fixed on her, the hive bing unusually silent as they awaited her verdict, but she did not give the dance just yet. Instead, she crawled over to another honeypot, one who had joined a production line for a flower that not yet been cross-pollinated with mana flowers. She gave it a taste.


    She stumbled back as she analyzed the mana density of the resulting honey¡­and its implications. It took her a moment before she remembered to dance.


    ¡°King quality, queen grade mana. One of every three honeypot lines for King until enough for daily tray, others for new nectars. All surplus to evolving honeypots.¡±


    The First of the Fifth staggered back towards the nursery as her children all saluted and rushed back to work. Because if her calctions were correct¡­the honeypots could produce enough mana-dense honey for queen evolutions <em>far</em> sooner than she had nned.


    Which meant that she had a lot of work to do, and a great opportunity to bring the King¡¯s ns to fruition that much sooner¡­


    A gardener buzzed her wings as shended on her target flower. She was a child of the First of the Fourth, one of the queens of the Flower Meadow and leaders of the soldier bee army. And she¡­had been born too early.


    Her queen mother felt there was no higher calling nor greater joy than to defend the hive of hives. But she, unfortunately, had been born in the days when her queen was still young, and so she had been born a worker. She was simply too small and weak to join the fight. Oh, how she wished she had been born a soldier, so that she may join her queen in the grand battles and so fulfill her queen¡¯s greatest desires.


    But she was not. She intended to do the next best thing and worked as hard as she could to make as much honey as possible. If she could not be a soldier, than she would work to raise and support them!


    This, too, failed. Try as she might, there was a limit to how much a honey a single worker could make. Worst, her queen¡¯s workers even as a whole could not produce enough honey to raise the number of soldiers the queen wanted. And once the Apiary queens began donating their endlessly flowing honey¡­well, the worker¡¯s efforts became a literal drop in the ocean.


    But hope sprang anew. The King saw fit to grant workers evolutions. She had be a gardener, hoping her new size and insights would enable her to expand her honey production to unforeseen levels. Maybe even enough that she could support soldiers for her queen without the assistance of other hives!


    This, too, was a failure. Her new insights not only did not produce more honey, they warned her that the Flower Meadow¡¯s mana flowers were overworked. The Flower Meadow hives had to <em>cut back</em> their own honey production to ensure a healthy supply in the future. She was not only not doing more, she was doing <em>less</em> than before her evolution.


    So, what then, could she do? How could she contribute to her queen¡¯s great mission? How could she, a mere gardener, help to defend the hive of hives?


    She had focused her attention on a certain set of flowers, flowers not particrly popr among the foragers. These flowers had spines like stingers, hardened by mana past what one might expect from a flower stem. The gardener thought that maybe they might improve the strength and pration of soldier stingers¡­but the nectar of the flowers was as mundane as any other. This, too, was a failure.


    At least until the karnuq joined the battle. Her queen¡¯smuners enabled all the bees of the First of the Fourth¡¯s hive to watch the daily battles, ensuring each of them could at least remain aware of their hive¡¯s contributions to the grand mission. And so, she watched as the mighty intruders impaled themselves on a wall of giant spines held by the karnuq.


    It was then that she had an idea. She imagined a hive covered in spiny flower stems, stabbing any intruder like a second army of bees. She thought it but a dream at first, just another fantasy¡­but her new instincts whispered to her that this was not the case. That these flowers held greater potential than had been realized.


    So, she got to work. She gathered as much pollen from every different type of flower she could ess, and brought them all to her thorny charges. The flowers as they were wouldn¡¯t be much help, but she knew that flowers could change and grow if cross-pollinated.


    And finally, today, she found new seeds amidst the flowers. Seeds with a slight glow to them.


    She plucked one of the seeds, wrapping it in her legs, and set off towards the site of the battlefield. She could only hope that this would be the idea that would not fail. That her only hope of defending the hive of hives as a mere worker type would not fail¡­

 Chapter 171: Bee-morse and Gratitude

    Chapter 171: Bee-morse and Gratitude


    Belissar watched with his Tower sight as Metsaitti spoke to the man leaning against the wall. The third surviving soldier had finallye to and grown cognizant enough to speak, so Metsaitti was now interrogating him with Sehfitis¡¯s help. Belissar didn¡¯t actually have anything he wanted to ask the guy himself, having heard what he wanted from Sehfitis and Hirkolos, but Chief Rohsuak hade up with a good idea. They were having Sehfitis trante for Metsaitti while Belissar was watching in from afar. That way, Belissar could catch any mistrantions, and they could determine how reliable Sehfitis was.


    Well, in the end, the third soldier was also just a recruit like Hirkolos, and not particrly cooperative, so they didn¡¯t learn much of note. Sehfitis¡¯s trantions were urate enough, though with how little the soldier spoke that wasn¡¯t saying much. ording to Chief Rohsuak, they¡¯d have to keep an eye on him.


    Ultimately, though, it was Hirkolos who acted differently.


    Belissar made his way over to the prison¡­or human house, since Sehfitis and Hirkolos were only kind of prisoners? The ce the humans, other than himself, stayed. Hirkolos was waiting for him.


    ¡°Hi, I heard you have a request for me?¡±


    Hirkolos nodded.


    ¡°Yes, if you are willing to consider something from me.¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Of course I am, I said that, right?¡±Hirkolos slowly nodded and then took a deep breath.


    ¡°Tower Keeper¡­if you are willing¡­could you tell me what happened to the little bee?¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°She¡¯s living right over there. We visited her¡­oh, you weren¡¯t there for that, huh. Um, do you want to visit her?¡±


    Hirkolos¡¯s eyes widened a bit.


    ¡°Can I?¡±


    Belissar nodded his head.


    ¡°Of course,e on.¡±


    Belissar lead Hirkolos over the Velebee¡¯s hive. Velebee flew out to greet them, dancing before Hirkolos¡¯s face. The man blinked, and then smiled.


    ¡°Hello, little bee. I¡¯m d to see you¡¯re doing well.¡±


    Velebee zipped around for a bit before Belissar remembered they couldn¡¯t understand each other.


    ¡°This is Velebee, she¡¯s happy to see you as well. She¡¯s thanking you for carrying her here safely.¡±


    Hirkolos shook his head.


    ¡°It was nothing, at least, nothingpared to what we¡¯ve done.¡±


    Velebee then turned to Belissar and performed an asking dance. Belissar nodded at her and she zipped back to her beehouse. A momentter, one of the trays popped out and slid in front of the beehouse. Hirkolos blinked again, while Belissar smiled at him.


    ¡°She wants to thank you for the water and provisions you shared. She¡¯d like you to take some of her honey.¡±


    Hirkolos started and quickly shook his head.


    ¡°No, no, I couldn¡¯t. She needs it, doesn¡¯t she? And I¡­don¡¯t deserve something like that.¡±


    Belissar frowned and rubbed his chin. He had no idea how to address this situation. So, he decided to just speak honestly.


    ¡°Hirkolos, you should take it. Um, it¡¯s like¡­you helped Velebee get here, right? Without you, she wouldn¡¯t have made it, and wouldn¡¯t be able to make honey now. She probably won¡¯t understand why you don¡¯t want to take it. It¡¯ll make her happy if you do.¡±


    Hirkolos turned and looked at Belissar, his eyes quivering slightly. Eventually, though, he took a deep breath, turned to Velebee, and gave her a bow.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°My thanks, Velebee. I¡¯ll treasure your gift.¡±


    Belissar ryed as much and Velebee danced happily about. Hirkolos slowly picked up the tray with aplicated expression. Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m teaching the karnuq beekeeping, and Velebee¡¯s been helping out. Would you like to join the lessons?¡±


    Hirkolos¡¯s face lit up for a brief moment before he frowned.


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t think¡­¡±


    Belissar nearly frowned. Fortunately, though, he was starting to gain some experience rewording his questions from his interactions with his bees, so he tried another angle. Hirkolos¡­apparently felt bad about the whole burning viges down thing, and so didn¡¯t want any favors. Mrs. Imkomos had always told Belissar that if he felt bad about something, he should work to fix it, so he went with that.


    ¡°You see¡­the monster bees don¡¯t really know how to act like normal bees, so Velebee¡¯s been teaching them. You¡¯re a human who helped out Velebee before and got her not to sting you, so maybe you could help her teach the others?¡±


    Hirkolos turned thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯tpare to you, Tower Keeper, sir.¡±


    Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s more¡­you know Velebee, and she likes having you around. Plus, I can¡¯t actually stay with the karnuq¡¯s beekeepers all day, as much as I¡¯d like to.¡±


    Hirkolos turned thoughtful again, remaining silent long enough that Belissar was about to interject when he finally replied. He very slowly began to nod.


    ¡°¡­very well. If you and Velebee think I¡¯ll help¡­then I¡¯ll do what I can. It¡¯s¡­the least I could do.¡±


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Here that, Velebee, Hirkolos here is going to help you.¡±


    Velebee flew out of her hive and began another happy dance. Even Hirkolos made a small smile at that.


    Belissar gulped once more. He was sitting on the floor of the Apiary¡¯s farmhouse, staring at the purple honeb tray lying before him, with a small jar to his side. Niobee and the Second of the Sixth buzzed around him.


    ¡°King ok?¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded.


    ¡°Fine, just¡­need a moment first.¡±


    Belissar had rested long enough and his mana was fully restored. Both Chief Rohsuak and the Second of the Sixth had cleared him to use his mana again. He had formed a medicinal spell-bee, just one this time, and had her fly around until she faded away. It seemed his feat after the expansion was not a fluke, he could now form his mana into spell-bees at will.


    The implications of this spell were not lost on him. If he learned to form them with a type of mana other than medicinal, it would make for a potent attack. A swarm of spell-bees that he could form at will, that could fly in and attack a dangerous shade so that the living bees wouldn¡¯t have to. They could distract a shade and absorb the dangerous attacks, giving the living bees a chance to attack with impunity. Or, if their mana-powered stings were strong enough, maybe they could take down a shade entirely, meaning the living bees wouldn¡¯t have to risk themselves at all.


    This was an opportunity Belissar could not dy seizing. So, his number one priority now was to learn how to make honey types other than medicinal. And that meant¡­intentionally eating the poisonous maddening honey sitting in front of him.


    He double checked his preparations. The third soldier had ultimately recovered despite being bathed in the honey and left for a day. Though he hadn¡¯t ingested much of it directly, it was at least proof that the honey wasn¡¯t lethal in surprisinglyrge doses. He had acquired a jar of antidote potion from Juosiutik, made specifically to deal with maddening honey should the worsee to pass. Niobee was ready to help him with mana channeling, and the Second of the Sixth¡¯s hive was on standby if he needed medical treatment. Juosiutik herself coulde to the Apiary through the Apothecary¡¯s Hut shortcut and could bring the other karnuq as well if he needed healing beyond her expertise. He was even sitting on the floor so that he could lie down after eating the honey, ensuring that he wouldn¡¯t fall and hurt himself if the honey affected his bnce.


    He had made every preparation he possibly could. There was nothing left to do but to gather his courage and begin.


    ¡°Whew, ok¡­here we go.¡±


    With one final gulp, Belissar scooped up a tiny bit of the honey and gently ced it in his mouth.


    He furrowed his brow. The honey¡­didn¡¯t taste like honey. It was bitter instead of sweet, and made his tongue tingle. He quickly gulped it down and theny back, waiting to see how that small amount affected him.


    And waited. And waited. And waited¡­


    There was¡­a slight tingling in his throat? Maybe? Or it could just be his throat drying out, he wasn¡¯t sure. One thing was clear, though: that wasn¡¯t enough. Whether or not he could feel it affect his body aside, he could not feel the mana from that honey interact with his own. And that meant he wouldn¡¯t learn how to replicate it from that small amount alone.


    Belissar sighed and slowly sat back up. He took a muchrger scoop this time and gulped it down.


    This one he could feel. The mana almost immediately began seeping into his body, causing his entire jaw to tingle. The taste faded as his tongue and throat went numb. His vision started to sway a bit.


    And his mana reacted, rushing towards his mouth and throat. He could feel it wrap around the foreign mana, trying to contain it and prevent any further effect upon his body.


    Hemanded it to stop. He imagine a swarm of mana once again drinking the honey, and carrying it to his hand. Niobeended on his head and began to dance as well, assisting his efforts with the Tower¡¯s mana. Molding his mana to be more like herself, more like a bee.


    A momentter, a honeb of purple light formed above his hand and purple honey dripped from it. Belissar smiled, but his work wasn¡¯t done yet. Now he imagined the mana bees drinking the honey and taking on its color. He imagined the toxic honey concentrating in their stingers before they flew out to sting shades and Tower guards and whatever else might threaten his bees.


    One of the cells of the honeb bulged, and then once again a spell-bee crawled out of it. This one purple in color, with a barbed stinger dripping with purple honey.


    And now, Belissar allowed himself to smile fully. The next time someone or something came for his bees, he¡¯d have a surprise of his own.

 Schedule Update: No Chapters 10/3 or 10/4

    Schedule Update: No Chapters 10/3 or 10/4


    Hi everyone,


    Going to take the rest of this week off. Sorry, fatigue seems to be catching up with me, might of pushed a bit hard recently trying to wrap up editing for Terminate the Other World and all. Been a while since I took a break in hindsight, haha.


    I feel the wisest and most efficient thing to do is take off now, and try to avoid suddenly taking a whole week offter on. Sorry for the short notice and the egregiousck of bees!


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the vition.


    I might be just a silly non-bee after all, oh no.


    Thanks again for all your support and patience.


    Anyways!


    Is this the wise decision? Can anyone survive the egregiousck of bees this week? Is the author just a silly non-bee after all? Tune in next time, to find out!

 Chapter 172: Growth and Bee-volution

    Chapter 172: Growth and Bee-volution


    A couple of days passed. After handling maddening honey with no major ill-effects, Belissar tried every honey he had ess to. Burning honey was the spiciest thing he had ever eaten but it hadn¡¯t burned him like it had Metsaitti, so he managed to create burning spell-bees as well, along with sedating spell-bees and ground spell-bees that could ¡°fly¡± through the ground. The Fourth of the Eighth even gave him a tray of shocking honey, which created all sorts of wonderful static shocks in his mouth. But he came out of it with yellow lightning spell-bees zipping around, ready to zap an intruder like Beero¡¯s lightning stings.


    And Belissar was not the only one growing over those days¡­


    ***


    Chief Rohsuak watched as Metsaitti took a stance with a spare spear, one formed from the bones of an Underway animal. In front of him, another hunter hoisted a new creation, a huge vaguely rectangr b of iron. It was crude, uneven, and rough around the edges, little more than a mostly t hunk of metal with a handle looped through two holes drilled through it.


    Toivenaq, the karnuq smith who once tried to offer his grandfather¡¯s work at the Shrine of Bees, winced as he saw his handiwork on the field. Chief Rohsuak shook her head, then patted the boy on the shoulder and gave him a smile.


    ¡°It is only your first attempt, you will grow with time. For now, watch and see what you have aplished already.¡±


    The boy nodded, though she could tell her words hadn¡¯t gotten through. She let out a quiet sigh, for it couldn¡¯t be helped. Toivenaq¡¯s family had been among those they had lost and since they couldn¡¯t do much cksmithing on the move, he hadn¡¯t had the chance to fully learn his parents¡¯ craft. A story far toomon for the karnuq.


    So, he was starting from scratch. Chief Rohsuak had lent a hand, helping fire the bricks needed to construct the forge and then starting and modting the fire as necessary for these first attempts. While she would normally prefer for the karnuq not to depend on her powers, the situation was somewhat urgent. Thetest battle had proven that the karnuq¡¯s arms and armor were no longer sufficient for their needs. A nomadic hunter carrying all their possessions on their back had strict restrictions as to the weight and size of their gear, and could simply run away from any threat they weren¡¯t equipped to handle. The sworn defender of a Tower, on the other hand, could not turn from the fight.


    So, she volunteered to help this time and rush new armor into production. Well, it was all Toivenaq could do in such a short time to just process the ore into something of an iron b. Now, it was time to see if that would be enough.Metsaitti lunged forward and thrust his spear. The tip struck the iron with a ng¡­and bounced off. The bone chipped. The iron did not.


    Chief Rohsuak gave Toivenaq another smile.


    ¡°See? It may not be what you wished to make, but a b of iron is still quite the improvement over our current shields. It is what we need, and will suffice while you hone your craft.¡±


    Toivenaq gave another slow nod, but this time she could see a spark light in his eyes. He would be fine.


    And if his work panned out, so would the hunters when the next big purification came around¡­


    ***


    The First of the Fifth stood on top of one of her trays, looking down at her hive working below. Rows upon rows of honey production lines stood before the gaps between the trays, workers blowing bubbles as the foragers brought them more nectar and pollen. But now, now there was a substantial gap in the rows, where single honeypots took the ce of entire production lines, blowing multiple bubbles on their abdomens all at once.


    Overall honey production was already up by nearly thirty percentpared to previously, with no drop in quality. In fact, quality had steadily risen across the board, and the First of the Fifth was now delivering King-quality honey to the other hives as her supplies had outgrown the King¡¯s daily tribute. More and more honeypots evolved each day as well, by the end of the week she¡¯d see a fifty percent increase, while honeypots would start to fill in the mixed-nectar lines from the cross-pollinating foragers.


    She looked out towards the output section, where her Second Daughter was prepping deliveries for the other hives. Workers tied the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s harnesses to soldiers so that they could carry entire trays at once if necessary. Today, though, they were carrying smaller loads, each lifting a smaller chunk of honeb. Yet, their deliveries were no less precious¡­and would be far more impactful.


    Honey from a cross-pollinated water lily. A new x flower cross-pollinated for the first time. Honey from a vine that grew in dark tunnels that blinded whoever drank it. A honey-equivalent made from the juice of a mushroom that glowed bright, grown from a rotting mana flower.


    This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Thanks to the honeypots, she had enough mana-dense honey from each for a queen to evolve. She had met with the hive of hives and the King, together they had determined which of the queens would undertake evolutions. Her Second Daughter now sent out her soldiers to deliver the honey to the chosen queens. With any luck, the hive of hives would have a new round of queens to mass produce the new honey types¡­and the bees that would result.


    Satisfied that all was well on that front, the First of the Fifth flew over to her experimental zone. There, she turned her attention to four special cells, isted from the others.


    One was from some sort of cold flower that had sprouted in the Fairy Grove. The First of the Fifth already knew this honey could be used to raise new bee types, as evidenced by the workers with frosty mist condensing around their wings who were now filling more cells with the honey. Like with the burning honey, this honey lowered the temperature of the overall hive, and she had just about reached the amount where anymore would have detrimental effects on the whole. Still, the Third of the Sixth had sessfully evolved with burning honey, so there was no reason another queen couldn''t do the same with this one.


    The hive of hives had chosen not to for a simple reason: after evolving, the Third of the Sixth found the temperature of the Apiary ufortable, and only flourished after moving to the new Lava Field. The cold flower could apparently sprout and bloom in the Fairy Grove, but the room as a whole stayed at a simr climate to the Apiary and Flower Meadow. As such, there was currently no ce in the King''s realm that would suit the bees that evolved on this honey. Until such a ce appeared or was created by the King, no queen wouldmit her whole hive to this evolution. So, for now, the First of the Fifth would keep the honey from this flower for use in other experiments.


    A trickier one was from the Underworld Phlox. The mana it gave off was¡­ufortable. It made her feel cold in a way even the cold mana flower had not, like the very life was being sucked from her bodies. The medicinal workers she had tending the brood also confirmed that it was bad for the health of the brood, and so insisted it be isted away from the nurseries. The First of the Fifth was currently at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it. Her instincts warned her that it would be dangerous for a queen to submerge herself in the amount required for an evolution. That, along with the brood tenders¡¯ warnings, prevented her from trying toy an egg in it. She would not sacrifice a potential queen¡¯s life on such a risky experiment until she knew more about what she was dealing with.


    The other two were more familiar. There was one cell filled to the brim with honey from the gravilion flower, with numerous gravity workers clinging to the edges of the cell and beating their wings. Their wings glowed with purple mana, causing the air to distort around them in the opposite direction to the distortions caused by the honey itself, preventing it from affecting the hive around it. The other cell oozed and pulsed as the slime flower honey within moved with almost a mind of its own. A slime of honey surrounded the cell in turn, with several slime bee workersbining their bodies to contain the cell and keep its honey in motion. The honey had a concerning tendency to try and condense down into some sort of core if it were not kept from doing so.


    Neither of these honeys felt as dangerous as that of the Underworld Phlox, but each came with their own unique challenges. Challenges that required numerous workers of their own type to deal with, and that grew more difficult to handle as the amount of honey in one ce increased. Even the First of the Fifth hadn¡¯t felt confident in gathering queen evolving amount of the honey until the honeypots were able to increase the average mana-density and so decrease the amount of honey necessary.


    As such, the hive of hives decided not to give this honey to any of the existing queens. The First of the Fifth crawled over first to the honey cell. Sheid an egg directly into the body of one of the slime workers, who carried the egg into the cell. The slime workers then slowed down the cirction ever so slightly, allowing it to condense on the egg at just the right level not to harm it. The First of the Fifth then made her way to the gravity cell, her gravity workers doing their best to the mitigate the gravitational fields pulling her this way and that. She managed to resist the increasing pull on her body long enough toy an egg in the center, which the gravity workers then worked to ensure would not be crushed or torn apart.


    The hive of hives agreed that it would best to raise new queens directly on these honeys, so that they would be born with the characteristics necessary to handle them right from the start.


    The First of the Fifth took one final look at the Underworld Flox cell before returning to her business. She¡¯d find a way to use that honey, but not today. The hive of hives would be weing plenty of new queens soon enough.


    ***


    The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s second daughter buzzed and spun in circles. Her new hive was finallypleted, and now she was able to move into the new room. It wasn¡¯t the Beyond like her queen mother, but she knew her hive wasn¡¯t big enough for that yet. Her other queen mother had made sure she knew that, and that she needed to raise a big and strong hive before she could scout beyond the Realm of the King.


    But that was ok! The King¡¯s Realm had plenty to explore even within its halls. Like this room, the Fairy Grove! It was a room that wanted to be explored but also didn¡¯t! It pulled and drew bees deeper inside, but never wanted them to go where they wanted to go. It wanted them to loop and turn and end up in new corners they hadn¡¯t seen before.


    It was amazing! Every time her workers came back they had new stories for her about a new part of the room they hadn¡¯t even intended to visit! They came back with nectar from a different flower than they had wanted to gather from, the room leading to them to a different one of the many flowers the gardeners had nted with each foraging trip.


    And now, she was living here! She would have so many stories to share with her queen mother the next time she returned. She knew it!


    So, for now, it was time to go to work, and make sure her hive grew as big and strong as her other queen mother taught her! She began toy her eggs as quickly as possible, hoping to finish up before the next round of foragers returned so she could listen to their reports in detail. As such, she didn¡¯t notice the wave of multi-colored mana drifting through her hive, and wrapping around some of the newlyid eggs¡­

 POBear 172.1 - Bear-Bee Careful Communication

    POBear 172.1 - Bear-Bee Careful Communication


    Paisijik walked forward at a steady pace, holding a bowl with both hands. All eyes were on her, the other karnuq beekeepers ceased all their work to watch her. Two of the human prisoners were here, and even the Tower Keeper came to watch.


    By now she had discarded most of her winter gear, with only a lighter fur coat draped loosely around her. Not only was the gear painfully unsuited for the Tower¡¯s climate, but Paisijik also believed it to be unnecessary. If she had done this right, the bees wouldn¡¯t sting her¡­at least not enough to threaten her life. If she was wrong, then she did not believe the gear would save her if the hive truly intended her harm. And if it did¡­she¡¯d prefer to be able to run away as quickly as possible.


    Besides, the bees seemed to react slightly less aggressively to the furless humans than they did to her. At first she thought that was limited to the Tower Keeper, but it also seemed to apply to the others as well to some degree. So, she tried removing some of the gear and showing some of her less-furred parts¡­and found that the bees allowed her closer. She wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that, but that didn¡¯t stop her from taking maximum advantage of it.


    She lifted the bowl as the bees began to hover around her. The human prisoner had revealed that the bees also appreciated simple water. That had been much appreciated advice, as she didn¡¯t think she could convince to Chief to hand over honeydew on a daily basis. Paisijik had experimented a bit and found water mixed with a bit of either honeydew or sweet fruit juices worked nearly as well as pure honeydew. The bees also appreciated blocks of salt; she had carried one along with the bowlst time. Today, though, she needed her hands free.


    She smiled as the bees began tond on her bowl andp up the liquid.


    ¡°Hello, little bees. Working hard today?¡±


    The bees mostly ignored her but at least one or two of the workers flying in the air seemed to react to her voice. She had been speaking aloud every time she fed them in hopes that they might form a positive association to the sound. Anything she could try to do to set them at ease.


    She walked right up to the hive and opened the roof of the beehouse. She had moved a bit closer each day when feeding the bees. Two days ago, she had finally reached the hive. Yesterday, she had attempted to open the hive and check on the brood as the Tower Keeper taught her. The guards had nearly attacked her again, but since she had not harmed the brood and provided the guards with generous honeydew helpings to boot, they had ultimately allowed it.


    Today would be the moment of truth. To find out just how far the bees would tolerate her. To see if they could truly develop a symbiotic rtionship.Paisijik gently removed one of the trays, one of three that was currently glowing slightly. As she did, she red her mana and spoke up.


    ¡°Hi there, First of the Ninth. Do you mind if I take one of these?¡±


    She didn¡¯t actually see the queen at the moment, but knew the First of the Ninth would hear her voice. Additionally, she had been feeding her mana into the bees¡¯ food each and every day. The guard bees calmed down a bit as they felt her mana, while some of the worker bees began tond on her, likely searching for food. She had tied a few flowers to her clothes so that they¡¯d find something when they did.


    The hive buzzed but did not react as she pulled out the tray. She examined it closely and found that there were no brood waiting within, as the Tower Keeper had said would be the case.


    She then fought the urge to take a deep breath, instead trying to act as she usually did. She gently reced the roof of the beehouse¡­without returning the tray. And then¡­she began to slowly back away, leaving her bowl behind. The guard bees watched her warily, but did not react. The workers mostly focused on the bowl.


    And so, Paisijik was allowed to back up. Her heart began to pound with each step she took from the hive. Her body filled with adrenaline, ready to toss the tray and sprint away if the hive decided to respond. Every step she had to stop herself from breaking out into a run, or a shout.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Until, finally, she had reached the rest of the karnuq and humans. With a full tray of honey in her hand.


    She nced down at it, her eyes widening as she realized what she had done. Her face curled into a massive grin as she let out the shout she had been holding in.


    ¡°I did it!¡±


    And so, Paisijik became the first karnuq to harvest honeb from a hive.


    Her day was not done yet, however. After a round of joyous if not so subtly jealous congrattions from her fellow students, Paisijik broke her tray into half, and then one of the halves into thirds. She gathered them up and walked over to the Tower Keeper, bowing her head before him.


    ¡°Tower Keeper, sir, thank you for teaching me!¡±


    He smiled and shook his head.


    ¡°No, you did well on your own. Even I didn¡¯t think of feeding them like that, it was a good idea.¡±


    She beamed at his praise, not least of all because that was the method she devised from her family¡¯s old expertise, but shook her head in turn.


    ¡°Thank you, but you still taught me most of it! Please, ept this! I want you to have some of my first harvest!¡±


    The Tower Keeper nodded with a smile and took the sixth of the tray she held out to him.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll enjoy it.¡±


    She smiled back and then made her way over to one of the other humans.


    ¡°You there, human, thank you for your help. Please, ept this!¡±


    She held out another sixth. The young human¡¯s eyes widened as the older one tranted, then held his hands up and began shaking his head. He spoke to the old man who ryed his words back to her.


    ¡°He says he cannot, for it is his duty to help after participating in the attack on the Tower.¡±


    Paisijik frowned.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Then she forced the sixth of a tray into his hands, letting go so that he was forced to catch it. She gave him an intent gaze.


    ¡°Indeed, debts should be paid. But if the Tower Keeper has allowed you here, then I assume he has imed the debt of blood we are owed. So, I still intend to pay mine.¡±


    The young man panicked but calmed down a bit as the older human ryed her words. The young man hung his head, and then slowly nodded.


    ¡°He says thank you.¡±


    Paisijik nodded back and then made her to thest person she had to thank. She walked across the flower meadow with the rest of the tray until she came to the exit and stood before the Shrine of Bees. She ced the half tray into the wax chest and bowed her head.


    ¡°Thank you, God of Bees. Thank you for this Tower to push back the Hunger. Thank you for allowing us to make our home here. Thank you for my teacher, your Tower Keeper, and for the bees now living in my beehouse. Please, ept this offering and my gratitude. If not for you, your Tower, your Tower Keeper, and your bees, I would not have been able to reim my ancestors¡¯ craft.¡±


    Paisijik opened her eyes and smiled as she saw the wax chest sh. She rose to her feet, and then, finally, took a bite out of thest sixth of the honeb left to her. Her very first bite of the honeb made by her very own beehive.


    It tasted sweet indeed.


    And then the entire Shrine of Bees lit up like the sun and engulfed her in light. When she came to, she stood frozen in ce, her eyes trembling as her heart pounded.


    <em>The God of Bees offers you her full blessing. If you wish to ept, please select one of the following blessings:</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Rancher</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Monster Tamer</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Druid</em>


    <strong><em>- Blessing of the Beekeeper</em></strong>


    Paisijik fell to her knees. Few of her ancestors had ever had the opportunity to challenge for a god¡¯s blessing. Fewer still, if any at all, had actually received one. And now¡­now she had been found worthy.


    She could have a god¡¯s blessing on her ancestors¡¯ ancient craft in tending flocks and herds. Not only would this allow her to reim the craft that had been lost, but potentially to surpass her ancestors¡¯ greatest aplishments.


    Or she could learn to tame monsters. The wolf-moles that popped out of the ground, the cave panthers stalking in the darkness, the me worms that could set a tunnel aze. All of the predators and horrors that had stalked the n on its journey could be hers tomand against their enemies.


    She could even be a druid and take her first step onto the path of magic. Tomand the forces of nature and the will of the world, if the legends and rumors of such beings were true. The karnuq never had druids of their own that she could recall, but they told stories of such blessings amongst their enemies.


    Or¡­she could lean into the power of the god who ruled the Tower she now called home, and fully embrace the new craft taught to her by the Tower Keeper.


    But whatever she chose to do, Paisijik knew her efforts had been rewarded. Her future, and her family¡¯s future with it, had never been brighter.

 Chapter 173: Bee-vine Favor

    Chapter 173: Bee-vine Favor


    Belissar watched with a smile as Paisijik handed out her honeb and then offered the remaining half of the tray to the God of Bees. He was only slightly surprised this time when the Shrine lit up. What work would the God of Bees approve of more than beekeeping, after all?


    <em>A challenger has been fully blessed.</em>


    <em>Gained 20 DP.</em>


    <em>A challenger has selected a blessing unique to your patron.</em>


    <em>Gained additional 10 DP.</em>


    His smile grew, for he had a feeling he knew what sort of blessing Paisijik had selected.


    Only then, did he see the words that caused his jaw to drop.


    <em>Mission: Teach the karnuq the art of beekeepingpleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: One sk of ambrosia</em>Belissar gaped at the message for a while. He jumped when Niobeended on him to ensure he could feel her dance.


    ¡°King ok?¡±


    Belissar gulped.


    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know. If¡­this is what I think it is¡­then¡­¡±


    He stumbled over to the chest and gently lifted the lid with trembling hands. There, sitting innocuously at the bottom, was a simple, unadorned wooden sk, sealed by beeswax and propolis. Belissar slowly reach down for it, flinching back just before touching it.


    Even as a Tower Keeper blessed by two gods, even though he knew much of the doctrine on the gods he was raised with was wrong, still he hesitated to touch the sk. How could he not? In the tales Mrs. Imkomos told him, those of ancient heroes and great deeds from a time before the hunger or even the kings of old, ambrosia was nothing less than the ultimate treasure. The food of the gods themselves, said to heal any ailment or injury. Said to grant long, or even eternal, life to the mortals lucky enough to taste it. Rumor among the peasantry had it that the Tower Lords were gifted with ambrosia and that this was the reason for their long life, though as many others imed such a thing did not and could not exist.


    This¡­this was something even Mrs. Imkomos wasn¡¯t certain actually existed. Only that, whether as metaphor or reality, ambrosia represented one of the most precious gifts a god could offer to a mortal who had found their favor.


    And now Belissar had a sk of it.


    He gulped and gathered his courage, then touched the sk. After he was not struck down by divine retribution, he wrapped his fingers around the sk and gingerly lifted it out of the chest. He held it in front of his face with both hands, staring at it.


    He very gently uncorked the cap and nced inside, angling it so the light of the sun would illuminate the insides. His eyes widened. He blinked and looked again. He blinked, rubbed his eyes to ensure nothing obscured his sight, and then looked again. He looked once more with his Tower sight. There, sitting in the sk, was a viscous golden liquid¡­and one that, surprisingly, he recognized. Ambrosia, the legendary food of the gods¡­was a type of honey? A honey more golden and flowing more smoothly than any he had ever seen before, with a shine and a subtle glow that made it appear more as solid gold, but still honey without any doubt.


    Belissar slowly looked up at the statue of the God of Bees. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his pounding heart. Frighteningly legendary treasure or not, this was first and foremost a gift from his patron, a reward for the task she had set him to. If she thought this was an appropriate reward, who was he to object?


    So, he simply bowed his head.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll treasure it.¡±


    Belissar immediately store the sk in the core room, leaning right on the core¡¯s pedestal itself. He may have epted that he was now the owner of a divine treasure from myth and legend, but that didn¡¯t mean he had any idea of what to actually do with it. Should he drink it himself, as a perfectly healthy and young Tower Keeper? Spread it out among the bees, though the size of the sk meant they couldn¡¯t possibly all have a taste? Share it with the karnuq¡­or one karnuq, as the amount he had would allow? Save it in case someone got an injury or illness they couldn¡¯t heal? The supposed powers of ambrosia were so far and away from anything he had ever dealt with that he couldn¡¯t even begin to decide what an appropriate use of it would be.


    So, he didn¡¯t. He ced it in the most secure part of his Tower and left it there, for now. He¡¯d try to remember the stories Mrs. Imkomos has told him in more detail; now that he knew ambrosia was true perhaps there was some truth to the legends too. Butter, when he felt slightly less overwhelmed by situations of mythical proportions he now found himself in.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He took a deep breath, and set out to handle slightly less divine parts of his day¡­or so he intended.


    Because just then, the Tower flooded his vision with more messages. Belissar¡¯s mind, still recovering from <em>receiving</em><em>ambrosia</em>, just went nk and refused to process anything more.


    The First of the Fourth¡¯s gardener made her way over to the front of the Flower Meadow, near the wooden tform the hive of the fallen used to reach the sky. It was far enough from the actual battlefield that her experiments wouldn¡¯t get in the way of the daily purifications, but close enough that a sess could assist in battle.


    If she had any sesses, that was.


    She had been at it for a few days and now there were several thorny stems just starting to grow into bushes around the tform. She had filled the original rose flowers with pollen, taken the seed that resulted, and then nted them over here. She then hade here each day and stuffed the sprouts with as much of her mana as she could, boosting their growth as fast as she could without harming their health. The flowers had grown and bloomed quickly, allowing her to see the results of herbors.


    But none of them had proven suitable for her goals. Oh, the flowers had changed, that much was a sess. A cross with mana flowers had boosted the nt¡¯s overall mana density and strengthened its thorns. It had grown more popr with the foragers than its original parent, but that was it. It was still just a small flower with some small, if surprisingly sharp, thorns. Nothing that could stop a shade like the karnuq and the wall of long spines they carried. A shade could simply walk around it, or step, jump, or fly over it, or use fire, lightning, or dark mist to destroy it. It would not contribute anything to the battle but a minor inconvenience.


    So, she had tried otherbinations. The poisonous herbs gave thorns dripping with purple sap. A ground mana flower hardened the stems and thorns until they were like rock. The me radish, in exchange for nearly burning her legs trying to carry heated pollen, resulted in thorns hot to the touch.


    But, in the end, they were all still just roses with small flowers. None of them could stop a shade. None of them could fulfill her desire to defend the hive of hives alongside her queen.


    So, she had branched out. She had tried pollen from every flower she could get her legs on. From mundane and medicinal flowers from the most exotic flowers in the furthest corners of the King¡¯s Realm, ones she had to ask the gardeners of the other hives to help her gather. Medicinal herbs just made the thorns thinner and weaker. Seeds pollinated by cloudberries and underworld phlox just failed to germinate at all, their mana informing her that the Flower Meadow simply wasn¡¯t suitable.


    Still, none of them had worked. By the time she approached the gardeners of the Apiary for assistance, she had grown desperate. It seemed that this idea, too, would be a failure. That there would truly be no way for her to contribute anything of note to the hive of hives¡¯ defenses. That there would be no way for her to participate in her queen¡¯s grand mission.


    So, she had done something she wasn¡¯t supposed to. The other gardeners had directed her to the most exotic flowers in the Apiary: the slime flower with its viscous sap. She had to recruit the assistance of a slime worker from the First of the Fifth to even approach this one, unable to locate any pollen that she could recognize. The worker had gathered a glob of slime a bit more solid than the rest that she insisted was some kind of pollen. The gardener had had her doubts but who was she to refuse at this point?


    So, against her better judgement, she had jabbed her legs into the gooey mass and flown it back through the King¡¯s Realm, until she arrived back at her roses. Then, she had flown over a scattered mess of multi-colored dust, her attempt to make a pollen bag out of every different kind of pollen she could gather. It hadn¡¯t worked, the pollen from different sources refused to stick together and the whole thing fell apart at the slightest breeze. Her instincts had even warned her that this was a bad idea, that it would turn out poorly even if she could get all the pollen together.


    She hadn¡¯t cared, so she went and smashed the gooey mass over the pollen, turning the whole thing into a slimy, grungy mess as the different colors blended together within the slime. Then she had stuffed the whole thing into the nearest mana rose and flown off to sleep.


    In something of a surprise, that flower had actually produced a seed. She had nted the seed and stuffed it with as much mana as she could make. That had been thest idea she had, so she wished with all that she was that something would result. That the Queen of All Bees would guide her to a way to defend the hive of hives.


    Today, she would check on that seed. Her wings slowed as she grew closer to the bush. Every instinct she had as a gardener told her that mixing the pollens like that, especially with the slimy one, should have ended badly. If the seed failed the germinate, then¡­well, she didn¡¯t know what she¡¯d do then. Maybe go volunteer to serve the hive of the fallen, the hive made of only bees that had truly fought to defend the hive of hives. If they would take a failure such as herself¡­


    She had to force herself to fly past the other roses so she could see the spot she had nted the seed. Her wings buzzed and she nearly dropped to the ground. The seed had, at least, managed to sprout and germinate.


    Which meant that now was the next moment of truth. She couldn¡¯t even force herself to fly again, this time crawling across the ground until she stood before the little shoot. It was a tiny thing, smaller than her with naught but two little leaves on top of its miniature stem. She stopped moving her abdomen to draw in air as she gingerly extended her mana towards the nt, intending to find out what exactly it was¡­


    And then, the shoot <em>twitched.</em>


    She felt its mana m into her own, and nearly stepped back from shock. A gardener¡¯s mana could connect with that of a nt, feeding her information on its current state. But never before had a nt <em>moved </em>its own mana towards hers. Not with the mana flowers, or even the slimy flower. The mana of nts normally barely reacted to her presence.


    This nt was all but stuffing its mana into hers. It was not letting her analyze its condition. It was <em>telling</em> her what it felt. It was thirsty, and it wanted more water. And its reaction was not limited to mana. Its stem bent as far as the tiny stem could, its two little leaves waving vaguely in her direction.


    And as her mind shook at these revtions, her own mana returned with its own report, telling her the general characteristics of the nt along with its current state. As she processed the information, her wings began to buzz.


    This one¡­might not be a failure after all. Which meant that¡­maybe, just maybe, neither was she.

 Chapter 174: Flower Bee-wards

    Chapter 174: Flower Bee-wards


    The gardener quickly put extraneous thoughts aside and focused. Now that she had a flower that might suit her purposes, she needed to ensure it grew healthy and strong. The nt was requesting additional water and her own mana agreed with that assessment. Now she needed to figure out the best way to bring it more.


    But as she pondered, the shoot itself began to move. It dug itself out of the ground, revealing a bulbous, slight glowing section at the very bottom of the stem. Its roots slithered out from the ground and began to writhe and grasp like particrly uncoordinated legs. The nt continued to wave its leaves in her direction.


    Well, if the nt could remove itself from the ground, then the task was simple. The gardener wrapped the nt in her legs and took off. The nt¡¯s leaves and roots began writhing about as they rose into the air, but her grip on it was firm. Eventually it wrapped its little roots around her legs as best it could as she flew them both towards the nearest pond.


    Belissar¡¯s mind finally caught up enough for him to begin acknowledging the messages in his face.


    <em>A new monster has been born!</em>


    <em>Venomous Slime Rose is now avable!</em>


    <em>Venomous Slime Rose</em>


    <em>Vitality: Below Average</em>


    <em>Strength: Below Average</em><em>Speed: Minor</em>


    <em>Magic: Below Average</em>


    <em>Defense: Minor</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minor</em>


    <em>Special: Below Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Vine Whip, Venomous Thorns, Aqua Regeneration, Fluid Absorption</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 5 (10 with Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Description: This rose has a bonded slime core mixing its slime with its sap, granting it mobility, intention, and an improved ability to absorb fluids. It aggressively seeks out fluids to fuel its growth and will defend itself with its thorn-tipped vines. It is surprisingly difficult to kill, as any part of its body sans its core may be regrown so long as it has ess to sufficient fluids or nutrients.</em>


    <em>This variant also fills its thorns with a dangerous toxin on ount of the eclectic mix of pollen from hazardous species it was raised on.</em>


    Belissar nced around a bit with his Tower sight before realizing he honestly had no idea where to look. The thorny rose he nted by the Bee Barracks still appeared the same, so the bees must have nted this one somewhere else.


    ¡°Hey Niobee, looks like one of the gardeners raised a monster flower of some kind? Could you check and find out which one and where they are?¡±


    ¡°Ok! Will!¡±


    Belissar took a deep breath as Niobee flew off to dance with the other bees. He was certainly curious about the new monster and wanted to see it for himself. He also wanted to confirm it was a Tower monster and so not dangerous to the bees and the karnuq. But all of that would have to wait, for the new monster notification was only the first of the messages.


    <em>Mission: Spawn or evolve one Flower attribute monster with the help of beespleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: One Flower-type room feature choice.</em>


    <em>The God of Flowers offers a minor blessing.</em>


    <em>A non-patron god, the God of Flowers, offers her blessing! The God of Flowers will be added to the Shrine in some rooms. ept?</em>


    That monster was apparently sufficient for the God of Flower¡¯s mission, who now also wanted to be his patron. That choice¡­was quite straightforward and even eased Belissar¡¯s overwhelmed mind a bit. The God of Flowers was a perfect patron for a Tower full of bees and Belissar already knew the God of Bees approved, so he had no reason to hesitate.


    <em>Minor Blessing of Flowers applied.</em>


    <em>Effects:</em>


    <em>- Flower-rted options slightly more frequent.</em>


    <em>- Some special flower-rted options are unlocked and may now appear</em>


    <em>- Flower monster upgrades and evolutions are now slightly cheaper and easier to unlock</em>


    <em>- Slight boost to the growth of flowers and Flower-type monsters</em>


    As before, a wave of mana passed through him and the Tower. His vision brightened with a cascade of colors and a sweet scent lingered on the air. He tried to focus on where the mana concentrated¡­but found that, this time, it had concentrated in multiple ces. Shrines in not just one but several of his rooms had changed.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    In all three Flower Meadows, both Orchards, the Fairy Grove, and the new Apothecary¡¯s Hut, a giant flower sprouted from the ground by the statue of the God of Bees, blooming to reveal colorful chests in each of their centers.


    <em>Mission: Earn the blessing of a new secondary patronpleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: </em><strong><em>One cross-perk choice!</em></strong>


    As with the God of Fire, the God of Bees approved of this development. Belissar couldn¡¯t help but grin and rub his hands together as he thought of a cross-perk between the God of Bees and the God of Flowers. Flowers were critical to his Tower, just how many of their advances had been off the back of mana flowers and cross-pollination? He greatly anticipated seeing what perks would result when the God of Bees and God of Flowersbined their powers.


    But before he could check the choices, he still had onest set of messages to review.


    <em>Mission prerequisites fulfilled! Mission offer unlocked.</em>


    <em>The God of Flowers wishes to offer you a quest. ept?</em>


    Belissar nodded. Of course he would ept quests from such a crucial god.


    <em>New mission received: Help one monster or sworn defender receive a Blessing of Flowers.</em>


    Belissar nodded and started rubbing his chin. Help someone get blessed by the God of Flowers, huh? His first thought was Juosiutik given how much she worked with flowers, but she had already been blessed by the God of Bees. Though, Metsaitti had apparently received some kind of joint blessing from the God of Bees and the God of Fire, could something like that work.


    But then, Belissar¡¯s eyes opened wide as he looked over the mission once more. Tower monsters¡­could be blessed by the gods? He hadn¡¯t known that was option. But if it was¡­the Third of the Sixth¡¯s evolution method apparently inspired Metsaitti¡¯s trial, which in turn inspired Beero¡¯s own attempt. His bees were already putting themselves through something like the God of Fire¡¯s trial¡­so wouldn¡¯t they be able to take on another? If they could handle the God of Fire¡¯s trial, surely they could take on one from the God of Flowers, a god they were far more suited for in the first ce.


    On the other hand, neither Beero nor the Third of the Sixth had received a blessing for their own evolutions, so maybe it worked differently for monsters. Belissar wasn¡¯t sure, and Chief Rohsuak didn¡¯t know much about the inner workings of Towers. Maybe Sehfitis might? Belissar would have to ask him again.


    But either way, Belissar was going to try. A bee blessed by the God of Flowers¡­now that would be something to see.


    Belissar spent the rest of the day fidgeting, far too distracted to focus on anything else. He resisted the urge to gather the queens immediately, waiting for the day¡¯s purification. He at least was able to check up on the new monster once Niobee had finished checking with the queens and figured out which gardener was responsible.


    The new monster currently looked just like a normal rose shoot save for a slightly glowing bulb in its stem. What was not normal was that the gardener bee carried it to the battle meadow¡¯s pond¡­and then the shoot crawled on its own to the water¡¯s edge before plunging its roots inside. The shoot swelled before Belissar¡¯s eyes, growing twice its size in a few minutes before withdrawing its roots.


    He had to wait for it to grow a bit more before he could decide how it would fit into his Tower, but it would be one to keep an eye on, that was for sure.


    He barely paid attention to the day¡¯s purification as, of course, it was another turtle shade of all things. He tapped his foot repeatedly as they waited for the turtle to slowly, ponderously, slothfully crawl its way to the nearest pit trap and fall inside. He all but tossed the purification reward message aside with scarcely a look, just taking the mana so he could move on.


    And then, finally, after as short a celebration as he feltfortable with, Belissar gathered the queens and the karnuq leaders. He grinned as he watched them.


    ¡°We have a new patron god, and some rewards from her to decide on.¡±


    Metsaitti¡¯s eyes widened while Chief Rohsuak smiled, and the bees began a celebratory dance. Belissar chuckled as finally, <em>finally</em>, he opened up the rewards.


    <em>Select a room feature:</em>


    <em>- Bee Balm (Rarity: Common, Type: Flower, Bee, Resource)</em>


    <em>-Bursting Death Camus (Rarity: Umon, Type: Flower, Poison, Trap)</em>


    <em>- Clover (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Flower)</em>


    It took a great deal of self-control not to select the option with bee in the name, but Belissar figured he should at least read the descriptions.


    <em>Bee Balm</em>


    <em>- Type: Flower, Bee</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 1 per node, 0 to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- Description: A flowering nt beloved by pollinators. Its bright colors and strong production of sugar-rich nectar attracts attention, particrly from bees. It has some minor medicinal and culinary uses as well.</em>


    The description did not assist with his self-control. A flower that was specifically good for bees, that produced a lot of sugar-rich nectar? Belissar had <em>just</em> invested in honeypots to boost honey production, this flower could apparently assist with that at practically zero cost. The First of the Fifth was already starting to fly in circles.


    Only by the promise of an umon option did Belissar move on to the next one.


    <em>Bursting Death Camus</em>


    <em>- Type: Flower, Poison, Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 10 per node, 5 to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- Description: Every part of this flower is poisonous, from its leaves and its stems to its seeds and flowers, filled with a highly-stable toxin that is not easily degraded. Even pollinators beware as even the flower¡¯s nectar and pollen are toxic, and only specialized toxin-resistant species can forage from it.</em>


    <em>This particr variant has been evolved by mana and will release a cloud of toxic pollen when disturbed, making it a dangerous trap within seemingly innocuous flower patches.</em>


    Belissar frowned and crossed his arms. More traps were good, necessary even. A deadly, toxic flower would fit well within his Tower. But¡­apparently this flower was toxic even to pollinators, such as his bees. That alone gave him pause, for what was the point of a flower his bees couldn¡¯t forage from?


    Still, a poisonous flower such as this could very improve the battle meadow¡¯s defenses. And the description didn¡¯t say that <em>no</em> pollinators could forage from it, so maybe there was a type of bee that could? They could gather from the poisonous herbs without issue, and the First of the Fifth¡¯s Third Daughter had recently raised an antidote bee. If they could utilize this flower, he imagined the bees raised on it would be quite useful for the bee army. Worst came to worst, even if the bees couldn¡¯t use this flower, Juosiutik probably could. Though, she did already have ess to the death cap mushrooms, so perhaps that was redundant.


    It was something to think about. For now, there was one more option to check, though this one seemed quite mundane.


    <em>Clover</em>


    <em>- Type: Nature, Flower</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 1 per node, 0 to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- Description: A short-lived flowering nt that grows freely. Edible as is and a good source of nectar for pollinators, but its main benefit is that it improves soil quality, boosting the growth of other nearby nts.</em>


    And it was¡­but that didn¡¯t mean he could discard it. The humble clover wouldn¡¯t poison shades and probably wouldn¡¯t result in new monster bee types¡­but apparently it improved soil quality. Boosting the growth of other nts, now that was a benefit worth considering.


    Belissar rubbed his chin. He thought this choice would be easy¡­but apparently it would not.


    And he hadn¡¯t even checked the cross-perk yet.

 Chapter 175: Flower-Bee Choices

    Chapter 175: Flower-Bee Choices


    Belissar decided to first check out the cross-perks before making the final decision. He grinned as he opened the reward.


    <strong><em>Select a cross-perk (Bee/Flower):</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Bee-caller Pheromones</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Symbiotic Foraging</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Empowering Pollination</em></strong>


    Belissar nearly giggled from how giddy he felt. Even from just the names alone, he had a good feeling about these.


    <strong><em>Bee-caller Pheromones</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- When damaged, flowers and Flower-type features and monsters release pheromones. Pheromones may stick to the damaging entity.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Affected bees and Bee-type features and monsters are drawn to the damaged flower and targets marked by the pheromone.</em></strong><strong><em>- Affected bees and Bee-type features and monsters receive a boost to strength and speed and will attack marked targets more aggressively</em></strong>


    Belissar rubbed his chin as he considered this one. So, his bees would grow stronger if a shade or invader damaged a flower? If that applied to regr flowers too, then this perk would automatically trigger the moment anything stepped into the Flower Meadow, so it would be a constant boost to the strength and speed of the bee army.


    However, Belissar hesitated due to thatst part. The bees acting more aggressively might be a downside rather than a benefit. He thought of the moment he and the bees realized the Tower Lord¡¯s son had found them. Belissar had found the bee army swarming as Niobee danced angrily. In that moment, the precise and trained formations of the bee army had broken down and they reverted to their base instincts¡­the exact kind of instincts which led the first hives to disaster. Is that what would happen to his bees when they smelled these aggression-boosting pheromones. If so, then these pheromones might lead to more bee casualties rather than less, depending on if the boost in strength and speed could make up for the bee army abandoning its carefully honed methods.


    Additionally, there was a question of how exactly the perk worked. Would Belissar have any say in when the flowers released the pheromones, or would it be <em>any</em> time a flower was damaged? Would the pheromones affect him or the karnuq? What about a visiting sigmaka? Would they be attacked if they stepped on a flower, making the Flower Meadowspletely off-limits to everyone? Would Juosiutik be attacked if she picked a flower for her potions?


    The perk just felt like a risky one to Belissar, so he moved on to the next.


    <strong><em>Symbiotic Foraging</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- When a bee forages from a flower, they exchange mana with each other.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Bees and flowers affected may gain temporary boosts or traits from each other, if applicable.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Bees and flowers may adapt to one another if repeatedly foraged. If Cross-Pollination is avable, boosts the rate of cross-pollination and new seeds may receive traits from the pollinating bee. If Bee Hybridizing is avable, boost the rate of pollen and nectar based evolutions.</em></strong>


    Well, that was certainly a curious perk. Belissar wasn¡¯t too sure what the first two parts would do, but thest one made things a bit clearer. So, this perk would assist with Cross-Pollination and raising new bees both? That alone made it a tempting choice indeed. And then there was the part about adapting to one another. He knew the bees had a hard time gathering from the me radish and fire mana flowers until they evolved burning workers, maybe this perk would have let normal workers adapt earlier? There was also that part about new seeds receiving traits from the bees¡­could the shocking queen make some sort of lightning mana flower? If this perk did everything he thought it might, the possibilities could be staggering.


    If that was the case, was the second part about temporary boosts or traits something like a temporary evolution? Could regr bees temporarily be maddening or medicinal bees by foraging from those flowers? Or was that too great of a change?


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Whatever the case, this perk definitely had his attention¡­and that of his bees as well, if the way they were hovering closer was any indication. The next option certainly had steeppetition.


    <strong><em>Empowering Pollination</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Bees and Bee-type monsters and features imbue flowers with mana while foraging</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Affected flowers and Flower-type monsters and features receive a boost to stats and capabilities, depending on the flower and bee types in question and the amount of mana imbued.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Affected flowers and Flower-type monsters and features receive a boost to their growth</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Boosts the rate of pollination and seed formation. If Cross-Pollination is avable, boosts the rate of Cross-Pollination.</em></strong>


    Belissar tilted his head. At first nce, this one seemed simr to thest one. On closer inspection, he noted that this one was more focused on the flowers themselves. It didn¡¯t affect the bees, but it would also help the flowers grow more quickly, both by growing the existing flower and by spreading more seeds.


    On the one hand, he¡¯d prefer something that affected his bees a bit more directly¡­but flowers did. More flowers growing more quickly meant more honey and pollen to raise more bees. Faster Cross-Pollination gave him some of the effects of the previous perk, as new flowers also meant new bees.


    And as far as boosting flowers went, his bees had just raised a new flower monster, so who knew what its capabilities might be if they spread and strengthened it? He also had the thorny roses and the gravilion flower which could also benefit from a boost. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure since they hadn¡¯t actuallye into contact with a shade yet, but more options were always helpful. Additionally, there was that option for the bursting death camus, a flower-based trap that seemed easier to utilize than the roses or the still mysterious gravilion. <em>If</em> the bees could forage from it, that was. In fact, in that case, the second option might be better since it might let the bees adapt to the poison.


    Belissar took the opinions of the bees, this time asking each queen one by one for her opinion. The battle meadow queens were split between Bee-caller Pheromones and Symbiotic Foraging, mainly depending on if they were excited for the strength and speed boost or if they shared his reservations about the increased aggression. The Third of the Sixth and the other Lava Field queen seemed not to have such reservations and so preferred the first. Beero was mainly curious about Symbiotic Foraging and how it might impact a bee¡¯s mana.


    The Fourth of the Seventh liked all of them. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter and the other Orchard and Fairy Grove queens preferred Symbiotic Foraging. The Apiary queens were somewhat split between thetter two, debating amongst each other if it was better to grow more flowers or to change the bees themselves. The bumblebees and the carpenter bees just zipped around in circles, but zipped a bit faster for thetter two.


    He checked with the karnuq. Chief Rohsuak shook her head and chuckled.


    ¡°Well, as usual, you are more informed for these decisions than we are, Tower Keeper Belissar, but I will say this. Any improvement in the amount or types of nts avable will benefit our people as well, and Juosiutik would be well pleased.¡±


    Belissar nodded and made his first choice.


    <strong><em>Symbiotic Foraging selected.</em></strong>


    In the end, more bees preferred this choice than either of the others and Belissar himself agreed. The benefits it offered both his bees and the flowers were too good to pass up, especially in light of the earlier choices of honeypots and Bee Hybridization. Symbiotic Foraging made both of them better, made his whole Tower better.


    He then crossed his arms and began to hum. The next choice was not as simple, as there was ample case for either of the three. Bee Balm offered more nectar for more honey, further boosting the benefit of honeypots, but didn¡¯t offer much new in and of itself. Still, it had the word bee in the name, so it couldn¡¯t be a loss. Bursting Death Camus would strengthen their defenses on its own and offered more potent toxins. It was a choice that could open up new options for bee evolutions and Cross-Pollination¡­<em>if</em> the bees could forage from it. Symbiotic Foraging might help with that but what if the poison was so deadly no bee could survive long enough to adapt? And then there was the humble clover, which did little by itself or for the bees, but that would improve every other flower in the Tower. More flowers of every type meant more bees, and it meant faster growth for new flower types should they arise. Speaking of which, maybe it could help the newly sprouted flower monster as well?


    Belissar grunted and furrowed his brow, pacing a bit. He thought about his bees and what they desired. He thought about the Tower and all the rooms it had. He thought about the different flowers they had avable. He thought about the karnuq and what they could do. He thought about the battles they had fought, and were soon to fight. He considered the God of Flowers and the God of Bees. Finally, he made his decision.


    <em>Bee Balm selected. Bee Balm is now avable!</em>


    Symbiotic Foraging would see his bees and his flowers working together to be stronger together. He decided, then, that a flower made for bees would be the best choice. Bursting Death Camus was tempting, but it was a flower that might poison the bees. It was a flower that would operate on its own. If he just wanted stronger poisons, then perhaps either the bees or Juosiutik could do something with the death caps, or maybe the Enhanced Toxins perk might show up again. If he wanted a flower that could attack, well, his bees had already raised a monster flower on their own. As for clovers, he could always buy more flower nodes if the flowers weren¡¯t growing fast enough.


    Bee Balm, on the other hand, was a flower that would make his bees happy, and ensure they had the honey needed to grow as they wished, especially if it could be cross-pollinated. It worked with everything he had chosen recently and worked towards the future he ultimately desired.


    And, most of all, it helped the bees grow faster¡­which is ultimately what they needed most. He didn¡¯t think one umon poisonous flower would be enough to stop a ten-thousand stronger Tower Guard army, and didn¡¯t know if it would stop even a single powerful shade. At the end of the day, it would probably be up to his bees to do that.


    The least he could do was ensure they were happy and well-fed.


    The bees burst into their usual happy dances as Belissar announced the new choices. He could only hope he had chosen as wisely as they believed.

 POBee 175.1 - Hive of Healing

    POBee 175.1 - Hive of Healing


    The Second of the Sixth buzzed her wings as her workers reported to her. She stood in the midst of her Bee Apartment, filled to the brim not with yellow but bluish green as medicinal workers filled medicinal honebs with medicinal honey. One wall, however, had turned yellow with bits of color here and there as it disyed the interior of Beero¡¯s growing Memorial Hive. Her workers flew in from the other hive to report now the status of their charges.


    Yet another disy of the King¡¯s might, and his love for all bees. After her transformation, the Second of the Sixth had the opportunity to watch the King firsthand. She watched him build pces for brand new bees by his own hands. She herself had been showered in flowers and shelters galore. And when battles came and bees were injured, she found him right there at her side. Her new instincts informed her how to care for and heal bees. The King had done so with no instincts or transformations at all.


    It had been seeing the King watching with concern as she tended to the wounded, and then participating in the healing himself, that taught the Second of the Sixth the King¡¯s true character. And that was why she had epted the First of the Fifth¡¯s own transformation, one of perspective rather than chitin. She realized the First of the Fifth must have also deciphered the nature of the King and thus pivoted herself to follow suit.


    The Second of the Sixth could only be grateful to her. Because now, thanks to her transformation via a flower offered to her freely, the Second of the Sixth could truly match the heart of the King. Every aspect of her hive, from their inborn instincts to the designs of their bodies to the honey and wax they produced, was geared towards taking care of bees. For a while, the Second of the Sixth had basked in contentment, knowing she had found a ce within the hive of hives that the King would value greatly. She was the one who could assuage his fears and grief when the soldier bees fulfilled their duty.


    But no longer.


    The Second of the Sixth rxed, letting her proboscis unwind and her antennae droop. The workers reported back positively, the wounded bees were predicted to make full recoveries shortly. Sans those who had lost wings or limbs, but those had already been gathered to the hive of the fallen and were training in Beero¡¯s methods even now.


    Which meant the risk the Second of the Sixth had taken wouldn¡¯te back to sting her after all. She dismissed the workers back to their duties before taking off and flying to a newly built section of her hive. There, new children were just crawling out of their cells.


    Children asrge as herself.


    Thistest battle had both shaken and enlightened the Second of the Sixth. Shaken, for her hive had proven inadequate to their task for the first time since her transformation. The sheer numbers of wounded, plus the size of the bumblebees,ncers, and the karnuq, had stretched her hive to its limit. To her shame, the King himself had been forced to intercede personally and injured himself in the process. No bee, whether the Firstborn when a shade bypassed her army, the First of the Fifth when she hadpletely misread the King, or even the fallen First Dynasty of the First Spawner that had perished to a bee, had allowed the King to be injured by their failures. She would never forget that she had been the first.Enlightening, though, for the karnuq had shown her a way forward. Their sheer size meant that the medicines they prepared were equally great in quantity. Additionally, she watched as the karnuq warriors evacuated their wounded mid-battle, pulling them away from the fight so that they could be tended immediately.


    And so, the Second of the Sixth had begun to raise soldiers. The first of the medicinal soldiers crawled out of her cell, as bluish green as the rest of her hive. Her stinger was a needle like thing resembling the hair on a bumblebee¡¯s back. It was as long as the stingers of the regr soldiers, yet no thicker than the stingers of her medicinal workers, and so could be applied to any bee of any size despite its growth. Beyond that, she appeared as a regr soldier, with the tough chitin, powerful wings, and solid limbs of a bee intended to fly into danger. She had not thought soldier bees had any particr value to her hive¡¯s mission, but she had since been dissuaded of that notion.


    With this, the Second of the Sixth had bees that could tend torger allies far more efficiently than the swarm of workers previously required. Additionally, the soldiers¡¯ greater strength meant they would be able to pick up wounded bees and carry them to safety, while their greater size and protection would allow them to do so even as a battle raged. She could tend to wounded bees right away, before their wounds grew critical, and handle the casualties as they came to stagger the work for her hive.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Additionally, one of the soldiers crawled out of her cell with no stinger at all, having been raised as a sprayer. The Second of the Sixth had realized howcent she had been, and so had resolved to leave no flower un-foraged. She thought that soldiers, who couldn¡¯t produce honey and were intended for fighting, had no ce in a hive of healing, yet it was theck of soldiers that spread her hive thin and led the King to injury. In fact, no queen had raised any medicinal bees besides workers, as they had valued the medicinal workers¡¯ ability to tend the brood above all for the limited medicinal honey they had avable.


    The Second of the Sixth was not so limited in her medicinal honey stockpiles, and as the medicinal queen she felt it was her duty to push the limits of what medicinal bees could do. So, now, she would correct her mistake and raise medicinal bees of every type that she could. Soldier bees to carry the wounded. Gardener bees and the new honeypots to boost their honey production. Communers to coordinate her hives¡¯ efforts.


    And, yes, sprayers andncers that she wasn¡¯t sure would even help. And, once the wounded were healed and her stockpiles recovered, perhaps she would even try to train a battlecaster. Her hive had direct contact with Beero¡¯s now, and she had seen what the King¡¯s magic had achieved, so it should be possible.


    Above all, though, the Second of the Sixth resolved that she would pursue absolutely every avenue she could, expend every effort she could. She would never again rest on herurels until she had found the very limit of what a medicinal hive could do. She would never again let any wounded bee fall into danger by inaction.


    And she would never again let the Kinge to harm.


    Meanwhile, another queen prepared to send her bees into harm. The Fourth of the Seventh danced around her mini-hive in the Beyond, amuner by her side. Not her firstmuner, who was currently helping Beero organize her new hive, but that was fine! All of the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯smuners were great!


    Themuner was currently dancing.


    ¡°Scouts ready?¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh watched through themuner link as her scouts out in the Beyond danced their salutes, scattered around their target.


    ¡°Soldiers ready?¡±


    A squad of soldiers gathered together and saluted, ready to intervene at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Themuner turned to the Fourth of the Seventh.


    ¡°Queen, ok to start?¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh nearly took off as she quickly danced her reply.


    ¡°Yes! Start!¡±


    Themuner ryed themand and her bees in the Beyond began flying to their target. With thetest expansion, the borders of the Hunger had been pushed back and no longer came up to that ruined stone hive. There was no longer any reason why the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive could not scout the ruins. So, today, they were sending in the scouts to see if they could find anything useful¡­and to see if the ruins were safe. The soldiers were on standby in case they weren¡¯t.


    The Fourth of the Seventh continued dancing about as she watched through her scouts¡¯ eyes. They approached the ruins from every direction and angle, antennae twitching as they tried to pick up any scents or mana. Indeed, the ambient mana density rose as they approached and entered the old hive. Nowhere near the King¡¯s realm, of course, but higher than they had found in the Beyond thus far.


    The workers followed the mana where it concentrated on the walls of the ruined hive. It seemed to have been arranged in patterns of some sort, though wear and tear had long broken them down. They did, however, remind the Fourth of the Seventh of that pattern the King asked her to find after the battle with the King-shaped enemies. The Fourth of the Seventh stopped dancing for a moment.


    ¡°Tell them to be careful, might be enemies.¡±


    If there were enemies, the Fourth of the Seventh was going to find them and report to the King as quickly as she could. She would find any more patterns before they could do anything this time. She would not let them attack her home again.


    But her resolve was unnecessary, for her scouts found no living things within the ruined hives. They had a scare when they found a King-shaped thing, but on closer inspection it wasn¡¯t moving and was made of rusted metal instead of living flesh, so they recalled the soldier team. Other than that, they found various curiosities. Pieces of wood arranged like the one in the King¡¯s home where he seemed to rest and eat. Weirdly built hive trays made of wood that held thin animal skins and wood. They had weird patterns on them but none of them held mana so the Fourth of the Seventh left them, for now. A room with some shiny rocks, another room with patterns all over the ground and walls and the faint hum of mana. Nothing particrly noteworthy. They thought they found some flowers, but it turned out to be some twisted stems like the ones the King wore that were stained in a way that looked like flowers.


    ¡°Queen, found something!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh raced her attention to the worker indicated by themuner. The worker had found a room attached to a small courtyard. The room was filled with dried nts, while new nts grew in the courtyard beyond. The worker had even detected mana in a few of them.


    At first, she was worried it was more stained stems, but the worker started visiting the flowers and confirmed they were alive. The Fourth of the Seventh couldn¡¯t help but break out into a happy dance. She knew scouting these ruins had mostly been to indulge her own curiosity, but they had found something that would help the hive of hives after all.

 Chapter 176: Bee-utiful Colors

    Chapter 176: Bee-utiful Colors


    The next day, Fourth of the Seventh zipped back through the King¡¯s realm, leading soldier beesden with nts of different kinds. She passed right through the shortcut by the entrance to emerge directly into her home room, making a quick turn to head towards the Orchard. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter and hermuner were already waiting for her.


    ¡°Fourth of the Seventh!¡±


    ¡°First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter!¡±


    The two queens met in the air and brushed antennae before the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter led them back to their joint hive in the Orchard. Oncended, the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter began grooming her. The Fourth of the Seventh returned the favor as hermuner saluted.


    ¡°Queen mother, happy to see.¡±


    ¡°Happy to seemuner too! How is hive?¡±


    Themuner stepped forward until she could brush the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s antennae before resuming her dance.


    ¡°Excellent. King has granted new bee options.¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter paused her grooming to join the report dance.¡°Yes! Reorienting honey production around new bee type as queen mother suggested!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh spun around.


    ¡°Amazing, incredible! King is best king!¡±


    Before they could continue, however, themuner¡¯s fuzzy antennae began to glow and twitch.


    ¡°Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s Second Daughter approaching, wants to meet.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh took off once more, with hermuner and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter following. Her flight sped up as she saw her second daughter approach at the head of a shimmering rainbow.


    ¡°Hi, Second Daughter! How doing?¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh again hovered close enough to brush antennae with her daughter, at least until her daughter started zipping about once more.


    ¡°Queen mother! Look!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh looked and found the shimmering rainbow was actually a swarm of worker bees, each of a different color and with a different feel to her mana. Some were regr colors but different shapes, such as one that was as fuzzy as a bumblebee or another that was sleek and lean with only a bit a hair. She was still partially connected to them all and could tell they were all part of one hive.


    ¡°Wow! Second Daughter raised all?¡±


    Her Second Daughter continued zipping about rapidly.


    ¡°Moved to Fairy Grove! Fairy Grove evolved new workers!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh couldn¡¯t help zipping about at that.


    ¡°Amazing! Incredible! Want to see room!¡±


    ¡°Can show hive! This way!¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s firstmuner were left hovering in ce as the Fourth of the Seventh followed her daughter into the Fairy Grove, nked by the shimmering rainbow swarm. They nced at one another.


    ¡°Queen leader¡­need to report to King?¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter slowly danced her agreement.


    ¡°Yes, definitely. Also have nts Fourth of the Seventh brought. Should remind?¡±


    The firstmuner thought for a moment.


    ¡°Queen mother probably forgot. Should give to King while queen mother explores Fairy Grove.¡±


    ¡°Agreed, is just like her.¡±


    The pair joined in an affectionate confirmation dance at that.


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Mint is now avable.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Rosemary is now avable.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Garlic is now avable.</em>


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Oregano is now avable.</em>


    Belissar smiled at the soldiers bees led by the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter and one of the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯smuners.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°This amazing, great work. And tell the Fourth of the Seventh great work for me as well.¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh had apparently found another set of ruins and the remnants of a herb garden within. Mint had all but taken over the garden, but a nearby pantry had enough of the other nts stored for Belissar to absorb. He didn¡¯t expect any new bees or defense from this haul, but both he and the karnuq would greatly appreciate the extra vors.


    Besides, there was one other nt he now held in his hands.


    <em>Alfalfa</em>


    <em>- Type: Nature, Flower</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 3 per node, 1 to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- Description: A long-lived flowering nt with deep roots. It is tough and resilient, and can even regrow from roots alone. Its ability to umte nutrients and nature mana make it both a highly nutritional crop for the animals that eat it and a beneficialpanion to other nts as it improves soil fertility.</em>


    What drew Belissar most was that the alfalfa could apparently improve soil fertility, and so help other nts grow. If he and the bees nted this around the Tower, they could see improved flower growth across the board, which would speed up cross-pollination as well.


    He¡¯d also ask Juosiutik to go over the haul. There were some seeds and nts the bees hadn¡¯t found enough of for him to absorb, but maybe Juosiutik could grow them in the Apothecary¡¯s Hut should they prove useful. Additionally, he nned to ask Chief Rohsuak if the karnuq could send someone to check out the ruins for anything they might be able to use as well. He knew his bees were a bit focused on flowers in their scouting.


    Now, with the nts taken care of, it was time for Belissar to address the other piece of news the Orchard hive had informed him of. He took a deep breath before sending his Tower sight towards the Fairy Grove. He focused on the shimmering, buzzing rainbow zipping around the Fourth of the Seventh and her daughter until he was looking at a single, bright-red bee.


    <em>Chromatic Monster Bee Worker (Fire)</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Burning Poison Sting, Heat Resistance, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker raised within a chaotic mix of multiple mana types. Develops random mutations and evolutions depending on the bnce of mana types, but still fits into a diverse hive. This one is a worker attuned to Fire type mana, which it uses to help warm the hive.</em>


    Belissar rubbed his chin as he read over the description. So, the Fairy Grove would indeed mutate bees raised there after all, though not in the manner he expected. Despite this bee seemingrgely simr to the burning monster bees living in the Lava Field, it was still considered a different type entirely. He guessed it had something to do with the bee just being one of many variations within its hive, rather than the entire hive converting to one type, but he didn¡¯t know for sure.


    What he did know was this: the Fairy Grove was now proven as safe for bees. Entire hives had moved there and though the workers often seemed to get lost, they always found their way back to their hives. New bees had been born and raised right within the mysterious power of the fairy circles and had adapted without an issue. The Fairy Grove was clearly affecting them, but not in a way that had caused them harm so far.


    It was time to take more advantage of it. Belissar double checked his mana as an idea brewed in his head.


    <em>Mana: 215/1090</em>


    There was no issue whatsoever. He had been selecting mana over and over from the daily purification rewards and had plenty to spare. Now, it was time to make use of the currently empty fifth floor.


    His Tower was currently arranged with the first floor holding a Dirt Tunnels, the Flower Meadow with the Bee Barracks and Memorial that he called the battle meadow, and the Lava Field. The second floor held the Orchard he had started calling the shortcut room, the Fairy Grove, and the Apothecary¡¯s Hut which was ced off to the side. The third floor held the karnuq and the Flower Meadow, Dirt Tunnels, and Orchard he had created for their use. The fourth floor was the apiary floor with the Apiary, a Dirt Tunnels focused more on providing for bees, and the bumblebees¡¯ Flower Meadow.


    He now moved the empty fifth floor in between the first and second floors. He moved the battle meadow and the Lava Field to the new second floor with the battle meadow ced first. Then, in the two empty spots on the first floor, he added a new Fairy Grove and a new Lava Field.


    As he had considered after thest purification, he wanted a room full of trees that the bees could both fly through and use for cover. A Fairy Grove seemed like the best choice for that since its mysterious powers might also lend themselves to the defense. Yet, thest purification had also had Belissar worried. Most of the shades previously had made a beeline for the room¡¯s exit, trying to rush past his bee army to presumably hunt down the core. Thest shade had not done so, but had instead stopped once it encountered the bee army to attack them. It had targeted the bees, not the exit. So, what was to say there wouldn¡¯t be more shades that did that? What was to say there wouldn¡¯t be a shade who intentionally tried to hunt down hives?


    Belissar had allowed the bees to set up hives in rooms designed for defense up until now since they could be kept rtively safe if ced out of the way. He was no longer certain that would be sufficient, nor was it necessary now that shortcuts would allow bees living anywhere in the Tower to fly to the defense rooms at a moment¡¯s notice. As such, he decided he needed a second Fairy Grove: one for defense, and one for the bees to settle in. He decided to do the same for the Lava Field as well, moving the existing one behind the battle meadow and creating a new one the bees could use to fight.


    The battle meadow would now be the first, and hopefully only, room the shades encountered that held beehives. The two Bee Barracks there were designed for defense and the hives that lived there took pride in defending the Tower, so Belissar decided to leave them as thest-ditch defense. All rooms before that would be empty of hives, ces where the bees could fight without worrying about a shade stumbling upon their homes. ces that could be filled with traps and made entirely inhospitable to an invader. All rooms after that would be devoted to the growth of bees, to make the best environments possible to keep them happy.


    As such, Belissar picked up the mini-volcano in the original Lava Field. He had moved monster bee queen spawners between rooms before, so he hoped it work for all features. He was correct and able to move the mini-volcano from the original Lava Field to the new battle Lava Field without issue. The Third of the Sixth wouldn¡¯t have boulders raining down on her home any longer.


    Now, the first floor held a Dirt Tunnels, a Lava Field, and a Fairy Grove all of which were empty of beehives. The battle meadow came on the floor immediately after that, ready to hold the line against any shade that made it thus far. All rooms that came after were now dedicated to his bees, and the sworn defenders that would help him protect them.


    And now that he had no bees there to worry about, it was time to review the first floor¡¯s defenses.

 Chapter 177: Bee-vious Traps

    Chapter 177: Bee-vious Traps


    Belissar first met with Chief Rohsuak. He informed her about the new nts and asked for Juosiutik¡¯s help with the rest, and then requested that the karnuq send someone to check out the ruins. Chief Rohsuak agreed and Belissar went ahead and added new flower nodes for the new herbs in both the karnuq¡¯s Flower Meadow and in the Apiary. He also enabled alfalfa spawning in the Apiary and each of the Flower Meadows, Orchards, and Fairy Groves in the Tower to start boosting soil fertility, requesting that the gardener bees check them out.


    After that, he and Chief Rohsuak made their way over to the humans to consult with Sehfitis. The old man lowered his head as Belissar approached.


    ¡°Greetings, Tower Keeper, how may I serve you?¡±


    Belissar took a deep breath.


    ¡°I wanted to know if you knew anything about how the Tower Lords arrange traps and defenses.¡±


    His chest began to heat at the thought of following the Tower Lords methods, but he did his best to stay calm. Thest few purifications as well as the humans¡¯ attack had clearly demonstrated his traps were falling behind. Yes, the smaller shades from the daily purifications could fall into pits or get dowsed by sticky honey traps on asion, but the big expansion shades he was most worried about ignored them at this point. He was considering if it was even worth the mana to keep the ones he had, much less to buy any more.


    But he also knew that he knew very little about how Towers were run, and it was all too likely that he was missing something. While he was specifically <em>not</em> going to follow the Tower Lords¡¯ example in most cases, trap usage was one area he could stomach it.


    He turned to Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°If you or the karnuq have any advice about traps and defenses, I¡¯d like to hear it as well.¡±Both the human and the karnuq nodded at him and began to think. Sehfitis rubbed his beard.


    ¡°I am not privy to the specific details of Tower arrangement, Tower Keeper, but I did overhear thete Ruckanos as he¡­evaluated your Towerpared to his lessons. He noted that your traps arergely ced one by one so that it was easy to address them. He also noted theck of monsters attacking around the traps.¡±


    Belissar frowned but nodded. He tried to push away any thoughts of the Tower Lord¡¯s son and focus on the words. Chief Rohsuak gave him a hand by speaking up.


    ¡°I would agree, Tower Keeper. Sacred Dens I encountered in the past often used multiyered traps to surprise otherwise wary challengers. Monster and traps working together are also deadlier than either would be separately. Recall Metsaitti¡¯s fight with the Tower Guard, where Metsaitti and your bees managed to push him into a Pit Trap.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as he nodded. That was a good point, the Pit Traps the humans had so easily bypassed in the Dirt Tunnels had imed two of their numbers once they were distracted by the bees as well, including the Tower Guard who was otherwise giving them serious trouble. Even his very use of the Pit Traps had required the bees¡¯ help to drive the shade into the trap. Perhaps it was not that his traps were falling behind, but that he was not using them correctly?


    ¡°So¡­multiyered traps?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Set one trap, then set the next to trigger if the first is bypassed or disabled. For example, if you ce one of your Sticky Honey Traps to spray up and over a Pit Trap, you might catch someone trying to jump over it.¡±


    Belissar listened intently as Chief Rohsuak and Sehfitis offered some different ideas on how to improve his traps. As they suggested, he rearranged some of the Sticky Honey Traps in the Dirt Tunnels to spray over the Pit Traps and moved some of the beeswax candles to the first Pit Trap Tunnel. He spread a few more across the Dirt Tunnels that specifically would not use poisonous wax on Sehfitis¡¯s suggestion, in order to make it harder for anyone to realize they were dangerous.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    In the battle meadow, Belissar moved one of the Pit Traps directly in front of the wooden tform ced about a third of the way into the room so that anyone rushing the tform might fall into the pit. One of the gardeners had apparently nted a bunch of thorny roses there as well, so that anyone trying to jump over the pit mightnd in the thorns. He also moved the gravilion flower over there as well, figuring that maybe it might make someone heavier unexpectedly and drop them into the pit.


    Then, he ced a few pit traps and sticky honey traps in the new battle Fairy Grove, where he hoped the bushes and whatever mysterious effects the Fairy Grove might have would distract intruders from the traps. He asked Niobee to ask the gardeners to nt some roses and gravilion flowers there if they could.


    Finally, he ced some shortcuts throughout the three battle rooms on the first floor, three per room, so that the bee army could flying in and out to attack intruders trying to navigate the rooms.


    <em>Mana: 118/1090</em>


    And just like that, nearly half of his mana was gone. But if it would strengthen his Tower¡¯s defenses without putting more bees at risk, it would be a price well paid. Belissar would just have to wait and see how the new set-up would handle the shades.


    Belissar watched as a new shade formed once more, and his heart sank to his stomach.


    ¡°Be careful, everyone. It¡¯s another spiny shade.¡±


    A spiky smander appeared, smaller than the one from the expansion but still covered in those deadly spines. Chief Rohsuak gave him a pat on his shoulder.


    ¡°Not to worry, Tower Keeper. This time we are prepared.¡±


    Belissar gave her a nod and then turned his attention to the karnuq hunters waiting at the front of the battle meadow. This time, they huge bs of iron rather than the smaller wooden shields. Chief Rohsuak assured him they could block a spear thrust from Metsaitti, and so should protect the karnuq from a spiny smander attack. He already asked Beero and her battlecaster squad to wait with them.


    Belissar took a deep breath and tried to calm his fears as the smander began its assault. It crawled down the first tunnel until it arrived at the first Pit Trap. It clung onto the side of the walls and crawled over it.


    Belissar frowned. He had ced a Sticky Honey Trap on a small rock on the far side of the Pit, angled to spray up and over it. But it was aimed at the center of the pit for foes either jumping or flying over the pit. The smander on the side of the walls didn¡¯t manage to trigger it, and wouldn¡¯t have been sprayed even if had.


    The corrupting trail of Hunger left by the smander disabled those two traps, so Belissar instead adjusted the next one along the path to the exit. He ced the Sticky Honey Trap over this pit on the side walls to spray over the pit horizontally. He then waited for the smander to arrive.


    The smander once again tried to crawl on the side of the wall¡­and crawled right over the nozzle of the Sticky Honey Trap. The honey trap sprayed its cone of honey directly into the belly of the smander, knocking it off the wall with a screech. The smander fell back first down into the pit. The spines on its back pierced into the ground, causing it to il about helplessly as its own defenses held it in ce.


    Belissar let out the breath he was holding.


    ¡°It¡¯s caught in the second Pit Trap, everyone.¡±


    Belissar was about to send Beero and her battlecasters to handle the shade when he stopped. He rubbed his chin and furrowed his brow for a moment before looking up, narrowing his eyes and clenching his fist.


    ¡°Digging squad,e with me. I want to try something.¡±


    The growing number of digging soldiers flew around Belissar as he made his way to one of the shortcuts leading to the Dirt Tunnels. He walked to the Pit Trap in question, remaining at a safe distance from it, before stirring up his mana.


    He cupped both of his hands together out in front of him. A honeb appeared over them, and then spell bees burst out of the cells of theb.


    ¡°Kill it.¡±


    At Belissar¡¯smand, the spell bees flew towards the pit and filled the tunnel with angry buzzing. They dove stingers first down into the pit, the smander screeching as the bees stung their ethereal stingers into its exposed belly. As each spell bee made contact with the shade, its body morphed into arger stinger that jabbed deeper into the shade, continuing to pump harmful mana until it was spent.


    The smander thrashed and whipped its tail about, sending spines into the walls of the pit, but it could not free itself while coated in sticky honey, nor could it get an angle to attack the spell bees swarming into the pit. It let out a final cry and dispersed just as Belissar began to feel dizzy.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Purification sessful.</em>


    Belissar ced a hand on the tunnel wall to steady himself, but gripped his other hand into a fist as he smiled. He had just brought down a shade with his own magic.

 Chapter 178: Innovative Bee-signs

    Chapter 178: Innovative Bee-signs


    The next day, Belissar made his way over to shortcut Orchard, carrying a peculiar beehouse he made after observing the carpenter bees for a bit. He set it down by the monster carpenter bee spawner, right amidst the apple trees. Rather than a box filled with trays, this one was just a solid block of wood with legs. Belissar had drilled a bunch of holes into the block, most about the size of the carpenter bees but he made somerger by varying degrees in case the carpenter bees grew. Since he saw the carpenter bees branching their tunnels with his Tower sight, he made sure to leave enough space between the holes for side tunnels.


    Curious carpenter bees hovered around him as he ced the block down. He motioned them to the box.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    One of the carpenter bees flew over to the block and stuck her head into one of the holes. She pulled it out, spun around, and then backed into the tunnel, her head barely poking out. Belissar smiled as other carpenter bees began to check out the house and still others just zipped around him in rapid circles.


    ¡°d you like it, but it¡¯s not done yet.¡±


    Belissar didn¡¯t recall ever hearing of carpenter bees making honey so he tried to turn the carpenter home into a bee nest rather than a beehouse feature.


    <em>Compatible feature detected. Upgrade Bee Nest to Belissar¡¯s Nest Block? Cost: 5 DP</em>


    Belissar smiled and saw no reason to refuse. The carpenter bee home glowed slightly as mana settled into its walls.


    <em>Belissar¡¯s Nest Block</em><em>- Type: Bee, Monster Nest</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 2 per nest (1 due to Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>- Description: A beehouse for bee types that prefer small burrows and tunnels. Boosts the growth and happiness of any bees living inside of it. Eusocial bees and bees that makemunal nests gain an additional boost to coordination.</em>


    Belissar nodded in satisfaction as more and more of the carpenter beesnded on the Nest Block, exploring the different tunnels. He even saw some of them start to gather up around one of therger holes. It seemed his experimental carpenter bee home was a resounding sess.


    The carpenter bees weren¡¯t the only ones getting a new structure today, however. Belissar led Muuraqi and a team of karnuq and soldier bees to the Apiary. From there, Muuraqi took over and guided the team in assembling the stone, while burning worker bees from the Lava Field hives provided wax and propolis as necessary. Once the small structure was assembled, the karnuq brought in y jars and set them down around the room.


    Now that the Lava Field hives were established enough to produce excess burning honey, Belissar was taking a crack at making mead for the God of Fire. He quickly ran into the same problem that had gued his bees, however. Gathering any quantity of the burning honey together began to dramatically increase the surrounding temperatures, a dangerous proposition given that the Apiary farmhouse was made of wood, filled with mmable mana honey, and surrounded by vegetation. So, Belissar had asked the karnuq for help setting up a fireproof storage room where he could safely keep burning honey and any mead he might manage to make from it.


    Once they were done, he handed them trays of mana honey, then got to work filling some of the jars with water and burning honey.


    He then hopped over to the Apiary farmhouse to check on the rest of the mead. The bees kept giving him honey on a daily basis, so he had started pouring the excess stockpiles into mead making. He nearly had ten jars of the mana honey mead ready to send to the God of Bees at this point and had also started to branch out. He had a jar with mana honey and a few of the cloudberries mixed in for taste. Additionally, he had one jar of medicinal honey¡­and one jar of maddening honey. At first, he was loathe to use up any medicinal honey in case of mass injuries, but with the continued growth of the Second of the Sixth¡¯s hive and his own ability to make medicinal spell-bees, he finally convinced himself it was ok to use some of the ever-growing stack of medicinal honey trays that were starting to pile up.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.


    As for the maddening honey, well, Belissar didn¡¯t truly know what he was doing there. However, he <em>had</em> confirmed that maddening honey was not permanently harmful to ingest in small quantities. He still wasn¡¯t sure drinking mead made from it would be a good idea, but figured turning it into an alcoholic beverage might improve its intoxicating effects. He might end up with a stronger poison rather than a drink, but it wouldn¡¯t be a loss either way. Besides, what else was he going to do with all the excess maddening honey?


    He then paused and tilted his head.


    ¡°Huh, I wonder what kind of mead the God of Flowers likes?¡±


    He had a quest to send mead to his other two patrons, so he couldn¡¯t help but think of his third.


    <em>The God of Flowers wishes to offer you a quest. ept?</em>


    Apparently, she appreciated the consideration. Belissar nodded to ept.


    <em>New mission received: Make and offer meads made of honey sourced from five different flower types.</em>


    Belissar smiled and nodded. Well, that answered that.


    ¡°Got it. Well, that¡¯s four, so we¡¯ll need at least one more, huh. Ah, how about the digging hives honey?¡±


    He hummed to himself as he set about prepping another jar of mead with the dense and earthy honey from the Ground mana flowers.


    Meanwhile, the Firstborn was currently zipping between trees. She wanted to buzz her wings and surge ahead, but she forced herself to hold her pace to that of the colorful worker ahead of her.


    She reminded herself once again that the bee army had not failed this time. Thanks to Beero and the bumblebees, they had managed to bring down thetest invader, though at a heavier cost than she had wanted. There was no shame in the hive of hives¡¯test victory. And though the King had gone and ended an invader by his own magic yesterday, she knew that this was not indicative of his trust in them. The Conduit had made sure she understood the King¡¯s intentions, that he was simply working to grow his magic and testing what it could do.


    She knew that in her head, but her heart could not help but buzz at the thought that the King might one day enter the battle. But she tried to set her sight forward. Instead of despairing over potential failures, she resolved to build up the army as much as she could.


    The King, in his wisdom and grace, had granted the opportunity to do just that. He had rearranged the realm and ced a brand-new room in the defensive zone, a room where the bee army could do battle. He stated this new Fairy Grove was to provide cover for the bee army, so that they could approach a shade like the previous one without taking spines. The Firstborn¡¯s heart had soared at this, for it was proof that the King still considered them as his first line of defense. That he was continuing to make ways for them to defeat his enemies. So, the battle meadow queens had immediately begun training in the room, intending to adapt their tactics to the new environment.


    It had gone utterly horribly. The room seemed to encourage mistakes. Soldier squads got mixed up and turned around. They ended up flying in directions they didn¡¯t intend, scattering when they meant to gather, or piling up when they meant to disperse. Soldiers collided when their dives rounded a tree and ended up putting them in each others¡¯ way. The queens andmuners had tried to resolve the situation¡­only for their minds to suffer the same fate. Each soldier seemed to be seeing a slightly different view even while looking at the same ces, which meant the queens andmuners¡¯ minds were filled with hundreds of conflicting images that made it impossible to determine what was actually happening. The soldier bee army¡¯s organized formations had copsed into a chaotic swarm going ever which way.


    So, they had brought in the experts. The children of the Fourth of the Seventh and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter who had moved to the other Fairy Grove lent their workers and taught the queens what they had learned of their home. They taught them how to ignore their sight and other senses and instead follow the flows of mana. Their workers led soldier squads through the room, their bright colors standing out and allowing the soldiers to easily keep track of them. The Firstborn and her fellow queens had joined the training as well so that they, too, woulde to understand this room.


    Little by little, they grew more ustomed to the room. The soldier bee squads grew more sure of themselves as the Fairy Grove workers directed their dives and dodges. The Firstborn and her fellow queens began to cut through their own confusion, a picture of the room as view through mana taking shape in their mind. Beero took to this with ease and did her best to pass on her mana senses as well.


    Once again, the hive of hives proved capable where an individual hive could not. The Firstborn no longer had any doubt that when an intruder came to this room, the bee army would be ready to face them.

 Chapter 179: Bee Studious

    Chapter 179: Bee Studious


    Tyhgak shuffled his feet, pacing back and forth. He peeked across the camp. Noigakkuq was sitting on a log bench and holding her tray of maddening honey. He took a step forward, then shook his head and turned back. As he did, he heard a sigh.


    ¡°Could you stop? That¡¯s getting annoying.¡±


    He jumped and then slowly turned around to find Noigakkuq ring at him.


    ¡°Well? If you have something to say, then say it. Otherwise, stop pacing around like that. It¡¯s distracting.¡±


    Tyhgak gulped and nodded.


    ¡°Right. Ok.¡±


    He shuffled forward, averting her gaze. Noigakkuq rolled her eyes and then red at him again.


    ¡°Out with it, Tyhgak.¡±


    He took a deep breath.¡°Right. Um, ok. Um¡­could you help me?¡±


    Noigakkuq leaned back and blinked.


    ¡°Um, what?¡±


    Tyhgak stammered but pressed on.


    ¡°Could you teach me how to do that bee-stab thing? I¡¯ve eaten the honey and got some mana but I can¡¯t figure out what to do next. I¡¯m trying to be more¡­bee-like, I guess? But I don¡¯t really know how.¡±


    Noigakkuq nodded. She frowned and crossed her arms.


    ¡°I see. Why not ask Metsaitti, though? He can do the bee-stab thing, as you call it.¡±


    Tyhgak quickly shook his head.


    ¡°I want to learn from you!¡±


    He flushed as Noigakkuq blinked again.


    ¡°Um, you see, what I¡¯m trying to say is¡­uh¡­Metsaitti already knew how to stab things, right? You were the one who learned how to bee-stab from scratch. You went and got the God of Bees¡¯ blessing all on your own, so I figured you know about it best. That and you went into the tunnels and found mana flowers all on your own and that was really brave and impressive of you and so I just thought¡­¡±


    Tyhgak trailed off as he started running out of words. Noigakkuq stared at him for a moment before she made a smug smile. She puffed out her chest and lifted her head high.


    ¡°I see. If that¡¯s the case, then I can show you what I do.¡±


    Tyghak grinned.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Noigakkuq nodded.


    ¡°Come on, let me put this away and then we¡¯ll get started.¡±


    Tyghak nodded as quickly as he could and then rushed to go grab his spear.


    Metsaitti and Chief Rohsuak returned from the ruins, apanied by some hunters and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s workers. Chief Rohsuak held a book in her hands while Metsaitti and a hunter carried a suit of armor. Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Well, it looks like you found something after all.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled.


    ¡°That we did, Tower Keeper. It seems to be the ruins of an old fortress. We didn¡¯t find much but we did find this intact armor, as well as a library. I would like to hand this armor over to our smith as an example.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Sounds good, it looks kind of rusty?¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Chief Rohsuak nodded back.


    ¡°That is what I thought as well, but perhaps it could serve as a bit of inspiration. As for the library¡­can you read this?¡±


    She handed him the book. Belissar looked over the words on the cover, then frowned and shook his head.


    ¡°It seems a bit familiar but no, I cannot. Maybe we can ask Sehfitis?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak tilted her head.


    ¡°I thought you and he speak the samenguage?¡±


    Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°We do but¡­I was just a peasant in a small vige. I was lucky enough Mrs. Imkomos knew how to reach and taught me, but I wouldn¡¯t say I know very much. Sehfitis might know something more than me.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded at that and the two made their way over to the humans, exining the situation. Sehfitis nodded and took the book. He looked over the cover but a moment before his eyes grew wide.


    ¡°Where¡­where did you say you found this again?¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°Um, the ruins nearby? Like we just told you?¡±


    Sehfitis looked up at Belissar with an intent gaze.


    ¡°And was this the only book you found, or were there others? Did they all use this script?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak was the one who answered.


    ¡°We found a library and all the items we checked used the same script as best we could tell.¡±


    Sehfitis slowly turned his gaze back towards the book, his eyes going as wide as they could.


    ¡°By the gods¡­¡±


    Belissar nced at Chief Rohsuak, then turned back to Sehfitis and furrowed his brow.


    ¡°What is it? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Sehfitis took a deep breath, his eyes still locked on the book.


    ¡°This, Tower Keeper, is the oldnguage. The script used by the wicked kings of old when they still ruled thend, an archaic form of our own that fell out of use after the Hunger appeared.¡±


    He slowly lifted his eyes once more, his gaze still intent as he locked eyes with Belissar.


    ¡°If you found a library full of them in an old ruin¡­then it is possible that you have just found a remnant of the ancient kingdom. Unless you have stumbled upon some sort of collector¡¯s home, we might be standing within the borders of that old kingdom.¡±


    Belissar gulped at Sehfitis¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Um, and that¡¯s important?¡±


    Sehfitis slowly nodded.


    ¡°Yes. It means we could be standing near the ce where the Hunger first appeared.¡±


    That got Belissar and Chief Rohsuak¡¯s attention.


    Sehfitis then rxed a bit.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s <em>if</em> the ruins are indeed from the old kingdom, and <em>if</em> we are close to the old capital. The old kingdom covered much of the known world at the time if what spotty records we have are to be believed, so we could be quite far away and still within its borders.¡±


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°Is there any way to find out?¡±


    Sehfitis rubbed his chin for a moment and then sighed.


    ¡°I am not sure. Archaeology was not my area of expertise, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    Belissar crossed his arms. He thought for a moment before he shrugged. At the end of the day, he knew very little about the ancient kingdom, so he didn¡¯t really understand if it was important or not. Being near the ce the Hunger appeared sounded scary, but the Hunger was everywhere these days, so Belissar didn¡¯t know if it was any more dangerous than being anywhere else. Even if it was, it didn¡¯t ultimately change what he needed to do: grow his Tower and his bees as best he could to ensure they could handle whatever came their way. The ancient history of some crumbling ruins didn¡¯t seem all that relevant to said goal.


    ¡°No matter, I guess. Can you read that?¡±


    Sehfitis again rubbed his chin and frowned.


    ¡°I have studied the ancient script, but only for theological purposes, so I am by no means fluent, and I no longer have ess to the dictionaries and references I usually use for such things. I might be able to decipher some of it, particrly if I can cross-reference different works, but it will take me some time, I¡¯m afraid. You said there were more?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°A small library, mostly scrolls.¡±


    Sehfitis nodded back.


    ¡°That could suffice, if I have your permission to take on this task, Tower Keeper?¡±


    Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°Might as well. Let us know if you find anything important.¡±


    Sehfitis bowed his head.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    After that, Belissar returned to the Apiary to practice his magic. Sehfitis could handle the dusty old ruins and ancient tomes, so he figured he¡¯d best spend his time working on his own area of expertise. He began to stir up his mana and began to form a honeb in the air, this one muchrger than before.


    His spell bees had worked, but he noticed it took a lot of time and a lot of mana for them to deal noticeable damage to a shade. If he wanted to use this magic against a shade that wasn¡¯t already trapped and helpless at the bottom of a pit, it¡¯d be best if he had something a bitrger.


    So, he was trying to see if he could make a spell soldier bee. He imagined the bee swarm of his mana flying to the honeb and gathering together there.


    His first attempt just came out as bunch of spell bees, more than his usual spell but norger than before. He asked them to disperse, to his surprise, they ended up crawling back into the spell honeb before he felt a bit of mana flow back into his hands. That was curious.


    But it wasn¡¯t what Belissar wanted so he tried again. This time, he tried to imagine his mana forming arger clump and bing a soldier bee within his body. He imagined that soldier bee crawling to his hand before flying out to sting the enemy. He thought of soldier bees who had sacrificed themselves in the jaws of shades, or in the mes of a burning pit trap. He thought of Beero leaping from the Memorial onto the back of a shade. He tried to impress his mana with the will of the soldier bees to protect the hive.


    Another honeb appeared, this one formed of muchrger cells. A big bee crawled out of it, formed of glowing yellow light like the rest. Bright tes of mana formed armored chitin while its stinger extended out.


    A spell soldier bee took off from his hand and hovered about with its abdomen curled and its stinger extended, searching for a target.


    Belissar grinned until his vision started to spin again.

 Chapter 180: Un-Bee-table Defenses

    Chapter 180: Un-Bee-table Defenses


    Belissar watched as the denizens of his Tower prepared themselves for another fight. The burning soldiers gathered by the shortcut to the new Lava Field, the soldier bee army assembled in the sky of the battle meadow. Beero and her battlecasters practiced their dances while bumblebees helped the wounded soldiers to their tforms. The Second of the Sixth arrived early this time, leading the first medicinal soldiers Belissar had ever seen. They hung around at the rear of the soldier bee army rather than integrating into it. The karnuq arrived as well, setting their new shields down in a wall of iron before the battle meadow¡¯s entrance.


    With everything ready, Belissar triggered the daily purification.


    Just a minute or twoter, a bird shade tried to hop over a pit, got doused by the Sticky Honey Trap aimed over it, and fell down inside. Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°Fell into a pit again, everyone.¡±


    The bees danced among themselves and this time it was the burning soldier squad that flew into the Dirt Tunnels with the digging soldiers leading the way. The burning hives had been growing all the while and raising more and more soldiers, including a sprayer. The sprayer stopped just before the pit and unleashed her Fire mana-imbued toxic spray.


    The entire pit burst into mes as the Fire mana toxins contacted the mana rich honey. And just like that, the purification was over.


    After the usual celebration, Belissar gathered with the queens and karnuq leaders once again. He had more than enough DP for another shop purchase. Beyond that, however, they had started gathering after every daily purification even when he didn¡¯t have a purchase to make, just so that everyone could touch base and have a chance to speak.


    ¡°How¡¯s everyone doing? Anything we should talk about?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded to Belissar¡¯s surprise. Once he finished jumping, he nodded to her.¡°Thank you, Tower Keeper. At this point, it seems that your defenses are tight enough that the daily shades are unable to get through. This is a good thing, but it does mean that our hunters have no opportunity to fight against any opponents save the most dangerous.¡±


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°So, should I weaken the traps? That doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head.


    ¡°No, as I said it is good that the shades assaulting your Tower cannot get past the door. Instead, I would like to ask if our hunters could resume challenging.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened and he nodded.


    ¡°Oh, those mini-shades, right? Um, sure, if you can get them to spawn again.¡±


    At this point, the Second First of the First began to dance.


    ¡°Would like to train with karnuq, too, help fight intruders.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Sure, if that¡¯s fine?¡±


    He turned his gaze to Chief Rohsuak and she nodded back with a smile.


    ¡°We would be honored.¡±


    The Second First of the First then flew over to her.


    ¡°Should train with bee army in Fairy Grove first. Hard to move, easy to get lost. Should figure out before fight enemies.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded with a serious expression. Belissar began to rub his chin.


    ¡°What about the Lava Field? Is it even possible for you to fight there?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak chuckled.


    ¡°Well, for Metsaitti and myself it would be no issue. For the others, they would need a full blessing first and foremost. Noigakkuq probably could handle it, though she would not enjoy the experience.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak, Metsaitti, and the battle meadow queens then discussed a few details before Belissar moved things along.


    ¡°Ok, if no one else has anything, we have enough DP for more shop purchases now. Does anyone have any ideas of what to buy?¡±


    This time, no one had any pressing needs that had not already been discussed. The First of the Fifth and the Apiary bees were still evolving honeypots and working on the flowers they already had, the bee army was adapting to fighting in the Fairy Grove, and the karnuq were figuring out metalworking and pottery. So, while there were the usual opinions of ¡°more flowers, more bees,¡± no one had any specific requests or rmendations. It feel to Belissar to decide.


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    So, Belissar went with his fallback of when in doubt, choose bees. He never did acquire a battle-oriented option with thest two choices,e to think of it.


    <em>Extra monster choice purchased. One monster choice now avable.</em>


    <em>Please select a monster:</em>


    <em>- Monster Leafcutter Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Nature)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Archer (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Captain (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee)</em>


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but grin. Not just one but two umons this time, both battle-oriented from the names. Still, for thoroughness sake he¡¯d look over themon as well. More than once the rarer sounding choice hadn¡¯t actually been the one they ended up picking.


    <em>Monster Leafcutter Bee</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Bite</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 1</em>


    <em>Description: A leafcutter bee that has umted enough Nature mana to be something more. Its sharp leafcutting mandibles can deliver painful, if small, bites in addition to its stings.</em>


    Another non-hive bee like the carpenters, from what Belissar could tell. This one was also about the same size as the monster bees. He did know from the existence of lumber bees that non-hive bees like this could have their own evolutions, but it would take time and effort to grow them to that point assuming this species even had a follow-up evolution. So, Belissar thought it best to consider this bee as it was. Maybe cutting leaves would let them help the karnuq with harvesting, but it was clear they weren¡¯t going to fight on the frontlines anytime soon. Their small size and presumably smaller numbers would prevent that.


    Much unlike the other options.


    <em>Monster Bee Archer</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Strength: Minor+</em>


    <em>Speed: Average+</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Small</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Stinger Shot, Death Blow, Chitin Growth, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Sprayer</em>


    <em>Description: This monster bee sprayer has reverted back to a stinger, with a twist. It uses abination of powerful muscles and vtile chemicals tounch a detachable stinger from its body, allowing it to sting from afar. It is capable of regrowing its stingers unlike regr bees and has the ability to regrow damage to its chitin as a side effect. </em>


    <em>In addition to existing monster bee sprayers evolving, a few monster bee soldiers may be born as archers, though this requires notably more resources from the hive.</em>


    Now this was a solid choice for battle. The monster bee archer was evenrger than the soldier bees, though it was closer to them than thencers. It had an erged abdomenpared to its head and torso terminating in a straight and narrow stinger that reminded Belissar of the spiky smander¡¯s spines. Beyond that, it hadrger wings than usual and its chitin was a bit thicker than the sprayers rtive to its size.


    Belissar didn¡¯t even need to imagine its use. This bee would let them fight like the spiky smander had, bombarding a foe with stingers from afar. Whereas the sprayers only doused a foe with poison, archers would stab right into them, dealing physical damage as well as delivering their poison inside the enemy¡¯s body. The next step along the route opened by sprayers.


    Thest choice was a repeat that had appeared a few times now, the monster bee captains. Belissar wasn¡¯t entirely sure how necessary they would be, however, given that the queens didn¡¯t seem to have an issue coordinating their hives with the help ofmuners. Well, the description <em>did</em> say they would also buff soldier bees, so maybe they¡¯d make the whole army stronger? That could be powerful as soldier bees were still the most numerous in the army by far, but would it outweigh the ability to sting foes from a distance?


    Belissar once again turned the question over to the others. The battle meadow queens were having an intense dance off with one another when they noticed Belissar¡¯s attention. They had one final round of dances before the Second First of the First flew back towards him.


    ¡°Archers, captains, both good! Archers strong, captains help coordinate.¡±


    Belissar nodded at that, though the opinion merely matched his own and so didn¡¯t necessarily help him decide. He turned to the Fourth of the Seventh and the First of the Fifth. The Fourth of the Seventh was just zipping around happily and saying ¡°both!¡± so he chuckled and focused on the First of the Fifth.


    ¡°Firstborn should decide, both bees good for army.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head. Firstborn? That was first time he had heard that name so it took him a moment to realize she was talking about the Second First of the First. That made sense though, he guessed she was the firstborn¡­of the living queens, at least.


    That thought depressed him¡­and just so happened to tilt the decision in a clear direction.


    <em>Monster Bee Archer now avable. Monster Bee Sprayers may now evolve into Monster Bee Archers. Some Monster Bee Soldiers will now spawn as Monster Bee Archers.</em>


    The archer was an evolution on the sprayer and so presumably stronger overall. Its stats indicated it was stronger than a baseline soldier was well. Moreover, it could attack at a distance without putting itself as much in harms way. Even if he made the soldiers stronger via captains, they still had to fly in close. If they ended up facing more spiky enemies like the turtle and spiky smander shades, then they needed more options for attacking at range. The archer would help on that count while also boosting the overall strength the bee army could bring to bear, and as an evolution of the sprayer would benefit from the new perks and honeypots Belissar had recently chosen. He figured it would do more for the bee army than captains would at this point¡­and might just let them avoid casualties next time.


    And any choice that could keep his bees that much safer was a good one.

 Chapter 181: Bee the Light

    Chapter 181: Bee the Light


    ¡°King! First of the Fifth says new bees ready!¡±


    The next day, Belissar smiled as he finished his breakfast and the morning reports. He nodded to Niobee.


    ¡°Great, we¡¯ll head over right away.¡±


    Belissar wasted no time walking to the First of the Fifth¡¯s Bee Apartment. He found the aforementioned queen waiting for him, hovering in front of a row of other queens. He gave them a smile.


    ¡°Good morning, everyone. You have something to show me?¡±


    The First of the Fifth saluted and then motioned to one of the queens.


    ¡°This, Second of the Seventh. Evolved from glowing mushrooms.¡±


    Belissar greeted the new queen, holding out his hand. She hovered in ce until Niobee flew over and brushed her antennae, then she gingerlynded on his hand. One of the original Apiary queens, she wasrger than his hand, but managed to find her footing. Belissar looked over her more closely. She still had her yellow hair, but her ck chitin had turned into a bright white reflecting the light of the sun. The reflection was bright enough that Belissar had trouble making out her exact body shape. Her wings also shimmered in the sun, causing shes of light to appear every time they fluttered.


    <em>Shining Monster Bee Queen</em><em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: sh, Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee raised or evolved on Light attribute mana honey. Able to absorb light to replenish and empower their mana, they can gather Light mana to their wings and create shes to blind or confuse. This one is a queen thatys shining variant offspring by default.</em>


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened and he held the bee in his hand a bit more reverently. The God of Light was the very first to bless humanity with a Tower, turning her oracle Heigiosa into the very first Tower Lord. The patron of the saintess who saved humanity herself¡­if the doctrine was to be believed. Regardless, the God of Light was one of the mostmon patrons for the Tower Lord, and some theologians theorized she had a hand in <em>every</em> Tower given the glowing spheres on their tops and the fact that the Tower¡¯s power took the appearance of light. It was also believed that the God of Light¡¯s power, therefore, was one of the best to repel the Hunger.


    That was what Mrs. Imkomos believed, in any case. Belissar no longer knew how much of the Tower Lord¡¯s doctrine he believed, so he couldn¡¯tment on the stories of now High Councilor Heigiosa, but he did know the blessings and power of the gods were very much real. The Tower Lords had only lied about who the gods would choose to bless, so perhaps the theories about the God of Light could be true as well. And if they were¡­a bee channeling the God of Light¡¯s attribute could be a powerful tool against the Hunger indeed.


    Eventually, though, Belissar realized he had gone silent for a bit too long and the bees were watching him nervously. He put aside thoughts on light and gods and smiled down at the bee in his hand, brushing her back. The God of Light and her powers didn¡¯t ultimately change what he should do: make sure that this bee had everything she needed to be happy and grow well. And on that count, he had an idea.


    ¡°Light, huh? Is there anyway we can change your beehouse to help? Maybe make the windows bigger so more light gets in?¡±


    The Second of the Seventh looked up at him for a moment before breaking out into a happy dance.


    ¡°More light, great! Amazing! Incredible! King is best king!¡±


    Belissar smiled as he noted that, light attribute or no, the Second of the Seventh was still one of his bees.


    And she was only the first of the bees the First of the Fifth wanted to show him today.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°This, First of the Sixth¡¯s First Daughter. Evolved from tunnel vine.¡±


    The next bee was pitch ck. It was hard to make out details on her body as the entire thing appeared as a ck silhouette, absorbing whatever light touched it. She seemed to shrink on herself even as shended on his hand.


    <em>Blinding Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Blinding Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee raised or evolved on Dark attribute mana honey. Adapted for life without light, their senses allow them to navigate without sight. Their venom is imbued with Dark attribute mana and can temporarily blind foes. This one is a queen thatys blinding variant offspring by default.</em>


    Belissar thought for a second before cupping his other hand over the queen. She was a counterpart to the shining queen, filled with Dark mana, so he wondered if she was ufortable out in the sun. His guess was proven urate as the queen immediately perked up in the shadow of his hand.


    ¡°Hm, how about we move your home into the Dirt Tunnels, out of the sun?¡±


    She reacted with the same happy dance as her counterpart.


    ¡°Amazing! Incredible! King is best king!¡±


    Belissar chuckled. Light or dark, his bees were still his bees.


    The next bee, the Third of the Eighth, was blue and sleek. Her feet were wider and tter than normal, while her hairs appeared a bit oily.


    <em>Swimming Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Swim, Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee raised or evolved on Water attribute mana honey. Adapted for aquatic environments, this bee is capable of swimming and diving to forage from aquatic nts. This one is a queen thatys swimming variant offspring by default.</em>


    ¡°So, we should put your hive near one of the ponds¡­or in it? Do you want to be near or in the water?¡±


    ¡°Near!¡±


    Belissar nodded and smiled.


    ¡°Got it, then that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡±


    Another ¡°Amazing! Incredible!¡± danceter and Belissar turned to the second tost bee. Thest two were smaller than the others, clearly newly born.


    ¡°This is my Fifth Daughter. Born from gravity honey!¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow as a small, dark purple queen flew to his hand. Her wings took on a purple glow as she beat them and she seemed to float through the air, gliding smoothly rather than swaying about. His hand tingled as shended on him, feeling slightly heavier one moment, then lighter the next, with the sensation changing every few moments.


    He thought to himself for a moment before shrugging and giving her a wry smile.


    ¡°So¡­I don¡¯t know much about gravity. Please, tell me, what sort of hive would be best for you?¡±


    The little queen stoodpletely still for a moment before starting to dance.


    ¡°Is ok! King¡¯s hives best hives¡­¡±


    The First of the Fifth then flew forward and paused, looking at him. Belissar nodded at her and she alsonded on his arm, brushing antennae with her young daughter for about a minute. She did a salute dance to Belissar and took off again, leaving her daughter alone on his hand. Her daughter slowly began a different dance.


    ¡°Hive¡­should be stuck to ground. Might float away.¡±


    Belissar nodded and smiled at her.


    ¡°Got it, maybe we could build one in the ground like the ones for the digging hives?¡±


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s Fifth Daughter looked at him for a moment before busting out into an incredibly rapid dance, causing his hand to tingle as her glowing wings beat randomly.


    ¡°Amazing! Incredible! King is best king!¡±


    Belissar could onlyugh until the First of the Fifth retrieved her and introduced the final queen. Or, rather, the final hive.


    ¡°This is Sixth Daughter. Raised on slime honey. Hive is¡­weird.¡±


    Instead of a bee, Belissar was looking at a slime made of golden honey, currently a bit bigger than his head. The First of the Fifth¡¯s Sixth Daughter was swimming around the center of the slime while other slime worker bees swarmed in a small, glowing ball around her. Some of them swam out to the edge of the big slime and broke free, a smaller ball of slime condensing around their legs as they flew off to forage.


    Belissar tilted his head as he considered how to let the slime beend on him. He walked over and tried to pick up the slime, but his hands sunk into the sticky mass. He thought for a moment before shrugging and pushing on of his hands into the slime. The slime opened up to let him in, and then the First of the Fifth¡¯s Sixth Daughter swam to his hand and rested on his palm, dancing about happily. Belissar smiled at her.


    ¡°So¡­is this your hive?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Belissar hummed. A beehive made of slime, where the whole hive apparently moved as one. That was¡­pretty amazing, as far as he was concerned. It did beg the question, though, of how he would build a home for them, or if they even needed one.


    ¡°Hm, so¡­what sort of beehouse would you want?¡±


    Fortunately, this queen wasn¡¯t as shy.


    ¡°King¡¯s pces amazing, incredible! Just need water!¡±


    Belissar nodded. Well, he didn¡¯t know much about slimes, so he could only take her word that a regr beehouse was what she needed.


    ¡°Got it, we¡¯ll make you one by one of the ponds, then.¡±


    Belissar waited until the ¡°Amazing! Incredible!¡± dance concluded before withdrawing his hand¡­that the Second of the Sixth had apparently left a small pool of honey in. He chuckled at that before turning to the First of the Fifth.


    ¡°Great work, all of you. This is really going to help us.¡±


    Belissar made a wide grin as all the bees joined in an ¡°King best king!¡± dance, from the shining bee shing in the light of the sun, to the slime bee hive bouncing around as the bees within danced together.

 POBee 181.1 - Inter-Bee Exchange

    POBee 181.1 - Inter-Bee Exchange


    The First of the Fifth was ecstatic. So ecstatic, in fact, that she spent the rest of the morning zipping about in a celebratory dance. How could she not be? She had helped other queens find their specialties and fulfilled the will of the King, who praised them all for the effort.


    All good things muste to an end, however, and the work must continue, so eventually she came to a stop. She had to take a moment to recover before proceeding on her next task, but proceed she must. She sent word through two of hermuners to inform two of her fellow queens that the time hade.


    She made her way over torge, open-air cavern where the Dirt Tunnels connected to the Apiary, where the Apiary Bees could gain ess to Ground mana flowers along with subterranean nts and mushrooms. The first digging queen, the Fourth of the Fifth, was already waiting alongside a much smaller digging queen and a digging drone. The other queen she awaited came flying in through the shortcut to the Dirt Tunnels on the wall of the cavern, instantly raising the temperature of the cavern.


    The Third of the Sixth had arrived, with a small burning queen and burning drone of her own.


    The First of the Fifth needed not give anymands for the two queens to get to work, exchanging their drones and queens. The King had granted them his power at the same time he offered them the powerful honeypots. His power assisted in the evolution of bees, helping thetest generation of evolved queens take on the aspects of special honeys, as well as speeding up the evolution of workers and soldiers into their various advanced forms. But the First of the Fifth knew that the King¡¯stest boon was not limited to those applications. Indeed, they had not yet attempted the application the boon was focused on most.


    That changed today as the new princess bees and drones embarked on their mating flight. The King¡¯s boon promised new bees should different types of bees mate. The queens had spoken and the First of the Fifth had proposed a test with the Fourth of the Fifth and the Third of the Sixth. These two queens, evolved from the Fire mana flower and the Ground mana flower, had the most distinct differences and most distinct mana of all the queens with established hives, so she felt that this pairing, if any, would show them what thetest boon could achieve.


    The Fourth of the Fifth¡¯s and Third of the Sixth¡¯s daughters returned, now full queens. The First of the Fifth examined them closely. Their mana had shifted, twisted together with the drones¡¯ to be something different. It condensed in their torsos, forming a mass that seemed ready to explode.


    In fact, the two young queens began dancing frantically to their queens. The mothers responded and the two daughters zipped off back to their respective mothers¡¯ hives. The Third of the Sixth then began a report dance to her.


    ¡°Daughter said need to evolve again, letting her evolve in hive.¡±The First of the Fifth¡¯s antennae perked up at that.


    ¡°Ok. Let know when hatches. And let Conduit know more drones sacrificed so King can honor.¡±


    The Third of the Sixth and Fourth of the Fifth both saluted and then all three queens returned to their hives. The First of the Fifth swayed in a happy dance as she flew.


    She¡¯d have to wait for the two new queens to finish evolving to know the full results¡­but that in itself spoke of grand sess. Soon, she¡¯d have two new queen types to introduce to the King.


    And the possibility of many, many more toe.


    The Third Queen of the First Dynasty of the Third Spawner, the first of her line, arrived at her destination. She greeted the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter¡¯s worker as she exited the shortcut before making her way into the Orchard. She headed not for the grove where the hives of the Orchard watched over the room, nor to the mystical Fairy Grove where the children of the Fourth of the Seventh and First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter honed their pathfinding. No, she headed through the trees of the Orchard, where a modest but still numerous nest of bees waited.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    The Third of the Third had deviated from many of her fellow Flower Meadow queens in thetest round of evolutions. Most of the other Flower Meadow queens, led by the Firstborn herself, had rushed to evolve the newest archers, or more of the previousncers. The Third of the Third, on the other hand, felt ufortable doing so. The Firstborn and the others had long pushed their hives past the point of sustainability to build their mighty army, relying entirely on the donations from the Apiary to keep themselves going. The Third of the Third¡¯s hive wasn¡¯t even as prosperous as theirs, and she simply could not ovee her instincts ring at her to expand her honey production before she even thought about raising arger soldier type. So, rather than evolving her soldiers, she evolved her workers and raised a handful of honeypots. Their improved ability to process and imbue honey with mana allowed her workers to diversify their foraging away from the overworked mana flowers while still producing as much if not more honey per nectar gathered as before.


    Well, it was nowhere near what the Apiary queens could do, but nheless she had managed to produce a respectable honey surplus, enough at least to maintain her current soldier numbers. She could even start raising ancer or archer with only minimal assistance from the Apiary bees if she desired, though her contributions to the army would still be far less than her fellow queens unless she put herself into a serious honey debt. She had thus been at a loss at how she could contribute significantly to the bee army while still maintaining a sustainable honey production. It had seemed like, in the end, she could only choose one or the other.


    It was then, however, that she came up with a different idea. Something else she could do with her honey surplus. Something that, out of all the Flower Meadow queens, <em>only</em> she could do because of that surplus.


    And that had led her here, to the carpenter bee nest.


    She and her escort of workers and soldiers hovered over the magical pce the King had built for the new bees. There, she waited patiently until the new bees noticed her. Thergest of their number headed her way, with several of the others noticing her and then following suit. Therge carpenter bee didn¡¯t dance, though she did bob up and down slightly once before staring at the Third of the Third.


    The Third of the Third gave her own greeting dance andunched into her business.


    ¡°Have proposal. Need wood cut. Can give honey in exchange.¡±


    The carpenter bee continued to stare at her. The Third of the Third was just wondering if the other bee had understood her when the carpenter bobbed a few times and then zipped about. She then danced to her workers who began flying to the nearby carpenter bees, passing along the honey they had stored in their crops. Each carpenter bee they fed then began to follow them along.


    Soon, the Third of the Third had a small swarm of carpenter bees following her workers. She, in turn, led them back to her home in the Flower Meadow. She led them to arge stack of wood, tribute from the karnuq left here by the king.


    Her workersnded on various points of one piece of wood. She wasn¡¯t sure if the carpenters would fully understand their dances, so the workers guided the carpenters one by one. The carpenters seemed to understand well enough, ced their mandibles on the surface, and began to vibrate and sheer off the wood.


    Meanwhile, a few squads of soldiers stood nearby, mostly her own. The soldiers who had been assisting the karnuq build their hives.


    This was the idea she hade up with. The construction squad had been taught how to lift wood and assemble structures, but had no way of processing the wood without the karnuq or the King. The karnuq were the King¡¯s tomand, and the Third of the Third would never ask the King for help with a job of her own. But the carpenter bees? The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter¡¯smunerwork reported on the newest bees, noting their ability to bore straight through solid wood.


    With their help, the construction squad could begin assembling wooden structures all on their own, without the assistance or the direction of either the King or the karnuq. They could assemble more of those tforms for the hive of the fallen to cast their magic stingers from, or expand the line of sharp stakes the King had ced in front of the Bee Barracks. They could begin preparing for a battle before it happened.


    And in exchange, they could provide their mana rich honey to the carpenter bees. The carpenter bees, strangely, did not seem to store or produce honey, each one spending most of their day drinking from flowers as individuals. The Third of the Third could eliminate their need to do so, allowing them to work for the hive of hives in the way that only they could.


    And so, cooperation began between the Bee Barracks and the carpenter bees.

 Chapter 182: Dont Bee Lost!

    Chapter 182: Don''t Bee Lost!


    Noigakkuq frowned. She sniffed out of habit before hissing and clutching her nose. A bright green bee buzzed around her but she shook her head.


    She was currently surrounded by trees, bushes, and flowers. On the surface, she stood in a perfectly peaceful and idyllic forest. There weren¡¯t even any game trails, tracks, or decaying remains that would hint at deadly predators. She was at no risk of bodily harm.


    And yet, Noigakkuq was in a worse position than she had ever found herself, in her opinion. Because, as she had no choice but to admit, she was lost. The karnuq hunters were currently training in the Tower Keeper¡¯s new defense rooms on both the Tower Keeper and Chief Rohsuak¡¯s insistence. Once they had learned how to traverse and fight in the forest and theva ts, they would be permitted to challenge the Tower once again, and earn additional favor in the sight of their patron gods. Noigakkuq was very much vindicated to be included among the hunters this time, as an equal participant. So, she was all too eager to start challenging and to grow even stronger than she already had.


    As such, she had volunteered to screen the body of the hunters, intent on using her innate mana sniffing to speed up the process. After all, this was a mere forest. She could understand theva fields, but a forest wasn¡¯t dangerous because of the trees. As long as there were no predators here, it shouldn¡¯t have taken the karnuq any time at all to limate. So, she ignored the bees buzzing around her and set off into the brush.


    She very quickly learned how wrong she had been, the very first moment she took a sniff. She had been immediately blindsided by a dozen overwhelming scents all at once, and only then did she realize that this forest was absolutely <em>drenched</em> in mana. Worse still, the mana was not all ubiquitous like it was in the rot cap field, every time she sniffed here she was subjected to countless different, seemingly random scents all mixing together into an explosion that assaulted her senses.


    Her mana sniffing, the one power she had to her name for most of her life, was entirely useless in this forest. Forget keeping track of the karnuq and locating iing enemies, every sniff left her incapacitated for a moment.


    She clenched her teeth before turning back to return to the group. She walked¡­and she walked¡­and she walked¡­and she walked. Until now, when she realized that, somehow, in the handful of moments between leaving the group and taking her first sniff of the air, that she had lost contact with them entirely.


    And now, she had no idea where she was.


    ¡°There you are.¡±Noigakkuq spun around. Her heart leapt in relief before she scowled.


    ¡°Go away, Tyhgak. I don¡¯t need your help.¡±


    He tilted his head.


    ¡°Really? The bees said you were lost.¡±


    She growled.


    ¡°I said I¡¯m fine! I can find my back, no help required!¡±


    Tyhgak took a step back.


    ¡°Uh, really? The bees said¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what the bees said! I know exactly where I am!¡±


    Tyhgak gulped.


    ¡°Right¡­well, could you lead the way back, then? We need you back with the group.¡±


    Noigakkuq let out an exasperated sigh.


    ¡°Why? For my useless nose? Don¡¯t patronize me, Tyhgak.¡±


    But Tyhgak shook his head.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. Metsaitti wants you back because you and him are the only two blessed by the God of Bees. We apparently need to work with the bees to travel and fight in this room, so he was hoping you could help.¡±


    Noigakkuq paused at that. She slowly nced at the bee that had been buzzing around her this whole time. Her face fell as she nced back down at her hand, stirring up the mana flowing through her.


    Right. She had been blessed by the God of Bees. She even had a unique blessing from that god. The power she had acquired had been granted to her by the God of Bees¡­for service to the Tower and the bees within.


    And here she had gone, ignoring that power while treating the bees like the patronizing members of the n. She slowly looked back up at the bee, dancing about in the air.


    ¡°Karnuq know where going?¡±


    She took a deep breath before speaking in a tiny voice, barely a whisper.


    ¡°¡­no. Could you¡­show me where the others are?¡±


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.


    The bee began zipping about.


    ¡°Can! This way!¡±


    The bee not only began flying off in theplete opposite direction Noigakkuq had been heading, she also began to glow slightly, releasing a bit of pheromones. Noigakkuq¡¯s eyes widened as a familiar scent graced her nose, smelling of honey and the power that now flowed through her veins. As long as she didn¡¯t take any big whiffs, it was enough that she could follow even through the powerful scents surrounding her.


    She hung her head once more.


    ¡°¡­let¡¯s go.¡±


    Tyhgak tilted his head but nodded and followed along. Noigakkuq sighed again. Tyhgak didn¡¯t deserve her ire. He had acknowledged her power and aplishments, after all. In retrospect, he had always treated her more sincerely than the others¡­if only because he wasn¡¯t smart enough to act insincerely. She very quietly whispered to him.


    ¡°¡­sorry. And thanks foring for me.¡±


    If he heard her, he didn¡¯t react.


    And so, the bees began to teach the karnuq how to fight in the Fairy Grove, a process that took much longer than any of the karnuq expected.


    Belissar spent the rest of the day making beehouses for the new queens. For the shining bee house he left the roof open so that the sun could shine down on the hive directly, while cing the house away from any of the bee apartments or trees that might block the sun. It was slightly ufortable for Belissar to leave the hive exposed, but the weather was always pleasant in the Apiary so he put his difort aside. If anything did happen, he could always add a roofter.


    The blinding queen and gravity queen both got subterranean beehouses once Belissar enlisted Muuraqi and the karnuq¡¯s help for stone doors. The gravity queen had hers built into the open cavern, while the blinding queen¡¯s was built in a dark tunnel near the shadow vines she evolved from.


    Both the slime bee and the swimming bee got regr beehouses ced by the Apiary¡¯s Pond, as close as they could get to the edge while still remaining on solid ground. Belissar wasn¡¯t at all confident about the slime bee¡¯s home, but the slime queen happily stuffed her slime hive inside the wooden box, the slime now filling in the gaps between the frames. Belissar could only shrug, if she was happy then that was enough.


    The day passed. Belissar held a small memorial after the day¡¯s purification; no bees had been hurt in the actual fight but apparently some of the queens had raised new children and some drones had sacrificed themselves ordingly. The next day, Niobee once again led Belissar to the First of the Fifth¡¯s Bee Apartment, where he found the Third of the Sixth and the Fourth of the Fifth, the first burning and digging queens respectively.


    Along with two smaller queens he didn¡¯t recognize.


    ¡°Good morning, you have something to show me again?¡±


    The First of the Fifth confirmed with a happy dance before dancing to the other two queens. The Third of the Sixth flew forward first.


    ¡°King! Raised new daughter, mated with Fourth of the Fifth¡¯s drone. Evolved into something else!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened slightly.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing.¡±


    To be honest, he had somewhat forgotten about that aspect of the Bee Hybridizing perk. He had mostly selected it for its ability to speed up worker and soldier evolutions, and had expected most of the new evolutions toe from new honey types as they had before. And now, he had a new queen flying towards his hand who had not evolved from a special honey at all.


    The new queen had a dark grey body with a few red highlights. Specks of grey dust seemed to waft off of her each time she beat her wings. Both she and the specks were warm to the touch.


    <em>Ash Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Burning Poison Sting, Ash Spreading, Heat Resistance, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A burning monster bee modified by Ground type mana. In addition to the usual burning monster bee abilities, this bee generates hot ash that spreads whenever it flies. Swarms of ash bees can create ash clouds that can burn, blind, and suffocate enemies. The ash can also provide a nutritious fertilizer in areas the bees forage, as well as strengthening the wax they produce. This one is a queen thatys ash variant offspring by default.</em>


    Belissar grinned. A new bee that could operate in the Lava Fields, that had a new type of attack no other bee did, and that apparently could help fertilize soil? A valuable addition to the Tower indeed.


    ¡°What sort of beehouse would you like? And would you prefer to live in the Lava Field or one of the other rooms?¡±


    The ash bee took a bit of time to respond, but eventually managed a hesitant dance.


    ¡°Want to live by queen mother, hive like hers.¡±


    Well, that was easy enough. Belissar confirmed as much and the queen returned to her mother so that the next one could take her turn on his palm. She was squat and had therge mandibles of the digging bees, though there were red streaks on her mandibles and head.


    <em>Thermal Mining Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Speed: Below Average+</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Thermal Mining, Poison Sting, Heat Resistance, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A digging monster bee modified by Fire type mana. In addition to the usual digging monster bee abilities, this bee heats up and vibrates its mandibles to soften and dig through materials, allowing it to easily dig through much tougher materials than the regr digging bees. As small parts of the material may be melted or broken off in this process, it has some ability to gather these materials and incorporate them into its wax to build surprisingly tough hives. This ability may also be used inbat, though it takes time and may not have as much impact on armor as on raw materials. This bee is a queen thatys thermal mining variant offspring by default.</em>


    Belissar tilted his head. Did heating up rocks make them easier to dig through? Apparently so, if this bee was anything to go by. Well, he wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to make use of that, but the description said it could be used against shades, so he looked forward to seeing what these bees could do.


    To seeing what all the new bees could do, in fact.

 Chapter 183: A Fair-Bee Odd Occurance

    Chapter 183: A Fair-Bee Odd urance


    Noigakkuq sheepishly stepped out of the tree line as her guide bee led her into a small clearing. Metsaitti had gathered the karnuq there. A brightly colored swarm of worker bees spread out, with at least one bee hovering around each of the karnuq, while squads of soldier bees formed up overhead. One of the soldier queens conferred with Metsaitti, rying the bee army¡¯s own experiences in this confusing room. He paused his conversation as he caught sight of her.


    ¡°Ah, there you are, Noigakkuq. Come, I was just speaking to the Firstborn here on how we should approach this room. We could use your insight.¡±


    Noigakkuq¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°Do you really?¡±


    Metsaitti frowned.


    ¡°Look at me, Noigakkuq.¡±


    He waited until she lifted her head before continuing.


    ¡°Tyhgak should have said it, but in case he forgot to mention it, you and I are the only ones to have receivedbat blessings from the God of Bees. Mine, however, is a hybrid blessing with the God of Fire, and I spent years with the blessing of thencer before that. You have a pure and unique blessing from the God of Bees and all of your training and techniques stem from it. We¡¯re exploring new territory here, so your skills are the only lead we have for how humanoids can learn bee stylebat.¡±


    He gave her a stern look.¡°So, we need you here, teaching the rest of us what you have discovered, and figuring out how we can better coordinate with our fellow defenders in the sky. You have already proved yourself and we cannot afford for you to run off in an attempt to do more. You are part of the hunters now, and I expect you to cooperate as a good hunter should. Understand?¡±


    Noigakkuq could only nod slowly.


    ¡°¡­I got it.¡±


    Metsaitti¡¯s gaze soften.


    ¡°Good. Now then,e and listen to the Firstborn here. Her army has already suffered at the hands of this room, so we had better learn from her how to avoid that.¡±


    Noigakkuq nodded and took a step forward¡­before she suddenly clutched at her nose and screamed.


    ¡°Noigakkuq! What happened?!¡±


    She forced her words out as she plugged her nose and her eyes teared up.


    ¡°Too many¡­smells. Tons of mana, something happening.¡±


    Metsaitti grabbed his spear and turned to the Firstborn, only to find the bees already buzzing and zipping about. The Firstborn was dancing and trying to restore order, with one of the color workers zipping about in front of her. He instead turned to his own hunters, all of which were ncing about and preparing to fight in response to their bee guides¡¯ sudden outburst.


    Whatever was happening, the bees were already starting to prepare. He had better ensure the karnuq did likewise¡­


    Belissar was speaking with Chief Rohsuak and Muuraqi on making new homes for thetest additions to the hive of hives when he suddenly stumbled. He nearly lost his footing but managed to catch him. He clearly didn¡¯t do so with grace, as both the karnuq were looking at him with concern.


    ¡°Tower Keeper Belissar, are you alright?¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened and he shook his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The Tower just got hit with a huge spike of mana.¡±


    Muuraqi¡¯s eyes widened while Chief Rohsuak¡¯s narrowed. The chief straightened herself.


    ¡°Are we under attack? Should I recall the hunters?¡±


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°No¡­they¡¯re already there. It¡¯s not the Hunger, though, so I¡¯m not sure how we should respond.¡±


    The mana spike did not send a chill down his spine as the Hunger always did, so he knew this wasn¡¯t a sudden purification. Moreover, the mana spike was centered on a particr location and not the entrance. No, the mana in the newest Fairy Grove had kicked up into a whirlwind. Gales rustled the leaves of the trees, the ground seemed to tremble, the trees swayed their branches and churned the ground with their routes. Mana began to swirl like a tornado around one of the fairy circles before sting out in waves that shook the room.


    It seemed the Fairy Groves may not be safe after all.


    The Firstborn and the soldier bee army, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s Second Daughter and her hive of chromatic bees, and Metsaitti and the karnuq hunters were all already there for a training session. Belissar wasn¡¯t sure, though, whether he should have them head to the circle in question or retreat out of the room. Was the Fairy Grove about to spawn monsters? Start a purification? Explode? Curse everyone within? Belissar had no idea, all he knew about fairy circles were from fairy tales and his bees¡¯ own experiences, so how could he possibly determine what was happening¡­


    <em>Unknown entity attempting connection with room: 1F Fairy Grove. Permit?</em>


    Well, he should have guessed the Tower would know, at the very least. The power of the gods was not as ignorant as he¡­nor as helpless. Apparently, he could just reject the connection and solve the problem¡­hopefully.


    He was about to do just that when a bee zipped in front of him.


    ¡°Hivebuilder! Queen of All Bees has message!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as Velebee flew before him and began to dance. He took a nce at the Tower¡¯s question still hanging in the air before shaking his head. A message from his patron took priority.


    ¡°Got it, what did she say?¡±


    ¡°Queen of All Bees says Hivebuild should let.¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Should let? Is that it?¡±


    Velebee¡¯s dance slowed a bit.


    ¡°Yes, is all.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Got it, thank Velebee.¡±


    He rubbed his chin for a second. Well, vague message aside, under the circumstances he couldn¡¯t help but assume the God of Bees was referring to the connection message. He didn¡¯t know what else she could mean. If that was the case¡­he should¡­<em>allow</em> this random connection tearing up one of the Fairy Groves?


    Belissar gulped. But he took a deep breath and steeled himself. The God of Bees hadn¡¯t led him astray thus far, so if she went as far as sending him an oracle on this, he decided he would trust her. It wasn¡¯t like <em>he</em> knew what was going on, so he wasn¡¯t going to reject the opinion of a god that did.


    He turned to Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°Something is trying to connect to the Tower through the new Fairy Grove. The God of Bees apparently wants us to let it in. I¡¯m going to ask the bee army to gather there and then head there myself before we do. Would you minding along, and with your hunters too?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak immediately saluted.


    ¡°As you say, Tower Keeper.¡±


    Belissar ryed the orders to the Firstborn and then made his way to the Fairy Grove. He winced as he stepped inside, the swirling mana made his skin prickle. He confirmed it wasn¡¯t actually hurting him or his bees before pressing onward. One of the chromatic bees met with him and guided him to the site in question.


    The soldier bees and karnuq had already gathered around the fairy circle in question, this one in the center of a small clearing. The bees and karnuq hung at the edge of the tree line, partly for cover and partly because that was as close as was safe. The mana surged and condensed in the center of the fairy circle at regr intervals before new spikes of mana struck it and caused it to disperse through the room. Whenever it did, the clearing became chaos. Grass randomly grew and wilted, trees buckled and swayed. The air spun and whirled, the ground churned and groaned. Sparks of light and me appeared and vanished alongside short spurts of rain and hail, shadows danced along the ground.


    Belissar gulped as he joined Metsaitti, the Firstborn, and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s Second Daughter. All three of them saluted once they saw him.


    ¡°King!¡±


    ¡°Tower Keeper.¡±


    Belissar nodded at them and then turned towards the fairy circle. His heart pounded as he beheld the sheer chaos in the clearing. The thing trying to connect was causing all this¡­and he was about to let it <em>into</em> his Tower? He would not have considered such a thing had the God of Bees not directly told him he should.


    So, instead of shutting it down and fleeing as all wisdom and instinct told him he should, he took a deep breath.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to permit it. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen, so everyone be ready.¡±


    Both karnuq and bee saluted and informed their charges. The soldier bee formations hovered in the air, sprayers lining the clearing whilencers positioned themselves high in the sky and directly above. Karnuq gripped their spears, hoisted their shields, and nocked their bows. The Firstborn danced and Metsaitti nodded at him.


    Belissar took onest breath, deep and along, before he looked to the message.


    <em>Unknown entity attempting connection with room: 1F Fairy Grove. Permit?</em>


    Belissar forced himself to nod.


    ¡°Yes, permit.¡±


    The clearing burst into an even greater surge of mana, the chaotic phenomena intensifying. Leaves and flowers ripped off the nearest trees in powerful gusts of wind before circling towards the center of the clearing, twisting and twirling their way around hail and sparks of me. They began to spin in a circle above the center of the fairy ring. Once they aligned in a full circle, the mana began to reverse, the circle of leaves and petals sucking it in. There was onest burst of mana and all the chaotic phenomena began to die down, leaving the fairy circle as it originally was.


    Save for the circle of leaves and petals still flying in a rotating circle through the air¡­

 Chapter 184: Connection Bee-stablished

    Chapter 184: Connection Bee-stablished


    The circle of leaves and petals began to elerate, spinning faster and faster. A gust of wind picked up even more leaves and petals and began spinning around the original circle. It picked up more and more leaves, until the entire circle was hidden from view in a whirlwind of green with streaks of color.


    Then, in a single moment, a gust of wind dispersed the shield of leaves. Belissar shielded his eyes from the sudden gust, blocking his own view for moment. When he opened his eyes and lowered his arms, he found that the fairy circle was no longer vacant. In the center now stood a flower. A flower that came up to Belissar¡¯s thighs¡­and standing on its roots. Its roots and branches were arranged like the limbs of a person and its stem bulged in the center¡­and held a pair of big eyes blinking curiously. Its ¡°head¡± was topped with a giant flower with bright red leaves, giving it the appearance of a tiny person with a wide-brimmed hat.


    It nced around every which way before noticing the bees hovering all around it. It smiled, with its eyes since it appeared tock a mouth, and waved at the bees, then jumped back into the center of the circle. The leaves picked up around it once more before anyone could respond and then it was gone.


    Belissar blinked as the bees danced around him.


    ¡°King! What that? What do?¡±


    Belissar was about to respond with his signature ¡°um¡± when the leaves began to pick up once more. He swallowed his words and focused on the circle.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯sing back. It didn¡¯t seem hostile, but everyone get ready, just in case.¡±


    The bees performed their salute dance and assembled back into formation as the leaves sped up once again. This time, Belissar was ready as they dispersed, and so kept his eyes on the center.


    And then his jaw fell as low as it could go. In the center of the circle now stood the most beautiful woman Belissar had ever seen. Her skin was tanned as one who spent most of their time outdoors, yet had not a single blemish Belissar could find. Her hair was a shining blond that glimmered in the sun with some sort of silvery highlights. It was woven into braids with dozens of colorful flowers all along it, and her head was topped by a small crown of flowers. She wore a simple green gardener¡¯s dress and a brown apron, yet wore it with all the grace of a queen in her finest robes. Every movement she made was as smooth and graceful as flowing water. She seemed light and ephemeral, as if a sudden breeze would blow her away, yet at the same time had a presence thatmanded his attention, like a mountain looming overhead.She had her eyes closed and took a deep breath. She slowly exhaled it as she opened her eyes. Belissar felt as if her eyes pierced into his very soul, holding wisdom and knowledge the likes of which he couldn¡¯t fathom, that belied her seemingly young appearance. She slowly smiled, a sight that seemed to brighten her very surroundings like the sun and spoke with a voice more melodic and soothing than any bard¡¯s song.


    ¡°It worked! I made it!¡±


    She nced every which way until her gaze fell upon the soldier bee formations hovering in the air. Her eyes went wide and began to tremble. Her mouth fell open and then she¡­smiled as wide as she could.


    ¡°Is this¡­is this the bee dungeon?! Did I really get it on the first try?!¡±


    Belissar stared until he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard Chief Rohsuak clear her throat.


    ¡°Tower Keeper, how would you like us to respond?¡±


    Belissar flushed as he realized he had been staring silently. He shook his head and used his Tower sight to take stock of the situation. He then noticed the ambient mana in the Fairy Grove appeared to naturally wrap around the neer¡­as well as her pointed ears. This¡­this was no human, nor even a beastkin. This was something else entirely.


    However, the God of Bees had asked him to let her in, so there could be only one response.


    ¡°Let¡¯s greet her.¡±


    Belissar stepped forward, trying not to flush as he beheld her face once more. He tried focusing on the mana wrapping around her instead, watching it twist and curve as it contacted her own, preventing the fairy circle from growing chaotic again as a side effect. Chief Rohsuak and the karnuq hunters fell in behind him, Niobee stood guard on his head, and the soldier bees took up their usual spots in the air just above him.


    ¡°Hello. And¡­yes, I think. This is a Tower of the Gods devoted to the God of Bees, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The woman turned her gaze to them as Belissar andpany stepped into the clearing. She gave them a warm smile.


    ¡°Amazing. You must be the dungeon master, or perhaps their servants? My name is Tarwantrad, dungeon master of the God of Flowers and the Calwaskon Compact. Forgive me for stepping into your dungeon without an invitation, I mean you no harm.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Well, I sort of did? The Tower asked me whether to let you in, and the God of Bees said it was a good idea. In any case, yes, I¡¯m the Tower Keeper, and my name is Belissar. Nice to meet¡­¡±


    Belissar swallowed the rest of his words with a gulp as Tarwantrad suddenly narrowed her eyes at him and took a step forward.


    ¡°Belissar?! As in¡­Belissar¡¯s Beehouse Belissar?¡±


    Belissar blinked before he heard the buzzing and quickly waved down Niobee and soldier bees.


    ¡°Ah, um, yes, I think? You mean the room feature, right?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded repeatedly with all her might.


    ¡°Ah, then yes, that¡¯s me.¡±


    Tarwantrad broke out into a massive smile, her eyes sparkling like stars in the night sky.


    ¡°Amazing! I wanted to meet you but I had no idea you were still alive, being mortal and all! But, of course you would be a dungeon master too, that makes perfect sense! I can¡¯t believe you figured out how to make homes that the bees like so much! Tell me, how did youe up with the idea? How did you figure out they would make theirbs perfectly straight within the trays? How did you figure out how to keep them from buildingbs between the trays? Did you have any ns for winter in mind, they seem a bit too ventted for that. I assumed you lined them with some sort of instion when that came, but it could be that you were from a warmer climate?¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes were spinning at the sudden barrage of melodic words.


    ¡°That¡¯s, um, uh¡­¡±


    Tarwantrad suddenly blinked and then took a step back, flushing.


    ¡°Oh! Sorry, it¡¯s a bad habit of mind to ramble. I apologize, it¡¯s just¡­I¡¯m so excited to actually meet you. <em>The</em> Belissar, the dungeon master who developed beehouses approved by the God of Bees. The first bee dungeon master anyone in the Calwaskon Compact has ever heard of, whether in recent memory or ancient lore! I still can¡¯t believe I never knew there was a God of Bees until now, you¡¯ll have to tell me all about her!¡±


    Belissar blinked as he tried to catch up with the conversation. He managed to understand enough of it though to finallye up with a response.


    ¡°So, um, I take it you like bees?¡±


    Tarwantrad smiled and nodded repeatedly.


    ¡°I love bees! I love all nt life and flowers especially and suffice to say that flowers would not exist as they do were it not for pollinators such as bees. They are my precious partners, my fellow gardeners.¡±


    Belissar returned her smile as his chest grew warm. He reached up and brushed Niobee¡¯s back.


    ¡°Mine as well. I owe them everything, even my very life.¡±


    He managed to meet her gaze, any embarrassment or hesitation forgotten.


    ¡°If you¡¯re a friend of bees, then you¡¯re a friend of mine, and wee here.¡±


    Tarwantrad beamed at that. Belissar was about to lead her in when he heard Chief Rohsuak in his head.


    <em>¡°Tower Keeper, I apologize for interrupting. But, before we wee your new friend, perhaps you should ask how she arrived in your Tower¡­and why? Even if she doesn¡¯t not mean us harm, we should still find out why exactly she hase here.¡±</em>


    Belissar frowned but nodded. He supposed that much was fair.


    ¡°Um, could I ask how exactly you got here? And right into the center of one of my rooms.¡±


    Tarwantrad jolted a bit.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a good question. Indeed, I have forgotten that my arrival was rude indeed, and it would not do for you to invite a stranger into your dungeon. Please forgive me.¡±


    She inclined her head before she continued.


    ¡°I havee because I received a mission from my patron, the God of Flowers, to find and visit the Bee Dungeon, a mission which I have just fulfilled. I have not received any further missions or instructions and so had no further goal, save to see a dungeon dedicated to the God of Bees and to hopefully have a friendly exchange with its master.¡±


    She then took on a serious expression.


    ¡°As for the method of my arrival, your dungeon is located far, far away from the Calwaskon Compact, even had we not cut off thend of the fair from the mortal realms, and deep in the midst of the Hunger. There was no normal method by which I could reach your dungeon, and no army capable of pushing back the corruption in the way. I reached deep into the lore of my people for a solution, and found the nexus doors, a method by which the fair peoples once traveled unseen across the world. My people have not used such a method ever since the Hunger appeared, but if there was any method to reach you, that was it. I had no idea if it would work, however, and the nexus doors were not known to cooperate even with the fair peoples. I sought only to test the method to see if I could use it at all, it is but happy coincidence, or perhaps the will of our patrons, that my first attempt reached your dungeon.¡±


    She then rubbed her chin and nced around.


    ¡°I am not certain why, though, now that I look around, the mana in this room is curious. It resembles thend of the fair, though it appears to be quite untamed. You seem to have ced a nexus here as well, may I ask what¡­¡±


    At that moment, the leaves swirled once more and the flower monster from before appeared again. This time frantically tugging on Tarwantrad¡¯s dress with its leaf arms. Tarwantrad¡¯s face paled.


    ¡°Ah, um. There, uh, might be a problem. I am sorry, Tower Keeper Belissar, but I must depart immediately. I¡­am not certain I will be able to return, but if I am, would you allow me to visit once more?¡±


    Belissar blinked at the sudden change in topic but slowly nodded.


    ¡°Yes, as I said, a friend of bees is wee here.¡±


    She gave him a warm smile before her face fell once more.


    ¡°I truly hope that I will be able to return. May your flowers bloom bright, Tower Keeper Belissar.¡±


    And with that, she stepped back and the leaves hid her. And so, the woman vanished as suddenly as she had arrived, leaving Belissar and the karnuq staring nkly at the fairy circle.

 Side Story 184.1 - The Terms of the Compact

    Side Story 184.1 - The Terms of the Compact


    Tarwantrad stepped back out into her own dungeon. She stood in the center of a circr nexus of her own made of glowing flowers. Her circle was ced in the center of a colorful forest, with flowers covering the ground, the bushes, and the short trees ced all around her. Mana swirled through the air and through each and every nt, flowing in such a way that it concentrated on the nexus. Some of the nts were moving about, blending in with their stationary cousins as they surrounded the nexus on all sides. Almablom stood staring at the nexus as well, tapping her foot on the ground. She raised an eyebrow once she saw Tarwantrad.


    ¡°Well? I assume since you¡¯re alive that you didn¡¯t just walk into the middle of the Hunger.¡±


    Tarwantrad grinned at her.


    ¡°Mission aplished, we found it.¡±


    Almablom blinked, then smiled wide.


    ¡°Truly? Then the risk we took paid off.¡±


    A momentter, she tilted her head.


    ¡°But in that case, why have you returned so quickly? I would have thought you would want to speak with the dungeon master in question.¡±


    Tarwantrad paled.¡°You are correct but¡­the loremaster hase to my dungeon.¡±


    Almablom stared at her for a moment before her eyes went wide.


    ¡°Tarwantrad¡­you <em>did</em> inform him you were removing one of his scrolls, right? You <em>did</em> ask for permission before building a nexus door, right? The most forbidden of forbidden things we¡¯re not supposed to do? One that was specifically mentioned in the founding Compact itself?¡±


    Tarwantrad just averted her gaze.


    ¡°I¡­did not wish to fail before we even tried, simply because we were told no. You too! You didn¡¯t bother to ask me if I asked, you know!¡±


    Almablom sharply exhaled her breath.


    ¡°Well, yes. Because I didn¡¯t even imagine you would possibly attempt this without asking. I just assumed that was so unthinkable you wouldn¡¯t have thought of doing it, even for a mission from the gods. What were you <em>thinking</em>, Tarwantrad?!¡±


    Tarwantrad just hung her head.


    A momentter, Tarwantrad made her way down to the weing garden at the entrance to her dungeon. The loremaster stood there with a stern expression, nked by two of the guards. Tarwantrad gulped but made her way forward. She opened her mouth to greet him but the loremaster cut her off.


    ¡°All knowledge in the house of lore is open to all who seek to learn, nothing there is forbidden. There is but one restriction. Do you know what that is, Dungeon Master Tarwantrad?¡±


    Tarwantrad fought off another gulp.


    ¡°Yes, Loremaster Anyadre.¡±


    He continued staring at her.


    ¡°And what is it?¡±


    Tarwantrad tried not to look away under his withering gaze.


    ¡°¡­don¡¯t remove anything from the house without permission.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes slightly.


    ¡°Well¡­?¡±


    She reached into the pocket of her apron and produced a scroll, sheepishly holding it out to him. Loremaster Anyadre epted the scroll and inspected it closely from every angle. He then unrolled it, scrolling through quickly to ensure nothing was out of ce. He turned to her and frowned.


    ¡°Everything appears to be in order. Under normal circumstances, as this is your first ever infraction, I would let you off with a warning.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes on her once again.


    ¡°However, I fear these are not normal circumstances, are they? I cannot help but think of ourst conversation, after which youmitted your first ever infraction of the house of lore¡¯s most important rule. So, tell me, Dungeon Master Tarwantrad, what precisely were you doing with a scroll on nexuses? That you would intentionally take a scroll from the house of lore without informing the loremaster to achieve?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful ce, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Tarwantrad flinched as Loremaster Anyadre red at her. She considered lying but thought better of it. The loremaster had many centuries of experience on her and an uncanny ability to know things that he shouldn¡¯t. Given what he already knew, she had little confidence she could keep the truth from him.


    ¡°I¡­built a nexus.¡±


    Loremaster Anyadre, however, did not relent.


    ¡°And what precisely did you need a nexus for?¡±


    Tarwantrad shrank on herself.


    ¡°To open¡­a nexus door.¡±


    Even the two guards stared at her with wide eyes at her admission. Loremaster Anyadre went deathly silent, staring at her with a disconcertingly neutral expression on his face. He spoke carefully in a near whisper.


    ¡°By all that is fair, what possessed you to do such a thing?¡±


    Tarwantrad averted her gaze.


    ¡°I thought that¡­if it was in my dungeon, it wouldn¡¯t be as big a deal¡­¡±


    Loremaster Anyadre took a deep breath and then motioned to the guards.


    ¡°Of all the dungeon masters I have met over my many years, you may very well be the most reckless¡­and that is giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming this was not done out of malicious intent. Dungeon Master Tarwantrad, your actions have put the entire Calwaskon Compact at risk, threatening all of our lives and everything we have managed to preserve. You will take me to this door and dismantle it under my supervision. Then, you will be arrested and tried for treason. Do you understand?¡±


    Tarwantrad just hung her head.


    But as the guards moved to nk her, suddenly the doors of her dungeon mmed open. Another group of armored guards marched into the room, led by an armored woman with what appeared as a ck bruise coloring the side of her face. The woman¡¯s voice boomed through the garden.


    ¡°Where is the dungeon master?¡±


    Loremaster Anyadre stepped forward.


    ¡°Wardmaster Varilold, just in time. Right over here. I was just taking her into custody.¡±


    Wardmaster Varilold pushed past the loremaster without responding and marched right up to Tarwantrad.


    ¡°You, what did you do?¡±


    Tarwantrad shrunk on herself once more, but no longer had any reason to hide anything.


    ¡°I¡­built a nexus, and a nexus door.¡±


    Wardmaster Varilold narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°How did you do it? And why hasn¡¯t the Hunger flooded over all of us?¡±


    Tarwantrad gulped.


    ¡°I, um, built it in my dungeon, hoping the dungeon¡¯s purifying powers would prevent that. It seems to have worked, as it led not to the Hunger but to another dungeon.¡±


    The wardmaster adopted a thoughtful expression and rubbed her chin.


    ¡°A dungeon? One in the Compact or¡­¡±


    Tarwantrad shook her head.


    ¡°No, ording to the instructions I received by the Oracle of Flowers, the destination dungeon is located back in the mortal realms, in the ruins of the old human kingdom.¡±


    The wardmaster¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Of course¡­how did we miss that?¡±


    Loremaster Anyadre stepped forward with a frown.


    ¡°Wardmaster, may I ask what¡¯s going on?¡±


    She began pacing as she replied.


    ¡°Just now, a flood of mana reinvigorated the wards, restoring them to levels of strength we¡¯ve not seen in decades. A flood of mana originating from this very dungeon.¡±


    The loremaster¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°The nexus door.¡±


    Wardmaster Varilold nodded.


    ¡°We knew from the start that cutting off thend of the fair and the mortal realms would have consequences for the flow of mana, but we had no choice after the nexus road was corrupted. If this dungeon master, however, has managed to reopen the road without letting in the Hunger¡­we may have just found the solution.¡±


    Loremaster Anyadre gasped for the first time Tarwantrad could remember.


    ¡°Of course¡­if the two doors are both located in dungeons, then perhaps the power of the gods would shield the path from the Hunger. We only received the dungeons after we had shut down the nexus doors and forbade their use, so we never checked how the dungeons would affect them¡­¡±


    The wardmaster ignored the loremaster¡¯s mumbling, snapped to attention, and stared down Tarwantrad once more.


    ¡°Dungeon Master¡­?¡±


    ¡°Tarwantrad, Wardmaster.¡±


    ¡°Dungeon Master Tarwantrad, we will investigate the door you¡¯ve opened in full and assign several wardens to watch it until we can confirm the connection is safe. Will you be willing to prepare a residence for them in your dungeon?¡±


    Tarwantrad was taken aback but managed to nod.


    ¡°Ah, yes, of course. That is¡­if I¡¯m not to be tried for treason?¡±


    Wardmaster Varilold snorted.


    ¡°Of course not. This is now a matter that concerns the very survival of the Compact, nothing else takes priority. We can address any crimes you may havemittedter. Right now, we need you to keep that door open at all costs. And that¡¯s an order.¡±


    Tarwantrad led the wardmaster and her wardens to the door in question. Wardmaster Varilold wasted no time in getting to work, setting up some temporary wards around the door while nning out a more permanent arrangement. She queried Tarwantrad heavily on the dungeon¡¯s defenses in the area, then barked at the wardens to keep watch while she marched back out of the dungeon to gather more wardens and supplies.


    Loremaster Anyadre watched in silence until the wardmaster finished her work for the moment. He then stepped forward.


    ¡°Dungeon Master Tarwantrad.¡±


    Tarwantrad turned to face him, still ufortable under his gaze even though she wasn¡¯t being arrested for treason anymore.


    ¡°Yes, Loremaster?¡±


    His eyes narrowed.


    ¡°What you did was utterly reckless, disying aplete disregard for the lives of everyone in the Compact. That it proved incidentally helpful does not change this, for I know this was not your intended oue, as indicated by the deceptive manner you went about it. So, whether or not it has worked out, I fully expect you to never attempt something such as this without informing us again. You understand this, correct?¡±


    Her face fell but she nodded.


    ¡°Yes, Loremaster.¡±


    He nodded back at her.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    And then he bowed his head to her.


    ¡°Because intended or not, your actions may have just reversed the future of the Compact and saved us all. And for that, I thank you from the very bottom of my heart.¡±


    Tarwantrad blinked,pletely unable to process the loremaster¡¯s sudden shift in tone. All she thought was¡­her little trip to the bee dungeon was turning out to be a farrger affair than she had ever imagined it to be.

 Chapter 185: Bee Wary

    Chapter 185: Bee Wary


    Tarwantrad grew some trees, bushes, and vines into a simple barracks that blended with the forest for the wardens. She ordered her monsters and assistants to provide furnishings and supplies while the wardens continued to monitor the nexus. Soon, Wardmaster Varilold returned with more wardens carrying crates and barrels filled with all the supplies necessary for powerful andsting wards. The wardmaster got to work as soon as she arrived, having already spoken with Tarwantrad on how the wards would interact with her dungeon. Tarwantrad, however, still had something to discuss with her.


    ¡°Wardmaster, there is one more thing I need to discuss with you.¡±


    Tarwantrad waited for the woman to nod at her, without bothering to look up from the ward formation she was inscribing right in the middle of a patch of flowers.


    ¡°I wish to pass through the door and speak with the dungeon master on the other side. He seems friendly, but we had only just met when the loremaster summoned me back. If we wish to keep the door open, we will need to ensure the other side is in agreement.¡±


    The wardmaster just waved her off.


    ¡°Yes, I agree, you don¡¯t need to convince me girl. Go ahead and figure it out. We¡¯ll likely need to bring the master into the Compact eventually anyways.¡±


    Tarwantrad smiled.


    ¡°Thank you, wardmaster. I¡¯ll head over there right away. Please inform one of my monsters if you need me.¡±


    The wardmaster grunted and continued focusing on her work. Tarwantrad walked off with a smile, humming a light tune as she made for the nexus door. Back in the bee dungeon itself, just after Tarwantrad left, the reaction was one of confusion. All the bees and karnuq turned to watch Belissar and Chief Rohsuak. Belissar himself could only rub his chin.


    ¡°So¡­that was some kind of fairy, right?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak slowly nodded.


    ¡°To the best of my knowledge, I would agree. She was neither human nor beastkin, and the mana of the room responded to her in ways it does not to any of us, not even you its Tower Keeper.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak then frowned.


    ¡°I must caution you, Tower Keeper. Friendly or not, please take care with your interactions with her should she return. What little my people know of the fair folk is not encouraging, and they are especially known for deception and trickery. I¡¯ll admit, though, that our knowledge is little more than bedtime stories and what few hints of their existence we happened upon during our journey.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Same goes for me. Though, Tarwantrad didn¡¯t seem so bad, and the God of Bees approves of her, apparently. What about you, Niobee? What do you think?¡±


    Niobee danced right atop his head.


    ¡°Outsiders dangerous! If hurt King, will sting! If don¡¯t hurt King and bring flowers, is ok.¡±


    Belissar and Chief Rohsuak both chuckled and nodded at that.


    ¡°Perhaps we are overthinking it, Tower Keeper. Niobee¡¯s approach may well work.¡±


    Belissar smiled and brushed Niobee¡¯s back.


    ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯ll just have to see when she returns¡­if she returns.¡±


    The when quickly became if as an hour passed and no one came through the door. At that point, Belissar dispersed most of the bees and karnuq with a small handful staying behind to guard the fairy circle in question. With no idea how long it would take, Belissar and Chief Rohsuak decided to do what they could. First, they took a trip over to Sehfitis to see if the Tower Lords had any additional insight into their mysterious visitor.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Sehfitis¡¯s jaw dropped when they exined the situation to him, following by him narrowing his eyes.


    ¡°Tower Keeper, I must ask. You are certain of this? You are certain she is fey?¡±


    Belissar gulped at Sehfitis¡¯s tone but nodded his head.


    ¡°As certain as I can be. She had this¡­otherworldly, um, aura, or something like that? And pointy ears.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak chimed in.


    ¡°I agree with the Tower Keeper¡¯s assessment. Additionally, the mana of the room that the Tower itselfbels a fairy room reacts to her in a way it does not with anyone else¡­and in a more cooperative manner than we have seen thus far.¡±


    Sehfitis nearly stumbled as he took a step back.


    ¡°By the gods. Tower Keeper, the situation is serious indeed. Knowledge of the fey is heavily restricted, but we do know they did very much exist. The kings of old had dealings with them, friendly and hostile both. And yet, for all the arcane knowledge of the ancient kingdom and armies of humans and beastkin they had at their disposal, the fey were neither conquered or dominated. Individual kings that dealt with them often came to ruin, regardless of whether the interaction was positive or violent. And¡­¡±


    Sehfitis nced around, as if looking for anyone eavesdropping as his voice dropped to a whisper.


    ¡°This is but rumor, as any documents pertaining to it are known only to the High Council. But there are whispers that it was some knowledge of the fey, or one of the fey themselves, that led the old kingdom to its downfall. We had thought the fey wiped out by the Hunger for whatever role they may have yed in it, but apparently not. So, take great care, Tower Keeper.¡±


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°I see¡­but this one was approved by the God of Bees?¡±


    Sehfitis rubbed his chin before shaking his head.


    ¡°Perhaps so. All I can say is¡­take care as well when deciphering the will of the gods. Myte charge¡¯s fate is a testament to what happens if you assume too much.¡±


    Belissar grimaced at that. That whole set of affairs still left a sour taste in his mouth, so he tried not to think about it. He departed from Sehfitis and Chief Rohsuak as well, taking a bit of a walk to think about the situation. Eventually, he passed by the karnuq¡¯s beehouses once more, where he saw Paisijik looking over the First of the Ninth¡¯s hive. His chest slowly unknotted and he began to smile as he watched the karnuq and the bees get along.


    He didn¡¯t want to assume the will of the gods, that was for sure. But, in this case, he felt he understood the God of Bees¡¯ intentions here. Tarwantrad may be some sort of tricky, dangerous fairy of some kind, but her love of bees had not seemed faked in the short interaction he had with her. She apparently knew of his beehouse feature, which meant that she had acquired that feature for her own Tower.


    Additionally, he didn¡¯t know how much he trusted Sehfitis or the knowledge the augur had ess to. After all, the karnuq had not turned out to be the violent, bestial monsters Tower Keeper doctrine had pinned them as, nor were they the loyal servants of the wicked kings of old as even Sehfitis¡¯s greater knowledge indicated. So, Belissar decided that, fey or no, he would try to form his own opinion of Tarwantrad, should she return. The God of Bees wanted him to invite her to his Tower and he did not believe the God of Bees would do so if Tarwantrad would bring him to ruin.


    <em>¡°King, leaves moving again!¡±</em>


    And he had decided just in time as amuner watching over the Fairy Grove reached out to him. Belissar steeled himself and then made his way over to find out just how true or not the legends of the fairies were.


    He returned to find Tarwantrad standing in the circle once more. She still appeared as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but this time he was more prepared for it so he was not as stunned. He still couldn¡¯t help but flush a bit as she saw him and beamed.


    ¡°Belissar! I¡¯m so d to see you again!¡±


    He could not help but return a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you too, Tarwantrad. Did everything work out with whatever drew you away? It seemed¡­urgent.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded and adopted a serious expression.


    ¡°Indeed, and we have a request for you as well. The Calwaskon Compact would like for us to keep this nexus door open indefinitely in both of our dungeons, as our future may very well depend on it. I know it is a lot to ask when we¡¯ve only just met, I can promise you though that if you are willing to do so the entire Calwaskon Compact would be incredibly grateful. I will also offer my support and friendship as a fellow dungeon master.¡±


    Belissar blinked.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    He nearly agreed of out habit, but his past forays into diplomacy as well as his recent conversations on the fey made him hesitate. Once he thought about it, he definitely didn¡¯t want tomit to anything just like that, especially where the supposedly tricky and dangerous fey were concerned. Leaving a door open to his dungeon could also be dangerous, though he supposed if he moved the Fairy Grove to be the first room it would be no different than the normal entrance.


    In any case, unlike the situation with the sigmaka, Tarwantrad did not seem ready to attack him at a moment¡¯s notice, so he had a bit more time to think before he responded. He decided that before he agreed to anything, he needed more information about who he was dealing with, and what exactly they were asking him to do.


    ¡°I have some questions. First, what is the Calwaskon Compact?¡±

 Chapter 186: Please, Wont You Bee My Neighbor?

    Chapter 186: Please, Won''t You Bee My Neighbor?


    ¡°The Calwaskon Compact is an agreement between all the fair peoples and dungeon masters to work for themon good so long as we are threatened by the Hunger. You can think of it as the governing body of thend of the fair.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°Fair peoples? Land of the fair.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s eyes widened a bit.


    ¡°Ah, that is, all peoples blessed by the innate touch of mana and a deeper connection to the world, and thend we are from. And separate from but connected to the rest of the world.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s face fell a bit as she saw Belissar¡¯s confusion continue to grow.


    ¡°The point is¡­my people need your help. We need to keep this nexus door open to power the wards we use to keep the Hunger out of thend of the fair. It¡¯s only just been decided, but I am sure we will make it worth your while to do so. For right now, I can offer you some assistance as a fellow dungeon master.¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded. He still didn¡¯t know what exactly was meant by fair peoples ornd of the fair, though he could guess that meant fairies and their home. The whole connection to mana and the world and a separate but connectednd business was beyond him. He could, however, understand the desire to keep the Hunger out. He had no idea how keeping this ¡°nexus gate¡± or whatever it was open helped with powering wards, whatever those were, so all he could do was take Tarwantrad¡¯s word for it that it would help.


    What he did understand was that Tarwantrad and her people wanted to make a deal for this, and he saw no specific reason why he shouldn¡¯t. There was the general wariness of people he didn¡¯t know plus the vague implication of doom that might result from dealing with the fey, but the God of Bees¡¯ hand in this gave him confidence to proceed unless Tarwantrad gave him a reason to doubt her.Which meant what he needed to know was what they were offering.


    ¡°I see. I have¡­two questions. First, are there going to be any rules on peopleing and going from the door? Are your people going to want toe through whenever or can I decide who to let in? What about my bees and defenders crossing to the other side?¡±


    He winced as he realized he was starting to ramble a bit.


    ¡°Sorry, guess I had more than two questions. But the second big one is what sort of assistance can you offer?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded.


    ¡°Your questions are perfectly reasonable. As for the first set, as far as we know we only need the door open and it is not necessary for anyone to cross over in either direction. Since the door leads between yours and my dungeons, you and I cane up with our own arrangement on who is allowed to either side.¡±


    Her face then scrunched up.


    ¡°As for the Compact¡­that could getplicated now that I think of it.¡±


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°How so?¡±


    Tarwantrad nced around at Belissar and the karnuq, then took a deep breath.


    ¡°So, please don¡¯t take offense, but the issue is that you are human, with an army of those hybrids your people made. The fair peoples have not had positive interactions with humans in the past, and none of our records speak kindly of your people.¡±


    She quickly waved her hands about.


    ¡°Ah, but this is not regarding you personally! I know just from the care you took in making your beehouses that you are not any sort of destructive brute crushing everything in your path! It¡¯s just that¡­others in the Compact may not realize that, so I cannot say for certain if they will be willing to let you visit ournds. I can allow you in my own dungeon, but beyond that will take approval from the Compact. They definitely want the door open and definitely will work with you to keep it that way, but any more than that I cannot say.¡±


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.


    Belissar opened his mouth to object on that description of humans before thinking back to his treatment at the hands of the Tower Lords, or even his fellow vigers. Or the Tower Lord¡¯s son behaviour when he arrived at Belissar¡¯s Tower. He slowly closed his mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­well, we can talk about thatter. I don¡¯t need to visit the Compact as long as the Compact leaves me alone in exchange.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°I¡­understand, that is only fair. But...would you be willing to allow me personally more visits in the future, even if you want to keep the rest of the Compact out?¡±


    Belissar thought for a moment before slowly nodding.


    ¡°You said we can work that out between our dungeons, right?¡±


    Tarwantrad quickly smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Yes! We should! I think you and I could really help each other¡¯s dungeons! You see, I am a disciple of the God of Flowers, and you are one of the God of Bees!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Ah¡­yes, I could see how that could help. I just got a minor blessing from the God of Flowers, actually.¡±


    Tarwantrad beamed.


    ¡°And I recently got one from the God of Bees, with the help of your beehouses even! I think our gods are already working together, so we should too! In fact¡­¡±


    Tarwantrad reached into one of the pockets on her apron and removed a small pouch.


    ¡°This is a gift I wished to offer to you as a token of friendship between our dungeons. They are the seeds of the moon lily, a type of lily I have personally cultivated. They glow softly in the moonlight. Not only are they beautiful in the night, they also provide an easy ce for bees that couldn¡¯t return home before nightfall to rest, as they can be easily located even in the dark.¡±


    Belissar could only smile at that as he took the pouch.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m sure the bees will enjoy them.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded and smiled warmly.


    ¡°I know those who dwell in my dungeon do, so I hope yours will as well. And that, Belissar, is what I can do best for you. I am well-learned in the art of caring for flowering nts, both in wild settings and in guided cultivation. And as a dungeon master, my knowledge extends beyond beauty, as I¡¯m sure you well know. Should you agree to keep the nexus door open until the Compact negotiates with you, I will offer you one of my more potent children. A monster or trap to help keep your dungeon safe, or perhaps one with helpful properties to support the defenses you already possess, whatever you would desire most.¡±


    She then looked up at the soldier bees hovering overhead.


    ¡°I hope, too, that this will only be the beginning of our friendship. I do not know how it is for you humans but the dungeon masters of the Compact work together to support one another, exchanging knowledge, products, and even defenders to strengthen one another. I think you and I especially would benefit from what each other¡¯s dungeons have to offer. And, even if you are not invited to the Compact right away, I can connect you to themunity of dungeon masters if you wish to exchange with others as well.¡±


    She turned back to him and smiled.


    ¡°So, Belissar, master of the bee dungeon, would you be willing to work with me as one dungeon master with another? And to consider the offer of the Compact when they have decided how to treat with you?¡±


    Belissar was still processing all of her words when she made her request. There was a lot to consider, from the existence of some kind of fey nation that apparently didn¡¯t like humans all that much, to the idea that Tower Keepers¡­or dungeon masters, as Tarwantrad called them¡­apparently had some sort ofmunity? Well, the Tower Lords also had the Conve and the High Council, so that much wasn¡¯t surprising in retrospect.


    But as he thought more about it, Belissar began to nod. Tarwantrad was not exaggerating when she said she could really help him. Flowers were the most important element in his Tower after bees, or perhaps even alongside bees, for the two could not function without the other. Someone who could offer him more flowers? Who had specialized their entire dungeon in flowers? Belissar would offer much to have ess to such a dungeon, and Tarwantrad was asking little.


    And a friendly exchange between them, even working together? The cross-perks between the God of Bees and the God of Flowers had been exceptionally well-suited for his Tower. He couldn¡¯t help but think that cooperating with a flower Tower could have simrly impressive results.


    But there was one thing Tarwantrad offered that Belissar realized he desperately wanted. How many times in the past had he made mistakes because he didn¡¯t know what the Tower could do, or how it functioned? How many times had he wished for someone to teach him what to do? Right here, he had a fellow Tower Keeper who was not one of the Tower Lords, or even one of the Sacred Den Masters that Chief Rohsuak had not spoken kindly of. One who hade in friendship, offered gifts, and cared for bees.


    He had everything to gain from this deal and could not see any reason why he shouldn¡¯t ept. So, he gave her a smile.


    ¡°I would be happy to.¡±


    Tarwantrad made the brightest smile he had seen yet.

 Chapter 187: Bee Astonished!

    Chapter 187: Bee Astonished!


    ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you tell me about your dungeon? What sort of rooms do you have, and what sort of flowers? And what sort of bees? Especially the bees! I¡¯ve not seen bees like these ones before! They appear to be a monster variant of honeybee, specialized forbat, perhaps, based on the chitin and stingers. Fascinating! Oh, I¡¯m getting carried away, aren¡¯t I? Of course, you only need show me as much of your dungeon as you arefortable with, I do not mean to intrude.¡±


    Tarwantrad had apparently been holding back until confirming he¡¯d keep the door open, and now she unleashed a flood of questions. Belissar blinked as he raced to keep up.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Yeah, these are monster bee soldiers, raised by the hive to protect the Tower, or dungeon?¡±


    Tarwantrad shrugged.


    ¡°Each people has their own name for them. The Compact took to calling them dungeons as amon name the dungeons themselves use, but please feel free to use whatever name is most familiar to you.¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s just¡­there¡¯s a lot I don¡¯t know about dungeons. I was just a peasant beekeeper before this.¡±


    Tarwantrad tilted her head.


    ¡°Yes, I too spent a few decades on various pursuits before taking up a dungeon, but I think that¡¯s not what you¡¯re saying? Did your people not intend for you to take up their defense?¡±Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°No, they definitely did not. They tried to kill me to keep from it and tried again to take it away from me.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s face darkened.


    ¡°That¡¯s horrifying. Are humans truly that shortsighted and violent? I had thought the records and legends to be exaggerating.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s face scrunched up.


    ¡°Well¡­not all of us, but a lot of us, from what I¡¯ve seen. I¡¯m just d my Tower moved far away from them, so at least I¡¯ll have some time to prepare for the next attempt.¡±


    Tarwantrad gave him a worried look and took a deep breath.


    ¡°All the more reason for us to work together then, and make sure your dungeon is well defended. Please, tell me how I can help you, Belissar.¡±


    Belissar blinked at her, uncertain of what to say. She¡­wanted to help him? Just like that? The karnuq didn¡¯t volunteer help for the Tower until they became his sworn defenders. Even Mrs. Imkomos had him help out with her apiary in exchange for feeding and housing him. He guessed he was leaving the door open in exchange, though. She did say something about that being really important for her people, so in that vein it made sense she¡¯d also want to help keep his Tower around.


    Having reassured himself that she did have a reason to want to help, Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°Hm, honestly, any kind of flowers will help. The bees evolve themselves based off of special flowers¡­¡±


    Tarwantrad suddenly leaned forward.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but did you say your bees evolve based on the flowers? As in, they drink nectar and suddenly change?!¡±


    Belissar blinked again at the interruption before slowly nodding.


    ¡°Ah, yes. Well, it takes a little more than that. They have to process the nectar into special kinds of honey, then either raise new bees in it or go back into a cell and evolve with it. And, uh, it can get difficult with certain honey types. I know the Third of the Sixth struggled a bit with the fire honey¡­¡±


    Tarwantrad leaned in even further, her eyes now fixed in an intense stare on him.


    ¡°They make honeys unique enough to fuel an evolution? They made <em>fire honey</em>? I¡¯m guessing that means some sort of honey filled with Fire attribute mana?¡±


    Belissar gulped.


    ¡°Um, yes?¡±


    Tarwantrad suddenly began rubbing her chin and muttering to herself.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°I¡­see. Maybe that exins why Urubran got the mission first. Fire attribute honey¡­¡±


    Belissar nced about, taking a bit offort in the bees starting to hover closer to him.


    ¡°Is that not normal? Well, I guess even more not normal than Towers already are.¡±


    Tarwantrad turned an intense gaze back to him once more and shook her head.


    ¡°No, it is not. I don¡¯t harvest much honey from my honeybees, and my dungeon relies more on other bee species in the first ce. From what I¡¯ve seen, though, my honeybees do produce unique types of honey when they gather from magical nts, but nothing like what you¡¯re describing. Nothing with enough mana to change their fundamental nature. In fact, my honeybees tend to prefer mundane flowers that bloom in greater quantities, and avoid those with especially exotic magical properties. Anything that could produce a Fire mana-imbued honey would probably have warded them off.¡±


    Belissar stared nkly for a second.


    ¡°Oh. Well¡­maybe it¡¯s because I started with monster bee queens? Now that I think about it, they were making mana honey from the start, even before they found mana flowers.¡±


    Tarwantrad rubbed her chin again and nodded.


    ¡°Ah, that could exin it. If your bees were already touched by mana, then they¡¯d be more receptive to it in general. I would guess that having the God of Bees as your patron is also having a significant influence here.¡±


    Belissar thought about his blessing and the Tower stepped in to help. He focused in on a specific line.


    <strong><em>Blessing of Bees</em></strong>


    <em>- Bee monster upgrades and evolutions are now cheaper and easier to unlock</em>


    He nodded back to Tarwantrad.


    ¡°Yes, it says the blessing of bees makes it easier for bee monsters to evolve.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded, then spent a few minutes in silence before snapping up to look at him again.


    ¡°I see. Am I correct in assuming your dungeon is centered around bees as its main defenders, with flowers as a supporting feature to feed them and drive their evolutions?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Tarwantrad smiled.


    ¡°Got it. In that case, I can <em>definitely</em> help you. Would you mind telling me what sort of flowers you have and what kind of bees have resulted?¡±


    For a brief moment, Belissar considered how much of his Tower he should share about before shrugging it off. He was already trusting Tarwantrad with an open door to his Tower at this point and she apparently wanted to help him fight off the Tower Lords. The more he shared about his flowers and bees, the more useful the flower she would give him would be.


    Besides, the way her eyes lit up whenever he described his bees made him want to share more about them.


    ¡°Well, we started with normal flowers like dandelions and lilies, but then my bees found some mana flowers. Those are their favorite, I think monster bees need mana in their honey so they prefer nts that have it in their nectar. I got some kind of healing herbs, poisonous flowers, and x from a basic resource nt feature.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded along.


    ¡°A good way to get started if you don¡¯t have ess to a decent variety, though I have better results with those I raise myself.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin for a second.


    ¡°That¡¯s true for us too, with the cross-pollination and all.¡±


    Tarwantrad turned her gaze to him once again, leaning so far forward the bees began to buzz.


    ¡°Did you say, cross-pollination? As in, you¡¯ve raised new cultivars by your bees cross-pollinating them. Your mana-filled monster bees foraging from mana flowers?¡±


    Belissar took a step back out of reflex.


    ¡°Y-Yes? I, uh, got a perk for it and my bees have been using it to raise new flower types. Mostly mana-filled versions of the special normal flowers, like the healing herbs. Oh, that¡¯s also how we got fire mana flowers,e to think of it. They cross-pollinated the mana flowers with me radish.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s eyes went as wide as they would go. She then shut them close, sped her hands in front of her, and took a deep breath, exhaling it very slowly. She opened her eyes again to once again stare intently at Belissar, causing him to take yet another step back. She winced when she saw that and her face softened.


    ¡°Sorry, I did not mean to frighten you. I was overwhelmed by the sheer possibilities of what you¡¯ve described to me. Mana-touched bees that can evolve based on the characteristics of the nts they forage from, and who can in turn raise new types of nts by cross-pollinating them.¡±


    Her gaze turned intent once again, though she made sure to smile this time, and did not lean forward.


    ¡°Belissar, after the first flower I offer you, we must arrange an exchange. What your bees could do for my dungeon and what your bees could do for yours with my flowers¡­I think there is no limit for either of our dungeons¡¯ growth were we to cooperate.¡±


    Belissar, however, frowned.


    ¡°I¡­can definitely see the potential. But, it sounds like you¡¯re saying we should trade monsters?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded. Belissar nced up at Niobee and the bees all around him before continuing.


    ¡°I¡­would have to think about that. I wouldn¡¯t want to make any of my bees move out of their home. I know they¡¯d do it if I asked, so I¡¯d have to figure how to find out if any of them would be willing¡­¡±


    Belissar hung his head for a second before taking a nce at Tarwantrad. To his surprise, she was smiling warmly at him.


    ¡°You truly love your bees, don¡¯t you? Were it not for your own admission otherwise, I would assume you to be one of the fair peoples for that depth of care.¡±


    She looked him in the eye, drawing in his own gaze.


    ¡°I fully agree with your intentions, so please, take as much time as you need to speak with your bees. However, I will swear to you this. I will do all that is within my power to ensure that any bees that move from your dungeon to mine will be happy and well-cared for, and I will show you the arrangements I make for them so that you may be reassured. I hope that you will do the same for any flowers I offer you.¡±


    Belissar held eye contact for a moment before slowly beginning to nod. Maybe, just maybe, he might be ok with sending his bees with this person. And if he was, well, Tarwantrad already said it herself. The potential for cooperation between a Tower of bees and a Tower of flowers was endless.

 Chapter 188: Environmental Sustaina-Bee-lity

    Chapter 188: Environmental Sustaina-Bee-lity


    Seeing as they continued getting distracted by all the wonders of Belissar¡¯s Tower, Tarwantrad asked Belissar to just give her a quick overview of the flower types he had avable. Tarwantrad kept silent, nodding along. She crossed her arms and hummed to herself as Belissar recited everything he could remember, with Niobee and the bees reminding him of the rest.


    ¡°Gravilions, huh? A gravity flower, now that¡¯s a curiosity indeed. I will have to trade you for those as well. But let¡¯s put that aside for now, so you have at least one representative for ground, wind, fire, water, light, dark, and cold. You have some varieties of poisons and medicines avable. If you cross the quickblossom and the alfalfa with mana flowers, that should give you sources of lightning and nature. Death and flowers work better together than you might think, though I could see difficulties for a honey-based evolution through that mana type. If that¡¯s the case¡­¡±


    Belissar watched in silence as Tarwantrad considered, waiting until she spoke again.


    ¡°I see three options I could offer you for the first boon. I could offer you a flower with a type of mana you don¡¯t yet have ess to expand your options further. Alternatively, I could offer you an additional features of types you already have but that would enhance one of your ecosystems with additional diversity. Doing so could reinforce and strengthen one of your existing mana types, producing healthier and stronger flowers of the varieties that absorb it. Finally, I could offer you one of my flower monsters or traps if you are concerned with your defenses.¡±


    She gave him a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I am curious to see how your bees¡¯ cross-pollination abilities might affect various flower monsters. I¡¯m sure, though, that we will get to that if we make trades in the future.¡±


    Belissar smiled back before crossing his arms.


    ¡°Do you mind if I take a minute? I like to consult with the bees, especially when choosing flowers.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s smile only grew.¡°Of course, take all the time you need.¡±


    Belissar nodded and nced up at Niobee. She was already dancing, sending out mana through the Tower.


    ¡°King! Told queens! Will reply to you!¡±


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Thanks, Niobee.¡±


    He turned his Tower sight throughout the Tower, noting the queens stirring and beginning to dance within their hives. He had been about to walk back to their usual meeting spot at the Memorial, but doing so would leave Tarwantrad hanging on her own, while bringing the queens here would require them to traverse the confusing Fairy Grove¡­and also expose them to Tarwantrad and the fairy circle she traveled through. Belissar thought she was trustworthy but understood that it would be a big risk for the bees to expose their queens to a stranger¡­not to mention that he had no idea who else might be on the other side, like that Compact Tarwantrad mentioned. Fortunately, Niobee appeared to have already considered that, so the queens were sending their replies directly to him through the Tower¡¯s bond.


    After the usual volley of ¡°whatever King chooses,¡± the queens began to share their preferences. The Firstborn and most of the battle meadow bees liked the idea of new mana types. The First of the Fourth mentioned she had a gardener tending to their resident monster flower, and that she was curious about the potential of such nts. The First of the Fifth, somewhat to Belissar¡¯s surprise, expressed interest in the idea of reinforcing existing ecosystems, citing that stronger mana would improve honey quality and thus the number and health of bees they could raise, especially the evolved types. The Third of the Sixth seconded this specifically for the Lava Field, which was still mostly barren as far as nt life was concerned.


    Belissar took all this into ount as he considered what would benefit his Tower and the bees within the most.


    ¡°So, you said something about enhancing the, um, ecosystem, was it? Could you exin more about that? Is that like crop rotation?¡±


    Tarwantrad nced toward him with a smile as he spoke to her once more.


    ¡°Indeed it is. Different nts, even of simr types, can fill different niches. Some, like the alfalfa you mention, are in turn necessary for other nts to grow healthy and strong. They also affect the mana around them or even each other¡¯s mana, and can createplex interweaves.¡±


    This book is hosted on another tform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Belissar slowly nodded as he tried to process that.


    ¡°And, that¡¯s necessary for a Tower? I¡¯ve noticed that my nts grew apparently without water or rain at first.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded with a serious expression.


    ¡°Yes, it is. A dungeon can substitute anycking physical needs with mana, but this does have a cost. It will always keep any organisms from spawners or features in functioning condition, but if you want them at their best you need to provide for them. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed as much with your bees?¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened in understanding. Tarwantrad nodded.


    ¡°Good. It is much the same for nts, or anything else. The less work you make the mana do, the more of it is avable for other things. Additionally, the interactions of the mana I mentioned can strengthen the dungeon as a whole, enhancing spells, promoting growth and evolution, and other such effects.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°I see. In that case¡­could you offer something to help with that?¡±


    Tarwantrad smiled once more.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯d be happy to. Please, give me just a moment.¡±


    Tarwantrad returned to her dungeon for a bit before returning with arge pouch. She opened it up to reveal a bag full of grains¡­and manure, based on the smell.


    ¡°You said you had poisonous subterranean mushrooms, but nothing that grows above ground, correct?¡±


    Belissar nodded and Tarwantrad beamed.


    ¡°Then this will help tremendously. This substrate is full of the mycelium of the greenwood mushroom.¡±


    Belissar blinked.


    ¡°Um, mycelium?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded.


    ¡°You can think of it as the roots of mushrooms, it¡¯s what they grow from. This bag is full of it, so if you mixed this into a patch of soil you¡¯d seem mushrooms grow there soon enough.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°I¡­see. And that helps the flower¡­ecosystem?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded repeatedly.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t just help, it¡¯s the foundation of it all! I¡¯ve found that nearly every nt I¡¯ve raised has fungi mycelium wrapped around or even prating through their roots, exchanging nutrients and mana that the other cannot obtain otherwise. There are some flowers that won¡¯t even grow if there are no fungi present in the soil, unless you try and make up the difference with a ridiculous amount of mana. This particr mushroom grows specifically in environments brimming with Nature mana and is exceptional at working with nts. I promise you, spread this to your flowers and you will see them bloom brighter than ever before.¡±


    Belissar nodded and took the bag.


    ¡°Got it. Should I absorb it, or just use it as is?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded.


    ¡°Absorb what you need to make more, anything left over you can use as is.¡±


    Belissar did so.


    <em>Sufficient samples gathered. Greenwood Mushroom is now avable.</em>


    <em>Current applications: Flower Meadow, Apiary, Orchard, Fairy Grove, Dirt Tunnels, Apothecary''s Hut</em>


    <em>Greenwood Mushroom</em>


    <em>- Type: Mushroom, Nature, Resource</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 5 per node, 3 to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- Description: A mushroom in symbiosis with nts that has gathered enough Nature mana to be something more. Not only does this mushroom transfer nutrients, but it also gathers mana and feeds it to its connected nts so that they may generate more Nature mana for it to use in turn. Boosts the growth and mana of all nts. If two or more nts are connected to the same greenwood mushroom mycelium, they may exchange mana with each other as well. The caps are edible and abundant in Nature mana.</em>


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°The Tower agrees with you. Looks like this will help a lot. Thank you, Tarwantrad.¡±


    She smiled back.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to help! Between these mushrooms below and your bees above, your flowers are going to be beyond healthy and happy.¡±


    At that point, however, the flower monster from before walked out of the fairy circle once again, tugging at Tarwantrad¡¯s dress. She sighed.


    ¡°Well, this has been wonderful, but it seems I must depart once again. Would you mind if I return to visit again, hopefully soon?¡±


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee anytime.¡±


    Tarwantrad beamed at him.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll return as soon as I am able! And, I¡¯ll probably need to discuss it with the Wardmaster first, but hopefully I can show you my dungeon soon as well.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯d love to see it.¡±


    She gave him another smile at that.


    ¡°Take care, Belissar, and may your flowers bloom bold and bright.¡±


    And with that, she walked back into the circle and vanished in another swirl of leaves. For once, Belissar was actually looking forward to her return. But first, he had work to do. He nced up at Niobee on his head.


    ¡°Shall we see what these mushrooms do?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Tarwantrad returned to find Wardmaster Varilold waiting for her, the nexus now surrounded by faint shimmering, the only sign of the powerful wards all around it. The wardmaster gave her a nod.


    ¡°There you are. I trust you and the other dungeon master havee to an agreement?¡±


    Tarwantrad smiled.


    ¡°That we have. He will keep the door open, at least until the Compact negotiates a more formal arrangement.¡±


    The wardmaster spun around and began marching.


    ¡°Good. Come along, Dungeon Master Tarwantrad. The Compact will now discuss that very topic. I will convince them of the necessity. You must tell us about this dungeon master, and how we should approach him.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded and fell into step with the wardmaster, her smile dropping. She had found the bee dungeon and made contact with its master. Now, she just had to convince the Compact to treat with a human, and treat with him well¡­

 POBee 188.1 - Can Bee Build It?

    POBee 188.1 - Can Bee Build It?


    Belissar had a quick chat with Niobee and Chief Rohsuak about their impressions of Tarwantrad. He felt quite positive about her, for once, but he wanted to make sure he hadn¡¯t missed anything. Chief Rohsuak agreed that Tarwantrad had been perfectly friendly and it seemed beneficial to forge a positive rtionship with her, though advised him to treat any conversations with the Compact the same as the ones with the sigmaka. Even further deals with Tarwantrad personally needed to be considered carefully.


    Niobee¡¯s perception was simpler. Tarwantrad hadn¡¯t hurt him and had offered them mushrooms, so it was eptable to continue talking with her. The bees would continue to watch her closely, but they did so with everyone. They still escorted Belissar even when he spoke with the karnuq, much less someone outside of the Tower.


    In any case, Belissar had a few adjustments to make as a result of the talk with Tarwantrad. He went ahead and enabled the new mushrooms in every applicable room and had Niobee inform the queens and gardeners of the change. Then, he was about to move the battle Fairy Grove to be the first room of the dungeon when he paused. On the one hand, he wanted to put it there as long as the nexus door or whatever Tarwantrad had called it stayed open, just in case it turned out the Compact wasn¡¯t as friendly as Tarwantrad had been. On the other hand, he realized that might leave the door vulnerable to shades, and he wasn¡¯t sure if it would close permanently if a shade corrupted the area. He didn¡¯t want to break the deal by ident.


    After a few moments of thought, Belissar decided topromise. He put the battle Fairy Grove second, right after the Dirt Tunnels but before the Lava Field. Hopefully that would give them enough time to either deal with a shade before it reached the nexus door, or to respond to an attack by the Compact before it reached the battle meadow. The Dirt Tunnels would also buy time to rearrange the rooms in case of a big emergency purification.


    After that, both the bee army and the karnuq posted sentries to keep an eye on the door, and then everyone returned back to their business. Impending negotiations with the fey or not, the work went on.


    Speaking of ongoing work, the Third of the Third found that her chosen task was far moreplicated than she had ever imagined. Her original cooperation with the carpenters bees had gone well, that much was fine. The carpenters, while they could not perform the dancenguage her hive could, could still follow instructions and process wood into whatever shapes and sizes she desired.


    It was then she hit the first unexpected problem: what exactly was she going to build? There was no way she could ever match the magical pces built by the King, so she wouldn¡¯t even try to build one of those. The karnuq, as well, had their own methods, and had taken to using stone rather than wood. They had mostlypleted their hives as well, and did not require as much assistance from the bee army.


    She found her answer examining the defenseyers of the Bee Barracks. The King had arranged for a wall of sharp stakes that would ward offrger predators. The Third of the Third then noticed that the King had also nted some thorny roses that had wrapped around the nearest stake, creating an additionalyer of spikes to deter anything that could squeeze in between therger stakes on top of providing more flowers to forage from.


    Her scouts had then reported that one of the Flower Meadow gardeners had nted an entire patch of those roses near the wooden tform towards the front of the room, and had cross-pollinated the roses with many other flowers types to create mana-imbued thorns with novel effects. That had gotten her attention, and an idea had coalesced in her mind. If she added a line of stakes through that patch, the roses the garden had grown would wrap around them, forming a veritable wall of mana-imbued thorns. That wall would block the approach to the wooden tform as well, further protecting members of the fallen hive who had not yet regained their wings. She could join efforts with the hive of hives in a way that would improve the fighting power of the bee army.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Her decision was made, and she had the carpenters begin forming sharp stakes for the construction squads to carry. It was then that she had run into the second issue.


    Stakes were really heavy. The construction squad had lifted heavy things before, but mostly in the form of t nks of wood. The stakes the King had used were formed of entire logs, practically entire trees minus their roots and branches. Soldiers bees <em>could</em> lift them in sufficient numbers, but that would require drafting far more soldiers into the construction squads. The Third of the Third could not justify doing so, especially not when the army needed to train in the confusing room, as well as guard against thetest neer.


    She found her answer in the bumblebees. The bumblebee soldiers, being far, <em>far</em>rger than the usual soldier, severely cut down on the number of soldiers needed to carry a stake. Just a handful or even one of them was enough as long as they worked with the construction squads. And drawing them away from the army wasn¡¯t that big an issue. The bumblebees,cking the same level of coordination or evennguage as the monster bees, required a tighter hand to fight alongside the army, which took the form of a soldier or worker bee sitting on their back to rymands. So, when fighting in the confusing room, they could just put one of the chromatic workers on the bumblebee soldier¡¯s back to guide them. For the bumblebees, it was no different than fighting with the soldier bee army anywhere else, so they could get away with a bit less training.


    So, the Third of the Third managed to get sharpened stakes without asking the King, and managed to get those stakes to the construction site with an eptable allocation ofbor. Then, she ran into the third problem. The stakes would not remain upright, but fall to the ground whenever they tried to ce them. A closer inspection of the original stakes revealed that they were partially buried underground.


    And so, once again, the Third of the Third had to go and coordinate with yet another set of bees. This time, she spoke with the digging queen, the Fourth of the Fifth, and managed to recruit a squad of her digging soldiers. At this point, her little project was drawing entirely too many resources from the hive of hives. If she ran into a fourth issue, she was prepared to call the entire thing off.


    So, she came to watch personally and paced about as she watched the digging soldier squad clear out a hole of dirt, vibrating their thick mandibles to break up the soil while their legs and Ground mana moved it out of the way. They made good time, and had quickly made a hole roughly the diameter of the stake.


    The Third of the Third stopped pacing and gave the next order. Her workers wrapped weaved stems from the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive around the stake and around the soldiers, including two bumblebees. The air hummed as the two bumblebees beat their wings and took off, the smaller soldiers following along. The stake slowly rose into the air, then began to tilt upward as one of the bumblebees stopped and hovered in ce while the other continued to rise.


    Then, slowly, surely, they began to move the stake forward. The Third of the Third locked her eyes onto it, forgetting even to move her abdomen to keep the air flowing through her trachea. One of hermuners stood by the hole in the ground, helping the bees overhead align the stake on the center of the hole before they slowly lowered it down. Eventually, the stake stopped moving as it hit the bottom of the hole.


    And then came the moment of truth. The bumblebees and soldiers hovered closer to the stake, allowing the weaved stems to go ck. The Third of the Third began to buzz her wings as the stake seemed to sway¡­but then it stopped. A tiny bit of adjustment and it remained still. It remained upright, pointing its sharp point into the sky.


    The Third of the Third broke out into a happy dance. The effort had seeded, this project would pay off after all.


    The digging bees began to push dirt into the hole and send some Ground mana down through it, packing its walls a bit more densely together to hold the stake in ce. The workers began to remove the weaves from the stake so they could prepped for the next one. And the Third of the Third¡¯s mind began to race.


    She had borrowed bees from the hive of hives for this experiment, but now that the concept was proven she needed to arrange a permanent allocation. She would have to trade honey with the Fourth of the Fifth so she could raise a digging soldier squad of her own, as well as work out donations for the bumblebees to make up for using their soldiers long term. She also needed to ask the Fourth of the Seventh, or her partner the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter, if they could teach her hive how to weave the stems together as well. All of that would take time, negotiations, and expanded honey production.


    But once she had it all arranged¡­she could then improve the hive of hives defenses, replicating the work of the King himself. And that was an effort worth pursuing.

 Side Story 188.2 - Compact Deli-Bee-rations

    Side Story 188.2 - Compact Deli-Bee-rations


    Tarwantrad sat at arge table, carved directly from the trunk of a formerly massive tree. The table was left where the tree once grew, surrounded by a small grove of trees barely taller than her that itself grew in a clearing between the giant fellows of the trunk table. The top of the table was covered in swirling, curved letters, the original terms of the Calwaskon Compact carved directly into its surface and asionally glowing with a soft, green light.


    The rest of her surroundings could be described as anything but soft.


    All around her, men and women of many different shapes and sizes argued and shouted over one another. Tarwantrad had been brought before the signatories of the Compact and ryed what had urred. The representatives had already been in an uproar over the opening of a nexus door by the time she reported on Belissar himself. Once it was revealed that a <em>human</em> reigned on the other side of the door, all hell broke loose.


    Forgemaster Ugrer, the short and broad representative of the ck elves, scowled as he crossed his arms.


    ¡°Close the door immediately. There¡¯s no dealing with those reckless fools. They must not be allowed to find us.¡±


    Henilett, the pixie representative standing on the table itself due to her small size, narrowed her eyes with a predatory grin.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so frightened, Ugrer. That very recklessness makes them all too easy to¡­persuade. I¡¯m sure we coulde to an arrangement that is beneficial for the Compact.¡±


    Deludelig, the pale representative of the dusk elves, barely revealed her eyes between the ck hair hanging over her face as she spoke in a raspy voice.


    ¡°Or we could just kill him.¡±Tarwantrad clenched her fists. Belissar had been nothing but friendly to her, and the Compact¡¯s first reaction was to deceive him? Or <em>kill</em> him, after Tarwantrad convinced him to assist them? She had apparently underestimated just how poorly the elders of the Compact thought of humans.


    She had held her tongue till now, seeing as she was surrounded by those who had centuries of experience and wisdom on her. But if this was how they were going to react¡­she would not stand for it. She prepared to rise to her feet and join the shouting.


    Only for a quiet, yet firm voice to somehow cut through all the noise.


    ¡°Are you done?¡±


    All voices went silent and all eyes turned to Wardmaster Varilold.


    ¡°Yes, the humans survived the Hunger, somehow, because of course they did. And yes, humans apparently have ess to dungeons as well as us, which they are no doubt using for stupid and dangerous ends. Yes, it is all very shocking and concerning. But we at this table are not children, so now that you have all had the chance to vent your fear, let¡¯s get to business. You all know as well as I that humans are not known for their patience. Dungeon Master Tarwantrad has bought us some time, but we had best decide on a more formal arrangement before the other dungeon master grows suspicious of our intent.¡±


    Forgemaster Ugrer¡¯s scowl grew.


    ¡°Wardmaster, surely you are not suggesting we deal with a human, much less leave the door to the Compact wide open to them?¡±


    The wardmaster turned and met the re of the forgemaster without hesitation.


    ¡°No, forgemaster, I am not suggesting. I am informing. And if the signatories cannot gather themselves from blind panic, then I shallmand.¡±


    The forgemaster narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°And what authority do you have tomand us in a matter such as <em>this</em>?¡±


    Wardmaster Varilold just waved her hand towards the table, causing the terms of the Compact to light up once more.


    ¡°This authority. This matter concerns the wards and the very survival of the Compact, which you would have known if you had paid attention rather than squawking like a flock of seagulls fighting over scraps.¡±


    Forgemaster Ugrer growled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t snap at me, Wardmaster! I know what you said! Opening a nexus door between two dungeons can apparently bypass the Hunger and reinvigorate thend of the fair. But that does <em>not</em> mean we need to use a door that leads directly to a <em>human</em> dungeon master!¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Wardmaster Varilold gave him a stern look.


    ¡°On the contrary, it absolutely does. Loremaster Anyadre, exin how nexus doors work, since apparently the signatories have forgotten.¡±


    The loremaster sighed. Forgemaster Ugrer red at him but he shook his head.


    ¡°The nexus doors lead where they will. Sometimes they take the desire of the opener into ount, often they do not. You can open the door and step onto the road, but where it goes no one knows. So long as this door remains open, we know where it leads. If it is closed from either end, there¡¯s no telling where or even if it will open again.¡±


    The forgemaster scoffed.


    ¡°We know that! That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m saying! Why don¡¯t we just close it and reopen it to <em>somewhere else</em>?¡±


    Loremaster Anyadre shook his head again.


    ¡°Because there¡¯s no telling <em>where</em> it will open to next. Dungeon Master Tarwantrad was fortunate enough to open a door to a dungeon located in the realm of mortals whose master is not innately hostile. The next door might open to dungeon in thend of the fair that would not help our situation, or a dungeon master in the realm of mortals who is not willing to work with us. Or it may open directly to the Hunger and doom us all, for which reason the doors were closed and forbidden to be opened again. This time it managed not to connect to one of the corrupted nexus gates, but if it does next time¡­¡±


    The loremaster gave Tarwantrad a sideways nce while Wardmaster Varilold took over.


    ¡°And that, signatories of the Compact, is exactly why I, in my authority as the master of the wards, am informing you that we <em>must</em> keep this door open. We know that this one works and has not resulted in our immediate doom. Attempting to open a new door risks the destruction of the entire Compact and I am not willing to bet our very survival upon luck favoring us twice.¡±


    The forgemaster continued ring but fell silent. Wardmaster Varilold turned a stern gaze to each of the signatories in turn, but none voiced any further opposition. She nodded.


    ¡°Then, now that we all understand our situation, we must decide how we will keep the door open. And before anyone says anything, consider that the other party, whatever else he may be, is a dungeon master, and the nexus in question appears to be a feature in one of his rooms. I am, therefore, vetoing all violent or forceful methods. The risk that he would be able to close the door on his end if we end up at odds is too great to bet our survival on, not when other methods appear to be viable.¡±


    She turned and nodded towards Tarwantrad, and the rest of the table¡¯s upants did as well. Henilett grinned at her.


    ¡°Well then, don¡¯t be coy, Dungeon Master. You¡¯ve made a deal with this human already. Tell us about him.¡±


    Tarwantrad took a deep breath and did her best not to re at the signatories. She instead considered what she should say. She was under no illusions that she could convince the Compact to act in anything but its own best interest. Even with the wardmaster forcing them to negotiate with Belissar, the signatories would certainly try to get the best deal that they could for the Compact, with no consideration given to the dungeon master¡¯s own well-being. She hadn¡¯t interacted much with Belissar, but from what little she had he seemed like an earnest and kind-hearted individual. One who the signatories of the Compact would probably dance circles about and exploit for all he was worth.


    She would not let that happen to the master of the bee dungeon.


    ¡°As a Dungeon Master in good standing, I nominate the master of the bee dungeon as an associate of the Circle of Dungeons.¡±


    The table erupted into furor once more until Wardmaster Varilold forced them to calm down once more. Tarwantrad did her best to ignore them and focused on one person in particr. Dungeon Master Nenavann, one of the original signatories of the Compact and the founder of the Circle of Dungeons, a tan elf dressed in blue robes adorned with seashells and pearls. He rubbed his chin as he gazed at her.


    ¡°The Circle of Dungeons is indeed open to all dungeon masters that would treat well with one another and their fellow persons, I cannot say that a human should not be permitted to at least be considered. Yet, I cannot in good faith allow a human to associate with us without first addressing the concerns of my fellow signatories, which I must admit that I share. Humanity has a troubled history that has brought ruin to the world, Dungeon Master Tarwantrad. You have only interacted with this one briefly, so can you say, with full certainty, that he will not bring ruin upon us like the rest of his kind? That he will not betray the Compact to his kin, even if his own intentions are benign?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded immediately and met his gaze.


    ¡°I can. And for the second point, he is at odds with his former peoples, to the point of blows. I believe that if we treat well with him, he would instead ce his trust with us. As he already has, by opening his doors to me and leaving them open even as we decide our own intentions.¡±


    He stared at her a moment longer and she continued to meet his eyes. After an intense staring match, the other dungeon master nodded.


    ¡°Very well. It appears that, first and foremost, this is now a matter between dungeon masters and the duty of the Circle, so long as the wardmaster agrees to let us take the lead on this?¡±


    Wardmaster Varilold nodded.


    ¡°I have no issue with that, so long as the door remains open whatever the results.¡±


    Dungeon Master Nenavann looked across the rest of the table. Loremaster Anyadre looked to Forgemaster Ugrer.


    ¡°This could work. It has not been done before since there has never been the opportunity, but there is no necessity for a member of the Circle to also be a member of the Compact. If we leave the association as one between dungeon masters, it would not be necessary for the Compact to treat with him directly until such time as we have taken his measure.¡±


    The forgemaster scowled and then huffed.


    ¡°The wardmaster is leaving us little choice. If it must be done, then at least keep a dungeon between the humans and the Compact, on the Circle¡¯s heads be the consequences.¡±


    Henilett let out a disappointed ¡°aw,¡± while the rest of the signatories slowly began to nod. Dungeon Master Nenavann nodded grimly.


    ¡°Very well. Then let us hope that this human cares about beings other than himself, for the sake of us all.¡±


    Tarwantrad smiled at that.


    ¡°I think you will find that is not an issue at all.¡±

 Chapter 189: Bee the Circle?

    Chapter 189: Bee the Circle?


    Belissar was walking back through the battle meadow, preparing for the daily purification when he paused and blinked. There, sticking out of a patch of flowers in front of the wooden tform he made for Beero and the wounded bees, was a sharpened stake. A sharpened stake he certainly did not remember cing.


    He was about to ask Niobee if the bees had seen anything when he heard the loud and deep hum of a bumblebee soldier¡¯s wings. He turned to look and found two bumblebees and a few squads of soldiers working together to carry a big, sharpened stake through the air. A squad of digging soldiers flew ahead,nded on the ground, and began to dig a hole. The soldiers and bumble bees carried the stake overhead, spun it around so the tip pointed up, and then ced it down into the hole.


    Belissar slowly began to smile.


    ¡°Wow, so the bees can build stuff on their own now. That¡¯s amazing. Niobee, could you remind meter to ask if they need anything? We could also check with the karnuq if they want stone or y or anything.¡±


    ¡°Ok, will!¡±


    For now, though, Belissar just walked forward and praised the bees for their hard work. The construction ceased for a round of happy dances, and to make way for the daily purification.


    The purification was handled without issue and Belissar turned in for the night.


    The next day, Tarwantrad returned early in the morning and Belissar went to greet her, apanied by Chief Rohsuak, Metsaitti, and some karnuq hunters in addition to Niobee and his usual soldier bee escort. Tarwantrad smiled as she saw him.


    ¡°Hello Belissar, I¡¯m happy to see you again.¡±Belissar made a small smile himself.


    ¡°Hello Tarwantrad, it¡¯s good to see you.¡±


    She smiled at him for a moment longer before her smile dropped and she sighed.


    ¡°So, I am here to ry to you the Compact¡¯s decision, as well as to negotiate further with you.¡±


    Belissar matched his expression to her serious tone as he nodded.


    ¡°Ah, got it. So¡­what¡¯s going to happen?¡±


    Tarwantrad heaved an exasperated sigh.


    ¡°So¡­I may have underestimated how afraid the Compact would be of meeting humans again. As of yet, they have not decided what to do, only that they do not wish you to visit for now. I am sorry, Belissar.¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I guess. As long as they don¡¯t expect toe here. They aren¡¯t going to attack or anything, right?¡±


    Tarwantrad shook her head.


    ¡°The wardmaster has forbidden it on her authority as defender of the Compact, so you don¡¯t need to worry about that. Fortunately, we have also determined a way forward without waiting, as you are a dungeon master as well as a human.¡±


    She gave him a smile.


    ¡°It is my honor to rmend you for the Circle of Dungeon Masters. The Circle is themunity of dungeon masters I alluded to beforehand. We agree to follow a code of conduct for a dungeon masters, mostly regarding how we use our powers to treat those outside our dungeons, and to support one another with friendly exchanges. If you were to join, we could arrange additional exchanges, not just between you and I but with the other members of the circle as well.¡±


    Her face fell a bit.


    ¡°Additionally, should you be a member of the Circle, it would reassure the rest of the Compact as to your intentions. And if worst came to pass, the Compact cannot move against a member of the Circle without the Circle¡¯s approval, so we would ensure that nothing urs you would find unpleasant.¡±


    This narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Belissar frowned. It seemed that the Compact were not all as friendly as Tarwantrad. Herst little bit, rather than reassuring Belissar, made him wonder if unpleasant urrences were indeed a possibility, especially if he didn¡¯t agree to join this circle business. It sounded like the Tower Lord¡¯s Conve,e to think of it, though he didn¡¯t actually know how the Conve worked so he couldn¡¯t really say exactly how simr they were. But that did make him hesitate. He narrowed his eyes slightly.


    ¡°So¡­what would I need to do to join this circle? And, what sort of rules do you have?¡±


    Tarwantrad took it in stride and didn¡¯t react to his tone.


    ¡°Members of the Circle must agree to treat other beings with respect. We have great power as dungeon as dungeon masters, we must not use these powers to coerce or dominate over others. We must treat those around us as equals.¡±


    Belissar blinked.


    ¡°So, um, you don¡¯t lie to keep peasants out of your Towers and take their food as tribute? Or burn down their viges to keep them away from new Towers? And call it all the will of the gods?¡±


    Tarwantrad froze for a moment before her face twisted in horror and rage.


    ¡°What? No! Of course, not!¡±


    Tarwantrad paused for another moment before she turned her own re to him.


    ¡°Is that¡­is that what human dungeon masters do?¡±


    Belissar nodded. Tarwantrad scowled before suddenly blinking. She slowly turned her gaze back to Belissar, her eyes beginning to tremble.


    ¡°Is that¡­what you were taught to do, Belissar?¡±


    Now it was Belissar¡¯s turn to scowl as he shook his head with all his might.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be like the Tower Lords.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s face slowly untwisted and she smiled at him once more.


    ¡°Good. I can assure you, the Circle of Dungeon Masters was founded precisely to prevent the sort of thing you¡¯re describing.¡±


    Belissar took a deep breath and let it out slowly.


    ¡°Ok, then, what would I need to do?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded.


    ¡°A pair of dungeon masters from the Circle would arrive to interview and tour a bit of your dungeon. They would swear to their patrons not to harm you or your dungeon in the process, so you need not be concerned about them, though you would need to swear not to harm them in turn for the duration of the visit. Once they are satisfied that your methods arepatible with the ideals of the Circle, you would be invited as an associate.¡±


    Belissar rubbed his chin.


    ¡°I see. Could I have a moment to think about it?¡±


    Tarwantrad gave him another smile.


    ¡°Of course, take your time.¡±


    Belissar nodded back and then stepped away with Niobee, Chief Rohsuak, and Metsaitti. Niobee filled in the queens through one of themuners as well.


    ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak hummed as she rubbed her chin, adopting a serious expression.


    ¡°I¡­am tentatively in favor, Tower Keeper. I am wary of the fairies and their supposed ability to manipte¡­but if this one has not outright lied to us then apparently they need us? And more than we need them, which should make them agreeable, and they could be a powerful ally for us if we could work something out. It will depend on the exact rules this Circle follows and if they will interfere with your existing arrangements, both with us and the sigmaka.¡±


    Metsaitti crossed his arms.


    ¡°We also need to be able to defend ourselves. Treating others with respect is fine, but they need to be aware that your Tower is isted and surrounded by the Hunger and potentially hostile tribes¡­not to mention the humans and the other Sacred Den Masters we might encounter. If their rules don¡¯t ount for that, then it would be dangerous for us to follow them to the letter.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°What about letting them look around the Tower?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s risky, letting them see your defenses. The oaths they swear may mitigate that risk, but it would depend on the exact wording. It would be wise to insist that they do not use or reveal any information gained on this tour.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°I see. And what do you all think?¡±


    He directed his question through his Tower voice as he hade to call it, sending it to each of his queens. He waited for the usual flurry of ¡°whatever King chooses!¡± to die down, at which point some of the queens began to share their own thoughts.


    The Firstborn replied first.


    <em>¡°Bee army will keep hive of hives safe.¡±</em>


    Belissar smiled, even though she wouldn¡¯t see it.


    ¡°I know you will.¡±


    <em>¡°New people, new ces, new flowers? Want to see!¡±</em>


    The Fourth of the Seventh danced happily about before the First of the Fifth cut in.


    <em>¡°No one should tell King what do. But if offer new flowers, can consider. King knows best.¡±</em>


    Niobee repeated her dance from earlier on his head.


    ¡°If hurt King, will sting. If bring new flowers, is fine.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Got it, I think I¡¯ve decided, then.¡±


    He walked back over to Tarwantrad.


    ¡°So¡­I¡¯m not opposed, but we might have to discuss some of the rules and the oaths. I don¡¯t want them to use anything they see on this tour against my Tower. And we¡¯ll have to discuss the exact rules to make sure I can protect my Tower, we¡¯ve been attacked before and had another close call. But, as long as that¡¯s fine, then I¡¯d be fine with this tour thing.¡±


    Tarwantrad, though, beamed even at his guarded reply.


    ¡°Excellent, I will let them know you are willing.¡±


    Belissar wasn¡¯t sure how to reply. He could only hope that the iing dungeon masters would be as friendly as Tarwantrad.

 Chapter 190: Bee-valuation

    Chapter 190: Bee-valuation


    Tarwantrad bid him farewell and set off to speak with whoever it was on the other end. A few hours passed and it was close to midday when Tarwantrad finally returned, with two others in tow.


    Now standing in Belissar¡¯s Tower were the two most beautiful men he had ever seen. He didn¡¯t know it was even possible for men to be beautiful like that, but there they were, the mana of the Fairy Grove wrapping around them as it had with Tarwantrad. Fortunately, he was a bit more prepared for it after meeting her so he managed not to gape at them. One of them was dressed in blue robes adorned with seashells and pearls and had a stern expression. He had even tanner skin than Tarwantrad with golden hair woven into a single braid. The other had lighter skin and ck hair, and was dressed in a tunic, jacket, and pants dyed in various and bright shades of yellow, orange, and red. He also had a bird of prey with bright red feathers on his left shoulder, ncing about.


    The man in blue robes stepped forward first.


    ¡°I, Dungeon Master Nenavann, swear before my patron the God of Water. I will do no harm to this dungeon, its master, or its residents so long as they do not intend to do me harm. I will use no knowledge gained here today against them, nor repeat it for others to do so.¡±


    The man in colorful clothes was next.


    ¡°I, Dungeon Master Urubran, swear before my patron the God of Fire¡­¡±


    Belissar was about to speak as he finished, but then Tarwantrad stepped forward.


    ¡°I, Dungeon Master Tarwantrad, swear before my patron the God of Flowers¡­¡±


    He blinked in surprise as he realized he hadn¡¯t considered that Tarwantrad should probably swear the oath as well. She gave him a wink, and then he shook his head and said his part.¡°I, Tower Keeper Belissar, swear before my patron the God of Bees not to do harm to these visitors, nor allow any in my dungeon to do so, for the duration of their visit, so long as they do not intend harm to me, my dungeon, or any of its residents.¡±


    The mana of the Fairy Grove fell still and grew heavy, clinging to the four dungeon masters for a moment before it returned to normal. Nenavann nodded.


    ¡°Thank you for having us today, Tower Keeper. I don¡¯t wish to keep you, so I will attempt to be brief. I hope you will not take offense?¡±


    Belissar shook his head. Nenavann then narrowed his eyes and nced behind Belissar at Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti.


    ¡°Well, then, first of all, may I ask your intentions in creating more hybrids?¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°Hybrids? I mean, there are the new bees?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak stepped forward and shook her head.


    ¡°I believe he means us, Tower Keeper. May I?¡±


    Belissar nodded and she stepped past him to face Nenavann directly.


    ¡°I am Chief Rohsuak, chief of the karnuq, disciple of the God of Fire, and sworn defender of Tower Keeper Belissar. My people and I were not created by Tower Keeper Belissar, nor by any other that we have any record or memory of. We journeyed long and far after being exiled from our home; the Tower Keeper was kind enough to take us in and let us build a new one in hisnds.¡±


    She then narrowed her eyes, slight sparks dancing within them.


    ¡°And I will not allow our presence here to throw our Tower Keeper¡¯s character into question, as seems to be implied.¡±


    Nenavann held her gaze for a moment before sighing.


    Stolen from its rightful ce, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°¡­very well. I apologize if I have caused offense, but you are not the first of your people I have seen working with humans before. For now, I shall ept your words that your rtionship is different than those in my memory. Tower Keeper, would you show us your domain?¡±


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, just¡­¡±


    He took a second to think about what he was feeling, as something about this exchange bothered him. Once his thoughts crystalized, he scowled.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t insult the karnuq. They¡¯re people, not subhumans or hybrids or whatever else.¡±


    He still hadn¡¯t caught up entirely to what Nenavann was saying, but what he did understand reminded him of the Tower Lord¡¯s doctrine. And if this Circle was like the Tower Lords, he wanted nothing to do with them.


    Nenavann took a step back, blinking like he had just been pped.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    He furrowed his brow and then slowly heaved a deep sigh. He looked up and then bowed his head toward Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°You are right. I apologize for my implications about your people and your rtionship with the Tower Keeper here.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak remained silent and turned to look at Belissar. Belissar frowned. It seemed she leaving the response to him¡­especially since she smiled as he realized that. Belissar frowned and crossed his arms.


    ¡°First question, then. Does the Circle have any rules against people like the karnuq?¡±


    Nenavann visibly winced at that and hung his head.


    ¡°No, nothing of the sort. It is our core tenant that all life has value and is worthy of respect.¡±


    Belissar watched him for a moment before ncing at the others. He was still debating whether he should just stop things here, but decided to continue on given his earlier interactions with Tarwantrad.


    ¡°¡­ok, let¡¯s continue then. Just¡­don¡¯t insult the karnuq again, please.¡±


    Nenavann nodded and adopted a thoughtful expression. Tarwantrad gave Belissar a smile and a nod, while Urubran was looking at Chief Rohsuak with a smile of his own. Belissar sighed and then turned to lead the group further in.


    The tour of the Fairy Grove went quickly, since Belissar didn¡¯t have much in this room to begin with. He then led them into the first floor Flower Meadow. Tarwantrad had informed him that it was not necessary to show them every single part of his Tower, just a solid representation of it. As such, he moved the Lava Field out of the way, hoping to keep at least some of his defenses under wraps, and went right to the battle meadow. The dungeon masters looked up at the soldier bee army in the sky and the flowers across the field. Urubran turned to Tarwantrad with a smirk.


    ¡°I think I know why you wanted to nominate this dungeon for the circle.¡±


    She rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Says the one who can¡¯t keep his eyes off the firedy.¡±


    Nenavann, for his part, walked along in silence, keeping the same thoughtful expression as he nced around the dungeon. Belissar frowned, for Tarwantrad had told him there were going to be a bunch of questions. Yet, Nenavann had not spoken since the beginning, and Urubran seemed content just to observe.


    Eventually, they came to the end of the Flower Meadow, where the two Bee Barracks and the Memorial stood. Nenavann came to a stop right in front of the Memorial, and finally broke his silence.


    ¡°Tower Keeper¡­what is this?¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow as he nced at the Memorial, and saw strange, curved symbols appearing by each of the entries.


    ¡°The Memorial, where we bury the bees that gave their lives.¡±


    Nenavann¡¯s eyes widened slightly.


    ¡°So¡­this Queen 1, Dynasty 1, Spawner 1 is referring to¡­a bee monster spawned by your dungeon? You built a memorial for them¡­and list each that have fallen?¡±


    Belissar nodded his head with a solemn expression.


    ¡°She was the first, and she died because of my mistakes. Most of them did.¡±


    He felt Niobee immediately begin to stir, ready to object, so he quickly reached up to brush her back.


    ¡°I know, though, that they don¡¯t regret it, and that they want to protect the Tower. So, I just try to do the best I can and remember those that sacrificed to defend us.¡±


    Nenavann frowned and took a deep breath.


    ¡°I have seen enough.¡±


    He turned to Belissar, a frown still on his face. And then he bowed his head.


    ¡°I must apologize to you, Tower Keeper Belissar. I have let my past experiences with your people blind me and assumed that you were someone you are clearly not. I have not treated you, nor your sworn defenders, with the respect that the Circle seeks to promote.¡±


    Belissar, having trained with Chief Rohsuak not to say so many ¡°ums,¡± instead responded to this turn of events by silently staring at the man.


    ¡°It is abundantly clear that you hold respect and deep affection for beings other than yourself, you who would cherish even your own monsters so. With that in mind, it would be my honor to invite you into the Circle and themunity of dungeon masters, if you are willing to associate with us.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s mind churned as he attempted to catch up with this turn of events. He nced around as per his habit. Chief Rohsuak simply smiled at him while the bees just hovered in between him and the visitors. Tarwantrad and Urubran both were smiling at him. He took a deep breath and considered how to respond.


    ¡°Ok¡­first, tell me more about the Circle and its rules and stuff. I know the general gist, but I think we need to discuss all the details.¡±


    Apparently, they approved of his Tower. He just needed to be sure that he approved of this Circle¡­

 Chapter 191: Bee-liminary Agreement

    Chapter 191: Bee-liminary Agreement


    Nenavann went through and exined the Circle¡¯s rules one by one. Most of them boiled down to prohibitions on using dungeon monsters to kill or enve people, or on causing trouble for other dungeon masters, much to Belissar¡¯s relief. The individual rules werergely case by case prohibitions on specific methods.


    Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Dungeon¡­subjugation? What does that mean?¡±


    Nenavann adopted a slight frown.


    ¡°As you well know, a dungeon master can be tightly bound by swearing an oath before their patron god. It is therefore possible for a dungeon master for force another to be their servant, or even relinquish control of their dungeon, by persuading them to swear an oath to that effect.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Ah. That seems¡­bad. d it¡¯s banned¡­¡±


    Nenavann nodded at that. Soon, they finished reviewing the specific terms of the Circle, at which point Belissar brought up his and the karnuq¡¯s reservations. They told Nenavann about their circumstances and the need to defend themselves. Nenavann nodded along with a thoughtful expression.


    ¡°Ah, that is reasonable concern. None of the rest of us have dungeons outside of thend of the fair, and we¡¯ve not had any visitors since the Hunger corrupted the nexus road, so it is true we have not considered outsiders acting as hostile as the ones you¡¯ve encountered.¡±Chief Rohsuak nodded.


    ¡°Indeed, the Tower Keeper hopes to maintain cordial diplomatic rtions with our neighbors, but not all the peoples we encountered on our journey here will be amenable to such things. If they approach the Tower, it might be necessary for the Tower Keeper to subdue them, or else to exert authority over the area purified by his Tower. Would you count that as a vition of the Circle¡¯s code?¡±


    Nenavann thought for a minute or two, before shaking his head.


    ¡°No, we should not. I would like toe up with some modifications to the code to ount for those contingencies so as not to ignore it outright, but so long as you stick to the spirit of the Circle we¡¯ll do our best to be flexible and sympathetic to your circumstances.¡±


    He turned and nced at Tarwantrad before nodding.


    ¡°Indeed, you will naturally remain in close contact with at least one of our members given the direct connection that now exists between your dungeons. Just, consult with her and keep her appraised of incidents as best you can, and she can tell you what might be crossing the line.¡±


    Eventually, the group finished up their exnations, questions, and rifications on the Circle¡¯s terms, and the considerations necessary for Belissar¡¯s circumstances. At this point, Chief Rohsuak gave Belissar a wink and he nodded before turning to Nenavann.


    ¡°Ok¡­so, we¡¯ve talked about what I need to do to join the Circle. So¡­what will the Circle do for my Tower?¡±


    Tarwantrad and Urubran smiled in the background while Nenavann nodded.


    ¡°A fair question. The boons of membership are not as clearly defined as the code, but that is because the primary benefit ismunity. Members of the Circle wee one another and have opportunities to interact, this in turn leads to rtionships that may result in exchanges of knowledge, products, or even dungeon monsters. We don¡¯t obligate our members to participate, however, so what exact benefits are gained from this depend on what rtionships you form with your fellow dungeon masters. One more specific benefit is the right to call for assistance: any member of the Circle who finds themselves unable to deal with a purification or emergency may request the Circle''s aid. Within reason, the Circle will not perform your duties as a dungeon master for you, but we also will not let our members fall.¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°I see. And¡­what of the Compact? I was informed they would be grateful for my assistance, but it sounds like that may no longer be the case?¡±


    At that, Nenavann¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    Nenavann sighed.


    ¡°I am sorry, Tower Keeper. My peers in the Compact have made unfortunate assumptions based on the fact you are a human, as I once did, and are currently gripped with fear as to what you or your people are capable of. It will take them time to ept and deal with you, though I promise I shall do all in my power to convince them of your true character.¡±


    Tarwantrad crossed her arms and huffed.


    ¡°Tower Keeper Belissar, by keeping the nexus door open, is reversing the fortunes of the Compact. Don¡¯t you think that might be worth something, something beyond just themunity we offer to every dungeon master? Something beyond not faulting him for his mere existence when his generosity and trust are enabling ours?¡±


    Nenavann winced.


    ¡°That¡­is fair.¡±


    Nenavann rubbed his chin for a bit.


    ¡°I think it reasonable that the Circle offers additional assistance to shore up a new member who finds themselves in significantly more dangerous circumstances than the rest of us. As such, I will ask each member of the circle to bestow upon you a boon from their dungeons. I myself will offer you three, one as a member of the Circle, one as an apology for my prejudice and the offense I have caused, and thest as an initial reward on behalf of the Compact. As for a more formal arrangement regarding the nexus door and any benefits offered in return, I say we will demand that of the Compact, and I will do all in my power to expedite the discussions regarding it.¡±


    He quickly gave them all a smile when Tarwantrad huffed again.


    ¡°Not because I don¡¯t believe we should offer Tower Keeper Belissar more, and soon, but because I believe it is important that the Compactes to treat with him directly, which means it is necessary to leave the issue at least partially unresolved to motivate them. We wouldn¡¯t want the Compact to think they are off the hook just because the Circle is taking the lead.¡±


    Tarwantrad huffed again but slowly nodded. Nenavann then turned to Belissar and inclined his head.


    ¡°Is that eptable to you, Tower Keeper Belissar? I apologize for theplications and the obstinance we are showing when it is us begging your help. I will do my utmost to see this resolved, and that you are rewarded for the inconvenience as well as your service.¡±


    Belissar crossed his arms and hummed.


    ¡°For now. But, as long as this agreement is just with the Circle, no one from the Compact is allowed on my side either, ok? I don¡¯t want to leave a door open to people I don¡¯t know I can trust.¡±


    Nenavann nodded.


    ¡°That is fair. Thank you for your patience and understanding, Tower Keeper.¡±


    He made a self-deprecating smile.


    ¡°It is humbling that you have shown more grace than we have in all of this.¡±


    Nenavann then drew himself up and adopted a serious expression.


    ¡°I, Dungeon Master Nenavann, have observed Tower Keeper Belissar and found no contradictions with the code of the Circle. I approve of his association with the Circle.¡±


    He then turned to Urubran, who just shrugged with a smile.


    ¡°You think I¡¯m going to object? Tarwantrad here would strangle me.¡±


    He chuckled as Tarwantrad red daggers at him before straightening himself as well.


    ¡°I, Dungeon Master Urubran, have observed Tower Keeper Belissar and found no contradictions with the code of the Circle. I approve of his association with the Circle.¡±


    Nenavann then turned to Belissar.


    ¡°Are you willing to associate with us, Tower Keeper Belissar? To keep to the code of the Circle and use your powers to protect, rather than to destroy or dominate? To work together with your fellow dungeon masters for the good of all and toe to our aid in our moments of need, as we shall do for yours?¡±


    Belissar fell silent for a moment, ncing about with his tower sight. Chief Rohsuak simply smiled at him with that ¡°I want you to decide yourself¡± look, even though he wasn¡¯t facing her. Tarwantrad was fidgeting about as she waited for his response.


    As for his bees¡­Niobee was sitting atop his head as she hade to do often, keeping her eyes on the three fairies ahead. The soldier bees hovered by his side, getting as close as they could to cing themselves between the two groups without blocking his view. His eyes turned back to Tarwantrad and the flowers she wore. He could see some of his worker bees hovering nearby, curious about the new flowers.


    He honestly was having trouble keeping up with all of this. Something like the Compact was scared of him for some reason? This guy from the Circle, Nenavann, was kind of rude at first but suddenly got all apologetic after seeing the Memorial? He was saying something about rewarding him for keeping the door open but not rewarding him so that the Compact would have to? It was all very confusing, and that was before considering that these were supposedly tricky fey.


    So, Belissar just put all that aside and focused on himself and his Tower. The Circle wasn¡¯t really asking him to do anything he wasn¡¯t already, save keeping the door open. In exchange, they were offering him a chance to learn from their dungeon masters¡­as well as to receive boons from their dungeons. And, in Tarwantrad¡¯s case at the very least, that meant more flowers for his bees.


    And that was all Belissar needed to know.


    ¡°I am, so long as you don¡¯t hurt my bees.¡±


    And so, the Compact¡¯s Circle of Dungeon Masters weed a human into their ranks, for the very first time.

 Chapter 192: A Sincere Apolo-Bee

    Chapter 192: A Sincere Apolo-Bee


    Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°So, the tour is over, then?¡±


    Nenavann hung his head with a pained expression.


    ¡°To be honest, we normally don¡¯t require a tour in the first ce. We were just¡­incredulous that a human could act in ordance with the Circle¡¯s code and wanted to see your operations for ourselves.¡±


    Tarwantrad rolled her eyes.


    ¡°You could have just believed me. The <em>wardmaster</em> did.¡±


    Nenavann sighed but did not object.


    ¡°I¡­apologize for our excessive caution towards you, Tower Keeper Belissar. But rest assured, now that we have confirmed you are fit for the Circle, there is no need for us to see the rest of your dungeon. Please, show us as much or as little as you feelfortable with. It could better inform what sort of boons and assistance we can offer you, but that is between you and your fellow dungeon masters. You only need share as much as you wish.¡±


    Belissar crossed his arms as he considered that.¡°Will the Circle tell the Compact about things I show you?¡±


    Nenavann shook his head.


    ¡°Not if you ask us not to. The privacy of a dungeon is well-respected, so long as the master fulfills their duties to the Compact¡­none of which would apply to you given that you are not a member of the Compact,e to think of it.¡±


    Belissar thought for a bit, furrowing his brow. The Compact didn¡¯t seem to trust him, so he couldn¡¯t trust them in turn. He wasn¡¯t so sure about Nenavann either, given their initial interactions, though the man seemed apologetic at this point. Overall¡­something rubbed him the wrong way. The Compact was supposedly relying on him keeping the door open, but not only didn¡¯t want to give him anything in exchange, but were also treating him with suspicion?


    The more he thought about it, the more this situation reminded him of a particr vige that never hesitated to inform him he was unwanted even as they took his mead.


    Nenavann, at least, was going to offer him something for his Tower as an apology, but that didn¡¯t mean Belissar trusted him just yet. Even that seemed to have been because Tarwantrad called him out. He gave her a nce. Honestly, it was mostly his interactions with Tarwantrad and her own affection for bees and flowers that kept him cooperating at this point.


    Which actually gave him an idea. Belissar pointed towards her with his head.


    ¡°What if I show Tarwantrad around? Could she tell you what sort of boons would work then? I can trust her, I think.¡±


    Nenavann rubbed his chin.


    ¡°It is up to her if she would take on that additional duty.¡±


    Belissar nced back at Tarwantrad and found her beaming.


    ¡°It would be my pleasure and honor!¡±


    Nenavann nodded, making aplicated expression but with the hint of a smile.


    ¡°Very well then. Dungeon Master Tarwantrad shall be the main point of contact between you and the rest of the Circle then and will assist the other dungeon masters in choosing appropriate boons for you. I will take my leave and allow her to take over, unless you have further questions for me specifically?¡±


    Belissar did not and shook his head. Nenavann reached into his robes.


    ¡°In that case, I shall make my report to the Compact as soon as possible and correct the faulty assumptions we have made about you. Before I go, though, it would behoove me to at least offer you my apology.¡±


    He pulled out his hand and held a small box of wood. He gently opened it to reveal a few small seeds, causing Tarwantrad and Urubran to both gasp. He picked one between his fingers before closing and stowing the box once more, then held out the seed to Belissar. Belissar held out his hand in turn and Nenavann ced the seed in the center of his palm. He looked into Belissar¡¯s eyes, his own trembling slightly.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the vition.


    ¡°nt this where you wish to see nature bloom. Tend to her by hand, nourish her with your mana, and she shall do the same for your dungeon and every green thing that you grow. Please, care for her as you care for your bees.¡±


    He turned and left without another word, leaving Belissar blinking. He turned a questioning gaze to Tarwantrad, finding her staring wide-eyed at Nenavann¡¯s back. It took her a while before she began to speak.


    ¡°¡­it is said that when the Hunger reached the Great Forest, the Lady of the Woods, the greatest druid among all the fair, refused to evacuate, and fought until thest tree of the forest fell. She¡­was also Dungeon Master Nenavann¡¯s wife. Before her end, she entrusted him with as many seeds of the forest as she could, and these he has spread to thend of the fair and to the members of the Circle. But there was one kind of seed he has refused to share with anyone, until now.¡±


    She slowly turned to stare at the seed in Belissar¡¯s hand, then looked up at him.


    ¡°There is no greater apology that he could have offered, nor any greater sign of trust. So long as that seed grows in your dungeon, Dungeon Master Nenavann will stop at nothing to protect it.¡±


    Belissar slowly turned his gaze down to the tiny, innocuous seed in his hand. He trembled slightly as he wondered what sort of seed he had been entrusted with. The seed was about the size and shape of an apple seed, though it was green with an asional shine. On closer inspection, Belissar realized it wasn¡¯t an ordinary seed, but rather a small seed-shaped gem. He had to swap to his tower sight to really see the details on it, as well as the glowing mana held within. The seed became a bright star to his eyes, glowing even brighter than the swirling masses within the fairy circles.


    As he tried to get a closer look, the Tower decided to help.


    <em>Heart of the Forest</em>


    <em>Description: Thebined memories, mana, and spirit of an entire forest, condensed down into seeds by Erynmor, the Lady of the Woods. The hope of a forest reborn and a world regrown made manifest.</em>


    Belissar¡¯s trembling grew. He still didn¡¯t fully understand what he was looking at, but he could tell it was something special. The Tower didn¡¯t even offer to absorb it, nor did it mention anything about mana costs or types. It sounded like this seed could regrow an entire forest? The forest that Nenavann¡¯s wife supposedly died protecting?


    Belissar was even more confused as to what to think of Nenavann. What he did know was that this was a very special seed indeed.


    ¡°Um, could you give me a moment? I want to put this somewhere safe.¡±


    Tarwantrad and Urubran both just nodded repeatedly as hard as they could.


    Belissar headed to the core room and ced the seed there, for now. He asked the First of the Fifth to have the gardeners take a look at it before returning to the two remaining dungeon masters.


    ¡°So¡­I guess we¡¯re working together now?¡±


    Tarwantrad made a huge grin.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but smile in turn.


    ¡°And¡­if I show you the Tower to help you pick boons, you promise you¡¯ll keep what you see secret?¡±


    Tarwantrad adopted a serious expression and nodded.


    ¡°Absolutely. I have already sworn an oath before my patron for what I see today, and I swear a longer one if it will reassure you. I promise, Belissar, whatever you share with me, I will use only to your benefit. And I will not let anyone harm you or your Tower, especially not the Compact. I will close the door myself before I allow that to ur.¡±


    Urubran raised an eyebrow as he smirked.


    ¡°And doom us all? Didn¡¯t take you for casual treason, Tarwantrad.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°If the Compact betrays Belissar after all this, then we deserve whatever fate befalls us.¡±


    Urubran raised up his hands.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, I agree with you on that.¡±


    Belissar turned to the other dungeon master, who had been quiet for most of the trip until now. Urubran caught his gaze and gave Belissar a nod.


    ¡°Do you wish for me to depart as well, Tower Keeper Belissar? I don¡¯t mind if you¡¯d prefer to speak with Tarwantrad alone for now.¡±


    Belissar nced at Tarwantrad. She gave him a smile.


    ¡°Urubran is a friend and I trust him. You can as well.¡±


    For some reason, she had a sh of irritation across her face before she continued.


    ¡°Also, his patron is the God of Fire, so he might be able to share some insight if you have Fire-type monsters, rooms, features, or defenders. Like the fire honey you mentioned, or your sworn defender¡­?¡±


    She nced at Chief Rohsuak, who gave her a smile and a nod. Urubran¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Did you say fire honey?¡±


    Belissar slowly began to nod.


    ¡°I see. Well, if you trust him, Tarwantrad, then it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Urubran gave him a grin.


    ¡°Thanks, Tower Keeper Belissar. I look forward to seeing what you¡¯vee up with. But¡­first you might want to tell Tarwantrad what exactly that building over there is.¡±


    Belissar found Tarwantrad bouncing about as she stared at the Bee Barracks with a huge grin. He nced around and found the Firstborn had flown out to watch the outsiders with the bee army.


    ¡°Do you mind if I show them your home?¡±


    The Firstborn gave him a salute dance.


    ¡°If King trusts, we trust.¡±


    Tarwantrad paused, her eyes going wide as she followed Belissar¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°They call you their king? That¡¯s¡­¡±


    Tarwantrad wiggled about and squealed.


    ¡°That¡¯s just so adorable!¡±


    Neither Belissar nor the Firstborn were certain how to respond. He ended up ncing at Urubran, who just shrugged with a wry smile.


    ¡°Get used to that. If your whole dungeon is filled with bees, she¡¯s going to do that a lot.¡±

 Side Story 192.1 - The Heart of the Forest

    Side Story 192.1 - The Heart of the Forest


    Back in Belissar¡¯s core room, the small sk of ambrosiay resting against the core pedestal. On the top of this sky a tiny, green, seed-like gem. Belissar had ced the Heart of the Forest there so that it would be easy to find, given its tiny size and theck of furniture in the room.


    A slight pulse of light moved through the ambrosia¡­and illuminated the Heart of the Forest for a brief moment. A tiny, nearly invisible root began to stretch out from the seed-like gem, squeezing its way past the seals of the sk.


    It remained there for a few minutes until gardeners sent by the First of the Fifth flew into the room, by which point the root had receded, and all had seemingly returned to normal.


    Nenavann closed his eyes, allowing the tears to fall down his cheek as he made his way back out of Tarwantrad¡¯s dungeon. He paused for a moment, allowing his emotions to express themselves fully before he made any attempt to gather himself. The Hunger had imed much over the years, from all who had survived it. Thus why no one was ready to forgive the people who had unleashed it.


    But his tears were not purely from sorrow today. When Erynmor had entrusted him with her heart, she had made him promise that he would not hide them solely within thend of the fair. She made him promise that he would nt the hearts of her forest across the mortal realm, that if the Hunger was ever pushed back the forests she loved would again cover the world. The one he had nted in his dungeon was thus the only one that had been used so far. The rest all waited for the day he could find worthy caretakers back in the world that Erynmor loved.


    Centuries had passed and that day only ever seemed further and further away. Not only had the Compact failed to push the Hunger back, they had failed to even keep it out. The Hunger pushed ever more on the gates of thend of the fair, and with each passing day their wards weakened.


    Until now, when they had made contact with a dungeon master in the mortal realm. Not only had the connection between his dungeon and Tarwantrad¡¯s reinvigorated the wards, his mere existence was proof that the mortal realm was not lost yet. And, for Nenavann, he was an opportunity to start making good on his promise to Erynmor.


    Nenavann had observed Belissar¡¯s dungeon with more than mere eyes. He watched the flows of mana as only an elder of the fair folk could, those who lived and breathed it for many mortal lifetimes. He saw traps and features and patches of flowers ced haphazardly and without consideration, their mana shing with one another. He knew from a nce that this Belissar was no master, cing each and every feature with purpose.


    But he had seen something that caught his gaze. The two fortified beehouses he had seen and the Memorial itself had all the telltale signs of it, for one who knew to look. The way the mana flowed within them, the story and the history that it told all whispered to Nenavann¡¯s ears.Those features were handmade.


    Sure, it was possible to create resources and features purely out of mana, using only magic, and the dungeons themselves were designed to do just that. But the true masters of the fair folk knew that everything had a price in the end. The mana remembered, it knew what had been and what it had been used for. Something done manually and reinforced with mana would bear a different quality to one that had been solely conjured. A subtle difference hardly noticeable for everyday use, but one that could mean everything for a craft aiming for a true masterpiece, or for two peak warriors locked in an otherwise equally matched fight.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    And Belissar, a mortal human known for their impatience, had taken the time to craft homes and graves for his bee monsters by hand. Those features had clearly been transformed beyond recognition by the divine powers of the dungeon, but they still bore the touch of his hand, and the intent with which he had made them.


    That had been when Nenavann knew he had found a worthy caretaker for one of the hearts of the forest. For an impatient human with the powers of a dungeon master to do such a thing spoke of love, deep and enduring. The kind of love that drove Erynmor to hold her ground. The kind that drove her to create the hearts and leave them with him.


    In an ironic twist of fate, it was one of the humans who had doomed them all who now bore the most promise of restoring the forest to the mortal realm.


    And that is what Nenavann hade to realize, once he let go of his fear and his hatred and looked at this dungeon master with clear eyes. Belissar and the connection between his and Tarwantrad¡¯s dungeons represented more than even thest lifeline of the Compact. It represented the chance for a new beginning. A chance for the Compact not merely to endure, but to expand. Not merely to hold the Hunger away but to take back some of what had been lost. All through the hands of a human who used his powers to care for, rather than destroy, that which was around him.


    Nenavann gathered himself, wiped his face, and dried his eyes. His heart was still pounding in his chest, but his shoulders felt lighter than they had in an age. What this dungeon master represented was hope. Hope for the Compact, hope for the fair folk, hope for the humans, hope for the world itself.


    Nenavann would not let that hope die. He and the Compact had already nearly extinguished that hope by ming Belissar for the sins of his ancestors, before they had even bothered to meet him. Now, Nenavann would do all that he must to keep the connection Tarwantrad had forged alive.


    His heart demanded no less.


    A forest stretched out as far as the eye could see, covering thendscape for miles in all directions. It climbed up mountains, transitioning from deciduous trees to hardy pines to twisted, shrub-like trees that took centuries to grow. It marched right intokes and swamps and oceans, with mangroves growing right out of the water. Gigantic trees rivaled the mountains as they reached for the skies, while tiny trees made tiny forests in small caverns and tunnels.


    In the center of it all was a treerger than any other, a tree that was a forest unto itself. Trees dug their roots into its branches and grew along them, forming canopies in the gaps between its own. Its roots were like a redwood forest, mighty trunks rising into the sky around which the smaller bushes grew. Entire ecosystems of animals were born, lived, and died within each part of its body.


    That tree began to creak and groan. Two knots in its bark began to move and open, revealing eyes of pure amber. The eyes blinked a few times as arger knot opened below, revealing a mouth as the giant tree yawned.


    ¡°Well, then, let¡¯s see what woke me up.¡±


    The tree spread her awareness through the forest making up her being, each tree connected to the other in a web that epassed the entire realm. The tree quickly, for a tree, found that which caused her to stir.


    ¡°Bee has a dungeon now? Good for her, Flower will be pleased as well. I wonder who her first master is¡­¡±


    But something cause the tree to trail off. Then, she began to giggle, causing the canopy of the forests to rustle. Soon, she broke out into full blownughter, making her trunk and branches tremble and the ground itself rumble.


    ¡°Oh, that is great. That¡¯s going to be amazing. I must tell Erynmor, she will be most pleased.¡±


    The ground¡¯s rumbling grew as the giant tree began to stir. Her roots pulled themselves out of the ground, assembling themselves into legs. Her lower branches began to twist together into arms as her face grew out of the bark around her eyes and mouth. Soon, a giant made of trees and forests stood tall above the realm. She stretched herself out, first to the left, then to the right.


    ¡°Well, I know Flower doesn¡¯t like to share much, but she¡¯ll have to make some room. She doesn¡¯t think she can keep Bee all to herself, now does she?¡±


    She made a grin full of teeth made from white bark.


    ¡°For if my guess is correct, even she won¡¯t be able to deny me this. But I¡¯ll give her a little more time to herself. After all, a flower is here today and gone the next. The forest, though, is patient, and always endures.¡±


    And so, the God of Trees and Forests rose from her long slumber, her eyes fixed upon one particr dungeon.

 Chapter 193: Meet the Bees

    Chapter 193: Meet the Bees


    Tarwantrad¡¯s eyes sparkled as she took in the interior of the Bee Barracks.


    ¡°Incredible, so there are different types of soldier? That onecks a stinger, is it for another purpose? That big one¡­looks like it would be good at charging, or likely diving if it can still fly. And¡­if I¡¯m seeing this correct, there is more than one queen and hive in this home?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, all of the queens in this room live here.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s eyes went even wider.


    ¡°Amazing¡­did youmand them so? It was my impression that individual hives treat each other as rivals?¡±


    The Firstborn was the one who answered.


    ¡°Is hive of hives! All bees serve King, all hives King¡¯s hives, so all hives work together!¡±


    Tarwantrad blinked.¡°You did this¡­on your own? To help your king?¡±


    The Firstborn danced a salute dance. Tarwantrad nced at Belissar with a smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible.¡±


    Belissar fidgeted, unsure of how to respond to this turn of events.


    ¡°This is¡­the Hive of the Fallen, you say?¡±


    Beero danced her confirmation and Tarwantrad rubbed her chin.


    ¡°How does it work? I don¡¯t feel any Death attribute mana, so I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s not that?¡±


    Beero danced the negative.


    ¡°Queens bring wounded soldiers here! Teach how change mana to tiny lightning or fire. Once learn both and grow mana, can evolve and get wings back.¡±


    Tarwantrad took a step back.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­the bees save their wounded instead of exiling them and then train them in magic until they evolve?¡±


    Beero danced her confirmation. Tarwantrad sped at her chest and hunched over.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­that¡¯s¡­that¡¯s just too precious!¡±


    This time, it was Urubran who was ncing about with sparkling eyes.


    ¡°You made a Lava Field? You have the God of Fire as a secondary patron?!¡±


    Belissar nodded. Urubran took a step forward and took a deep breath of the hot air filled with sulfurous smoke. He let out a contended sigh, even as Tarwantrad covered her nose.


    ¡°And this fits with your bee theme? Wait, is this where the fire honey is made?!¡±


    Belissar took a step back from the intensity in Urubran¡¯s gaze, but managed to nod.


    ¡°Um, yes, over this way¡­¡±


    Urubran grinned wildly as he ran towards theva river where the Third of the Sixth¡¯s hive gathered from me radish and Fire mana flowers.


    ¡°Fire bees. You have fire bees! This is amazing, I didn¡¯t know that was even possible! We must arrange a trade, or you must tell me how you acquired them! Was it one of the choices the dungeon offered, or did you evolve them yourself?¡±


    ¡°I¡­uh¡­evolved them? Or, more like, they evolved themselves.¡±


    Urubran rushed over as close to the flowers as he could without rming the bees, smoke drifting out of his nostrils as he examined the burning bees more closely. Tarwantrad rolled her eyes with a wry smile.


    ¡°Better get used to that. If you have more fire-rted stuff in your dungeon, he¡¯s going to do that a lot.¡±


    ¡°Hi! What doing? Wheree from? What are? Like King? Look like King, but mana different! And have flowers! Can try?¡±


    Tarwantrad blinked as the Fourth of the Seventh zipped around her and then smiled.


    ¡°Exploring Belissar¡¯s Tower! I came from the Land of the Fair, I am one of the green elves. I am not of your king¡¯s species, though I suppose inparison to bees I am far closer to him than not. And yes, please help yourself! Now, what sort of bee are you? What do you do for the hive of hives and your king?¡±


    This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The Fourth of the Seventh did a happy dance beforending on Tarwantrad and drinking from one of the flowers she had woven in her hair.


    ¡°Am queen! Explore Beyond, scout for new flowers and enemies! Came from Beyond?¡±


    Tarwantrad blinked.


    ¡°I dide from beyond your king¡¯s tower, but I traveled through a nexus door so I did note from your immediate surroundings. A queen that explores? How curious, then who raises your children and takes care of your hive?¡±


    ¡°Communer and First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter!¡±


    Saidmuner and First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter, along with Belissar, Urubran, and Chief Rohsuak, could only nce back and forth at the rapid exchange between Tarwantrad and the Fourth of the Seventh. But they certainly seemed to be getting along, so Belissar and Urubran just shrugged and left them to it.


    ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s called a Fairy Grove in your tongue?¡±


    Belissar nodded before wincing. He recalled that the Tower Lords'' name for the karnuq...wasn''t the most polite, and so had no idea if the same was true for his guests.


    ¡°Ah¡­do you mind be called fairies? That¡¯s the only name I knew for your people but if it¡¯s offensive¡­¡±


    Tarwantrad waved her hand.


    ¡°Not that I am aware of, though I suppose it has been a while since our peoples have interacted.¡±


    Urubran shrugged.


    ¡°Not the worst name I could think of. We call those from thend of the fair the fair folk, I can see where the name came from.¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded and exhaled his breath.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m guessing then that you would call this room something else?¡±


    Urubran shrugged again and nced at Tarwantrad, who rubbed her chin.


    ¡°For the room in general, we would only call it a grove, since any grove in thend of the fair would have the same mana flows. The number of nexuses is abnormal, however, so perhaps this would qualify as a nexus hub? I¡¯ve not studied nexuses in great detail, save to open the door that led to your tower.¡±


    Belissar crossed his arms. Apparently, even the fairies didn¡¯t know everything about fairy circles? Or maybe just these two.


    ¡°I see, any advice on the room? Anything I should watch out for?¡±


    Tarwantrad shook her head.


    ¡°Nexuses are said to have a mind of their own, but these are clearly formed by your tower, and acknowledge you as their master. You may get unexpected results if you attempt to control them, or harness their power haphazardly, but so long as you are careful they should not harm you, or your towers¡¯ residents.¡±


    Urubran made a slight smirk as he tilted his head, barely moving out of the way of a branch that just so happened to fall towards him.


    ¡°Visitors of all sorts, on the other hand, would do well to be cautious.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded at that and paused for a second.


    ¡°I will read up more on nexuses and let you know if I learn anything more.¡±


    Belissar gave her a nod.


    ¡°Thanks, that¡¯d be much appreciated. I¡¯m still worried I don¡¯t understand this room.¡±


    Urubran shrugged and smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Tower Keeper Belissar. From what I¡¯ve heard of nexuses, no one truly does. It¡¯s only those that think they do that get into trouble.¡±


    ¡°This floor is where the karnuq live.¡±


    Belissar nced at Chief Rohsuak, who had her usual smile.


    ¡°We are your sworn defenders, Tower Keeper. We will wee your guests to the best of our hospitality. Shall we prepare them a meal?¡±


    Belissar started and turned to the two elves.


    ¡°Ah, are you two hungry?¡±


    Urubran chuckled.


    ¡°Depends, will there be fire honey?¡±


    Tarwantrad smacked the back of his head lightly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be rude, Urubran! You need not concern yourself with us, Belissar. We do not mean to intrude upon your sworn defenders¡¯ homes.¡±


    Belissar, however, noted Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes sparkle at the mention of fire honey. He quickly used his tower sight to check their reserves.


    ¡°Ah, actually, that can be arranged. Niobee, could you ask the Third of the Sixth to deliver some fire honey to the karnuq? Ah, maybe ask the First of the Fifth for some regr mana honey too.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    He turned back to the two elves.


    ¡°It¡­might take some time for that so should we finish the tour while they cook?¡±


    Urubran grinned while Tarwantrad smiled.


    ¡°That would be wonderful, Belissar. We thank you for your hospitality, it is truly gracious of you to wee us like this.¡±


    Belissar fidgeted again.


    ¡°Uh¡­you¡¯re wee?¡±


    Urubran shared a look with Chief Rohsuak, sparks lighting up in both their eyes.


    ¡°Oh, we will be. We will be.¡±


    While the karnuq prepared, Belissar brought the two to the Apiary floor¡­and found all of the queens and hives assembled into an army of workers, all in neat and organized formations. The First of the Fifth flew at their helm and led them in a synchronized salute dance.


    ¡°This is the First of the Fifth. She¡­kind of runs a lot of a the Tower,e to think of it. She manages the honey supplies, the flower allocation, and figures out how to raise new bees.¡±


    Tarwantrad rushed up to her.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the one evolving the bees based on the flower nectars?¡±


    The First of the Fifth seemed unsure of how to respond, so Belissar gave her a reassuring nod.


    ¡°All queens work together for King. Try to keep track of flowers, though, and help queens.¡±


    Tarwantrad beamed.


    ¡°Amazing, your bees have developed a truly cooperative culture! You must tell me all about your flowers and the bee types you¡¯ve raised!¡±


    The First of the Fifth looked to Belissar and he nodded once again. The First of the Fifth saluted and then began to introduce the Apiary bees.


    ¡°This Second of the Sixth, evolved from medicinal flowers.¡±


    Tarwantrad hopped in ce.


    ¡°Medicinal bees? That¡¯s incredible! Is that why your stingers are so thin? Do you fill your venom sacs with a more medically orientedpound?!¡±


    ¡°This Third of the Eighth, evolved from water lotus.¡±


    Tarwantrad squealed slightly.


    ¡°Look at this! Look at your legs, look at that chitin! You must be an aquatic bee!¡±


    The Third of the Eighth kept her distance but danced a hesitant confirmation.


    ¡°Amazing! I¡¯ll have to let Nenavann know, if you have aquatic bees there¡¯s so much he could offer¡­¡±


    ¡°This Fourth of the Fifth, evolved from digging flowers.¡±


    Tarwantrad squealed not so slightly.


    ¡°You must specialize in subterranean nts! Or do you gather from fungi instead? Do you prefer burrowing tunnels to makingb?¡±


    The Fourth of the Fifth buzzed her wings as Tarwantrad leaned over her, but was calmed down by Niobee and the First of the Fifth.


    ¡°This is Sixth Daughter, evolved from slime flower.¡±


    Tarwantrad squealed quite loudly.


    ¡°Slime bees? SLIME BEES?! That¡¯s¡­this is¡­¡±


    Urubran chuckled as Tarwantrad descended into incoherence.


    ¡°Perhaps it would be a good time to take a break for a meal?¡±


    Belissar just slowly nodded.


    ¡°Ah, yes. Probably.¡±


    But as they turned to gather Tarwantrad, the First of the Fifth introduce another bee.


    ¡°This Fourth of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter, evolved from Third of the Sixth¡¯s drone. Mines with heat.¡±


    Urubran came to an immediate halt.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did you just say that bee mines with heat?¡±


    Belissar ended up having to gather both elves before they could head back to the karnuq settlement.

 Chapter 194: Will We Bee Friends?

    Chapter 194: Will We Bee Friends?


    Belissar eventually managed to get the two elves back to the karnuq floor, at least until they arrived at the karnuq¡¯s beehouses.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s Velebee¡¯s hive. She¡¯s the Oracle of Bees.¡±


    Tarwantrad came to a halt. Belissar turned around and saw her blinking repeatedly.


    ¡°Belissar, you have the Oracle of Bees in your tower?¡±


    Belissar nodded. Tarwantrad took a deep breath.


    ¡°I would love to speak with her sometime.¡±


    Belissar nodded again.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll call her over. The bees will be joining the banquet in any case.¡±


    Tarwantrad made a warm smile at that, while Urubran chuckled. Tarwantrad was in heaven. The God of Bees had thanked her personally for helping out Belissar. She had gotten to see bees of varieties she had never even imagined. Now she was surrounded everywhere by happy bees, flying between seemingly endless trays of honebid out for them. Some were evennding on the flowers she had on her person. She had a full te of food in her hand. It was rtively simple fair, but generously seasoned with several varieties of rich mana honey. A meal no member of the Compact would have declined.


    Urubran was walking over. He had spent most of the banquet in animated discussions with the karnuq chief and her warriors but had noticed her growing fatigued from the day and so wrapped it up. He took a seat next to her, after Belissar had stepped away for the moment, leaving the two elves to themselves. Save for all the bees around them, but Tarwantrad didn¡¯t truly mind if they overheard. She may not have wanted to have the next conversation in front of Belissar¡¯s face, but didn¡¯t mind if it got back to him. So, she gave Urubran a nod, though she kept her eyes on one of the big, fluffy bumblebee soldiers who, despite the name, was currently acting as a yground for children. How she wanted nothing more than to rush over and fluff the big bee as they did.


    Unfortunately, though, she wanted to speak with Urubran right away.


    ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    Urubran took another bite of his Fire honey roasted meat, letting out a contented sigh filled with smoke before answering.


    ¡°I think this is some of the best seasoned food I¡¯ve ever had.¡±


    Tarwantrad rolled her eyes.


    ¡°The levels of spice you prefer are ssified as a poisoning.¡±


    Urubran shrugged.


    ¡°Only for the weak.¡±


    He took another bite before answering the real question.


    ¡°And that means we¡¯ll have to work hard to protect it. Belissar was no trained dungeon master, that much is clear. From the way he carries himself to the arrangement of his rooms, it is obvious he has had little training in either the martial or mystical arts. I would say the bees are running the show rather than him.¡±


    Tarwantrad frowned but did not object, so Urubran continued.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad thing, though. A monster-led dungeon can work as well as any other. Belissar has clearly focused his efforts on maximizing his bees¡¯ potential as best he knows how and at that he has done splendidly. It does mean, though, that you will have to take that into ount when rmending boons or trades. He needs options that his bees can work with, rather than to diversify his dungeon. Though, having the karnuq sworn as his defenders does give a little more leeway. They could make use of things that a pure dungeon master might not.¡±


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Tarwantrad gripped her mug hard.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want this dungeon to fall, Urubran. How often do you see a dungeon master that invites his monsters to a celebration like this, even among the fair?¡±


    Urubran nodded.


    ¡°We won¡¯t. If nothing else, the very fate of the Compact depends on it. I think, though, that¡¯s not the only thing you¡¯re worried about?¡±


    Tarwantrad took a deep breath as she nced up at the bees flying about.


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t want him to have to change, though I fear that he may need to. I love how much he cares for his bees, but he goes as far as to prevent nature from taking its course, and only begrudgingly allows his defenders to fulfill their purpose. Can he truly defend his dungeon and retain that mindset? Is it even possible?¡±


    Urubran shrugged.


    ¡°I can''t say. But I will say this: he has survived out here, with no Compact or Circle to support him, so he¡¯s clearly doing something right. And those karnuq¡­they are not a soft people from what little they¡¯ve told me so far. And yet, Belissar has earned their trust, to the point that they would bind their fate to his.¡±


    She slowly turned to look at him and he gave her as reassuring a nod as he could.


    ¡°It is true, that there is a lot Belissar doesn¡¯t seem to know. It is true that hispassion for his own defenders may stray into excessive. But as I said, this doesn¡¯t mean his dungeon is bad. Only that it is different from those that we know. He may need to grow, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to try and uproot the current foundation of his dungeon either.¡±


    Urubran gave her a smirk.


    ¡°After all, the way that we, the Circle, or even the Compact does things is not necessarily the right or only way. You, the girl who has saved the Compact by breaking one of its strictest rules, should probably know that by now.¡±


    Tarwantrad flushed and looked away.


    ¡°They never said we couldn¡¯t open a nexus door inside a dungeon!¡±


    Urubran just chuckled.


    After the banquet, Belissar and Chief Rohsuak escorted the pair back to the nexus door. Tarwantrad gave him a bright smile.


    ¡°Thank you so much for showing us around, Belissar. Your tower is truly amazing. I must show you around mine in turn.¡±


    Belissar found himself returning her smile.


    ¡°I¡¯d like that, and the bees would too. I can¡¯t imagine what sort of flowers you must have.¡±


    Her smile grew at that and she gave a nod to Niobee as well.


    ¡°I hope they will be to both your likings.¡±


    She then adopted a more serious expression, though still kept a smile.


    ¡°In any case, I will speak with the rest of the Circle and return with the boons as soon as I am able. Urubran and Nenavann should have theirs ready quickly, but it might take a bit more time for me to speak with the others.¡±


    She nced at Urubran and he just smiled.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure I can think of something you¡¯ll enjoy, Tower Keeper Belissar. Let me know when you¡¯re ready to trade more of that Fire honey, too.¡±


    Belissar gave him a nod before turning back to Tarwantrad.


    ¡°Sounds good, you¡¯re wee anytime, Tarwantrad.¡±


    She beamed at that. The two elves waved at him onest time before stepping back through the nexus door. Belissar took a deep breath, letting it out with a smile.


    ¡°King ok?¡±


    He smiled up at Niobee and brushed her back.


    ¡°Yes. That was¡­it actually felt good, showing them around. I¡­don¡¯t really know how I feel, but it feels good.¡±


    Niobee danced about.


    ¡°If King feels good, then good!¡±


    Chief Rohsuak chuckled.


    ¡°Friendship can be a wonderful thing, Tower Keeper.¡±


    Belissar froze and blinked repeatedly. Friendship? Is¡­that was this was? The only friend he had ever had before was Niobee.


    But having Tarwantrad and Urubran as his friends¡­didn¡¯t sound so bad.


    He slowly nodded.


    ¡°It seems so.¡±


    He smiled at that thought, humming as he walked back for the night. It was only halfway back through the Tower when he paused. He realized¡­he had ended up showing the two elves the entire Tower, hadn¡¯t he? He had somehow forgotten that he was supposed to keep the Lava Field under wraps at least.


    He rubbed his chin as he considered¡­was that a problem? He trusted Tarwantrad and she trusted Urubran, so he didn¡¯t think she¡¯d use it against him or anything. On the other hand, though, she had thought the Compact would be grateful to him and it turned out that they weren¡¯t, so at the very least Tarwantrad didn¡¯t know everything about her own people. So, should he have really revealed everything about his Tower to her?


    He found he had a hard time imagining Tarwantrad doing anything bad with that knowledge, but it still might be good to have something no one in the Compact knew about. And since he had gone and shown Tarwantrad everything he had so far, the only solution was to do as he needed to anyways, and keep growing his Tower and his bees. The stronger they all were, the less they¡¯d have to worry about the Compact¡­or the Tower Lords, for that matter. Hopefully, Tarwantrad herself would help them do just that.


    But even with those concerns, Belissar found himself looking forward to Tarwantrad¡¯s next visit, as well as one day to see what her own tower looked like. What sort of flowers would a tower blessed by the God of Flowers hold? What sort of bees could evolve from the nectar of those flowers? Belissar couldn¡¯t help but hope that one day, he¡¯d be able to find out.

 Chapter 195: A Fier-Bee Gift

    Chapter 195: A Fier-Bee Gift


    Belissar awoke the next day ready to get to work. The various negotiations with Tarwantrad, the Compact, and the Circle had taken up much of his time and attention recently, but it was time to refocus. The karnuq were ready to make a concerted effort at challenging and earning the blessings of the gods while the bees were working ever diligently to improve every aspect of his Tower. His Tower now had multiple motivations to grow: to fend off the Tower Lords should they return, to encourage both the sigmaka and Compact to remain cooperative, to develop more options he could trade with Tarwantrad and the Circle, and, not least of all, to continue fighting off the Hunger. He had multiple missions from the gods still waiting for him toplete as well. All in all, there was much to do, and it was time to put aside all this diplomacy and work.


    At least, that was the n until he saw Urubran step out of the nexus door and wave.


    <em>¡°Hi Belissar, just here to drop off my boon for you. Don¡¯t feel the need to wee me or anything.¡±</em>


    Thanks to that heads up, Belissar decided not to disturb Chief Rohsuak and made his way to speak with Urubran with just Niobee and his usual beepliment. Urubran gave him a smile as he approached.


    ¡°Hi Belissar, nice to see you again.¡±


    Belissar made a small smile himself. Urubran had been friendly as well and seemed to get along with the karnuq, so Belissar found he didn¡¯t mind seeing him either.


    ¡°Hi Urubran, nice to see you.¡±


    Urubran grinned. Belissar now noticed he was holding a metal box of some sort as he moved to open the lid.


    ¡°Here, take a look. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re going to like them.¡±A wave of heat mmed into Belissar¡¯s face as Urubran opened the lid, followed by a strong acrid scent. He resisted the urge to back up and hold his nose, forcing himself to peer into the box. He found a bunch of lotus flowers with bright red petals and ck stems and roots. Urubran chuckled.


    ¡°Nice, aren¡¯t they? Tarwantrad bred them for me. She¡¯d have a fancy name for them but I just call themva lotus. As the name suggests, they grow in moltenva, perfect for your Lava Field. Their nectar is as hot as theva they drink and they release acidic fumes into the air. Their roots, if you can get into theva to actually retrieve them, are packed to the brim with fire mana and volcanicpounds. Superb if you have fire, poison, and acid resistance, you can dilute them down though if you don¡¯t. Or use them in alchemy, should be plenty you can do with that. And if you get enough of them in one ce, they can even cause acid rain, though you¡¯d need a source of moisture in the room for that to ur.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened at that. Acid rain? That sounded¡­bad.


    ¡°Are they dangerous?¡±


    Urubran made a full grin showing off his teeth.


    ¡°Yes, yes they are, at least if you let them grow unchecked. Most of the karnuq and your bees should be careful around them. I¡¯m pretty sure your burning bees will be fine, though, seeing as they already live aroundva rivers and volcanic fumes. You <em>have</em> to let me know if and when they make honey from these. Chief Rohsuak should be able to handle the fire aspects, though she might need to be careful about the poison and acid. Otherwise, they¡¯d be great to put in a room that might get some uninvited guests, if you catch my meaning.¡±


    Urubran had brought enough for Belissar to absorb, so he nodded and did so.


    <em>Lava Lotus</em>


    <em>- Type: Fire, Nature, Poison, Trap, Resource</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 20 per node, 10 to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    This narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    <em>- Description: A flower that thrives on extreme heat. It draws nutrients and energy directly from molten rock and geothermal activity, releasing volcanic fumes as a byproduct. Enough of them in one area will fill the air with toxic and acidicpounds. Potent fire mana imbues every part of the nt for those who can brave theva to harvest them.</em>


    Belissar smiled and gave Urubran a nod.


    ¡°Thank you, Urubran. These look like they¡¯ll be helpful and I¡¯m sure the Third of the Sixth will love them.¡±


    Urubran grinned again.


    ¡°Just let me know when she makes honey with them, I¡¯m sure we cane up with a great trade. The burning bees too, if any of them want toe and see what life in a Fire dungeon is like. I have plenty of flora and fauna that could bring your Laval Fields to life.¡±


    Belissar frowned a bit at that, but Urubran just gave him a smile before he could decide what to say.


    ¡°I know, you really like your bees, so no pressure. I¡¯d invite you to see the dungeon and where they might want to live, but we may need to get you an invite to the Compact first. Just think about it, and we can discuss it when you cane and see my dungeon. Chief Rohsuak and any of the karnuq who wish to see a Fire dungeon are invited as well once that happens.¡±


    Belissar just gave him a slow nod, which Urubran returned.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s all for today. I¡¯ll get out of your hair now, just let Tarwantrad know if you want to meet with me. Or when the Third of the Sixth makesva honey!¡±


    With that, Urubran took his leave. Belissar took a deep breath. Trading with the various dungeon masters of the Circle would be an excellent idea for his Tower, no doubt. And yet¡­Belissar could not say he wasfortable sending any of his bees away, even with Tarwantrad or Urubran.


    He pondered it for a bit. He recalled how regr honeybees swarmed every year if he let them, splitting their hives in half to go off and find new homes. He took another deep breath. Now that he thought of it¡­letting his bees go off to newnds was normal bee behaviour. So that, like bees fighting and dying to protect their hives, might be something that he just had to get used to. He didn¡¯t like the idea, but he also didn¡¯t like the idea of holding his bees back solely because of his own difort.


    Besides, it¡¯s not like <em>all</em> of his bees would leave him. He reached up and brushed Niobee, sitting on his head as she had taken to do most of the time. She buzzed and danced happily. He tookfort knowing that she¡¯d always be there, and not even death would keep her away.


    Perhaps, then, he could handle it. He could always ask the queens to raise new daughters to send off. While the bees currently kept their daughters in their own hives, he did know that the First of the Fifth had sent her first daughter off to make her own hive, and eventually to move to a new room entirely. It seemed the monster bees did originally have the usual swarming behaviour, so perhaps they wouldn¡¯t be bothered by such a thing.


    Well, he¡¯d have to figure out a way to find out what they thought of it. For now, though, there was work to be done and a new flower to nt. And that was what all this effort had ultimately been about.


    ¡°Niobee, I¡¯m going to nt the new flower in the battle Lava Field. It might be dangerous, so could you let the Third of the Sixth know? We¡¯ll test it there before adding them to her room.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Belissar made his way to the first floor Lava Field and wasted no time cing ava lotus node. As Urubran and the Tower description imed, the node could only be ced in or right on the banks of theva rivers themselves. Belissar ced the node along the first river from the room¡¯s entrance. t, ck leaves spread out across the surface of the river, then ck stems began to rise up before blooming into bright red flowers. They almost blended into the color of theva itself, save for their solid yellow centers.


    A few minutes after Belissar had ced them, he saw faint smoke drifting up from the leaves of the node, and could detect an acrid tang in the air. Shortly after, Niobee arrived with one of the Third of the Sixth¡¯s workers.


    ¡°Niobee, could you check it? And be careful, it¡¯s already starting to release poison.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Niobee, brave as ever, flew right into the faint smoke andnded on one of the flowers. She immediately began dancing about and quickly took off.


    ¡°Is hot! Too hot for normal bees! Burning bees ok!¡±


    Belissar looked at her with concern.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t get burned, did you?¡±


    Niobee danced the negative.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t! Mana protected!¡±


    Belissar nodded at that. It seemed the same sort of protection the Tower offered him worked for Niobee as well, thankfully. Still, he held out his hand and created some medicinal honey for her. Even if she wasn¡¯t hurt, he figured it¡¯d be nice to let her have something tasty to drink.


    As Niobeended on his arm and began top up the honey in his hand, he nodded at the worker. The worker flew forward, passing through the smoke seemingly without harm, andnded on the flower. She spent a few moments drinking its nectar before buzzing her wings and dancing rapidly. She zipped up into the air, flying in rapid circles.


    ¡°Amazing! Incredible! Need to tell queen!¡±


    Belissar blinked before smiling. It seemed these flowers would work for the burning bees after all. He may have that honey Urubran wanted sooner than he thought.


    And that had him looking forward to the next boons to arrive too¡­

 Chapter 196: A Forest to Bee

    Chapter 196: A Forest to Bee


    With one new flower now nted, Belissar had no excuse not to address the second. He took a deep breath, steeled his heart, and then made his way to the core room with Niobee, the First of the Fifth, and some gardeners. He walked to the pedestal in the center and crouched down where he left the sk of ambrosia, picking up the Heart of the Forest from the top of the sk.


    He blinked as he looked down at the seed in his hand.


    ¡°Was this glowing before?¡±


    The seed appeared to have a soft glow of mixed gold and green light. Niobee danced with the other bees before replying.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t see when King left here! First of the Fifth and gardeners say was glowing when they saw!¡±


    Belissar blinked again.


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    He ended up shrugging. He had no idea what, if anything, it meant for the seed to glow. It was clearly already a special, magical thing he didn¡¯t understand. But since it had been glowing when the gardeners arrived, he figured they¡¯d have warned him if it was anything dangerous.


    He turned to them now.¡°So, what do you think? Any ideas where we should nt this?¡±


    The gardeners zipped about.


    ¡°Flower Meadow!¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°A Flower Meadow? Why there?¡±


    He would¡¯ve thought some rted to forests would do better in a Fairy Grove or an Orchard¡­though he caught himself before he mentioned them. He didn¡¯t want the bees to think he already had an idea in mind, though he did want to hear their reasoning. His heart clenched when he saw the gardeners slow down at the question, but he forced himself to wait for their reply.


    ¡°Seed¡­wants space. Wants to grow own trees.¡±


    Belissar gave them a big smile and nodded.


    ¡°Got it, that makes sense. We¡¯ll nt it in a Flower Meadow then. Thank you, gardeners, great work.¡±


    His heart rxed as the gardeners resumed their zipping about.


    ¡°Anything else we should know about this seed? Anything it will need to grow well?¡±


    Several gardeners began different dances all at once.


    ¡°Water!¡±


    ¡°Honey!¡±


    ¡°Mana!¡±


    Belissar tilted his head, for one of those things was not like the others. Water and mana he understood¡­but honey? A seed¡­wanted honey?


    But he shrugged once more. Who was he to say that a magical heart of the forest didn¡¯t drink honey? If that¡¯s what his gardeners said, then that is what he would do.


    ¡°Got it. Thank you all for your help, you as well, First of the Fifth.¡±


    Belissar then paused for a second as he watched the First of the Fifth and the gardeners break out into happy dances. He had just been thinking about how he might reward the First of the Fifth for all he asked her to do when his eyesnded on the ambrosia sk. And then, he had an idea. A ridiculous, terrifying, and possibly sphemous idea. But one that refused to leave his mind.


    He gulped, trembling as he reached for the sk. It felt slightly lighter thanst time, but he hardly noticed as his thoughts raced. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart pounding in his chest. It¡­should be fine, right? This came from the God of Bees, so surely it wasn¡¯t <em>too</em> sphemous to offer it to bees, right? He himself couldn¡¯t think of any better possible use for it, so he just had to hope the God of Bees agreed with him¡­or at least would tolerate him if he was wrong.


    This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Hoping he wasn¡¯t about to offend his own patron, he waved to the First of the Fifth, who instantly ceased her dance and flew up to him.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re good at analyzing honey types, right? Seeing if they can be used to evolve bees, right?¡±


    The First of the Fifth danced the affirmative.


    ¡°Know good honey. Other queens work to evolve, but can help them decide which honey to use.¡±


    Belissar nodded and took another deep breath. He slowly opened the sk and carefully, ever so carefully, dripped a single drop onto the palm of his hand. He held it out for the First of the Fifth. The golden dropped began to sparkle in the light of the core.


    ¡°This¡­is honey from the God of Bees, if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡±


    All dances in the room immediately ceased and the buzzing of wings dropped to the absolute minimum necessary to remain airborne.


    ¡°Could you¡­check this?¡±


    The First of the Fifth trembled but slowly began to wobble forward. She gentlynded on his hand, crawling one step at a time towards the drop. She slowly unfolded her proboscis and gingerly extended her tongue to take one, single, smallp from the drop.


    And then she immediately began to dance as rapidly as she could. The steps were unintelligible but Belissar could tell she was happy. After a few minutes she suddenly came to a halt, before beginning a solemn dance.


    ¡°Amazing. Incredible. Queen of All Bees¡¯ honey best honey. Want to make honey as good for King, but can¡¯t.¡±


    Belissar gave her a smile.


    ¡°Your honey is amazing. So¡­we can¡¯t use this honey?¡±


    The First of the Fifth danced one round of a happy dance and then stood still for a bit before replying.


    ¡°If bees drink now, can make stronger, help evolve. But bees can¡¯t evolve to make. Not strong enough, not enough mana, and missing¡­something. Not sure what.¡±


    Her antennae and wings drooped.


    ¡°Sorry. Not good enough for King¡­¡±


    Belissar ced down the sk and used that hand to brush her while shaking his head.


    ¡°You¡¯re more than good enough, all of you. Here, why don¡¯t you drink the rest of that drop? You¡¯ve done great. Here, you too, Niobe.¡±


    The First of the Fifth and Niobee immediately began to object but Belissar remained firm even as he poured out another drop. Eventually, the two bees conceded andpped up the ambrosia drops, immediately taking off and zipping through the air. Most of their dance was unintelligible again, but this time he caught some ¡°King best king!¡± moves in between. He chuckled and smiled at the bees.


    ¡°Then, shall we find a ce to nt a new seed?¡±


    All the bees saluted as one.


    Belissar made his way to his first potential nting location for the Heart of the Forest. He smiled as he was tackled by a bunch of fuzzy bumblebee queens, rubbing their fur as they climbed all over him.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you too.¡±


    Once the bumblebee queens had calmed down, Niobee flew over and conferred with them. It took only a second before the bumblebee queens took off and began zipping circles around him at maximum speed. Belissar was, therefore, not surprised when Niobee gave the verdict.


    ¡°Bumblebees say yes! Excited for new home!¡±


    Belissar made a wry smile. Well, he wasn¡¯t entirely convinced the bumblebees hadn¡¯t just agreed since he was asking, but he also didn¡¯t expect them to object. It was the reason he hade here first, after all.


    There were three existing Flower Meadows in the Tower that he could nt the Heart of the Forest in, with one empty room slot if he needed to make a fourth. He figured, both from the Tower¡¯s description and the gardeners¡¯ analysis, that the Heart of the Forest would begin turning its surroundings into, well, a forest, so he had to take that into ount when choosing where to nt it.


    He ruled out the battle meadow since it would ce the Heart of the Forest in harm¡¯s way, after Nenavann had specifically asked him to take care of it. Additionally, he wanted to keep the battle meadow¡¯s skies open for the bee army to fly through without obstructions. They already had the battle Fairy Grove if they needed a forest to fight in, so converting the battle meadow into a forest didn¡¯t seem like a good idea. Though, Belissar would have to consider whether the second Fairy Grove could remain a battle room now that he had to keep the nexus door there open¡­


    But that was something to consider forter. Besides the battle meadow were the karnuq and bumblebee meadows. Of those, he felt it would be disruptive to the karnuq to turn their home room into a forest. It was, at least, something he would have to speak to Chief Rohsuak about before trying. He¡¯d have asked if he needed to¡­but he figured he had a better option avable.


    Regr bumblebees lived in forests to begin with, so Belissar guessed that the bumblebees wouldn¡¯t particrly mind if a bunch of trees grew in their room. And since the implication was that the Heart of the Forest would make nts around it grow better, Belissar hoped its presence would prove beneficial to any bees around it.


    Well, judging by the speed and number ofps the bumblebee queens were flying around him, they at least seemed to be excited by the idea. So, Belissar put aside his contingency ns and smiled.


    ¡°Thank you. I hope you¡¯ll enjoy your new neighbor.¡±


    The bumblebee queens continued zipping about as Belissar got to work. Since Nenavann had asked him to take care of this seed, as if it <em>was</em> a person, Belissar decided to do this by hand. He took a shovel the karnuq had given him and dug a small hole in the center of the room, to the depth rmended by the gardeners. He mixed up the soil as best he could and then use his magic to create a small pool of mana honey at the bottom, figuring that could help with both the mana and honey requirement. Then he ced the seed into the soil, just above the honey pool, before carefully covering the hole back up. He created a Pond and ced it nearby to ensure ess to water.


    ¡°There you go, hope you like your new home. Grow big and strong and make lots of flowers, ok?¡±


    Belissar thought he saw a bit of a glow through the soil as he finished up.

 POBee 196.1 - Royal Bee-solve

    POBee 196.1 - Royal Bee-solve


    The First of the Fifth was silent as she returned to her hive, givingmands to her workers by habit alone. She could not help but admit that this recent turn of events had left her shaken.


    The taste of the Queen of All Bees¡¯ honey had been, well, divine. There was no other way to put it. And the First of the Fifth knew that she could notpare her own honey to that, for what bee couldpare with the Queen of All Bees? She could only take pride that the Queen of All Bees had judged her King worthy of receiving the divine honey itself.


    What had shaken her was the realization of just how deep the quality of honey could go, and how little of it she had fathomed. She had grown content with her current production, believing it fit for the King, when she had barely scratched the surface of what was possible. She had growncent, taking the King¡¯s love and favor for granted since she had learned he loved all bees. She had been content to stop growing, thinking she had reached the peak and had nothing more to do than to help others climb to what little heights she had managed to reach.


    Oh how wrong she had been.


    What shook her about the ambrosia was not how much better it had been than her own honey. What shook her was that her instincts whisper that it was <em>possible</em> to approach those heights. Yes, there was something fundamental missing that would prevent any bee from pulling it off, no matter how much they grew. But her instincts told her, that in addition to whatever that fundamental quality was, that she was simply <em>too weak</em> to even consider evolving with divine honey.


    And that made her realize just how far the queens of the King had to go, for <em>none</em> of them had managed to grow in recent times. They had their one growth spurt that enabled soldier spawning, and then not one of them had changed since. What queens had evolved had merely taken on specialized types of mana and adapted to specific environments, but none of them had fundamentally changed what they were.


    Compare this to the other types of bees. Workers could evolve intomuners, gardeners, and honeypots. Soldiers could evolve into sprayers,ncers, battlecasters, or archers. Even the drones had found a role far beyond what their original purpose, and the First of the Fifth wondered if even they might one day evolve.


    But not the queens. Not the bees with the most important, most foundational role in any hive. All of them, from the valiant warriors of the Flower Meadow, to the innovators of the Orchard, to the honeymakers of the Apiary, had managed to grow past their initial limits. In that regard, Beero, the queen who was not a queen, might actually be the most deserving of the title among them. She, at least, had earned her authority by her own achievements in exceeding her limits.


    This would change. This <em>had </em>to change, so the First of the Fifth resolved. The hive of hives could <em>not</em> be held back by its own queens. They could not be content to remain the only bees that never changed. It was their obligation to put in at least as much work as their own workers and soldiers.Only then could they truly begin to travel down the path of honey and find where its true depthsy. Only then could they be queens worthy of their King. Only then could they repay him for the love and favor he alreadyvished upon them.


    The First of the Fifth thanked the Queen of All Bees for showing her the depths of her ignorance, and for blessing the King¡¯s table with the honey she had failed to provide. And then she got to work, for she had much to do.


    First of which was a call to all the queens of the hive of hives. This would be an effort they all must undertake¡­


    The Firstborn left the meeting trembling. How could she have missed this? How could she have been so blind? How was it that the queens were the only bees in the hive of hives who had not grown?


    The Flower Meadow queens gathered in the barracks, standing in a buzzing circle as each of them stewed in their thoughts. They had gathered to determine how they would pursue growth as queens, for they knew that they would need to find much different methods than the First of the Fifth and the Apiary queens. Their honey production could notpare to the Apiary queens current levels, so if the Apiary queens had not changed yet by those methods how could they hope to? No, they had a different role in the hive of hives, and so their growth must be equally different.


    The question was¡­what should they do? In fact, what <em>was</em> their role in the hive of hives? At first, the Firstborn thought it was to defend the hive of hives, but that was the role of their soldiers. What was their role as the queens of the hives that defended, and how should they grow in it? Tomand the soldier bee armies¡­but was that enough? Could simply telling the soldiers how to fight, sitting safe within their hives thanks to themuners, truly result in any growth?


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Beero, the bee who had grown without even receiving a form from the King, had faced many difficulties and dangers before she had changed. How could the queens do the same?


    The Firstborn was stumped, as well as all the others. But she had learned from her earlier failures. So, instead of despairing as to herck of ability, she turned to the hive of hives. She considered what everyone else had done. And she did not limit her thoughts solely to her fellow bees.


    She slowly began to dance.


    ¡°What about¡­karnuq?¡±


    Each queen buzzed as her movement caught their eyes. The First of the Fourth buzzed her wings again.


    ¡°What about karnuq?¡±


    The Firstborn wasn¡¯t sure of her steps, having to find each one as it came as she worked out the idea in her mind at the same time.


    ¡°Karnuq¡­all have same form, don¡¯t change. But¡­managed to grow anyways. Fighting one both leads and fights, acts like both queen and soldier, and managed to grow. Maybe can ask how?¡±


    Silence hung over the queens as each considered this. The First of the Second slowly began her dance.


    ¡°Could try? Don¡¯t have better idea.¡±


    The First of the Fourth danced her agreement.


    ¡°Better than doing nothing. But ask karnuq queen too! Hasn¡¯t grown like fighting one, but both leads and fights and is strong!¡±


    One by one, all the queens agreed, if only forck of better ideas. The Firstborn began beating her wings and lifting into the air.


    ¡°Ok, will find fighting one and karnuq queen and ask.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin while Metsaitti crossed his arms. She frowned a bit as she looked at the Firstborn hovering before them.


    ¡°I see. First, I must caution you that Tower monsters, to my knowledge, grow very differently than we do. You grow more based on what you are, while we grow based more on what we do. Our methods may not be suited to you, nor yours to us, so please be careful if you try to emte us. It¡¯s important not to try and be something you are not.¡±


    The Firstborn danced a salute. Chief Rohsuak gave her a minute to absorb the warning before continuing.


    ¡°That said, I can certainly share with you how we grow. In general, there are three ways to grow. First is to grow the basic abilities of our bodies. This is general done through physical training, but can also involve expanding our mana reserves through use and through consumption of mana-rich foods and potions. Thetter method must be matched with physical training, though, lest we consume more than our bodies can currently handle.¡±


    She nodded at Metsaitti and he began to spin his spear, working through several drills.


    ¡°The second way is to hone our craft through study and practice. The exact method differs on what the craft is, a warrior will train very differently from a mason or alchemist.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak then sighed and held out her hand, creating a ball of me.


    ¡°These two methods are the most important, for theyy the foundations. But there is no doubt that they are slow. The fastest method of growth, by far, is to receive and grow the blessing of a god. Such a thing elerates the realization of a person¡¯s potential, as well as changing that person¡¯s nature to align more closely with the chosen blessing. This method, as you may have seen through us, depends on earning the favor of a god. How you do that changes from person to person and from god to god. Juosiutik did it by rediscovering a tricky potion recipe of her mothers, and then offering the first batch to the God of Bees. Noigakkuq did so by braving the dangers of the Underway to im a prize to offer instead. Muuraqi didn¡¯t make a physical offering but instead by assisting the Tower Keeper in building new beehouses, a feat and a service in line with the God of Bees¡¯ desires. Metsaitti did not make offerings at all but instead by undergrowing a Trial of Fire in order to align his nature with fire and to prove his devotion to the God of Fire¡¯s domain.¡±


    She nodded at Metsaitti and he took over.


    ¡°Though, I failed the Trial of Fire, but was helped by Niobee and the God of Bees instead, aligning with abination of both gods¡¯ domains. What the Chief is trying to say is that you can¡¯t just repeat something that we did. Whatever you do needs to both match who you are, the kind of blessing you want, and the god you hope to be blessed by. And, as a point that might matter for you, you need to pull whatever feat off yourself.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shook her head.


    ¡°I would take that with a grain of salt. You, as a queen of bees, naturally work with your hive, so I¡¯d believe the need for solo efforts might be different. And we don¡¯t know if a Tower monster such as yourself can even earn blessings such as this. But Metsaitti is right in that you must personally be involved in a feat for it to be considered. Additionally, you must be willing to grant your devotion to the god who gives the blessing. Someone who just wants power alone will find it difficult.¡±


    The Firstborn saluted and thanked the two karnuq for her words. She and the Flower Meadow queens would have a long discussion on these things, and what they might mean for the growth of the queens¡­


    As for the Fourth of the Seventh¡­she immediately flew out of the meeting with the First of the Fifth the moment the conversation was over.


    ¡°Ok! Will go scout new things! Will go follow the flower one into leaf door!¡±


    Hermuner and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter zipped after her.


    ¡°Queen mother, no!¡±


    What followed was a frantic race to the Fairy Grove and a long conversation that was only resolved when themuner asked the Conduit and she confirmed the king didn¡¯t want anyone going through the door just yet.

 POBee 196.2 - Bee-havioural Challenges

    POBee 196.2 - Bee-havioural Challenges


    The Firstborn finished her pondering as sheid another egg. The karnuq told of her of many things and the blessings of the gods. The Firstborn was not so sure about that after some consideration. Initially, she thought it would be a given that she would grant her devotion to the Queen of All Bees¡­but was that the case? She was innately a member of the Hive of All Bees as all bees were, but her first loyalty was to the King and his hive of hives. If she were forced to dere her allegiance, would it be to anyone other than the King? Would the Queen of All Bees approve of a bee who followed a hive other than their own, even hers?


    The Firstborn could not answer those questions. But the blessings of the gods was not the only thing the karnuq spoke of. The Firstborn decided to focus on one particr aspect of the fighting one¡¯s advice and in doing so found she knew what to do next.


    She turned to the nearestmuner and sent her decree through her hive.


    ¡°Will train with soldiers now. One day, will fight with.¡±


    Her hive¡¯s reaction was immediate.


    ¡°Queen mother, no!¡±


    All of her nearby workers began to swarm over her, forming a protective ball that also served to restrict her movements. The soldiers on guard at the barracks entrance flew inside and lent their bulk to the pile. Even her daughter queens ceased their own hive management and crawled over, antennae flicking and wings buzzing in concern.


    The Firstborn remained still and allowed them to express their refusal. Monster bee hives were normally ruled by their queens, but her authority was not absolute. If her children felt her life was in danger or the very existence of the hive was at risk, their instincts would take over. She could guide those instincts but to refuse them outright would be difficult, to say the least.


    And that is exactly what she needed to do now.She waited for her hive to calm down, remaining still. The workers began to slow down, resting on top of her for a moment. They slowly began to drift away from the ball, watching her every move as they did so. She continued to stand in ce. The workers took distance as they grew reassured she was not about to fly away and into danger. Soon, thest worker let go of her and gave her enough room to dance.


    ¡°King decided to save Beero when crippled instead of leaving to die, as normal. Now, hive of the fallen is critical to safety of hive of hives.¡±


    Her children buzzed again when she started to move but calmed down when they realized she was dancing.


    ¡°Fourth of the Seventh decided to save drone instead of exiling. Now, drones crucial to tie hive of hives together.¡±


    Themuners danced their agreement with that.


    ¡°First of the Fifth gave us honey. Could not have built big army if rival queen didn¡¯t decide to help instead of fight.¡±


    The Firstborn noted her workers and gardeners antennae droop at that. She walked over to them, brushing their antennae and spreading soothing pheromones.


    ¡°Hives of the First Dynasty fell using normal swarms. Third Queen of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner tried something different. Bee army uses her tactics to seed.¡±


    The soldiers could only dance a salute at that. The Firstborn spun, looking at each of her children in turn before she continued.


    ¡°Hive of hives does not act normal. <em>Cannot</em> act normal. Cannot defend hive of hives with normal method.¡±


    One of her workers began to dance.


    ¡°But¡­doesn¡¯t mean queen needs to fight!¡±


    A wave of agreement dances passed through her hive, but the Firstborn was firm in her reply.


    ¡°Does. Queens lead hives. Fourth of the Seventh explores Beyond herself. First of the Fifth tastes honey and changes processing method herself. Second of the Sixth heals wounded herself.¡±


    She looked at each of them once more.


    ¡°Only Flower Meadow queens don¡¯t. Hive can¡¯t protect hive of hives if queen won¡¯t.¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred tform. Support original creators!


    Silence hung in the air as not a bee stirred. Eventually, one of the soldiers started a hesitant dance.


    ¡°But¡­if queen dies, hive dies.¡±


    The Firstborn, though, immediately denied that.


    ¡°In normal hive, maybe. But we are hive of hives. If wounded, will join hive of fallen. If fall, daughters can take ce. Even in normal hive, workers can raise new queen if first queen cannot do job.¡±


    She then did a direction dance, causing her workers to turn and look around them, to the other hives filling the barracks.


    ¡°And even if hive falls, hive of hives will endure. As long as protect King and Tower, true hive will never die. So, must protect, no matter what.¡±


    Her hive stood still once more, with the asional buzzing of wings. Her workers and soldiers stirred, though none of them performed a full dance. The Firstborn said no more, standing still as she let them consider her dance.


    She knew what they would decide. They were her children and she was their queen. She knew them as they knew her. They would have to war against the strongest instincts they possessed¡­but they were the defenders of the hive of hives. They were those who faced invaders that could destroy entire hives in an instant. They flew into the jaws of death without hesitation. There was no danger nor terror that would hold them back.


    And so, the Firstborn was not at all surprised when one of the soldiers danced the slowest, most hesitant salute dance she had ever seen. One by one, her workers, soldiers, and daughter queens began to join in, until her entire hive saluted as one. The soldiers then began to dance.


    ¡°Ok¡­but will protect queen. Queen must listen, stay as safe as possible.¡±


    The Firstborn danced her own salute, even as her antennae began to twitch. Now that they had agreed, she would follow any stiptions they gave. After all, she was asking the most difficult challenge she could of her children, to risk that which they wanted to protect most for the sake of the hive of hives, and they were rising to the challenge.


    She could not be prouder of them.


    Tyhgak and his friends joined the rest of the karnuq hunters as they gathered at the entrance of the Tower, led by Chief Rohsuak and with a small swarm of bees buzzing overhead. They stood in the very first cavern of the first Dirt Tunnels, right next to the gate to the outside world and the first Shrine of Bees that stood there. Chief Rohsuak turned and faced them, straightening to her full height. She frowned at them, her eyes glowing softly like the embers of a fire.


    ¡°Who among you will challenge the Tower? Who among you will face the enemies of the world, to be found worthy in the sight of the gods? Who among you will risk life and limb to defend our home and its keeper?¡±


    The karnuq hunters all shouted and saluted together. The bees danced a salute dance as well. Chief Rohsuak nodded grimly.


    ¡°Then face your Tower as a challenger must, and may the gods find you worthy.¡±


    She stepped aside and the first group gathered. Tyhgak and his squad, now including Noigakkuq, stepped forward first. They checked their weapons and supplies, took deep breathes, and nodded at one another, as well as the squad of bees that would follow them. They steeled themselves as they peered into the tunnels ahead, faintly illuminated by flickering beeswax candles.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Tyhgak could swear he felt something in the air shift as he spoke and took a step forward. It was as if the air solidified, now resisting his steps instead of flowing freely. He felt as if something was watching him, and felt a slight chill go down his spine. His expression grew grim.


    He could feel it in his core. This was no longer their home. This was like the Underway, where danger lurked in every corner and predators stalked their steps.


    He stayed light on his feet as the group crept forward. Noigakkuq frowned.


    ¡°Wait, trap ahead.¡±


    Tyhgak nodded and poked the ground. The seemingly solid ground vanished, revealing a pit. Confirming that the Tower¡¯s defenses would now activate against them.


    Like the Sticky Honey Trap that began to spray from the other side of the pit.


    Fortunately, Tyhgak had stayed on his toes and so was able to leap back before he was drenched in the purple maddening honey. Equally fortunately, the group hade prepared for a pit trap this time. Once the honey trap stopped, he and his fellow spearwoman gave Noigakkuq a boost to leap across the pit. She was able to secure a rope that the others could use to cross.


    And just like that, the first group of karnuq hunters resumed challenging the Tower, with more following after each had some time to proceed. As for the first, Tyhgak kept his eyes moving and his spear close. Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti had heavily impressed upon them all that, even though the Tower Keeper did not intend to hurt them, the danger would be very real. The Tower Keeper couldn¡¯t stop them from falling into a pit.


    And the shades that appeared to fight them would show them no mercy.


    Tyhgak leapt back as a small wolf shade pounced at his former position. The karnuq originally trained to hold their ground but Tyhgak was trying something new. He had watched the bees as they fought and trained, observed as they flew in, struck quickly, and flew out before a shade could retaliate.


    So, he tried to float and fly about like a bee, dodging and weaving out of the way of attacks. And then, when the shade¡¯s momentum came to a halt, he moved to sting.


    He thrust his spear forward, trying to wrap it with his mana like Noigakkuq had described. The spear plunged into the shade, but Tyhgak didn¡¯t waste any time celebrating. He pulled his spear out from the shade as quickly as he could, leaping back before it could retaliate as a soldier bee squad would.


    For the briefest of moments, he thought he saw his mana stay behind, still stabbed into the shade, but he had no time to look again. Already he was moving into his next attack, intending to keep up a constant rotation of dodges and stabs.


    Just like the soldier bee army would.


    One by one, the shades fell to the young karnuq hunters, and they made their way through the Dirt Tunnels¡­

 Chapter 197: Bee Deadlier?

    Chapter 197: Bee Deadlier?


    Tyhgak¡¯s squad finally saw the light at the end of the tunnels. He had the urge to race forward, but Noigakkuq grabbed his shoulder and pointed. One final pit trapter, and they finally made it. They stepped out into the Fairy Grove to find the Tower Keeper waiting, smiling at them.


    ¡°Good job, everyone.¡±


    Tyhgak smiled and the team began to cheer. Since everyone was still getting used to the Fairy Grove, this was the end of their challenge today¡­and that meant it was time to im their rewards. Their cheers that only grew as the Tower Keeper handed them a quarter tray of mana honeb each. Today was a good day indeed.


    After thanking the Tower Keeper, they stepped over to the Shrine of Bees at the start of the Fairy Grove, which now also had a second, wooden chest wrapped in flowering vines, apparently. Tyhgak broke off a piece of his honeb and ced it in the original wax chest, then knelt before the statue.


    But as he began to thank the God of Bees, the statue and chest suddenly glowed with blinding light.


    <em>The God of Bees offers you her full blessing. If you wish to ept, please select one of the following blessings:</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Hunter</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Spear Fighter</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Guardian</em><strong><em>- Blessing of the Bee Soldier</em></strong>


    Tyhgak made his choice immediately, grinning as he felt mana surge through his body. He got this blessing trying to fight more like the bees, so there was no question which one he wanted. He jumped up and spun around.


    ¡°The God of Bees gave me a blessing!¡±


    He ran forward and hugged Noigakkuq, spinning her around as she squeaked in surprise.


    Belissar spent most of the day waiting for squads of karnuq hunters to make their way through the Dirt Tunnels and rewarding them for their efforts¡­ and asionally rescuing a squad or two that got into trouble. Not all of them managed to avoid the traps and one of the hunters even sprained their ankle from a badnding. Belissar thought he was lucky, a fall of that height might have broken a human¡¯s leg, but he supposed the karnuq were bothrger and tougher. Besides that, though, everyone made through with some gashes at worst, or a bit loopy in the case of those drenched with mad honey.


    Belissar was d, though it did again throw into focus the low impact his traps were having. That the karnuq could consistency make it through the Dirt Tunnels with minimal injuries was as concerning as it was relieving. The only thing he had changedpared to normal was swapping the candles over to normal wax so the karnuq wouldn¡¯t get poisoned by the air, so their experience roughly matched any invaders. He could only hope that said change, plus maybe some digging soldiers for ambushes, might make things a bit tougher for any enemies.


    Belissar furrowed his brow and groaned, then heaved a sigh. He went and filled hisst empty room slot with a third Fairy Grove and swapped it with the one holding the nexus door. He moved the nexus door room to the second floor, behind the battle meadow, while moving the third Fairy Grove to the first floor, just after the initial Dirt Tunnels. He didn¡¯t want the Compact to be able to bypass his defenses¡­but he couldn¡¯t count on holding a shade in the Dirt Tunnels, especially if an unexpected emergency purification hit. If that happened, a shade might appear and pass through the nexus door or close it entirely. If he wanted to stay in contact with the Circle and the Compact, he had no choice but keep the nexus door behind his defenses.


    He decided to trust that Tarwantrad would keep the Compact from attacking him¡­and that the boons from the Circle would hopefully be worth that risk. He thought about trying to move the nexus door to the Fairy Grove by the Orchard¡­but he didn¡¯t want to risk moving it, as he didn¡¯t know if that would affect the door or not. And, well, if the Compact <em>did</em> end up attacking him, he didn¡¯t want them to arrive in a room that some of his bees made their homes in. So, here he was, with three separate Fairy Groves, the most expensive rooms he could make. One for his bees to fight in, one for them to live in, and one to hold the door.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.


    Fortunately, the karnuq¡¯s challenges brought good news as well. Tyghak had gotten a full blessing, giving them another battle-focused Tower Guard, and Chief Rohsuak was optimistic that several others were close. Not only that, but it brought him closer topleting one of his long-standing missions to help ten of the karnuq receive blessings. His Tower would certainly be getting a boost from the karnuq¡¯s efforts, as well as the boons from the Circle.


    Belissar grinned. He had received word, too, that the bees were progressing as well. Once he wrapped up things with the karnuq, he made his way over to the Apiary to see what the First of the Fifth hade up with this time.


    He found her waiting outside of her Bee Apartment with two new types of worker bees. He smiled as she saluted to him and then introduced them.


    The first bee was multi-colored, a light green on her top half and a light blue on the bottom. Her wings wererger than normal, while her body was thinner. She seemed like she would blow away with the slightest breeze.


    Well, from her description, that might have been the point.


    <em>Breeze Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average+</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Breeze, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker raised on honey infused with Air attribute mana. Exceptional at catching and riding the wind, it can fly further and faster than its counterparts. It is even capable of generating light breezes on its own to boost its flight when the air is calm. Prefers to make hives in elevated locations.</em>


    Belissar grinned as he held out his hand for the new worker to crawl into. He made a bit of honey for her as she danced about happily, almost flying off his hands as her wings nearly caught the air from that movement alone.


    ¡°Was this one from the soaring beeblossom?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    He saw the First of the Fifth twitch a bit, as if she was about to continue a dance but stopped.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    The First of the Fifth froze as he spoke. Belissar tried to give her as kind a smile as he could.


    ¡°You can tell me anything. If you have something to say, I¡¯d love to hear it.¡±


    The First of the Fifth stared at him for a moment before slowly resuming her dance.


    ¡°Had¡­idea. Think would be good to give honey to Orchard bees, let one of Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s daughters evolve. Already live in high ce, bees that fly far good for scouting.¡±


    Belissar grinned as he nodded.


    ¡°That sounds perfect, great idea.¡±


    The First of the Fifth froze again, then broke out into a happy dance after about a minute. It took a bit before she introduced the next bee.


    ¡°KING IS BEST KING! This bee from bad taste mushroom.¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow at that before remembering he had Niobee test a mushroom that tasted bad to her. A mushroom¡­that Juosiutik had warned him was extremely dangerous.


    He trembled only slightly as he looked over the bee. The bee was mostly pale white and ck, with a slightly yellow tinge to the white spots.


    <em>Toxic Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Below Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Deadly Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Poison Resistance, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker raised on honey infused with deadly, mana-imbued toxins. Its very mana takes on a poisonous quality, to say nothing of its potent mixture of bee venom and other toxins. Just a few stings from a worker are dangerous to the average human, and even its honey and wax are toxic. Its mana and adaptations grant it a natural resistance to toxins of all sorts that can allow it to forage from sources other bees cannot, though all of its products will retain whatever toxins were present in the source in addition to receiving the bee¡¯s own.</em>


    Belissar trembled a bit more than slightly after he finished reading the description. However, no matter how deadly she was, she was still a bee. One of <em>his</em> bees. So, he swallowed his fear and reached out his hand for the deadly bee as he had done for all others.


    The deadly bee crawled into his hand and happily danced about. Belissar stopped trembling and smiled. It seemed no matter how deadly she was, the worker was still a bee after all. He created a bit of honey for her and smiled as shepped it up.


    ¡°This one is going to powerful, I think.¡±


    Fears aside, a bit of extra lethality was exactly what his Tower needed. Not only did this worker possess an extra deadly sting, she would apparently imbue her honey and wax with the same lethal toxins. She could really up the danger of his Sticky Honey Traps and possibly the beeswax candles too.


    The First of the Fifth danced her confirmation.


    ¡°Wanted to give to Flower Meadow, but honey and wax dangerous. Needs own hive. Whichever queen evolves can¡¯t live with others.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll make a new beehouse for whoever does it. Will it be dangerous to evolve?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but have antidote bee, so can help if it doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    Belissar smiled once more.


    ¡°Got it. Let me know when a queen wants to evolve with this, I¡¯ll do what I can to help. Great work with these.¡±


    He chuckled as the First of the Fifth descended into happy dances once more, now joined by the breeze and toxic workers.

 Chapter 198: Bee-musing Concepts

    Chapter 198: Bee-musing Concepts


    The day¡¯s purification went on without a hitch, and Belissar picked up some more mana to start making up for all his recent expenditures. His DP ie had also grown a bit now that the karnuq hunters resumed challenging, and he¡¯d have enough for yet another choice in a couple of days¡­though, he might need more mana before then to implement everything. Even with the new purification he was down to fifty avable, to the point that he declined to make any moreva lotus nodes. He¡¯d have to rely on the gardeners for those, given that more boons from the Circle were iing.


    And indeed, the next morning Tarwantrad returned once again, apanied by Nenavann, who was holding a chest that seemed to be adorned with some sort of colorful rocks that had almost branch-like shapes, as well as smooth, perfectly round white gems. Tarwantrad beamed as he approached them¡­and to his surprise, Nenavann also gave him a smile and a nod.


    ¡°Belissar! Nice to see you again! I spoke with Nenavann, since he saw a bit of your dungeon, he¡¯s ready now to give you his boons.¡±


    Nenavann nodded to confirm.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to see you well, Tower Keeper Belissar. I¡­hope all is well with the heart?¡±


    Belissar nodded even as Nenavann¡¯s expression turned worried.


    ¡°We nted it just yesterday. It hasn¡¯t been long but the gardener bees tell me it¡¯s already doing well.¡±


    Nenavann smiled warmly at that.


    ¡°Thank you, Tower Keeper Belissar.¡±Tarwantrad, however, had gonepletely rigid, her eyes widening as far as they could go.


    ¡°Belissar¡­did you say there are¡­gardener bees?¡±


    Belissar tilted his head.


    ¡°Yes? Ah, did we miss those on the tour?¡±


    Tarwantrad began to tremble.


    ¡°Yes. We did. I certainly would have remembered such a wonder.¡±


    Her gaze turned intense enough that Belissar gulped.


    ¡°You <em>must</em> introduce me to them after this.¡±


    Belissar quickly nodded while Nenavann chuckled.


    ¡°Your Tower will indeed be a great home for the heart. Let us make sure of it.¡±


    Nenavann opened the chest and presented it to Belissar. Inside was a pile of moist, blue-colored rocks, as well as a bundle of thin nts topped with bunches of small, white flowers. Belissar raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Is that¡­hemlock?¡±


    Nenavann nodded.


    ¡°Close. This is vapor hemlock, a notably more dangerous cultivar of the mundane water hemlock. It aerosolizes its toxins and will unleash them in a burst of mist if damaged. If you grow enough of them, they will create a fog that will slowly poison anything that walks within.¡±


    Belissar gulped.


    ¡°That sounds dangerous.¡±


    Nenavann nodded with a serious expression.


    ¡°It is. The karnuq, especially, should take care. I have, however, observed bees pollinating them, so I do believe your bee monsters should be fine¡­and perhaps might benefit from the presence of such a flower. I do intend it mainly for your defense, however, particrly if you acquire a more Water-aligned room.¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°Not at the moment.¡±


    Nenavann gave him a smile.


    ¡°Then these might help.¡±


    He motioned to the rocks.


    ¡°These are water stones, permon pance. When exposed to mana, they grant it a Water attribute and so begin to spontaneously produce water.¡±


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened a bit as he nodded along.


    ¡°Ah, that could be useful.¡±


    Nenavann¡¯s smile grew.


    ¡°Indeed, the fair folk make great use of them in our daily lives and I suspect the karnuq will do the same. That, however, is only the surface of their value for dungeon masters such as you or I. The conversion of mana to a specific attribute will impact anything of a mystical nature in the rock¡¯s surroundings¡­such as mana flowers or monsters with a tendency to evolve. Going further, a dungeon master could even use such a method to acquire new rooms.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes went as wide as they could go.


    ¡°We¡­can acquire rooms? Without choices?¡±


    Nenavann nodded.


    ¡°Tarwantrad tells me you have had a feature named after you, correct? So, I assume you are aware that you can acquire features by more manual efforts?¡±


    Belissar nodded, so Nenavann continued.


    ¡°The same goes for rooms, though greater efforts are required as you might expect. If you intentionally change a room through features, manual efforts, and grand feats, you may one day shift its fundamental nature to something other than originally intended. If that urs, then the dungeon will respond and shift its own efforts to match the room¡¯s new nature.¡±


    He motioned to the water stones.


    ¡°As an example, the amount of water a water stone can produce depends on the concentration of mana flowing through it. Were you to leave a sufficient quantity of water stones near a particrly powerful source of mana, say next to or directly under arge patch of mana-producing nts, they would produce a vast amount of water indefinitely. That could result in an entire room flooding.¡±


    Belissar slowly began to nod.


    ¡°So¡­I could use these to make ake?¡±


    Nenavann smiled.


    ¡°Ake, a marsh, or something simr. ce them instead in an elevated location with a channel and you might make a river. I am told you have ess to salt as well? ce some salt nodes in the water and you could make marine environments as well.¡±


    Belissar blinked at that.


    ¡°Salt¡­in the water? What exactly is a marine environment?¡±


    Now it was Nenavann¡¯s turn to blink.


    ¡°¡­you are not familiar with saltwater? The seas and the oceans are made from it¡­¡±


    Belissar continued blinking.


    ¡°Seas? You mean like a sea of Hunger? And oceans...what are those?¡±


    Nenavann¡¯s jaw dropped.


    ¡°You¡­haven¡¯t heard of the ocean? Or of the sea, in its original meaning?¡±


    Belissar wanted to shrink under Nenavann¡¯s gaze but that wouldn¡¯t exactly help him figure out what a sea or ocean was, so he could only nod.


    Nenavann swayed on his feet, his face twisting in astonishment and horror.


    ¡°He¡­hasn¡¯t heard of the sea¡­¡±


    Belissar gulped. Was¡­was this some sort of crucial dungeon master thing he was missing? He nced over at Tarwantrad, praying she could help.


    Tarwantrad gave him a sympathetic smile and then patted Nenavann on the shoulder.


    ¡°Belissar told me he was but a humble beekeeper for most of his life. He had few opportunities to leave his abode.¡±


    Nenavann heaved a sigh.


    ¡°It is not that. It¡¯s just¡­how much of the world has been lost to the Hunger that even the existence of oceans is unknown now?¡±


    All three of them grew solemn and silent at that.


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    ¡°So¡­there are massivekes deeper than mountains and wider than entire continents?¡±


    Nenavann nodded.


    ¡°And¡­they¡¯re filled with saltwater that we can¡¯t even drink?¡±


    Nenavann nodded again. Belissar stared into the air and blinked.


    ¡°Huh. That¡¯s¡­strange.¡±


    Nenavann sighed softly.


    ¡°I¡­suppose it would seem so, to one who was unaware of their existence. Tower Keeper Belissar, you muste to visit my dungeon once we have worked things out with the Compact. It will be far easier for you to understand if you can see the wonders of the ocean with your own eyes. For now¡­simply understand that if you ce salt nodes within a body of water, it will create a different environment from one made of freshwater. Different nts and animals¡­and monsters, too, will prefer one over the other, so it will be a simple way to diversify if you manage to unlock Water-based rooms. If you intend to do so, please feel free to ask for me anytime. I would be more than happy to share my knowledge regarding all things aquatic.¡±


    Belissar just nodded slowly at that, still trying to process the idea of more water than he ever knew existed all sitting in one ce. Nenavann sighed once more.


    ¡°In any case, I have taken much of your time today, and Tarwantrad is still waiting to meet your gardener bees. Please let me know if you acquire any sort of aquatic room, I can help you popte any that you may encounter. I would love to see any aquatic bees you may raise one day, and I would as well to show you all the different forms a Water room can take.¡±


    Belissar found himself smiling at that.


    ¡°Got it. Thank you for the help, Dungeon Master Nenavann.¡±


    Nenavann shook his head.


    ¡°No, it is I who must thank you, Tower Keeper Belissar. This is but a small gesturepared to what you have done for us.¡±


    They said their farewells and then Nenavann took his leave. Tarwantrad, however, remained behind, staring at Belissar with an intent gaze.


    ¡°Belissar¡­¡±


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help a chuckle.


    ¡°Would you like to meet the gardeners?¡±


    ¡°YES!¡±


    Tarwantrad squealed as some of the gardeners hovered in front of her.


    ¡°Look at you! That proboscis can reach into practically any flower, no matter how deep! The extra hairs so you can pick up extra pollen for the nts! Those big, fuzzy antennae¡­is that for picking up scents to find the nts?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Scents and mana, apparently. They connect with the mana of nts to learn how the nts are doing and what they need.¡±


    Tarwantrad staggered back, swaying about. Belissar frowned.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    Tarwantrad stared nkly for a moment before suddenly snapping to attention, her gaze boring holes into Belissar once more.


    ¡°Belissar, would you be willing to arrange a trade? I intended to wait until we got you your boons from the Circle¡­but I <em>need</em> these bees in my dungeon. Preferably right now.¡±

 Chapter 199: Flower-Bee Exchange

    Chapter 199: Flower-Bee Exchange


    Belissar slowly nodded his head, causing Tarwantrad to break out into a bright smile and hop around a bit. He had already made peace with potentially sending some of his bees abroad and a trade with a Flower specialized dungeon would certainly benefit his Tower.


    ¡°I do still need to check with the bees to see whose willing to send a daughter¡­ah, I was thinking of asking them to raise a new queen to send, is that all right? It might take more time.¡±


    Tarwantrad stopped hopping long enough to nod.


    ¡°Absolutely, that¡¯s one of the main ways we trade monsters in the first ce.¡±


    Belissar crossed his arms and hummed.


    ¡°Actually, how do you trade monsters,e to think of it?¡±


    Tarwantrad calmed herself down.


    ¡°That¡¯s a fair question. We normally have two different methods to do so. One, like you¡¯ve already suggested, is to breed our monsters the natural way, and then to trade some of the children.¡±


    She frowned slightly.¡°The other¡­be aware that I am only letting you know for information¡¯s sake and will never ask this of you¡­is to trade fallen corpses or harvested nts or something along those lines. That allows the other dungeon master to absorb the remains and create new spawners for themselves.¡±


    Belissar immediately scowled at that but Tarwantrad shook her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s moremon for features and some more mundane fauna, to be honest, as creating new spawners outright isn¡¯t always ideal if they are notpatible with the dungeon¡¯s primary patron. As for us specifically, I will never ask you to do such a thing. I know that you care deeply for your bees and treat the bodies of their fallen with respect.¡±


    Tarwantrad looked him in the eye at that. Belissar held her gaze until his anger began to subside and then he nodded.


    ¡°I see¡­and thanks.¡±


    He then furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Hm¡­how does it work with evolutions? Gardeners don¡¯t reproduce themselves, they evolve from workers that the queens raise.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°Ah. That¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? A monster that is traded onlyes as they are. Any evolution options from the dungeon are lost, unless the individual monster earns it themselves or else the other dungeon gains ess to it. In the case of bees¡­so, the workers have their own evolutions independent of the overall hive species?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, my spawner is for the queens, they couldy workers, drones, and queens from the start but the other types were from monster choices. Ah, except the battlecasters, Beero figured that one out herself.¡±


    Tarwantrad tilted her head.


    ¡°And how does that work with the different types of hives you¡¯ve shown me? The ones based off different flower types?¡±


    Belissar hummed a bit.


    ¡°Well, the bees kind of figured all those out themselves. From what I¡¯ve seen, the honey based evolutions change the entire hive. It¡¯s like¡­all the queens can raise soldiers after I unlocked that option, and a queen that evolved with maddening honey can raise maddening soldiers.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Ah, so there are two independent evolutions? One that applies specific attributes and adaptations from their diet, and then more structural evolutions for different types of bee castes within the hive? I see¡­so, if I understand this correctly¡­we could probably trade the queens that have evolved from honey and their hives would retain those adaptations but would likely lose ess to the specialized bee types you¡¯ve chosen from dungeon rewards. Though, if a queen has already beenying some of those types directly, perhaps she would be able to continue doing so? Hm¡­¡±


    She thought for a moment before turning to Belissar with a frown.


    ¡°Belissar, if you¡¯refortable with it, would you mind sharing more details about the gardeners? Their description, how they evolve, and any perks you have that are relevant to their function?¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    <em>Monster Bee Gardener</em>


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal+</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Tend nts, Enhanced Pollination, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Evolves from: Monster Bee Worker</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee worker that hase to specialize in foraging. Most bees assist nts as a side-effect, but these bees take it further. Monster bee gardeners directly boost the growth of nts they visit, exchanging mana and tending to the health of the nt. In doing so, they boost the growth and health of all nts, including nt features and nt monsters. They also increase the rate and impact of cross-pollination between different nts. 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.</em>


    Belissar read out the description for her.


    ¡°As for perks¡­Cross-Pollination and Gardener nting are the main two. Cross-Pollination is what lets the bees grow new flowers, while Gardener nting lets the gardeners nt new flowers directly. I also have Symbiotic Foraging, a cross-perk from the God of Bees and God of Flowers, that helps with both cross-pollination and bee evolutions. There are some others, like some Bee-type boosts to stuff like vitality and speed.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded along, her eyes sparkling with every additional facet of the gardeners he exined. She was smiling even as she rubbed her chin.


    ¡°I see. Actually, I already have Cross-Pollination myself, it¡¯s a must for nt-focused dungeons. Gardener nting probably won¡¯t show up until I have ess to gardeners. As for the gardeners¡­perhaps if I fed the bees Nature attribute nectar and taught some of the workers how to tend for nts, I could unlock it? Or¡­¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s smile grew and she began to giggle.


    ¡°I have an idea. Belissar¡­what do you say to this? Why don¡¯t you send some of your bees to forage in my dungeon? That way, my flowers can benefit from your gardeners and perks immediately, while your gardeners can bring back pollen and seeds from my flowers to nt in your Tower? I would still love to arrange a trade for my own monster bee hive, but I think we could benefit from a recurring exchange without a formal trade.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Ah. So, I could send some bees right away, since they could keep their hive here?¡±


    He frowned a momentter, though.


    ¡°Is that safe? From what I¡¯ve seen, Tower traps and monsters don¡¯t hurt each other, but that doesn¡¯t apply for guests, right?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded.


    ¡°You are correct. Additionally, I have some carnivorous nt species that even pollinators must take care around, as well as some insectivorous predators. I do aim for bnced ecosystems, but that could make it dangerous for visiting bees to wander. What we could do is set up some flower nurseries where we could keep some samples of our dungeons¡¯ offerings, and then let the bees fly back and forth?¡±


    Belissar blinked and then began to smile.


    ¡°That sounds great. I actually have an apothecary room that grows small amounts of lots of different nts, I¡¯ll have to ask Juosiutik but maybe that could work? Ah, Juosiutik is the karnuq potion-maker who works there.¡±


    Tarwantrad beamed.


    ¡°That would be wonderful, I would love to speak with her some time as well. Very well, I shall prepare a nursery where your bees can forage safely in my dungeon. Do you still want to arrange a trade for a queen as well? I would love to do so eventually, but with this n we could wait.¡±


    Belissar thought for a second.


    ¡°How about I ask to see if any queens are ready to raise or send their daughters, and then we can make the trade?¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s smile managed to grow even brighter.


    ¡°Wonderful. May I ask if there¡¯s anything specific you would want in exchange?¡±


    Belissar shrugged.


    ¡°Flowers, mostly.¡±


    Tarwantrad rubbed her chin.


    ¡°Of course¡­but if your bees are toe and forage, they should be bringing back pollen and seeds already. I would feel as if I am cheating you to offer you something your bees will bring back themselves¡­how about missions from the gods? Any I could help you with, seeing as you allowing me here fulfilled one for me?¡±


    Belissar double checked his ongoing missions.


    <em>Current Missions: Help ten challengers receive full blessings, Offer ten jars of mead to the Shrine of Bees, Make and offer mead from Fire-attribute honey, Help one monster or sworn defender receive a Blessing of Flowers, Make and offer meads made of honey sourced from five different flower types</em>


    ¡°Oh, yes, actually. One of my missions is to help a monster or sworn defender receive a Blessing of Flowers, could you help with that?¡±


    Tarwantrad smiled.


    ¡°I most certainly could.¡±


    She thought to herself for a moment.


    ¡°For the God of Flowers, the best form of devotion is to raise flowers, as you might have expected. Though, cross-pollination is likely insufficient, as it is merely a byproduct of foraging and generally not done for the sake of the flower itself. It would need to be a more intentional and involved effort, and the monster or defender in question would need to specifically devote themselves to the God of Flowers.¡±


    Belissar began to hum as he considered that, but then Niobee began dancing on his head.


    ¡°King! First of the Fourth¡¯s gardener raised flower monster!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Oh yeah, she did, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    He turned and saw Tarwantrad with a questioning gaze.


    ¡°Ah, the God of Flowers asked me to raise a flower monster with the help of bees to receive her blessing. One of my gardeners managed to raise one, a Venomous Slime Rose. Niobee told me the effort was pretty intentional.¡±


    Tarwantrad smiled and nodded.


    ¡°That sounds like it might work as far as the effort is concerned. The only question would be is that bee willing to devote to the God of Flowers, and to dedicate her achievement in the God of Flowers name? If not, you may need to find another who will repeat a simr feat in such a manner.¡±


    Belissar nodded back and looked up at Niobee.


    ¡°Could you check with the gardener? And if not, see if there¡¯s any gardeners who might be interested in the God of Flowers?¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Belissar smiled as Niobee took off. More karnuq were receiving blessings by the day. He had numerous jars of mead fermenting each day, including ones from different types of flowers. Now, with Tarwantrad¡¯s advice, he was making progress on each of the missions he had from the gods.


    He was starting to get excited at what the near future would hold.

 Chapter 200: Bee-view the Bee-fences

    Chapter 200: Bee-view the Bee-fences


    Belissar smiled at Tarwantrad.


    ¡°Thanks for your help. Looks like we might be able toplete some of those missions sooner rather thanter.¡±


    Tarwantrad shook her head.


    ¡°I did nothing but alert you to what your bees had already achieved. And we have not yet decided what to trade, but I think I have an idea. As far as bee species are concerned, I have seen monster versions of honeybees, bumblebees, and carpenter bees in your tower. Are there any others?¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°No, all the others are evolutions of those three.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded and made a confident grin.


    ¡°In that case, would you like some of mine? I have some species you don¡¯t have represented yet.¡±


    Belissar¡¯s mind crashed. Tarwantrad¡­had more bees? Bees he didn¡¯t have? His jaw opened and closed a couple of times as he stared nkly until his mind resumed. Once it did, he had to wonder why he was so surprised. He knew Tarwantrad was surprised and excited to see his bees, but that didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t have any of her own.He then realized he had been staring nkly and in silence for a bit, so he flushed and nodded his head repeatedly and as quickly as he could.


    ¡°Yes! I would love that!¡±


    Tarwantrad covered her mouth and giggled.


    ¡°I thought you might. Let me know when you have a queen ready to move, I will prepare my bees as well. Ah, I am also open to the same offer for your bumblebees, carpenter bees, and any other bee species we may gain ess to, if any of them should like to move.¡±


    Belissar nodded and leaned forward towards her.


    ¡°Sounds good. So¡­what sort of bees do you have?¡±


    Tarwantrad giggled again, her eyes sparkling with mischief.


    ¡°You will have to wait and see. I would like to show them to you as you have shown me yours. How about once we have prepared the flower nurseries for each other?¡±


    Belissar groaned but slowly nodded. He guessed he¡¯d have to get on that sooner rather thanter.


    Tarwantrad asked for permission to leave a flower monster by the nexus door in Belissar¡¯s Tower so that he could contact her if needed. Belissar agreed and Tarwantrad departed soon after that, leaving Belissar to deal with Nenavann¡¯s boons. He checked them in more detail.


    <em>Vapor Hemlock</em>


    <em>- Type: Water, Nature, Poison, Trap</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 15 per node, 7 to enable inpatible rooms</em>


    <em>- Description: A poisonous flowering nt with exceptional thirst. Water moves through it and out its leaves as a fast enough rate to condense into mist, while damage to the nt will release therge quantities of water flowing there. It mixes its innate poison into both the water and mist, creating a highly dangerous environment for the unprepared. Requires a significant source of water in its environment to grow.</em>


    <em>Water Stone</em>


    <em>- Type: Water, Resource</em>


    <em>- Mana Upkeep: 10 per node</em>


    <em>- Description: A mineral attuned to the Water attribute. It will attempt to convert any mana passing through it into Water mana, though the efficiency and oue of this process may depend on the initial attribute of the mana in question. Produces water as a side effect, depending on the amount of mana converted. Note that it generates no mana on its own and will remain inert if no mana passes through it.</em>


    Belissar crossed his arms and hummed to himself, thinking on where to ce these new features. For the vapor hemlock, his first thought was the battle meadow or the battle Fairy Grove, next to one of the Ponds. However, that would prevent the karnuq from fighting in those areas, possibly his bees as well. Nenavann predicted that the bees could survive the hemlock¡¯s poison but Belissar wasn¡¯t going to trust that before Niobee tested it. It might prove detrimental to his defenses if it prevented his defenders from fighting in their usual spots.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the vition.


    As for the water stones, the karnuq¡¯s Dirt Tunnels was an obvious choice, as he figured the karnuq would appreciate additional sources of water. Maybe they could do something with the stones¡¯ affect on mana as well? In any case, he¡¯d coordinate with Chief Rohsuak to ce a node for them to use as they saw fit.


    Beyond that, though it got trickier. Most of his bees hadn¡¯t interacted with the mineral nodes he had ced in the Apiary floor¡¯s Dirt Tunnels, though the thermal mining bees seemed like they would as they got going. So, maybe the thermal mining bees might make use of water stones, or maybe none of the bees would have any use for them. Beyond that, though, was a bigger issue. All of his bees¡¯ hives released a lot of mana into their surroundings, thanks to all of the mana honey and magical bees within. Additionally, all of them had lots of mana flowers nearby. So, if he ced a water stone node close to any of his beehives¡­it would probably end up flooding the area.


    That would eventually be desirable to try and acquire new rooms but would absolutely not be in any of his current rooms. As of now, there was no room he wished to flood. The bees¡¯ and karnuq¡¯s homes were out of the question. Even the empty battle rooms were no good, as he didn¡¯t want to interfere with the bees¡¯ or the karnuq¡¯s ability to fight there.


    As he thought about it, the potential dangers of both these features led him to a single conclusion: he needed more room slots. If he could build a new room, he could try to fill it with water stones and vapor hemlock without worry, adding a newyer of defense unlike any he currently had, as well as creating a new environment that either the swimming or toxic bees might be suited for. Additionally, more boons were iing and he didn¡¯t know what sort of flowers Tarwantrad might have avable. He may quickly find himself needing even more rooms in the very near future.


    Which meant that¡­it was time for another expansion.


    Belissar took stock of his defenses. His Dirt Tunnels trapyout was slightly improved, though he didn¡¯t expect it to stop an expansion shade. The digging queens, however, had managed to raise enough squads of digging soldiers to deploy on their own. They weren¡¯t numerous enough to stop a shade themselves, but they could potentially ambush or harass a shade while it was distracted by the traps.


    The battle Fairy Grove had no innate defenses besides whatever mysterious effects its fairy circles might have, but the soldier bee army had trained there enough to fight. That might give them the chance to attack a shade while the trees and the confusing effects of the room gave them cover.


    The battle Lava Field was much as it was before, though now that the Third of Sixth¡¯s hive was safely in a second Lava Field he could let shades into the room with confidence. Like the digging queens, the burning queens had raised enough soldiers now that they could fight. Perhaps they would be able to slow a shade down and increase the chances for the mini-volcano¡¯s boulders to strike. There was the Lava Lotus node there too, though likely not in sufficient numbers yet to make a difference.


    As for the battle meadow, the bees were assembling a new palisadeplete with a bunch of cross-pollinated thorn rose bushes. It was notplete yet, but it did provide an additional obstacle for one of his wooden tforms, in case they needed the wounded soldiers to pitch in.


    But, as always, the battle meadow¡¯s strength came down to its defenders rather than its features. The soldier bee army continued to train and grow. The Flower Meadow queens had raised a newncer squad and an archer or two, while Beero had managed to assemble a second battlecaster squad. The bumblebees had grown evenrger, nowing up to Belissar¡¯s stomach.


    The karnuq had not been idle, either. Tyhgak had received a blessing while Metsaitti and Noigakkuq continued to train with theirs. The karnuq had begun refining their cksmithing as well, the iron shields they had now were noticeably less lumpy than previously. But ultimately, it was neither of those that surprised Belissar the most.


    Belissar was in the karnuq vige, reviewing the state of the karnuq hunters with Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti in preparation for the expansion, when he heard a shout.


    ¡°Tower Keeper!¡±


    He turned to find Juosiutik walking briskly towards them, twitching as if she wanted to run but keeping to her pace. She held a round pot in one hand and a jar in the other, holding both very carefully and with gloves.


    ¡°Hi Juosiutik, did you need something?¡±


    Juosiutik smiled and shook her head.


    ¡°No, I have something for you instead.¡±


    She knelt down and gingerly ced her cargo on the ground. She motioned to the jar.


    ¡°Deathcap poison, thickened with mana honey. If I¡¯m correct, it should be <em>extremely</em> toxic, not to mention imbued with mana. Should be thick and sticky enough to coat our spears and arrows with, but the hunters need to be really, REALLY careful. I¡¯ve been working with the bees on antidotes but we haven¡¯t tested them, and with how toxic this is we might not have time to apply one even if they work.¡±


    She gave Metsaitti a pointed look at that and he nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure the hunters are absolutely aware of the danger.¡±


    She stared at him a moment longer before motioning to the other pot. Belissar now noted that there were slices of fire radish wrapped around it.


    ¡°Well, this is really simple. Just a pot full of mana honey and some fire radish, as you see. Throw it, it breaks, mana honey covers the fire radish and¡­well, you¡¯ve seen what happens.¡±


    She sighed.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m trying to figure out something better.¡±


    Belissar shook his head and smiled.


    ¡°No, I think this will work great. Thank you, Juosiutik. You¡¯ve been busy.¡±


    She looked up and met his gaze with a serious expression.


    ¡°You, your Tower, your bees, and your patron god have given us everything, Tower Keeper. Given me everything. I¡¯ll make sure to protect it.¡±


    Belissar eventually gave her a nod.


    ¡°We will.¡±

 Chapter 201: Bee-t Fire with Fire

    Chapter 201: Bee-t Fire with Fire


    Belissar informed Tarwantrad¡¯s monster that he was nning an expansion purification. Tarwantrad sent word asking him to be careful and informing him that she would prepare her forces to intervene if he needed assistance. Belissar thanked her and promised to let her know if he needed help.


    Soon after, Belissar stood by the wall of shortcuts in the Orchard. He held a spear made from wyvern bone and fangs while he wore leather and fur that had been trimmed down to fit him. Well, if he intended to join the fight he nned to do so with his spell-bees, but Chief Rohsuak had insisted he be no less armed and armored than any of their hunters. Belissar had seen no reason to refuse.


    Chief Rohsuak stood beside him with an emergency supply of mana honeb. Metsaitti and the karnuq hunters stood there as well, ready to deploy wherever they were needed. A handful of the top hunters had jars of deathcap poison to tip their weapons in.


    The digging bee soldiers and burning bee soldiers were waiting in the Dirt Tunnels and Lava Field respectively. Most of the remaining soldier bee army assembled in their usual formations in the battle meadow, but one formation now waited in the trees of the battle Fairy Grove, apanied by chromatic workers.


    All the defenders were ready, all preparations had been made. It was time to begin.


    <em>Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small+</em>


    Belissar took a deep breath.


    ¡°Here we go.¡±


    Once again the Hunger assaulted the Tower and once again the Tower pushed it back. Belissar ignored the battle of chill and warmth raging through his mana and focused his tower senses on the entrance. Scout workers from the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s hive also waited there as well, taking advantage of the shortcuts to give the bees their own glimpse of the enemy.This time, he heard a high-pitched snarl instead of the usual growls. The shade was shorter than usual,ing up to about his waist. At first he thought it was a kind of wolf-shade but its ears and snout were sharper, reminding him more of a fox the closer he looked. The shade had three glowing red eyes, two in the normal spots and one in the center of its forehead. It had eight legs arranged in four pairs, each tipped with vicious ws, and its whole body was wrapped in a coat of ck mes instead of fur. It had two tails made of fire, the flickering mes making a shape simr to a fox¡¯s bushy tail.


    Instead of the usual roar, it made a low growl and crouched down against the growl. The scout bees took a look and then hastily retreated through the shortcut.


    And then it took off.


    The shade wasn¡¯t quite as fast as the cat shades had been but it was closer than not, racing through the Dirt Tunnels. It came upon the first Pit Trap and leapt over it without slowing down. The Sticky Honey Trap Belissar set up to prevent that very oue triggered, but the fox¡¯s mes surged and burned it a path straight through the viscous spray.


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°It¡¯s fast and covered in fire. It¡¯s like¡­abination of the cat shades and the smander. Doesn¡¯t have any spikes though, maybe it¡¯s going to try and run right through?¡±


    Bees and karnuq both saluted as Belissar ryed as much information as he could about the shade. The shade approached the next Pit Trap, with a squad of digging soldiers hiding in the ground right before it. They attempted to thrust their stingers up from the dirt and hopefully cause the shade to stumble into the pit.


    They missed. The shade didn¡¯t have to slow down to jump over the pits and was gone by the time the bees broke the surface.


    Another squad tried again at the next pit, stabbing earlier than normal as they felt the ground heat up. They managed a sting on one of the fox¡¯s paws but received burned abdomens for their efforts. The fox growled as it rushed past and began concentrating its fire on its feet.


    The fox shook the stung paw before resuming running, but with the rest of its feet didn¡¯t slow down by a noticeable amount. It hadn¡¯t stumbled enough to fall into the pit.


    Belissar furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Fourth of the Fifth, pull back your soldiers. Have them wait by the entrance.¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    If the shade wouldn¡¯t fall into the pits, it wasn¡¯t worth injuring all the digging soldiers just to deal a sting here or there. Not in the middle Dirt Tunnels, where most of the other bees couldn¡¯t follow up.


    However, Belissar had defenders who could.


    He turned to Metsaitti who was already saluting. The karnuq hunters rushed into a shortcut leading them to entrance of the Dirt Tunnels and set up their formation, with Metsaitti at the helm. To Belissar¡¯s surprise, Chief Rohsuak went with them, munching on the mana honey. She gave him a wink before she stepped through the door.


    ¡°Let me know when it¡¯s close.¡±


    Belissar just nodded. He wasn¡¯t sure what she was nning to do, given that this was a fast-moving fire shade, but he figured she knew. He began stirring up his mana as he waited by the shortcut, just in case.


    Digging bees flew in and out of the short cuts to join the karnuq and quickly dug into the tunnel ahead of them. The karnuq set up a wall of metal shields and bone spears, now tipped in deadly poison. Chief Rohsuak waited at the rear, her mana heating up but not igniting just yet. The soldier bee army sent some help as well, the archers and one of Beero¡¯s battlecaster squads joined the karnuq¡¯s formation, hovering overhead.


    The shade rushed through the Dirt Tunnels, though it had to explore each twist and turn before it found the way forward, giving the defenders time to set up. Pit Traps opened up and Sticky Honey Traps shot their sprays but nothing caught the fast and burning fox. Beeswax candles filled the tunnels with maddening smoke, but if the fox was affected it didn¡¯t show it.


    But the Dirt Tunnels were not endless and with no effective means of harming the fox, soon it approached the end.


    ¡°Here ites! It¡¯s in thest tunnel before the corner ahead of you!¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded as Belissar called out. Her mana red and burst into mes all around her. A ball of fire appeared between her hands once more, this one burning with warm red and yellow light.


    ¡°Oh God of Fire, let the heat of your hearth warm our hearts and keep chill and hunger at bay. Let the light of your fire guard the night and ward off all who stalk in the dark.¡±


    Belissar blinked as Chief Rohsuak let the fireball fly, long before the shade approached the corner and came into view. He jumped when the fireballnded in the middle of the karnuq¡¯s own formation. But before he could exim, he watched the fire spread out and wrap around each of the karnuq warriors, seeming not to burn them given theirck of reaction. The fire even extended up to wrap around the archers and battlecasters hovering overhead. They buzzed at first but calmed down immediately, seeming no worse for wear despite being coated in mes.


    Belissar was still staring and blinking when the fox shade rounded the corner and came into view. It growled at the sight of the karnuq ahead but did not slow down. Its mes flowed into its tails which puffed up as it ran, and soon it swung them forward. Two balls of ck me roared down the tunnel and mmed into the karnuq shieldwall.


    It did <em>nothing</em>. The red and yellow mes red up as their ck counterparts collided into them and warred against one another, but the karnuq warriors within werepletely unharmed.


    The shade growled against and its tails puffed up once more. This time, they twisted together until they appeared as one giant tail of me before swinging forward to lob a mighty fireball. The tunnels seemed to dim even further as the pure ck mes consumed the very lights of the candles in their path.


    The red and yellow mes red up as the fireball crashed into them, exploding into a curtain of ck that covered the entire tunnel. Chief Rohsuak¡¯s mes rose to meet them, burning as bright as they could. The air roared as light and dark infernos warred against one another.


    Then suddenly, the light went out. Chief Rohsuak¡¯s mes burned out and vanished, coating the defenders no longer.


    But they had done their job and the ck mes petered out as well, leaving nothing but a few scorch marks on the shields of the karnuq. And now, the shade was in range.


    The archers, karnuq and bee both, immediately opened fire. Arrows and stingers filled the tunnels, leaving no room to dodge. The shade growled and tried to coat itself in ck mes, but the physical projectiles were not so easily burned as liquid sprays. The shade yelped as arrows and stingers lodged into its body.


    And its relentless rush hade to a halt, the arrows killing its momentum. Metsaitti did not miss that chance. Bee wings of fire appeared on his back and beat jets of me behind him, pushing him forward as he thrust his spear. The shade, slowed to a halt and unable to dodge, unleashed a small cone of me from its mouth. Metsaitti¡¯s burning bee wings swung forward and wrapped around him in response.


    The shade had used much of its me already, so Metsaitti burst through the cone only slightly singed, and thrust his spear right into the shade¡¯s head. The burning fox copsed to the ground.


    Belissar was still staring and blinking as the shade dispersed.


    <em>All hostiles defeated. Expansion sessful.</em>


    <em>Reward: Floor limit increased to 6. Receive one perk choice, and two random reward choices.</em>


    ¡°That¡­was easy?¡±


    Belissar¡¯s Tower once again glowed as bright as the sun and sent out yet another wave of purifying light. The Hunger screeched and burned but could do nothing against the tide of divine power crashing against it. Some tendrils of the Hunger began to move away from the burning light as it surged forward, piling up the Hunger at the edge of the purifying wave and slowing its momentum as the density of corruption grew, until the purifying wave had spent its strength and Tower and Hunger came to an equilibrium once more.


    The piled-up Hunger then fell and spread now that it was no longer under pressure. And since it could not spread back in the direction of the Tower, it surged out, a ripple in the Hunger forming a little wave of its own.


    A ripple that grew a bitrger and wave that traveled a bit further each time the Tower¡¯s purification zone grew¡­

 Chapter 202: A Trustworth-Bee Ally?

    Chapter 202: A Trustworth-Bee Ally?


    With no deaths and only a handful of wounded soldiers to deal with, the cleanup was handled swiftly. The Second of the Sixth looked over the digging soldiers with burned abdomens, fortunately, the Fire-Resistant Bees perk had done its job and they were all expected to make full recoveries. To Belissar¡¯s surprise, some of them looked disappointed at the news, at least one of them turned their gaze to Beero and her battlecaster squad.


    But Belissar himself could not be happier with the situation and hummed a tune to himself as he moved to grab some of his honey supplies for the celebration. He was halfway back to the battle meadow when he felt a strong source of foreign mana enter the Tower. He immediately sent his gaze towards the source.


    Tarwantrad had burst through the nexus door. She appeared to be wearing a bush covering her entire body with leaves and flowers, though he caught glimpses of leather and metal armor hiding underneath. She held a staff that still had its branches,plete with leaves and blooming flowers. A gigantic flower had begun to crawl through the nexus door using its roots as legs.


    ¡°Belissar! Are you alright?! Tell me you¡¯re alright!¡±


    Ah, he hadn¡¯t told Tarwantrad they won yet, had he? Belissar made his way over to the nexus door¡¯s Fairy Grove, waving as soon as Tarwantrad came into view. She rushed over to him.


    ¡°Oh, thank the gods! We didn¡¯t hear from you after you started the purification so I feared the worst.¡±


    Belissar blinked a bit.


    ¡°Oh¡­um, sorry? I didn¡¯t realize you were waiting. But yes, we won.¡±


    Tarwantrad nearly dropped her staff as the tension drained from her body.¡°Thank the gods.¡±


    She turned and swung her staff and the flower monster began returning through the door once more. She turned back to him and shook her head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t scare me like that, Belissar! But I am truly d to hear you¡¯re well, and that you were victorious.¡±


    Belissar took a moment to respond. Tarwantrad¡¯s reaction to this situation puzzled him somewhat. But, well, it was true that she said she would be ready to provide help and then he forgot to tell her everything was fine. He rubbed the back of his head.


    ¡°Ah, sorry. I¡¯ll try to keep you informed, next time.¡±


    Belissar then rubbed his chin for a moment before nodding.


    ¡°Would you like to join the victory celebration?¡±


    Though she hadn¡¯t fought, Tarwantrad had apparently been ready toe to his aid, and had armed and prepared her monsters for that purpose. Belissar figured that he should include her in the celebrations as he did everyone he helped defend the Tower.


    Tarwantrad tilted her head.


    ¡°Are you certain? That is for your defenders, is it not?¡±


    Belissar nodded and pointed to her staff.


    ¡°You would have joined them if we got in trouble, right?¡±


    Tarwantrad slowly nodded, and then broke out into a wide smile.


    ¡°I suppose that is true. Very well, I would love to attend.¡±


    Tarwantrad had her monsters fetch a bottle of flower wine, much to the cheers of the karnuq. Belissar was shocked into silence for a bit, having not realize that such a thing was possible. Seeing the karnuq¡¯s joy, however, he resolved to expand his mead production, as his currently fermenting batch was reserved for the gods.


    Tarwantrad also removed her bush, which was apparently grown into a cloak, revealing her armor of silvery metal and dyed green fabrics. She passed some of her mana into it and made the flowers bloom and overflow with nectar for Belissar¡¯s bees. That, alone, earned Tarwantrad an invite to all subsequent celebrations from Belissar.


    But soon, the celebrations came to a close as the karnuq staggered off back to their homes, while Belissar gathered with the karnuq leaders and bee queens to review the battle and the rewards. Tarwantrad nced around, her eyes lighting up as she observed the situation.


    ¡°Ah, you are going to discuss the purification rewards now? In that case, shall I take my leave? I do not wish to intrude.¡±


    Belissar was about to thank her for that when he paused, a question passing through his mind. <em>Did</em> he want Tarwantrad to leave before having this discussion? On the one hand, he had initially resolved to keep some things under wraps from the Compact, including her, after identally showing her the entire Tower. One point of the expansion was to acquire new options that they were unaware of, so the initial n would require Tarwantrad to leave.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    On the other hand, Tarwantrad had just rushed to his aid before she even knew whether he was in danger or not, ready to risk her life and her monsters¡¯ lives to help him. She, at least, had his Tower¡¯s best interest at heart. That was why he had invited her to the celebration, wasn¡¯t it? So, perhaps she could be trusted to hear the rewards?


    Belissar considered it. As he thought more about it, he realized Tarwantrad¡¯s presence could really help him. She was an experienced and presumably trained dungeon master who ran a dungeon in an entirely different way than the Tower Lords, sworn not to use her powers the way they did and that Belissar now hated. She could answer all of the countless questions Belissar wished he could have asked in the past and provide the kind of insight that no one in his Tower possessed. And as the one arranging his boons from the Circle, she could let him know if he was picking something one of their dungeon masters could provide instead.


    So, did the potential benefits of bringing her into the loop outweigh the risks of letting a member of the Compact know everything new he was adding into the Tower?


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as realized his own answer was yes, at least if it was Tarwantrad. Beyond all the ways she had enthusiastically helped the Tower, she had even offered to swear an oath in the name of her patron god to keep things confidential if Belissar was truly concerned. He might just be able to trust her.


    ¡°Ah, could you give me a moment?¡±


    But he was not the only one in the Tower, so he turned to Niobee and Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Niobee immediately started dancing.


    ¡°Whatever King chooses!¡±


    Belissar chuckled and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Really? You aren¡¯t worried we¡¯ll have to sting Tarwantrad?¡±


    Niobee hovered in ce for a moment before starting a slower dance.


    ¡°Sting anyone who hurts King. Flower one didn¡¯t hurt King, didn¡¯t make King feel bad, so don¡¯t need to sting. If King trusts, then bees trust.¡±


    He found Chief Rohsuak rubbing her chin.


    ¡°Hm. There are great risks to trusting a foreign Sacred Den Master, but from what we have seen Tarwantrad has been perfectly agreeable. She is helping to develop the Tower and is even prepared to fight on our behalf. She also possesses experience that we do not and could inform your choices in a way that I cannot. I cannot say I amfortable revealing everything to her, but it is also true that we could benefit greatly from her knowledge. As this concerns Tower matters you and she are more familiar with, I leave it to your judgement how much you wish to trust her, Tower Keeper.¡±


    She made a self-deprecating smile.


    ¡°My gut instinct is not to trust anyone too far, but my people have benefited much from our decision to trust youpletely, so I cannot tell you which may be better.¡±


    Belissar nodded, crossed his arms, and hummed to himself. It did not take him long to decide.


    He turned back to Tarwantrad.


    ¡°Would you mind if we consulted you on our next choices? If you¡¯re willing to keep them secret from the Compact, that is. Ah, and if you don¡¯t need to return to your dungeon now.¡±


    Tarwantrad made a bright smile.


    ¡°It would be my pleasure! And of course, I have already promised to use my knowledge of your tower solely for your benefit. I shall not reveal the choices you have made unless you wish me to.¡±


    Belissar returned her smile.


    ¡°Thanks. In that case, we all meet together over by the Memorial.¡±


    Tarwantrad happily skipped over to join the assembled queens and karnuq leaders, ncing around and smiling as she took in each of the bees hovering around her. Belissar turned his attention to his bees, and especially to Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti.


    ¡°Thanks everyone, we did a great job today. Thanks especially to you two and your hunters, we had no losses as a result. But we know the Hunger won¡¯t stay the same, so let¡¯s keep growing the Tower.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled as both karnuq and all the bees saluted. Belissar smiled back and checked the rewards.


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- Umon Monster Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Feature Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    <em>- +150 max mana</em>


    <em>Please select a reward:</em>


    <em>- +1 Room Slot</em>


    <em>- Rare Room Feature Choice (At least one rare or better option)</em>


    <em>- Umon Room Choice (At least one umon or better option)</em>


    Belissar knew almost immediately what he wanted to pick, but as usual he turned the question to the bees first.


    ¡°Anyone have any ideas what the Tower needs?¡±


    Amidst the usual ¡°more bees, more flowers¡± dances, the Firstborn and the First of the Fifth both remained strangely still. They looked to one another and both danced a confirmation dance. They approached him together and danced as one.


    ¡°Stronger queens.¡±


    Belissar raised an eyebrow at that.


    ¡°Stronger queens? You all are doing great.¡±


    The Firstborn danced to the First of the Fifth and so the Apiary queen replied.


    ¡°Queens only bees not evolving. Can¡¯t stay same while children grow.¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow for a bit before slowly nodding along.


    ¡°I see. So, you want to get stronger, is what you¡¯re saying?¡±


    Both queens danced the confirmation, and all the rest joined the dance as well. Belissar nodded.


    ¡°Got it. Let¡¯s see if we can get anything to help with that.¡±


    As usual, that set off a wave of happy ¡°King is best king!¡± dances, to Belissar¡¯s amusement. He turned his attention to the karnuq and Tarwantrad.


    ¡°So, I was thinking a monster choice and a room slot. We¡¯re already pressed for room slots and they¡¯re expensive in the DP store, so I figure we¡¯d best make room now rather than take even more rooms, especially now that we know we can unlock some ourselves. And, since the Circle is giving mostly flowers and room feature sort of stuff at this point, I think getting new bee types is the better option.¡±


    He nced at Tarwantrad at that and she nodded.


    ¡°It is not that we cannot offer monsters, but I, Urubran, and Nenavann felt that offering boons that can support your bees would be most beneficial to you. I could, however, request otherwise from the other members of the Circle if you do wish to diversify your monsters.¡±


    She then gave him a knowing grin and wink.


    ¡°You are not wrong, however, that more flowers are iing. Regardless of what the rest of the Circle offers for their boons, you will certainly gain ess to more once we set up our exchange nurseries, so your reasoning is sound.¡±


    Belissar nodded in thanks and checked with his defenders. The bees obviously had no issue with his ns, and the karnuq had no objections either. He did hesitate to give up a rare room feature, but hoped that all he had and would receive from Tarwantrad and the Circle would make up for it. He really, desperately needed those room slots.


    And so, he made his choice before he could change his mind, and selected the umon monster choice and the +1 room slot.


    Now all that was left to do was to see what sort of monsters and perks they would have to choose from¡­

 Chapter 203: A New Kind of Bee

    Chapter 203: A New Kind of Bee


    Tarwantrad bounced in ce, staring at him with sparkling eyes as Belissar announced he had taken the monster choice. Belissar smiled and wasted no time checking the options.


    <em>Please select a monster:</em>


    <em>- Beeswax Golem (Rarity: Umon, Type: Bee, Construct)</em>


    <em>- Monster Leafcutter Bee (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Nature)</em>


    <em>- Butcher Bee Queen (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)</em>


    Belissar couldn¡¯t help but grin. An umon and a rare, one of which was a queen! This looked like it¡¯d be a good one already. Tarwantrad seemed to agree, given how her bouncing sped up.


    <em>Beeswax Golem</em>


    <em>Vitality: Below Average</em>


    <em>Strength: Average</em><em>Speed: Below Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Below Average</em>


    <em>Resistance: Below Average</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Construct, Brood Carrier, Internal Storage</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 20 (10 with Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Description: A golem formed from beeswax. While its material makes it weaker and less resilient than more traditional golems, it is also correspondingly lighter and faster. Its honeb interior allows it to carry Bee-type monsters and honey protected within itself, which may be deployed for various effects with clever design.</em>


    <em>As a construct, its exact attributes and skills may be altered depending on design and materials used. Spawners can be provided withpatible materials to produce different variants. If wax producing Bee-type monsters are avable, they will be able to construct Beeswax Golems.</em>


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened as he read over the description. For the first time, he was offered a Bee-type monster that wasn¡¯t a bee. The Tower¡¯s preview in his mind showed him what appeared as a humanoid sculpture made of beeswax that could move on its own or as directed by its creator. It was dotted with holes across its body that bees could fly in and out of, and he caught glimpses of glistening honeb within.


    ¡°Golems, huh?¡±


    He frowned for a moment. He didn¡¯t have a high opinion of golems, monstrosities built by mad mages that were said to go on rampages at the slightest provocation. But then he remembered that was just what the Tower Lords had told him and probably mostly lies. Neither Chief Rohsuak nor Tarwantrad seemed to be particrly disturbed by the idea so he was thinking golems were probably much safer than he had been led to believe.


    ¡°Either of you know anything about golems?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak shrugged.


    ¡°Only how to destroy them. They¡¯re tough and strong but inflexible, so once you have a handle on them they aren¡¯t hard to outmaneuver.¡±


    She nced around and smirked.


    ¡°That is, if they aren¡¯t being supported by an army of flying monsters, though.¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded.


    ¡°I am told as much regarding facing them as an opponent. As a dungeon defender, construct type monsters are a good way to make use of surplus resources, particrly for dungeons led by or home to expert crafters. Some of the Circle masters make heavy use of them for that reason.¡±


    Then she grinned as she nced towards the queens.


    ¡°It sounds as if you have plenty of both resources and crafters for this particr construct.¡±


    Belissar tried to keep his expression neutral as he looked to see how his bees were responding, though a small smile broke out on his face regardless. He saw the Apiary bees dancing about. The First of the Fifth noticed his attention and directed her dance to him.


    ¡°Make wax alive? Make fight for king?¡±


    Belissar slowly nodded.


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    The Apiary bees¡¯ dances intensified at that. Belissar found himself nodding along as they discussed what this could possibly mean among themselves. Right now, he only used beeswax in the candles, so they had quite the abundance of the material. A greater surplus than honey, even. Those stockpiles could be a powerful resource for the tower if they could be converted into additional defenders. It would also enable the Apiary hives to directly contribute to the bee army.


    And the more he thought about it, the more he liked it. A key feature was that these were constructs, not living creatures. They could be repaired if destroyed or reced as necessary¡­and so they could take blows that the bees and the karnuq could not. They would provide Belissar¡¯s Tower with a defender that he wouldn¡¯t mind cing in harm¡¯s way and so would reduce the risk to both the bees and the karnuq.


    That made them appealing indeed. But they were but the first option offered, so Belissar moved on.


    <em>Monster Leafcutter Bee</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minimal+</em>


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minimal</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minimal</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Bite</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 1</em>


    <em>Description: A leafcutter bee that has umted enough Nature mana to be something more. Its sharp mandibles can give painful bites along with its stings. Its habit of creating nests with Nature-mana imbued leaves can increase the Nature-mana density of an area.</em>


    Belissar rubbed his chin. Anothermon bee monster thatcked brood mother or brood offspring, so would be separate from the monster bee hives, like the carpenter bees. This one didn¡¯t seem to have an obvious use for battle or crafting like the carpenter bees did, so he wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. There was that part about increasing Nature mana, though, so perhaps that would be impactful somehow?


    He was about to ask about it when he saw Tarwantrad smirking.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I rmend you hold off on this one for now, Belissar.¡±


    Belissar nodded. He probably wouldn¡¯t have chosen it anyways, unless it had turned out that Nature mana thing was particrly important. None of his bees were particrly interested since it wouldn¡¯t interact with their own hives¡­save the Fourth of the Seventh who seemed to dance happily whenever he read any option. In any case, he decided to trust Tarwantrad and moved on to the final choice.


    Another queen.


    <em>Butcher Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Minor</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Minor</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Bite, Brood Mother, Command Offspring</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 20 (10 with Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Description: A vulture bee that has umted enough mana to be something more. No longer content with scavenging the dead, this bee¡¯s sharp mandibles shred through living flesh to gather sustenance for the hive. A swarm can pick a body clean in minutes¡­whether dead or alive. This one is a queen, and capable of building a hive of butcher bees.</em>


    Another queen that put the monster in monster bee. Belissar pursed his lips. So¡­there were apparently bees that ate meat, even before bing monsters judging by the description. These were what happened when said bees became monster bees.


    Well, frightening though they may be, Belissar did not doubt they could strengthen the Tower¡¯s defenses, particrly as they were a type of queen. Even the workers had scary-looking mandibles specifically for cutting into flesh, so Belissar could only imagine what a butcher bee soldier might look like. Since the bumblebees had raised soldiers, he knew at least that option should apply to these as well, though he wasn¡¯t sure about the others as the bumblebees hadn¡¯t raised any other variants just yet.


    Of course, like the bloodsucking bees he had once seen, there was the all important question of how he would feed meat-eating bees. The karnuq were hunting in the Underway on asion to supplement their diet, but otherwise the Tower had no innate supplies of meat. Unless he sent the butcher bees out to hunt? Would that prove sufficient?


    ¡°Belissar, are you concerned about the food supply?¡±


    He was brought out of his thoughts by Tarwantrad¡¯s question.


    ¡°Forgive me for assuming but I did not recall seeing any animals besides bees during the tour.¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, the karnuq hunt the Underway a bit but I don¡¯t know if that would be enough to feed entire carnivorous hives¡­¡±


    She smiled at him.


    ¡°In that case, please be aware that we can assist with that. If you decide to choose these bees and need a food source, let me know and I¡¯ll arrange an appropriate boon for you. Ah, to be clear, that goes for the other choice as well. As I mentioned, there are Circle masters with an interest in constructs who would likely want to take a look at those golems, so if you select those they may have boons and knowledge that would go well with them.¡±


    Belissar smiled.


    ¡°Thanks, that helps a lot.¡±


    Indeed, it did. If Tarwantrad and the Circle could provide a food supply, then he could consider the butcher bees as a real option. The only question was, then, which of the options would help his Tower most?


    Before deciding, however, there was one final choice to consider. Belissar brought up the perk choice.


    <em>Please select a perk:</em>


    <em>- Enhanced Toxins (Rarity: Common)</em>


    <em>- Hardened Wax (Rarity: Common)</em>


    <em>- Alluring Honey (Rarity: Umon)</em>


    Belissar pursed his lips again. All repeat options, this time, and all fairly straightforward, though he read the descriptions for Tarwantrad and any queens that weren¡¯t there thest time he saw them. In addition¡­they had new monsters and features to go along with them this time. Hardened Wax, for example, didn¡¯t have much use previously besides strengthening the hives¡­which no shade would reach unless the Tower¡¯s defenses had already been defeated. Now, though, there was an obvious benefit if he selected the beeswax golem, as he imagined said perk would make them tougher.


    Enhanced toxins had even more to rmend it. Not only did all his bees have their stingers, his Tower had recently received several new sources of poison. Juosiutik was now producing deathcap poison for the karnuq hunters, a new type of especially venomous bee had evolved from said deathcaps, and the flowers from Urubran and Nenavann released toxic smoke and mist respectively. Plus, said feat would potentially make his Sticky Honey Traps and the Beeswax Candles more effective as well. Now that he thought about it, almost every defense he had would be improved by this perk.


    Belissar turned it over to the others as he thought.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    The Firstborn replied first.


    ¡°Enhanced Toxins¡­help all bees fight?¡±


    Belissar nodded and she saluted. She danced no more but Belissar could tell she was interested from the way her legs kept twitching.


    Belissar nced to the Apiary queens and found them having another dance off. He was a bit surprised at how many of them liked Enhanced Toxins, given their earlier interest in the wax golems. In the end, the First of the Fifth simply saluted.


    ¡°Whatever King decides!¡±


    Well, this time she had danced that after in-depth consideration by the queens, so Belissar could only nod and ept it. He turned to Chief Rohsuak, who had her expected ¡°you pick¡± smile. She did shrug and speak up this time, however.


    ¡°You know which one Juosiutik would like. She¡¯d probably be interested in the wax golems too, if just to store more honey.¡±


    Belissar made an amused smile at that. Finally, he turned to Tarwantrad.


    ¡°Any advice?¡±


    Tarwantrad furrowed her brow for a bit.


    ¡°In the end each dungeon is unique so please consider your own circumstances first and foremost. That said, your and my dungeon both make heavy use of toxins in our defense, so that perk would maximize the benefits you would receive from our exchanges. I would select that one, were I in your position.¡±


    Belissar nodded.


    ¡°I was thinking that too. Thanks for the advice.¡±


    Tarwantrad smiled at him. Then, Belissar made his choices.


    <em>Beeswax golem spawner is now avable. Wax producing Bee-type monsters may now construct beeswax golems.</em>


    <em>Enhanced Toxins selected.</em>


    A new queen type was tempting now that he knew he could feed them, but that would just add another type of hive to the Tower. Beeswax golems, on the other hand, added an entirely different type of defender, as well as another method by which all of his existing hives could fight. It felt to him like the more impactful option, and the one his bees were more interested in to boot. Plus, a defender that Belissar could put in harm''s way in ce of the bees or the karnuq was not one he could give up.


    He considered Hardened Wax to go with them, but Enhanced Toxins was just too good to pass up this time. Tarwantrad¡¯s rmendation was the final assurance he needed that he was making the right choice. Besides, even if Enhanced Toxins wouldn¡¯t help the golems, he figured they wouldn¡¯t be hurt by poison either, so he could use them to fight around the Vapor Hemlock or beeswax candles.


    He smiled as all the bees broke out into happy dances¡­and then blinked as Tarwantrad did as well.


    ¡°Your bees are going to build golems! That¡¯s¡­that¡¯s¡­that¡¯s going to be adorable! You must let me know when they start!¡±


    Belissar smiled again. He was looking forward to that one, too.

 Side Story 203.1 - The Best Laid Plans of Non-Bees

    Side Story 203.1 - The Best Laid ns of Non-Bees


    With the victory celebrated and the choices made, the time came for everyone to depart for the night. Belissar turned to Tarwantrad after dismissing the queens back to their hives.


    ¡°So¡­I should inform you about purifications, huh? Both when we start and when we finish?¡±


    Tarwantrad nodded with a serious expression.


    ¡°Indeed. If you are willing to have me there, I would even join you for the purifications. I will not let your tower fall.¡±


    Belissar blinked at that for a moment before tilting his head as a question came to his mind.


    ¡°What about the daily purifications?¡±


    Tarwantrad stiffened.


    ¡°¡­<em>daily</em> purifications? As in¡­you face a purification like this¡­<em>every day?</em>¡±


    Belissar waved his hands as he shook his head.¡°Ah, no, not one like this. One of the smaller ones, you know, the ones the Tower makes us do once a week but that we can do early? We do one of those every day, they aren¡¯t as dangerous since they¡¯re smaller and don¡¯t send anything new at us that I¡¯ve seen.¡±


    Tarwantrad¡¯s expression remained stiff.


    ¡°I¡­see. Belissar, if I may ask, how long has it been, then, since you¡¯ve be a Tower Keeper?¡±


    Belissar paused, tilting his head once more.


    ¡°Huh, I¡¯m not sure, actually. I haven¡¯t really been keeping track. It¡¯s definitely been longer than a month, maybe a couple? The seasons don¡¯t change in the Tower so it¡¯s hard to tell.¡±


    Belissar blinked as he found Tarwantrad gaping at him. He was trying to think of what more to say when she closed her mouth and ttened her expression.


    ¡°I see. In any case, no, I don¡¯t think it will be necessary for you to inform me about the daily purifications if you have been handling them without issue thus far. Do inform me about anyrger ones, however, or even if one of the daily ones causes you concern. I will help you however I can, Belissar, and if need be the Circle will as well. Do not forget that our people¡¯s future depends on your tower¡¯s survival.¡±


    Belissar blinked once again before slowly nodding.


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll let you know if anything happens. And¡­uh¡­thanks, Tarwantrad. I appreciate the help.¡±


    Her face softened back into a smile at that.


    Tarwantrad walked through one of her gardens under the night sky. She furrowed her brow and rubbed her chin, muttering to herself. She hardly paid attention to where she walked but roots and vines seemed to move themselves out of her way.


    Belissar had proved far different from what she first assumed from the tour. Many of her and Urubran¡¯s takes on his dungeon had just been proven wrong, or else inurate in magnitude. The most concerning of which was the sheer danger Belissar faced.


    Daily purifications. <em>Daily</em>. Belissar¡¯s dungeon was purifying so much Hunger that it could manifest a purification every single day. The dungeons of the Circle did so once a <em>month</em>, if that. They channeled their power through the Compact¡¯s wards to protect the entirend of the fair, and yet did not face that level of assault outside of emergency situations. Tarwantrad trembled when she thought of what those situations might trante to for Belissar¡¯s dungeon. And all that on top of not only being rejected, but actively attacked by his own people.


    And yet, Belissar had survived. Not only that, his dungeon was far younger than Tarwantrad had assumed, and yet had still survived. That, along with his handling of the dungeon¡¯s purification rewards, painted him in a different light from her first impressions. His achievements grew far greater and his ws much lesser in light of the far shorter time frame in which they had urred.


    Additionally, the council he had held afterwards revealed that the dungeon was not as monster-led as Tarwantrad and Urubran assumed. Belissar had been clearly inmand, the bees hung on his every word while the karnuq deferred to him in dungeon matters. He had done his utmost to listen to all the defenders of his dungeon and take their opinions into ount, yet he had clearly been the one making the decisions in the end, and setting forth the direction the dungeon would take. She had wondered whether the efforts the bees were making had been them taking matters into their own hands, but now it seemed they were striving to achieve Belissar¡¯s vision with their own efforts. Belissar was simply not micromanaging them at that level, giving them room to grow on their own.


    Tarwantrad wasn¡¯t sure whether to be worried or relieved. Belissar faced far greater danger than she had assumed and she could not help but fear what may befall his dungeon in the future. Yet, Belissar turned out to be a more capable leader than she had feared and had achieved much in the face of adversity greater than any master of the Circle could imagine.


    That gave Tarwantrad hope. Hope that not only would Belissar be able to adapt and survive, but that he wouldn¡¯t need to change who he was to do so. That he could remain the man who built Belissar¡¯s Beehouse while leading a dungeon strong enough to endure what the Hunger and the world would throw at it.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    She stopped pacing about, her expression loosening even as she clenched her fist. She nodded to herself.


    And from now on, he wouldn¡¯t have to do it alone. Not if she had anything to say about it.


    Second Queen Berbiya resisted the urge to rub her temples.


    ¡°We have been over this, Penaseconza. We cannot reach out to the Sacred Den Master¡¯s enemies because they are innately hostile to our people.¡±


    Third Queen Penaseconza scoffed.


    ¡°So we have been told, solely by the servants of the Sacred Den Master. Hardly a credible source in this matter.¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya held her retort. Letting herself get drawn into yet another heated argument would cause this day to end as many before it, with raised tempers and zero progress towards an actual decision. Instead, she let the third queen smirk all she liked while she herself organized her thoughts. Indeed, if she thought clearly, Third Queen Penaseconza had a point. The only thing they knew about the supposed invaders was what Chief Rohsuak had told them, and she would be clearly biased about the enemies of the Sacred Den.


    So, why then did Berbiya feel the way she did on the matter? And how precisely should she convince the others of her opinion.


    Penaseconza frowned.


    ¡°Hello? Berbiya? Don¡¯t tell me the obvious truth has shocked you into silence?¡±


    Berbiya spared her a nce before looking around to make eye contact with her fellow queens.


    ¡°No, you are right.¡±


    The sheer shock on Penaseconza¡¯s face was almost worth that admission on its own. But Berbiya had bigger things on her mind, like the future of her people.


    ¡°It is true that we know nothing of these supposed attackers and cannot trust what the Sacred Den has to say on the matter. I will admit as much. But it does not matter.¡±


    Penaseconza frowned, but Berbiya turned to the First Queen instead. The First Queen held her gaze for a moment before motioning for her to continue.


    ¡°Our istion is broken now, whether we like it or not. We cannot afford to remain uninvolved any longer, even if we attempt to hide ourselves the Sacred Den Master knows of our existence. If and when these attackers return for the Sacred Den Master, we will have to make a choice.¡±


    Penaseconza crossed her arms.


    ¡°Does it? What does their fight have to do with us?¡±


    Berbiya now gave the third queen her attention.


    ¡°Because, even assuming Chief Rohsuak lied about their opinion of beastkin, they are at odds with the Sacred Den Master with whom we have an agreement. Once their hostilities resume and both sides are aware of us, both sides will want us to take a side, will attempt to force us to do so, and will fault us if we do not. Should one side prevail over the other while we remain on the sidelines, they will then turn their attention to us and it will not be favorable. Or worse, what if the attackers attempt to use our territory for their assault? If we did nothing to prevent it, that would break our agreement with the Sacred Den Master, who would thus be free to do as he pleases with us should he survive. Or what if the attackers prevail and take ourck of support for tacit allegiance to the Sacred Den Master? We <em>must</em> make a choice, lest it be made for us. And the earlier we make that choice, the better prepared we can be for the consequences, and opportunities, that may result.¡±


    Penaseconza fell silent. The First Queen furrowed her brow.


    ¡°So, if another assault urs we could bemitted to one side or another regardless of our intentions.¡±


    Berbiya nodded. The First Queen rubbed her chin before letting out a sigh.


    ¡°Second Queen Berbiya is correct. If we will bemitted regardless of what we do or don¡¯t do, then isting ourselves from a conflict is no longer an option. Our best course of action is to decide whose side we will take, prepare ourselves for that eventuality, and do our utmost to ensure our chosen side¡¯s victory. The question then is¡­whose side should we take?¡±


    A Tower rose in the middle of the smoldering, charred remains of a forest, surrounded by tents on the ground and flying reptiles in the air. Deep within, in its very core, Lord Starami stood, d in dragonscale armor. His simrly d Tower Guard stood at attention, surrounding one very despondent man kneeling on the ground. Lord Starami ignored him as he passed through a newly built shortcut straight to the exit.


    He made his way to his tent, pausing for barely an instant at the sight inside. He managed to control his expression as he made his way into the tent, greeting the unexpected guest sitting on <em>his</em> throne.


    ¡°High Councilor Stadvolous. I did not expect to see you out here.¡±


    The high councilor scoffed.


    ¡°Of course you didn¡¯t, Starami. The movements of the High Council are not yours to know.¡±


    Starami held his expression.


    ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure?¡±


    Stadvolous waved his hand as he took another sip of Starami¡¯s dwindling mead supply. His only constion was that Stadvolous paused after the sip.


    ¡°Huh, this is unexpectedly high quality. It even bears the hints of mana. Where did you acquire such a drink?¡±


    Starami¡¯s expression darkened.


    ¡°From the vige that fool burned.¡±


    Stadvolous shook his head.


    ¡°So yet another egregious failure on your part. I will have to make do with what remains, then.¡±


    Stadvolous then sneered as he ced the cup on a side table.


    ¡°But I am sure you grow tired of the reminders of your current position. So, rejoice, Starami. Circumstances are such that you have the opportunity to redeem yourself in our sight and bring such things to an end.¡±


    Starami narrowed his eyes but nodded.


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    Stadvolous steepled his fingers.


    ¡°Your failure nearly cost us everything. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to tell you what the sudden inspection of your affairs by the High Council meant for our designs, or the lengths we went to prevent such an oue? Even now, the High Council¡¯s gaze is fixed upon you.¡±


    Starami frowned and nodded silently. Stadvolous then slowly rose to his feet with a smile.


    ¡°But therein lies your opportunity. We have confirmed the High Council¡¯s gaze is fixed <em>entirely</em> upon you at present.¡±


    Starami raised an eyebrow slightly. Internally, however, the dots began to connect in his mind. High Councilor Heigiosa spent all her time chasing the gods above, while High Councilor Rippotis thought of nothing but war. He was now leading a war that the gods themselves had directly intervened in. It was a miracle neither high councilor had insisted on leading the effort themselves.


    ¡°I see. So, you wish for me to keep their attention?¡±


    Stadvolous smirked.


    ¡°I am d you still possess some wit about you. Indeed, you have made good time thus far. It would be suspicious for you to linger now and we need updates for them to hear, so you cannot slow your pace. That does mean, however, that you will reach the edge of the rogue Towers you have scouted before we are ready. You must find a way past the sea of the Hunger by the time you do, so that you can continue to make active reports to the High Council past that point. And if you manage to arrive at your destination after all, you must ensure the situation bes asplicated and drawn out as possible.¡±


    Stadvolous¡¯s smile turned slimy.


    ¡°<em>If</em> you manage to survive and <em>if</em> you manage to hold their attention long enough, then perhaps you might still be of use to us, enough even to justify our efforts in keeping you around. So do try not to disappoint me again, Starami.¡±


    Starami narrowed his eyes as Stadvolous took yet another drink of his mead.


    ¡°As the High Councilmands.¡±


    Stadvolous gave him another smirk at that.

 Chapter 204: Dangerous Bee-velopments?

    Chapter 204: Dangerous Bee-velopments?


    The next day, Belissar started his newest routine of checking on the Heart of the Forest, watering it from the nearby pond and creating some mana honey to feed it. It hadn¡¯t sprouted just yet, but the gardeners hovered overhead assured him it was growing well.


    After that, he set to the task of reviewing his rooms and floors. He now had a brand new floor to deal with, as well as an additional room slot for each of his floors. He figured he¡¯d check the whole set up in case he wanted to rearrange anything.


    The first floor held the Dirt Tunnels, Fairy Grove, and Lava Field that were meant for fighting. The second floor started with the battle meadow, then held the Lava Field where the burning bees lived and the Fairy Grove with the nexus door to Tarwantrad¡¯s dungeon. The third floor was the Orchard room with all of the shortcuts, as well as the Fairy Grove where the chromatic bees lived and the Apothecary¡¯s Hut forck of any better spot to put it. The fourth floor was the karnuq¡¯s, with a Flower Meadow, Orchard, and Dirt Tunnels holding all the resources they needed. The fifth floor held the Apiary, a Dirt Tunnels for the digging bees and subterranean resources, and the bumblebee¡¯s Flower Meadow where the Heart of the Forest was nted. The new sixth floor was currently empty.


    The first thing he did was move the Apiary floor up to the sixth floor so that it would remain by the core room, as he and the bees preferred. He left the empty floor as the fifth for now, not entirely sure what he¡¯d use it for just yet.


    He then considered moving the battle meadow back to the first floor and the Apothecary¡¯s Hut to the karnuq¡¯s floor, but decided against both. For the former, he realized he liked the battle meadow¡¯s ce on the second floor, as thest line of defense for the Tower, and would rather keep the first floor room slot open for addition defense-oriented rooms. For the Apothecary¡¯s Hut, the only person who needed ess to it was Juosiutik and she had a shortcut right in her home. Leaving a slot open on the karnuq floor, as well, would be useful in case he acquired rooms with new resources they might want.


    In the end, Belissar shrugged and left the rooms mostly as they were. With the shortcuts, all the rooms were essible to one another so it didn¡¯t matter all that much where in the Tower they were, save for those meant for defense.


    With that settled, it was time to consider new rooms. He ced a new Flower Meadow in the empty second floor slot, then lowered the elevation in the center of the room as much as he could while raising it around the edges. It was, not quite a crater, but there was at least a slight depression in the center of the room, creating downward slopes from all the edges.


    Then, in one of the corners of the room, he ced a pond with a lotus flower node at its center, a water stone node along its edge, and a mana flower node nearly on top of the water stones. He noted the mana from the mana flowers start to turn a darker blue whenever it drifted near the water stones, and water began to condense on the surface of the node almost immediately.


    Belissar nodded. With any luck, the room would flood soon and then maybe he¡¯d have a Lake or something simr. With how many fire shades the Hunger was making recently, a room like that could prove useful indeed.He held off on vapor hemlock for now, as he wanted to see what sort of room would result first and if it would be better for defense or resources. He reached up to brush Niobee on his head.


    ¡°Could you let the bees know about the new room? They should wait for it to flood before trying to build hives here, but they can definitely visit the flowers. Nenavann said the water stones might affect the flowers, so maybe they¡¯d find something new.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    On that point, Belissar finished up the room with a shortcut to the Orchard, which Niobee flew through right away. Belissar himself made his way to the karnuq floor to speak with Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik, meeting them in Juosiutik¡¯s home. She now had a simple table in the center which they could sit at. Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile as Juosiutik brewed them a simple drink with herbs and honey.


    ¡°So, Tower Keeper Belissar, how may we help you?¡±


    Belissar thanked Juosiutik as she handed him a mug as well.


    ¡°Have I told you two about the deal with Tarwantrad?¡±


    Both of them shook their heads.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re going to set up nurseries for the different flower types we have in our towers, then let the bees fly between them. We¡¯re hoping the gardeners will cross-pollinate and nt the different flowers so that we can each get some of what the other has.¡±


    Juosiutik looked a bit confused, so Chief Rohsuak interjected.


    ¡°She¡¯s the fairy from the banquet we recently held. The one dressed in flowers.¡±


    Juosiutik¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Ah, I remember seeing her! I wanted to ask her if she was a gardener or potion-maker of some sort, but¡­¡±


    Juosiutik nced away with a slight flush.


    ¡°I, ah, know I can get excited and I didn¡¯t want to upset a fairy¡­¡±


    Belissar let out a hum.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about potions, but I think yes on the gardener. Kind of, I think. She¡¯s a Tower Keeper like me but blessed by the God of Flowers instead, so she definitely raises a lot of flowers. She said she wants to speak with you sometime, actually.¡±


    Juosiutik¡¯s eyes widened with each word Belissar spoke.


    ¡°A fairy Tower Keeper¡­blessed by the God of Flowers? Who¡¯s going to share her flowers with us? We¡¯re going to get fey flowers?¡±


    Juosiutik began breathing heavily, twitching and taking a step towards Belissar before catching herself. Belissar hesitated a second but continued with a nod.


    ¡°Yes, I wanted to ask if you¡¯d be ok using your Apothecary¡¯s Hut as the nursery¡­¡±


    Belissar didn¡¯t finish before Juosiutik marched forward and mmed both her hands on the table, staring at him intently.


    ¡°YES!¡±


    Belissar blinked for a moment before chuckling with a smile.


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll let her know. Ah, I¡¯ll need to ask the gardener bees to nt whatever flowers are in the Tower that you might not have there¡­¡±


    Belissar was about to ask her if she was fine with that but assumed her intent stare and heavy breathing meant she was.


    ¡°¡­so I¡¯ll, um, ask them to coordinate with you on where you might want each kind of flower?¡±


    Juosiutik nodded repeatedly as fast as she could.


    ¡°Yes, please, do that.¡±


    Belissar smiled. He figured Juosiutik wouldn¡¯t have a problem with this, but he also didn¡¯t know enough about potion making to know if putting all the flowers in the hut¡¯s garden and then cross-pollinating them might mess with something she was doing. It was fortunate she agreed, however, as his avable mana reserves had dwindled quite rapidly. He currently didn¡¯t even have enough mana for a second Apothecary¡¯s Hut if she had refused.


    But since she was more than happy to amodate those ns, he could use what mana he had left for other purposes. He turned to Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°Thanks Juosiutik. Next, I¡¯d like to make a water stone node for the karnuq. Could you let me know a good ce to put it? It will start making water if it¡¯s exposed to mana, so you probably want to keep it somewhere without any if you don¡¯t want the area to get wet.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak made a huge grin, even as Juosiutik froze and then stared intently at him once more.


    ¡°My thanks, Tower Keeper Belissar. There should be plenty of suitable spots in the Dirt Tunnels, shall I guide you to one now?¡±


    Belissar nodded and the three made their way over, Juosiutik grilling him for as much detail on the water stones as possible along the way. Apparently, a theoretically endless source of water and Water mana had major implications for potion making on top of all the obvious benefits of water on demand for daily life. Chief Rohsuak herself seemed to have a spring in her step even as she tried to calm Juosiutik down. She gathered Muuraqi and the karnuq miners along the way, so that they could immediately begin gathering the stones as soon as Belissar ced the node.


    With that finished, Belissar¡¯s mana was just barely above the single digits. Despite now having abundant room slots, there wasn¡¯t much more he could do until they finished some more purifications. So, Belissar set that task aside and turned to another.


    It was time to talk to a certain gardener about her achievements in the name of flowers.

 POBee 204.1 - Bee Devoted?

    POBee 204.1 - Bee Devoted?


    The First of the Fourth¡¯s gardenernded by her moving flower as she usually did. The flower had grown well in the water and mana rich environment, which the gardener had supplemented with mana of her own. It was now bigger than her, or even a soldier bee, and toorge for her to carry on her own. Fortunately, it was perfectly happy in its present environment. It reacted to her presence, reaching out its vine branches to wrap around her before she evennded and guiding her to its newly bloomed flower. It was careful to keep her out of the way of its thorns, so she allowed herself to be caught and carried, dancing happily as she realized the flower had begun to produce pollen and nectar. Not only could the hive of hives now begin to forage nectar from her flower, she could start cross-pollinating it to see if she could raise more of them.


    Soon, the hive of hives might have a wall of moving flowers who could wrap up invaders with their vines. And they wouldn¡¯t be as careful about the thorns as this one was with her.


    She couldn¡¯t help another happy dance, which the flower responded to by wiggling its stem and branches.


    It was then that one of her fellow workers came zipping in.


    ¡°Gardener! Queen mother needs youe home! King asking for you!¡±


    The gardener frozepletely as she attempted toprehend the dance she had just witnessed.


    The gardener swayed about as she was carried back to the barracks. The flower had refused to let go of her, so she had instead convinced it to walk back with her. This had the unfortunate effect of giving her plenty of time to work herself into a frenzy, pacing about and buzzing her wings.


    But she couldn¡¯t help it. By the Queen of All Bees, the <em>King</em> had asked for her! The Conduit had checked up with her and thanked her for raising the new flower, so she knew she had done something important. But for the King to ask not for a queen but a specific worker¡­that was something else. To the gardener¡¯s knowledge, the only non-queens the King specifically acknowledged was Beero, queen of the fallen, and the Conduit herself.


    The Pond wasn¡¯t that far from the barracks, though, so she still hadn¡¯t epted the situation when they arrived. Her queen mother greeted her first and led her to where the King himself stood, smiling as bright as the sun. The gardener could not help but tremble.¡°Hi there, thanks foring. That¡¯s the flower you raised, right?¡±


    The gardener barely managed a salute dance, and the King¡¯s smile grew.


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect, actually.¡±


    The King then fell silent, leaving the gardener to tremble as she wondered what exactly was perfect. After a seemingly endless moment, the King turned towards her once more.


    ¡°What do you know about gods?¡±


    Gods? What <em>did</em> she know about gods? What could she, a mere worker bee, possible know about gods? But the King hadmanded and so she danced what little she did.


    ¡°Queen of All Bees leads Hive of All Bees.¡±


    The King nodded, clearly already knowing such obvious information.


    ¡°How about the God of Flowers?¡±


    The gardener froze. There was¡­a God of Flowers? A¡­Queen of All Flowers? Her mind went nk, but she still managed respond to the King¡¯smand.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t know.¡±


    The King thought to himself once again, no doubt considering countless unknowable thoughts the likes of which she could never imagine. At this point, the Conduit got involved as well, flying over to the King and dancing before him. The gardener tried not to look, for any dance between the King and the Conduit was far beyond her. She did, however, catch glimpses. Something about requests and being honored?


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The King seemed to have made some sort of decision and nodded to the Conduit. He then turned to her with an intense gaze that bore into her very soul.


    ¡°Raising a flower as you have is something the God of Flowers approves of. Would you be willing to devote your achievement and yourself to the God of Flowers?¡±


    The gardener¡¯s mind fell truly silent. These were matters of the King and the gods and she couldn¡¯t even begin to wrap her mind around them. She knew the King was requesting something of her and she longed to fulfill it. Yet, knowing herself, her limitations and her failures, she could not bring herself to salute until she knew what exactly he was asking.


    At that point, the Conduit flew over to her and began to brush her antennae, spreading soothing pheromones across her. She trembled at the Conduit¡¯s attention but at least her mind starting working again. The Conduit then began to dance.


    ¡°King asking if want to join Queen of All Flowers¡¯ hive, work for Queen of All Flowers!¡±


    The gardener now understood the request but was still equally confused.


    ¡°But¡­part of hive of hives. Have to leave hive of hives? King¡¯s hives? Queen mother¡¯s hive?¡±


    The Conduit, however, danced the negative.


    ¡°Part of both! Work for Queen of All Flowers, then Queen of All Flowers helps gardener work for hive of hives! Like how hive of hives is part of Hive of All Bees!¡±


    The gardener slowly danced an acknowledgement as she started toprehend. That made sense. She was part of her queen mother¡¯s hive and worked for her, but was also part of the hive of hives and worked for the King, so also working for the Hive of All Flowers seemed reasonable. She had but one other question, though.


    ¡°But¡­why me? Other bees better?¡±


    The Conduit tapped on the flower she was resting on.


    ¡°Not! Gardener raised new flower, moving flower! Flower one says Queen of All Flowers likes!¡±


    The gardener wasn¡¯t sure about that but she did realize something. She knew now, at least vaguely, what the King was asking of her. And if the Queen of All Flowers liked raising flowers¡­well that was one task she had not failed in. She looked down at the flower below, still holding her in its vines. It wiggled about, opening up its flower to show her its nectar and pollen.


    Indeed, this was the one deed of her life that she felt no shame about. So¡­whether or not she was the best bee for this task, she at the very least that she <em>could</em> make a reasonable effort. And as long as she had a reasonable chance of sess, no bee would deny the King.


    She danced a salute.


    ¡°As Kingmands, will do best.¡±


    The Conduit danced happily while the King smiled at her. Even her queen mother danced.


    ¡°Proud of gardener! Fight for King!¡±


    The gardener could not help but break out into a happy salute dance at that.


    The King led the gardener and her flower to the Shrine of All Bees, and pointed out the giant flower with a container in its center.


    ¡°This is the God of Flowers¡¯ part of the shrine. From what we know, you should offer something to the chest, then pray to the God of Flowers and offer to devote yourself to her. The offering should be something you did yourself, and preferably rted to your achievement.¡±


    The gardener danced her acknowledgement. Something she had done herself, rted to her achievement? Well, there was only one thing that fit that. She looked down at the flower still holding her and danced to ask if she could have some of its pollen and nectar?


    The flower responded by rubbing her into its center, coating her in pollen. She scrambled to her feet and began packing the pollen into her pollen baskets until she had a full pair of pollen pants, as much as she could carry. She then extended her proboscis down and drank deeply of the nectar, filling up her honey crop.


    At this point, the flower released her and she took off into the air, flying towards the giant flower. She caught sight of the Queen of All Bees¡¯ statue and slowly came to a halt.


    Was she abandoning the Hive of All Bees to join the Hive of All Flowers? She hadn¡¯t thought about it before, the Hive of All Bees was a given for a bee so it hadn¡¯t even crossed her mind.


    But the Queen of All Bees¡¯ statue began to glow faintly with warm light, shining behind the gardener. She turned back to see the King and Conduit watching her, as well as her flower. Her flower swayed about unsteadily as she paused and hovered in ce. She fixed her gaze on her flower, recalling the efforts it took to raise it and how she felt when it had bloomed and begun to move.


    She turned back to her destination and flew forward without any further hesitation. She deposited as much of the pollen on her body she could scrape off, followed by the contents of her honey crop. She flew out of the container andnded elsewhere on the flower, beginning to dance.


    ¡°Queen of All Flowers, want to join Hive of All Flowers. Will work hard for Queen of All Flowers, please help protect hive of hives, queen mother¡¯s hive, and flower.¡±


    She had barelypleted the final step of her dance when the giant flower suddenly burst into blinding light.

 Chapter 205: Bee-vine Blessing

    Chapter 205: Bee-vine Blessing


    The light faded and condensed into the form of a bee made of purple light that danced before the gardener¡¯s eyes.


    <em>The Queen of All Flowers invites you to the Hive of All Flowers. If you wish to ept, please select one of the following blessings:</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Gardener</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Druid</em>


    <em>- Blessing of the Herbalist</em>


    <strong><em>- Blessing of the Floral Druid</em></strong>


    Once again, the gardener¡¯s mind went nk.


    Belissar smiled even as he shielded his eyes from the sh of light. In his experience, that was generally a good sign. However, the light faded¡­and nothing happened. The gardener stoodpletely still on the flower.


    Belissar¡¯s smile dropped as a minute went by without any movement from the gardener.¡°Is everything alright?¡±


    As soon as he spoke, the gardener buzzed her wings. She then spun around and zipped into the air.


    ¡°King! Queen of All Flowers asked to join Hive of All Flowers! Have to pick something called blessing! What that?¡±


    Belissar blinked for a moment before smiling. He lifted his hand and motioned for the gardener tond on it. It took some prompting and encouragement from Niobee but eventually the gardener did.


    ¡°That meant it worked. The God of Flowers is offering you some of her power, you get to choose what.¡±


    The gardener froze for a second before slowly tapping out a dance.


    ¡°Queen of All Flowers¡­offering power?¡±


    Belissar nodded, thinking to himself how to exin it.


    ¡°You know Chief Rohsuak, when she makes fire? That¡¯s from the God of Fire. Oh, and this is from the God of Bees!¡±


    Belissar held up his other hand and created a spell-bee. The gardener stared at it for a moment before bursting out into a rapid dance.


    ¡°Amazing! Incredible! Queen of All Flowers offering?!¡±


    Belissar smiled and nodded. The gardener did a happy dance.


    ¡°Amazing! Incredible! Can fight for hive of hives now!¡±


    Then she came to a sudden halt.


    ¡°Which one should pick?¡±


    Belissar considered trying to get her to pick herself¡­but that probably wouldn¡¯t work. He had tried when proposing she try for the blessing in the first ce, but Niobee had advised him otherwise. She exined that workers and soldiers weren¡¯t as independent as the queens, they were generally more beholden to their instincts and relied on their queens tomand them in any unusual situations. Even Beero had ultimately just been trying to fulfill her regr duties as a soldier bee. So, the gardener not only wouldn¡¯t mind beingmanded by Belissar in this instance but would prefer it since she had no context for these sorts of decisions.


    ¡°What choices are there?¡±


    Belissar furrowed his brow as she danced out the choices. The problem being¡­he didn¡¯t have much context for this sort of thing either. Gardener and Herbalist were simple enough, but druids weren¡¯t anything he had real knowledge of. He vaguely recalled mention of them as some sort of evil forest wizard ording to the Tower Lords. He suddenly very much wished he had asked Tarwantrad before doing this.


    But, well, he didn¡¯t want to make the God of Flowers wait. He had no idea how long they had to pick the blessing, after all, so he just sent a mental question to Chief Rohsuak. Apparently, ¡°forest wizard¡± was fairly urate as far as the karnuq were aware. Druids were some sort of magic user that focused on nature. Turning into beasts, growing andmanding nts, causing storms and groundquakes, that sort of thing. In that case, floral druid was probably one specializing in some sort of flower magic?


    He began to sweat as the gardener looked up to him, waiting for him to advise her, so he just said whatever came to mind.


    ¡°Well, you said you want to fight, right? Druid apparently does magic, like Beero I think, but more nature rted. Floral Druid sounds like its from the God of Flowers personally, and more flower magic, so that might be a good choice?¡±


    Belissar tried to keep his voice steady and avoid wincing as he gave his uninformed opinion on a matter no less important than the blessing of a god. Unfortunately for him, he was speaking to a bee, to whom his word wasw.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    She immediately saluted and then both her and the giant flower shed with light. Words streamed before Belissar¡¯s eyes immediately after.


    <em>Mission: Help one monster or sworn defender receive a Blessing of Flowerspleted!</em>


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    <em>Reward: </em><strong><em>One cross-perk choice!</em></strong>


    Belissar made a helpless smile as he shrugged. Well, he certainly hoped the gardener had picked a blessing suitable for her. Either way, though, her efforts had been acknowledged by the God of Flowers, so it would hopefully be a good thing either way.


    Belissar then rubbed his chin. It was a bit strange just to call her ¡°gardener¡± when she had gone and raised a new monster and been blessed by the God of Flowers,pleting <em>two</em> missions from the god for him.


    ¡°How would you like a name?¡±


    The gardener immediately froze once again. Fortunately for Belissar, Niobee began to respond in her ce.


    ¡°King! Gardener wants! Surprised King is offering!¡±


    Belissar smiled and shook his head.


    ¡°She shouldn¡¯t be. She¡¯s done some amazing things.¡±


    The gardener tried to start dancing but tripped. Meanwhile, Belissar began to think.


    Flowbee? He shook his head. Just jamming flower and bee together was a bit much, even for him. He figured he should at least try to think of a better name.


    ¡°How about¡­Frelis?¡±


    The gardener froze until Niobee began brushing her antennae, then began to dance slowly and carefully.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­Frelis? Have name? Like Beero?¡±


    Belissar smiled gently at her and nodded.


    A momentter, Frelis broke out into an extremely rapid and entirely incoherent dance. Belissar couldn¡¯t make out any steps, but he could tell she was happy at least, so he just chuckled and smiled. The flower Frelis had raised began wiggling about as well, while the First of the Fourth saluted Belissar.


    Eventually, Frelis grew tired from her rapid dance. So tired, in fact, that she returned to the Bee Barracks in the middle of the day to rest. Belissar was a bit concerned at that but Niobee assured him she should be fine.


    Belissar passed the good news along to Tarwantrad and thanked her for her advice regarding the God of Flowers. Afterwards, he headed back to the new flower meadow with Muuraqi. The karnuq offered him some of their water stones, but Belissar refused since he could gather some from the other node he had ced. The karnuq had then insisted to assist him with the gathering when he asked for mining tools, and he had epted the help.


    Soon, Belissar made his way back to his farmhouse with a new water stone and several jars. He channeled his mana through the water stone to fill the jars before mixing them with honey. He hoped that would result in enough mead to begin sharing with the karnuq and Tarwantrad, once he had finished offering the earlier batch to the gods.


    After that came the daily purification, just a couple of bird shades that couldn¡¯t make it past a wall of karnuq and sprayers in the Dirt Tunnels. Belissar ignored the other choices and chose the mana straight away. He invited Tarwantrad to join them for the celebration and the perk choice, which she happily agreed to.


    And so, once again, Belissar, the queens, the karnuq, and Tarwantrad gathered together. Belissar wasted no time getting right into it.


    <strong><em>Select a cross-perk (Bee/Flower):</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Nourishing Nectar</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Empowering Pollination</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Bee-caller Pheromones</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Nourishing Nectar</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Bee-type monsters receive a slight boost to all stats after drinking nectar</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Nectar possesses greater nutrient and mana density and can be processed into honey with greater efficiency</em></strong>


    <strong><em>- Honey is more likely to retain special properties from nectar</em></strong>


    Belissar didn¡¯t even have to look to know the First of the Fifth and the Apiary bees were dancing as he read out the description of that perk.


    Empowering Pollination and Bee-caller Pheromones were both repeats, though he read them out for those who weren¡¯t herest time. He still wasn¡¯t sold on Bee-caller Pheromones due to the increased aggression, but Empowering Pollination was worth reconsidering. After all, Tarwantrad¡¯s eyes sparkled as he read about it, and he could guess why. Between the new flower monsters and the defensive flowers Urubran and Nenavann both gave his Tower, the perk would be far more useful to him now than when he hadst seen it. He also wondered what the newly blessed Frelis might think of it, but she was still resting back home unfortunately.


    Belissar rubbed his chin. He had been certain he was going to pick Nourishing Nectar over the repeats after reading its description, but Empowering Pollination was worth considering in light of his deal with Tarwantrad. If his bees were visiting her dungeon and foraging from her flowers, then wouldn¡¯t this perk empower them? The boost to cross-pollination and flower growth would help both of them raise new flowers from each other¡¯s. The boost to flower stats would also grow ever more useful for his tower too as he acquired more flowers, and potentially flower monsters, from Tarwantrad.


    He nced over at her. Since this was a perk that could affect her as well, he felt he needed to at least check with her before deciding.


    ¡°Empowering Pollination would help you too, right?


    Tarwantrad, however, shook her head with a smile.


    ¡°It would be amazing for me, but it is something I would wish for my own dungeon. Its effects would be somewhat muted if limited to our nurseries. I appreciate you thinking of me, but this is choice that should be made for your dungeon first and foremost. A benefit for me is less important than your safety.¡±


    Tarwantrad then rubbed her chin.


    ¡°If you want my opinion as a fellow dungeon master, this perk is better suited to my dungeon, where flowers are the focus and pollinators act as support. You could certainly benefit from it, especially if you expand your flower options, but it ultimately targets supporting features for you.¡±


    Belissar nodded along. He then turned to the bees¡­and smirked slightly as he saw all of the Apiary bees fidgeting.


    No, he couldn¡¯t resist them in the end.


    <em><strong>Nourishing Nectar </strong>selected<strong>.</strong></em>


    Well, it wasn¡¯t only the Apiary bees¡¯ longing gazes. Tarwantrad¡¯s words about focused and supporting features struck a chord with him. Bees were the focus of his dungeon and nourishing nectar boosted the honey production on which they relied. More efficient honey production meant more bees, more queens and hives, and more evolved bees, all of which would substantially boost his tower where it counted most. Unless there was an urgent need for another perk, one that boosted honey was always worth taking.


    And, well, he¡¯d admit that he greatly enjoyed the cloud of zipping Apiary bees dancing about him as he announced the decision.

 POBee 205.1 - Bee-volving Efforts

    POBee 205.1 - Bee-volving Efforts


    The First of the Fourth zipped about in happy dances, giving in to her ecstasy. Her soldiers and even her workers paused their training andbor to join her as they all danced around a capped cell.


    <em>Named</em>. Frelis, one of her workers, was named by the King! The King considered one of her workers¡¯ achievements on par with the likes of Beero, queen of the fallen, or Velebee, who danced with the Queen of All Bees. Maybe even in the same dance as Niobee, the Conduit herself!


    Not even the mightiest of the spawner queens or their kin had managed to achieve such an honor. Neither the Firstborn who built the army, the Fourth of the Seventh who paved the way for the hive of hives, nor the First of the Fifth who fed half the hives and the King.


    And yet, it was one of her workers who had managed to do it, and to receive the blessing of the Queen of All Flowers to boot.


    The First of the Fourth finally finished her celebration dance and zipped out of the hive. This was a grand moment but she could not rest on herurels. She had to put in as much effort as her Frelis had. She had heard the Firstborn was figuring out a way to do just that, and she wouldn¡¯t miss it.


    The Firstborn¡¯s training had not gone as well as she had hoped. Oh, she had learned how to dive and evade well enough, but ultimately she was held back by her body. She wasn¡¯t, and would likely never be, as fast or agile as her soldiers. Her dives were slower and weaker, while her evasion was sluggish inparison. She had done enough that she might be able to participate in a fight, but not enough to contribute anything meaningful to it. There was no point in risking herself just to add a single substandard soldier to the army.


    So, she had considered what she could do that her soldiers couldn¡¯t. The one advantage she held over them that might be relevant forbat was her superior mana. Her mana reserves wererger and denser than theirs, and she had superior control over it as well. She needed as much to fulfill her job as both mother and leader of a hive of monster bees. She pondered now if these advantages could be useful on the battlefield.


    One obvious answer was Beero and her magic dances. But, in addition to the Firstborn not having joined the hive of the fallen, that was the battlecaster¡¯s area of expertise. Beero had specifically evolved for those dances and so the Firstborn wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d be any better at it. Additionally, those dances took time and focus. The Firstborn wanted to remain cognizant of the fight so she could continuemanding the army at the same time, so could not dedicate as much time or focus as the hive of the fallen could.


    Fortunately, the Firstborn had seen another application of mana on the battlefield, one that seemed to require far less time and focus. So, once again, she approached the karnuq. Particrly where the fighting one and one of the others were practicing, making stingers of fire and mana that flew off their weapons and collided into each other.It was natural for a monster bee to concentrate mana into her stinger and Beero had already made stingers of mana, so the Firstborn had high hopes that the karnuq could teach her their simr technique¡­


    The Firstborn, of course, was not the only queen looking for new ways to push the envelope. The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter was pacing about while the joint hives¡¯ workers prepared arge cell. Her partner queen had even returned to the hive and was overseeing the effort personally. The First Daughter wanted to break out into a happy dance at the chance to manage the hive together in person, but her concern for her partner queen took precedence.


    ¡°Fourth of the Seventh, sure about this?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh was as bold and confident as ever, but for once the First Daughter feltpelled to make sure her partner queen was making the right choice.


    ¡°But¡­queen mother said best for main queen of hive not to evolve with honey. Can¡¯t make other kinds of honey, all children be new bee type so can¡¯t raise others.¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh, however, lost none of her enthusiasm as she replied.


    ¡°Is fine! First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter is main queen!¡±


    The First Daughter¡¯s mind went nk for a moment before she began to dance her objections.


    This narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°No! Fourth of the Seventh is main queen! Leads hive, leads new efforts! Saved hive, saved children!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh stepped over and began brushing her antennae.


    ¡°First Daughter takes care of hive, raises daughters, directs workers! Better queen! Let me go scout! Couldn¡¯t have made hive without! Both can be main queen?¡±


    The First Daughter wasn¡¯t sure how to respond, though her feet seemed to carry her in a happy dance without instruction.


    ¡°Besides, new honey lets bees fly farther, faster! Beyond bigger now, and can scout flower one¡¯s hive soon! Evolving will let scout more ande back more!¡±


    The moment the First Daughter processed that dance she began dancing her agreement.


    ¡°Got it. Is good idea. Fourth of the Seventh should evolve, right away.¡±


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    And so, the Fourth of the Seventh crawled into the cell and curled up. The first of the room queens to attempt to evolve off of honey¡­


    Beero¡­wasn¡¯t sure what to think. All of the other queens were practically swarming in their efforts to do something new¡­and had specifically listed <em>her</em> achievements as inspiration. But while Beero was proud of her efforts and her evolution, she still did not consider herself a true equal to those queens, so she didn¡¯t know what to think of them trying to emte her.


    After all, she still couldn¡¯t do the job of queen as they could. She couldn¡¯ty eggs, and she couldn¡¯t even keep track of her hive without the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s drone blending the mana together. So, even though her hive was organized enough that the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s firstmuner had returned to her home, the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s drone was still here, always by her side so that she could perceive the workers donated to her.


    But Beero was a soldier of action, not a ponderer. So, rather than sit around trying to figure out what to think of the situation, she decided to act however she could. The queens were trying to emte her, so she decided to try and emte them in turn. She had no idea where to start onying eggs¡­but she just might on the mana-rted duties of a queen.


    So, she turned to the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s drone.


    ¡°Can teach how blend mana?¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s drone paused, and slowly began to salute.


    ¡°Can try.¡±


    If she managed to pull that off, she¡¯d be able to contact the rest of her hive directly. That ability might even improve her joint casting with her fellow battlecasters, so it was nectar and pollen with one trip. Additionally, it would allow the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s drone to return to his home.


    The thought of the drone not being there, constantly wrapping her mana with his, made her feel weird, as if one of her wings was missing again. But she had work to do so she ignored it and focused on the drone as he tried to exin what he was doing with the mana¡­


    The First of the Fifth paced back and forth a few more times before drooping her antennae. She drew herself up, and with a final swish of her abdomen to draw breath, began her dance.


    ¡°Third Daughter should coordinate with gardeners and dangerous one to manage flowers, prepare for cross-pollination with flower one. Second Daughter and Fourth Daughter, coordinate on wax golems. Second Daughter need to keep up honey deliveries, so Fourth Daughter should build first. Give first few to Second Daughter so can use for deliveries and start building own. Fifth Daughter need to expand honey production since Fourth Daughter will make more wax instead.¡±


    All of her children that shared her hive danced their salutes and set off on their assigned tasks. The First of the Fifth resisted the urge to buzz her wings. Once again, she had found herself with just too much to do.


    The flower one, an existence apparently on par with the King and part of the Hive of All Flowers, had offered her flowers for foraging¡­and cross-pollination. That was an opportunity the First of the Fifth could not possibly ignore, especially not after the Kingmanded the gardeners to fill out the danger one¡¯s work room with every flower the King¡¯s realm had avable.


    On top of that, there was thetest boon from the King, one that was revolutionary for the Apiary bees. They could now form moving hives out of wax, shaped in the image of the King. The Apiary hives¡¯ workers could now use their ability to create honeb to supply warriors to the soldier bee army, joining the fight more directly than they ever had before. Not only that, hives that could move themselves were absolutely perfect for delivering honey to all the hives that needed her assistance, which would free up her Second Daughter¡¯s hive to focus on other tasks. She could absolutely not dy the construction of those hives.


    On top of that was the continued need to supply honey to the other hives so they could raise soldiers and all their evolutions, and so that more queens could continue to evolve. Not to mention new flower types, new cross-pollinations, and the newly unlocked area of bee hybridization all of which needed to be explored and categorized.


    There were simply too many urgent, potentially revolutionary tasks for the First of the Fifth to address all of them personally. She had no choice but to leave some of them to her daughters if she wanted thempleted in a timely manner. And, ultimately, she had an additional task that she would leave to no other.


    With all of the other opportunities delegated, the First of the Fifth turned her attention to the entrance of the hive, and took a position as part of one of the honey processing lines. She could not get the taste of the Queen of All Bees¡¯ honey out of her mind. She could not stop imagining all of the possibilities thaty waiting in the art of honey. She <em>had</em> to resume experimentation on her honey producing methods.


    She had the honeypots, who could imbue more mana into honey than she thought possible. The King had recently modified <em>all</em> the flowers in his realm to produce higher quality nectar. She had the memory of the Queen of All Bees¡¯ honey and a spark of its mana remaining in her from even that tiny sip. She believed¡­no, she <em>knew</em> that it was possible for her hive to make a better honey than it currently was.


    She would not rest until she figured out how. The King¡¯s table deserved no less.


    And so, the First of the Fifth got to work.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 206: Blessed Bee the Contrite

    Hirkolos walked over to the karnuq apiary. One of the karnuq, Paisijik, smiled and waved him over once she saw him. He returned her smile and joined her as she checked on her hive.


    The bees had buzzed at him at first but a sh of mana from Paisijik had apparently calmed them down. He could thus now stand and watch as she checked the brood, smiling as he watched the worker bees crawl about and continue their tasks even as Paisijik lifted theirb. Paisijik finished up and then gathered the daily tray from the hive, breaking off a piece for him.


    He tried to refuse, but as usual she just shoved the piece into his hands and went about with her day.


    Hirkolos¡¯s gaze followed her to the rest of the karnuq vige. There, he saw the supposedly vicious beastkin assembling a vige not unlike his home. He saw them work and chat and walk about with smiles on their faces. He saw one of those giant bumblebees that tanked fireballs and knocked soldiers right off their mounts ying withughing children, tickling them as one climbed on top of it. He saw those soldier bees that stung soldiers and wyverns to death now working together to lift a beam of wood on top of the roof of a home.


    One Tower Lord took the honorable Tower Guard and set them to pige and burn viges. Another took vicious beastkin and monsters and used them to build a happy one.


    He thought of what might happen if the two should meet again.


    He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.


    The next day, Belissar found himself without any urgent tasks, so started to catch up on some previous ideas. He asked for the Third of the Third and brought her over to the karnuq. There, he put her in contact with Chief Rohsuak and Muuraqi, asking them to provide any construction materials she needed for her projects, in exchange for her help coordinating bee assistance for the karnuq¡¯s own.


    Just as he was leaving, though, he heard someone call his name.¡°Tower Keeper Belissar?¡±


    Belissar turned around to find Hirkolos slowly approaching him.


    ¡°Hi Hirkolos. Do you need something?¡±


    Hirkolos shook his head and then slowly knelt and bowed his head.


    ¡°Tower Keeper Belissar, would you ept me into your Tower?¡±


    <em>ept offer of allegiance?</em>


    Belissar blinked in surprise for a moment before breaking out into a smile.


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    <em>You have gained 1 sworn defender.</em>


    Hirkolos took another deep breath and kept his head bowed.


    ¡°Thank you, Tower Keeper Belissar. I swear I will protect the Tower that you¡¯ve built, and the home you¡¯ve made for your people.¡±


    Belissar gave him a nod before realizing that Hirkolos was still looking down and couldn¡¯t actually see it.


    ¡°¡­thank you.¡±


    Unsure of what else to say, Belissar decided to just extend a hand. Hirkolos nced at it for a moment before sping it. He let Belissar pull him to his feet and nodded, his resolve clear in his intense expression. £Ò


    Belissar was still trying to figure out how to respond when he caught sight of the karnuq apiary nearby and smiled.


    ¡°How would you like to meet the bees, now that you can talk to them? I¡¯m sure Velebee would love to speak with you.¡±


    Hirkolos blinked before his eyes widened.


    ¡°I¡­can talk to bees now?¡±


    Belissar just grinned and motioned for him to follow. The two made their way over to Velebee¡¯s hive, the queen immediately climbing out to greet them.


    ¡°Hive-Builder! What need?¡±


    Hirkolos¡¯s eyes trembled.


    ¡°I¡­I can understand her¡­¡±


    Velebee turned to him and then started zipping about.


    ¡°Nice one can dance now!¡±


    Hirkolos gaped, opening and closing his mouth several times without speaking as Velebee spun about in the air. Belissar chuckled¡­at least until Velebee started glowing.


    ¡°Queen of All Bees says nice one should pray at shrine!¡±


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Belissar blinked and then turned to Hirkolos, about to suggest they head over. He found Hirkolos trembling, the young man falling to his knees.


    ¡°I¡­I¡­received a mission from the gods?¡±


    Belissar blinked yet again. Well, that was new.


    ¡°I¡­see. Well, we better not keep her waiting. What do you need to do?¡±


    Hirkolos gulped.


    ¡°Just¡­pray at the Shrine of Bees? It can¡¯t be that simple¡­right?¡±


    Belissar thought back to his own missions before chuckling.


    ¡°You¡¯d be surprised.¡±


    After giving Hirkolos a moment to gather himself, Belissar led him to the room¡¯s Shrine of Bees. Hirkolos bowed before the shrine as Belissar gave him some room. The man had barely spoken a word when the shrine lit up like the sun.


    Belissar had already moved to shield his eyes, as he had somewhat expected this. The God of Bees had, several times, given him missions to pray at the shrine in order to hand him a reward. As for Hirkolos, the man had protected Velebee¡¯s hive from both shades and the rest of the humans on a long and perilous journey. In Belissar¡¯s opinion, he definitely deserved some appreciation for that.


    <em>A challenger has been fully blessed.</em>


    <em>Gained 20 DP.</em>


    As expected, the God of Bees shared that opinion. Hirkolos trembled as he knelt before the shrine.


    ¡°This is¡­I¡­I don¡¯t deserve this¡­¡±


    Belissar shook his head.


    ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, you do. If it weren¡¯t for you, Velebee wouldn¡¯t have made it here. That was the entire reason the God of Bees even sent you this way, you know?¡±


    Hirkolos didn¡¯t turn around or respond, but Belissar saw him slowly begin to nod.


    <em>A challenger has selected a blessing unique to your patron.</em>


    <em>Gained additional 10 DP.</em>


    Hirkolos slowly rose to his feet and turned around. He had a frown on his face but firmed his expression as he began to salute.


    ¡°I see. I¡­don¡¯t know know if I agree, but I promise as your Tower Guard and as a Bee-fender, that I will use this power to protect. As I always should have done.¡±


    Belissar found himself silently nodding along. He and Hirkolos agreed on one thing. This is what the Tower Guard should have been.


    Tyhgak leapt forward, thrusting out his spear. A full stinger made of mana wrapped around the tip and shot forward with a buzz, stabbing into the small shade ahead. A second shade pounced at him but he stayed light on his feet. Bee wings of mana formed on his back and boosted his speed as he dodged the blow, already moving out of the way so his fellow spearwoman could step in and strike. Just like the soldier bee squads did it, he thought with a grin.


    The spearwoman sighed.


    ¡°You¡¯re real lucky, aren¡¯t you, Tyhgak? We¡¯ve both been challenging for just as long, so why are you the only one with a blessing?¡±


    Tyhgak shrugged.


    ¡°Well, I was lucky Noigakkuq agreed to teach me about hers, Kypinnik. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get yours soon too!¡±


    Kypinnik huffed. One of the archers rolled his eyes.


    ¡°And¡­have you thought that maybe us three might also want some help with getting blessings?¡±


    Tyhgak blinked a couple of times.


    ¡°Oh¡­did you?¡±


    Kypinnik smacked her face while the archers nced at each other. The other archer shrugged her shoulders. Noigakkuq kept herself busy sniffing for more shades.


    ¡°He¡¯s always been an idiot.¡±


    The first archer sighed.


    ¡°True. Ok, Tyhgak, let me spell it out for you. Can you show the rest of us how you¡¯re doing all that?¡±


    Tyhgak gulped under his team¡¯s withering res.


    ¡°Oh, um, sure? I, uh, just tried to be more like the bees?¡±


    Kypinnik stared at him with half-lidded eyes.


    ¡°Details, Tyhgak. More like the bees <em>how</em>?¡±


    The second archer slipped away.


    ¡°I¡¯m asking Noigakkuq. If she could teach this idiot, she can teach anyone.¡±


    And so, the rest of Tyhgak¡¯s team started forming their mana into stingers as well. And since, like Tyhgak, they had also already received numerous partial blessings from their earlier challenges, it did not take them long. All would be forgiven when they prayed at the shrer that day.


    Toivenaq fidgeted as he stood before the Shrine of Bees, averting his gaze from the eyes of the bee statue.


    ¡°Are¡­you sure I should be here?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak raised one of her eyebrows.


    ¡°We¡¯ve spoken about this, Toivenaq. I cannot answer that question for you. Only you know if you are ready to devote yourself to a patron, and if your efforts were sincere. Only you can decide if you are satisfied with your work.¡±


    Her expression softened as Toivenaq frowned.


    ¡°I will say, however, that the shields you have made can block a strike from Metsaitti or a shade, so there is no question as to their usefulness. Likewise, those shields are now in use defending the patron god¡¯s tower, and allowed us to face a shade in ce of the bees. From an outside perspective, you have done well. Only you can say, though, whether that is enough for you. All I ask is that youmit to whatever decision you make.¡±


    Toivenaq slowly nodded and looked at the shield in his hands. It was not a particrly elegant piece of work. He had gotten it thinner and easier to handle than the thick bs of his first attempts, and managed to get it mostly straight. It still wasn¡¯t a match even for those aged antiques they found in the nearby ruins, but he could honestly say it was the best thing he could make right now.


    However, he couldn¡¯t help but remember his first visit to the Tower, when he tried to offer one of his grandfather¡¯s knives. He had barely had the chance to hold a hammer, so he thought nothing he could make would suffice. Likewise, he had been a poor hunter, brought on the hunts only due to the desperate needs of the n. He knew he could notpare to the others, either in terms of the quarry they could offer or the challenges they could ovee. He had thought that he had to do <em>something</em>, and that hopefully the god would bless him with the skills he needed.


    He had been foolish, and now he could not help fear that he had permanently offended their patron god. He had done what he could to make himself useful, but he had abandoned all thoughts of ever receiving a blessing. He was merely grateful he was allowed to live within the tower and benefit from its abundance, so tried to make the most of it.


    Chief Rohsuak had other ideas however, and had pointed out that it was the god¡¯s decision who to forgive and who to hold in contempt. Toivenaq was now willing to work on her behalf, to thank this god whose generosity enabled him to take up his ancestors¡¯ craft instead of stumbling about trying to hunt. The only concern was whether the god would even tolerate his presence¡­but as the chief said that was her choice, not his.


    So, he took a deep breath. All he could do now was submit to the god¡¯s judgment.


    He opened the chest and ced the shield within, then knelt before the shrine. He bowed his head, not daring to look up at the statue.


    ¡°Oh, God of Bees. Please forgive me for my earlier insult, I did not mean to offend you. I¡¯ve brought you something I made myself this time, I hope that what I¡¯ve made has helped you and your tower. I promise, I¡¯ll do whatever I can to defend your tower, whether or not you can forgive me. I just¡­wanted to offer you something I made. Please, ept this offering, and my apology.¡±


    Toivenaq gasped as he was hit with a sh of light bright enough to make its way through his close eyelids.


    The tenth person illuminated at the Shrine of Bees, in fact.

 Chapter 207: New Friend-Bees?

    Belissar froze and stood still as a flood of challenger blessed messages filled his vision. A quick nce with his tower sight showed him the Tyhgak¡¯s squad all cheering and ying around with mana wrapping around spears and arrows, while that one karnuq smith was kneeling before the Shrine of Bees with tears in his eyes.


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    Belissar tilted his head. With Hirkolos also receiving his own blessing, five people had received blessings today. Just enough to reach a goal Belissar hadrgely forgotten about.


    <em>Mission: Help ten challengers receive full blessingspleted!</em>


    <em>Reward: Rare Bee-type monster choice</em>


    Belissar slowly began to smile. He scarcely stopped himself from opening the choice then and there. Only his desire to share the choice with his bees and advisers held him back, he couldn¡¯t help but look forward to their reactions. Tarwantrad would be ecstatic.


    However, such things would have to wait, and not only for the convenience of the post-purification celebrations. At that moment, Belissar received an urgent message from the karnuq and bees watching the border with the sigmaka¡­


    ¡°You wish to form an alliance?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya nodded in response to Chief Rohsuak¡¯s question. The two were sitting a table set up just beyond the rot cap field, with Fourth Queen Pezuya and Metsaitti sitting next to their charges, and a soldier bee standing on the table itself.¡°We have considered your warnings about the invader that assaulted your Sacred Den. King Ratuatapi has decided he cannot stand idly by while you, our neighbors, are threatened. We are willing to lend you our aid should those invaders return.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak smiled.


    ¡°No doubt the Tower Keeper will be pleased to hear it. And you hope the we will reciprocate?¡±


    Second Queen Berbiya made a small smile as well.


    ¡°Indeed. King Ratuatapi hopes that we both will stand together against anyone seeking to threaten us. He also hopes that his warriors will be permitted to challenge your Sacred Den.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nced over at Fourth Queen Pezuya.


    ¡°I will have to confirm with the Tower Keeper, but I believe he will be agreeable to that, provided your warriors make sure not to harm any of the tower¡¯s residents.¡±


    Fourth Queen Pezuya scrunched up her face but nodded in the end.


    ¡°We will do as the Tower Keeper wishes.¡±


    Chief Rohsuak and Second Queen Berbiya then discussed some further details before breaking to report to their respective authorities.


    Belissar nodded repeatedly with a smile as Chief Rohsuak reported.


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±


    Belissar paused his nodding, however, as Chief Rohsuak furrowed her brow.


    ¡°¡­that¡¯s good, right? Is something the matter?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak sighed and shook her head.


    ¡°No, you are right, this is a good development overall. I¡­don¡¯t wish to damper your spirits, Tower Keeper, but I do feel I must warn you that a leader must consider every offer from all aspects, even if a good one.¡± ?


    Belissar frowned.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak crossed her arms.


    ¡°In this case, the sigmaka are offering to help you with your enemies, but in return they want you to help with theirs. Are you willing to send your forces to fight enemies that haven¡¯t attacked your tower yet?¡±


    Belissar was about to respond when he paused and started to imagine that sort of situation.


    ¡°Maybe? Hm¡­¡±


    The sigmaka¡­well, he didn¡¯t really know the sigmaka all that well when it came down to it. Besides their initial talks, Belissar hadn¡¯t interacted much with them. If they ended up fighting another group that Belissar didn¡¯t know, was he willing to send the bees and the karnuq into danger to help?


    ¡°Hm, could we just agree to help each other if the Tower Lords attack? Maybe the Hunger, but not people we don¡¯t know?¡±


    Chief Rohsuak nodded with a smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s possible. It will depend on if the sigmaka are willing to agree to a limited arrangement, but I will ry your preferences to them.¡±


    Belissar let out a sigh. Dealing with the sigmaka was always soplicated. Still, it was great that they were willing to help against the Tower Lords. Complicated situation or not, he couldn¡¯t help a small smile. Perhaps his Tower wouldn¡¯t have to face ten thousand Tower Guards on its own after all.


    As the sigmaka walked home, Second Queen Berbiya nced at Fourth Queen Pezuya. The fourth queen rolled her eyes.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Out with it, Berbiya, you clearly want to ask me something.¡±


    Berbiya decided to take that opportunity.


    ¡°Why did you support me on this?¡±


    Pezuya huffed.


    ¡°Besides the chance to put Penaseconza in her ce, you mean?¡±


    Now it was Berbiya¡¯s turn to roll her eyes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like me any better than you do her. I wouldn¡¯t expect you, of all people, to want to ally with the Sacred Den you wanted to attack, not even for that purpose.¡±


    Pezuya let out a deep, exasperated sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s my job, Berbiya, to protect our king and our people by eliminating anything that threatens them. I thought to eliminate a potential threat while we still had the opportunity to do so, but we discovered it toote. The Sacred Den was already too powerful for us to deal with, not unless all our people took up arms and paid a price in blood we cannot afford.¡±


    Pezuya stopped and turned to look Berbiya in the eye.


    ¡°So if an invader arrives who can threaten the Sacred Den? We will have absolutely no hope of resisting someone that powerful. They will then be able to do anything they want to us.¡±


    She let out a sigh and slumped her shoulders.


    ¡°At least this way, we¡¯ll have the chance to train some of our warriors, so that maybe we might have some ability to protect ourselves. And make ourselves even more dependent on the goodwill of a Sacred Den master, but what choice do we have? As it is, I cannot defend us even against the threats we know, much less any greater ones that might appear.¡±


    Berbiya did not respond at first, letting Pezuya¡¯s words hang in the air.


    ¡°Perhaps¡­if all goes well, you will not have to do so alone.¡±


    Pezuya scoffed, but did not object. The two walked the rest of the way home in silence, lost in their own thoughts.


    Since Chief Rohsuak wouldn¡¯t meet the sigmaka again today, Belissar put them out of his mind. Not that he could focus on much else besides the choice lingering at the edge of his perception. He hardly paid attention to the daily purification, and barely managed to wait through the celebration.


    But now, finally, he was gathered with the queens and the karnuq. Tarwantrad had regretfully declined to join them as she had a priormitment, but strongly requested Belissar let her know about the new bees as soon as possible.


    Tarwantrad or no, though, Belissar smiled as he nced around.


    ¡°We have a reward from the God of Bees, everyone.¡±


    The bees broke out into happy dances while Metsaitti¡¯s and even Chief Rohsuak¡¯s eyes widened a bit. Belissar <em>finally</em> got to open the reward.


    <em>Please select a monster:</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Dancer (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Berserker (Rarity: Epic, Type: Bee)</em>


    <em>- Monster Bee Assassin (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)</em>


    Belissar smiled at the sight of all rare options and even an epic¡­until he realized he could only pick one of them. He took a deep breath as heunched in to them.


    Monster Bee Dancer was a repeat but he was d to see it again. He still wasn¡¯t entirely sure what they did, but a bee type that made all other bees better could be a solid choice. Depending on what the other two were, that was.


    <em>Monster Bee Berserker</em>


    <em>Vitality: Average</em>


    <em>Strength: Below Average</em>


    <em>Speed: Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Small</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Death Blow, Swarm Rage, Fatal Regeneration, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier and evolutions</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee soldier evolution. This bee shows no mercy or restraint to enemies of the hive. Upon taking damage or seeing a fellow member of hive take damage, the bee willunch into a rage that will only end when the offender has perished, boosting its strength and the potency of its venom.</em>


    <em>Should this bee suffer fatal damage before the enemy has fallen, it will expend everything it has to ensure the enemy¡¯s demise. The bee will burn all its mana and lifeforce powering an immense regeneration that will keep it temporarily active after death and restore missing body parts even fromplete destruction. It will use this regeneration to repeatedly sting and rip itself apart, leaving as many stingers to continue pumping venom into its foe as its mana can regenerate. Every blow conducted during this rampage will be a death blow.</em>


    Belissar pursed his lips as he looked over the preview. The berserker was a bitrger than ancer, but where thencer was sleek and focused the berserker was bulky and thorny. Its chitin was jagged and angr, with sharp edges and points all over its body. Its stinger was heavily barbed with wicked hooks, made specifically to get caught in a foe. It also had huge, serrated mandibles and even its legs had sharp ws. This was bee made for battle.


    On the one hand, this was also a bee made to die. It took a bee¡¯s fatal sting to a new level and would only show its true power in its final moments. But on the other hand, what a power that was. This was without a doubt the most powerful individual bee monster Belissar had seen thus far.


    It was powerful enough that Belissar feltpelled to consider it even despite its self-fatal tendencies. This could be a powerful defender for his tower, and in the case where such a powerful defender was required, bees would likely die if he didn¡¯t have something like the berserkers. If he could steel himself to raise berserkers, every berserker that fell might save many more of their sisters if they took an invader with them.


    Still, Belissar did not like the idea of bees born to die, or encouraging them to do so. He could not help but pause.


    Well, he had one more option to consider first.


    <em>Monster Bee Assassin</em>


    <em>Vitality: Minimal</em>


    <em>Strength: Small</em>


    <em>Speed: Average+</em>


    <em>Magic: Minor</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Minimal</em>


    <em>Special: Below Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Concentrate Poison, Analyze Weakness, Death Blow, Brood Offspring</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier</em>


    <em>Description: A monster bee soldier evolution. This bee aims for maximum damage with a single sting. It carefully observes its prey with mana-imbued sight, seeking out weak points and blind spots. Once it has determined an ideal location to sting, it concentrates its venom, heightening its potency beyond other soldier types, so that even a single sting may prove deadly. Its stinger is also capable of stabbing deep to strike at vital points within, or puncturing holes through defenses that cannot be fully avoided.</em>


    <em>It avoids open confrontation if at all possible as it is quite fragile, though its speed and innate death blow mean it can still be dangerous even if caught.</em>


    Belissar crossed his arms as he looked over the assassin. It was actually a bit smaller than a normal soldier, with darker and duller coloring that didn¡¯t stand out as much. It had an erged abdomen for its size with a long and thin stinger, almost like a cross between ancer¡¯s and a medicinal bee¡¯s. It had unusuallyrge eyes as well that seemed to glow faintly with mana. It, perhaps, didn¡¯t paint as intimidating a picture as ancer or archer, much less a berserker.


    But perhaps that was the point? Apparently, they were supposed to try and attack enemies from a blindspot with a deadly poison. That would go along nicely with the Enhanced Toxins perk he had just taken, not to mention the new toxic bees. A toxic assassin that could concentrate its already deadly venom that was then enhanced by the perk sounded extremely dangerous indeed.


    So, the question was¡­which of these powerful options would be best for his Tower?


    Belissar took a deep breath¡­

 Chapter 208: The Kings Bee-solve

    Belissar put his internal conflict aside. First and foremost, he had to see what everyone else thought of the options first. As usual, he turned the question to the bees.


    The First of the Fifth conferred with the Apiary bees, but they had few dances this time.


    ¡°Dancers might help with hive? Bees sound good for army, should ask Firstborn!¡±


    The Fourth of the Seventh was apparently in the middle of evolving, so the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter spoke for the Apiary.


    ¡°Dancers aremuner evolution? Could help scouts!¡±


    Belissar nodded to acknowledge them and then turned to the battle meadow queens. Today, it was their turn to have an intense dance-off as they debated the merits of the three options. The Firstborn, however, noticed Belissar¡¯s attention on them and tried to summarize the viewpoints.


    ¡°All bees good. Dancers help existing bees. Berserkers make soldier army stronger, make sure bees don¡¯t die without fight. Assassins good for ambushes, find way around defense. Makes one sting dangerous if bees can¡¯t sting more.¡±


    The first digging queen, the Fourth of the Fifth, also flew forward to dance this time.


    ¡°Assassins good for tunnels, digging bees! Can sting from underground!¡±Meanwhile, the Third of the Sixth, the burning queen, flew circles in the direction of Chief Rohsuak.


    ¡°Karnuq queen is berserker? Want to be like!¡±


    Belissar¡¯s eyes widened and he turned to the karnuq.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good point, you were a zing berserker, right, Chief Rohsuak? Do you know anything about berserkers?¡±


    Metsaitti grinned. Chief Rohsuak rolled her eyes with a chuckle.


    ¡°A berserker believes that the best defense is a good offense. They devote everything to ferocious, all-out attacks meant to overwhelm the enemy, and so minimize the need for defense. They¡¯re excellent when you¡¯re ready tomit to the enemy¡¯s defeat and don¡¯t n to stop attacking until either you or the enemy is spent.¡±


    She then rubbed her chin and turned to the Third of the Sixth.


    ¡°Please note, though, that for me zing Berserker was just a nickname for the aggressive style I used in my youth. A monster with berserker in the name will be far more intense. If all you wish is for bees to imitate my powers, I can assist with that without a dedicated species. So, I would say if you choose the berserkers, choose them for their ferocity, strength, and contempt of death, not because of my title.¡±


    Belissar nodded at that. If he recalled, the Third of the Sixth was supposed to work with Chief Rohsuak previously. She had been busy, though, setting up her hive, especially after Belissar created the Lava Field for her, while Chief Rohsuak had to both help the karnuq set up and deal with the sigmaka. It sounded like it was time to revisit that idea now, though.


    Still, that left Belissar with a difficult choice, as there were bees that preferred each of the three options. First things first, though, Belissar needed to stop running away.


    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And then, he resolved to pick berserkers if he determined they were the best option. His dislike of that option was purely personal, and he knew it didn¡¯t make sense. He had soldier bees that were apparently <em>disappointed</em> not to be injured enough to join the hive of the fallen. He had the Memorial which specifically buffed bees about to die, a feature he received from the God of Bees herself. Even Tarwantrad, who seemed to love bees as much as he, apparently had bee predators in her own dungeon.


    He could not avoid bee death forever and might even increase it if he was excessive in his attempts to do so. Even a mundane beekeeper had to befortable with bee death. He saw dead bees all the time, he had to help clear out the dead when disaster struck a hive, and Mrs. Imkomos even taught him to personally euthanize an old queen when necessary, so that the hive could raise a new one and remain healthy. He was ever grateful his monster bees seemed far more resilient and he still intended to minimize sacrifice wherever possible. But still, he could not decline an option as powerful as this solely because of his own desire to avoid bee casualties. ??


    This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    So, he steeled himself, and then attempted to look at these choices with as objective an eye as he could manage, to pick the one that would be best for his Tower as a whole, regardless of how he felt about it. He imagined each one being raised by the hives, working and training with the hives and the karnuq each day, and fighting both shades and Tower Guards. He imagined different types that the different queens might raise, and how they would fight in different rooms. How they would work on their own and how they would work with the rest of the bee army, the karnuq, and the flowers he had and would receive.


    He made his choice.


    <em>Monster Bee Assassin now avable! Monster Bee Soldiers may now evolve into Monster Bee Assassins!</em>


    When he thought about the Tower as a whole, he felt that assassins fit into it better than berserkers. An issue with the Dirt Tunnels was that, until recently, there weren¡¯t enough digging soldiers to fight effectively on their own where the rest of the soldier bee army couldn¡¯t support them. The shades were allowed to pass through the entire room before any of his defenders intervened, because they couldn¡¯t do enough to justify the danger. Even recently, the digging soldiers had only managed to distract the enemy.


    But if they had assassins?


    A single assassin sting was dangerous. If the digging hives raised even a single assassin, they might take out a shade or a Tower Guard with a single sting to the foot. The battle could end in the Tower¡¯s first room.


    That then applied to every room in the Tower. A single chromatic assassin, or an assassin led by a chromatic bee, could stalk the Fairy Grove and sting an invader while they were confused. A burning assassin could use the distraction of smoke, ash,va, and ming boulders from the mini-volcano to sting in the Lava Field. And if he managed to make a water room with the vapor hemlock? Then assassin bees could hide in the already poisonous mist.


    There was the question, too, of assassin bees concentrating the venom of different bee types. How would toxic, maddening, or sedating assassins work? Would a burning assassin¡¯s venom burn even hotter, or a shocking assassin¡¯s turn into lightning? A question made all the more intriguing by the thought of what flowers he might receive from the Circle.


    Likewise, assassins could easily fit in with the rest of his Tower¡¯s defenders. They could join the soldier bee army with ease, slotting right into the soldier bee squad rotations, or hiding like the digging soldiers did against the spiky smander. They could hide amongst the karnuq to sting alongside the karnuq¡¯s spears. They might even be able to hide <em>inside</em> the new wax golems ording to the golems¡¯ description.


    And then there was the whole mana-sight finding weaknesses. Belissar wasn¡¯t sure how that worked¡­but couldn¡¯t they tell the other bees what they saw? In fact, couldn¡¯t the queens see whatever they saw thanks to themuners? If that¡¯s how it worked¡­then the assassins could also make the whole army more effective by telling the other bees where to sting.


    In contrast, the dancers made everything better, but Belissar still wasn¡¯t sure how much better. He wondered if he was missing something, but he felt he couldn¡¯t justify gambling on that vague description when the other two options were so powerful. This was a rare choice he received forpleting a mission from the God of Bees, he had to make the most of it.


    Then what about berserkers? There was no doubt they were powerful and the raw power they brought would serve the soldier bee army well. But, what Chief Rohsuak said stuck out in his mind. Berserkers were to be employed when he was ready tomit to the enemy¡¯s defeat, to have the bees start a ferocious assault that would not end until the enemy was defeated. When he tried to imagine what that would mean for a purification¡­he guessed that meant he wouldn¡¯t deploy berserkers until thest second. They would have to watch the shade and let either the other bees, the karnuq, or the new wax golems probe it to determine what sort of defenses and special attacks it had. Only once they were confident in bringing the enemy down could he deploy the berserkers, lest he send them something like the mass breath, lightning, or spine attacks previous shades had demonstrated.


    Well, he guessed he could also send the berserkers in first, since their death rampage would let them survive any special attacks long enough to deal damage back along with revealing what the enemy could do. But that would mean guaranteeing the death of powerful, evolved bees before he knew if they were truly needed or not. New resolutions or not, that was more sacrifice than Belissar could bring himself to make.


    So, berserkers would mostly be an option ofst resort, when Belissar was either confident in defeating the enemy, or if the enemy was too strong for anything else. The bee army or the karnuq would still have to face the enemy on their own before then, whereas assassins gave opportunities to defeat invaders before the battle got to that stage at all.


    Besides, his Tower had golems, bumblebees, and shield-bearing karnuq when they needed bulk; hadncers, archers, battlecasters, and Chief Rohsuak when they needed power; and had the Memorial¡¯s buff and bees¡¯ death blow skills when sacrifice was unavoidable. The berserkers were powerful indeed¡­but the bee army already had greater potential for sacrificial rampages than Belissar was employing.


    And, ultimately, even if Belissar would do what he had to in an emergency, he still intended to do all he could to prevent a battle from ever reaching that point.


    So, Belissar made his choice, still somewhat uncertain if he had let his emotions get the best of him or not, but at least convinced he had considered the options. The bees, at least, had no such doubts.


    ¡°Amazing, incredible, King is best king!¡±


    The Fourth of the Fifth immediately began a happy dance, soon joined by the Third of the Sixth and then the rest of the queens. Belissar chuckled and allowed himself to smile. Whether or not he had made the right choice, he¡¯d just have to make the best of it, and ensure his decisions went as well as the bees believed.

 POBee 208.1 - Bee-hold the Queen!

    POBee 208.1 - Bee-hold the Queen!


    As Belissar, the karnuq, and the bees all tucked in for the night, the flowers all across the Tower swayed in the calm nighttime breeze. The alfalfa Belissar had nted glowed with a faint green light as they condensed and processed all the sunlight and mana they had absorbed that day, passing it down into their roots. Mana and nutrients seeped out into the ground, enriching all of the nearby soil before being consumed by hungry seeds nted nearby.


    Some of the nutrients and mana also seeped into the greenwood mushroom mycelium entwined with the alfalfa¡¯s roots. Pulses of green light surged underneath the surface of the soil as the mycelium imed its meal¡­and then passed the remainder to other roots it had reached.


    Seeds sprouted, shoots grew, flowers budded and prepared to bloom as the levels of Nature mana rose within the soil. Purple and golden mana drifted through the air and condensed into the flowers that had bloomed, which began to drip nectar that shimmered in the moonlight.


    And in the bumblebee meadow, in the midst of all this mana passing through the soil, a single shoot with two leaves broke through the dirt. The mana that passed through its roots, stem, and leaves took on a slightly golden hint to its green color before passing back into the soil below¡­


    The First of the Fifth stoodpletely still as she attempted toprehend the sight in front of her.


    ¡°How?¡±


    Her ever diligent workers answered her rhetorical question.


    ¡°More flowers! Flowers gave more nectar! Nectar has more mana!¡±


    The First of the Fifth knew that thanks to hermuners but thanked the worker for the report nheless. It seemed that the King¡¯s ns hade to fruition and were now revealed to her. The gardeners had been diligently nting more and more of each kind of flower. Then the King had added new kinds of flowers: the alfalfa that made all others grow better as well as the bee balm which naturally produced more and better nectar. Then he added the mushrooms the flower one gave him, which were spreading the alfalfa¡¯s effects throughout the rooms, nourishing existing flowers while causing all the newly nted seeds to sprout and bloom far faster than predicted. And now, he had applied thebined powers of the Queen of All Bees and Queen of All Flowers so that each and every flower produced more, more nutritious, and more mana-dense nectar than ever before.The foragers had returned from their first trip of the day in record time,den with enough nectar for an entire day¡¯s worth of honey. When the First of the Fifth then factored in the better nutrition of the nectar and the honeypot bees¡¯ processing abilities, the resulting prediction for today¡¯s honey yield was <em>staggering</em>.


    They could bring the newest queens up to functional hives all in one go, give the Flower Meadow queens more than enough mana to fuel all the new evolutions the King had granted them, make another attempt at raising hybridized princesses, and still have more than enough to devote workers to making wax golems.


    And still have more than enough after all that for her to conduct her experiments in the art of honey making.


    The First of the Fifth snapped out of her fugue and immediately began dancing to the nearestmuner. Today would be a busy day indeed.


    The First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter barely registered her queen mother¡¯smuner dancing nearby. Yes, she had vaguely noticed a massive increase in honey production this morning, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. She and the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯smuner were currently pacing in front of a massive capped cell. The brood tenders assured her it would be soon and she could feel the upant¡¯s mana within, but still she could not help but worry.


    Then, a tiny crack formed on the cap. The First Daughter and themuner immediately rushed over to help open the cap.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Finally, the Fourth of the Seventh stuck her head out of the cell and climbed out, her evolution safelypleted. The First Daughter and themuner both crawled all over the Fourth of the Seventh before she had evenpletely emerged. They knew all had been going well, but after the Third of the Sixth¡¯s evolving experience they couldn¡¯t help but worry. Now, finally, they knew the Fourth of the Seventh was ok.


    It was only then that First Daughter realized she had crawled on top of the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s torso¡­which was nowrge enough to hold even her form with ease. She now took a good look at her fellow queen.


    The Fourth of the Seventh was now the size of ancer. The First Daughter buzzed her wings in surprise. None of the other queens who evolved off of special honey types had changed size, so this was unusual. The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s wings had grown evenrger than her body and wider as well, the First Daughter felt a slight breeze whenever the wings so much as twitched. Her eyes were equally massive, and her antennae had grown long as well, now as fuzzy as themuner¡¯s. The First Daughter saw the air distort from the dense mana pouring off those antennae.


    But all of that could wait. The important thing was, the Fourth of the Seventh was back, and fully evolved. The First Daughter gave herself to a happy dance, brushing against those big fuzzy antennae with her own. The Fourth of the Seventh soon began to dance as well, carrying the First Daughter around on her back.


    Belissar was just getting his morning started when the Tower began to prompt him.


    <em>A monster has evolved!</em>


    <em>Nomadic Monster Bee Queen is now avable!</em>


    Belissar blinked.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    <em>Nomadic Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Vitality: Small</em>


    <em>Strength: Minor</em>


    <em>Speed: Above Average</em>


    <em>Magic: Small</em>


    <em>Defense: Minimal</em>


    <em>Resistance: Small</em>


    <em>Special: Above Average</em>


    <em>Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Store Eggs, Generate Wind, Command Remote Offspring</em>


    <em>Spawner Upkeep: 40 (20 with Blessing of Bees)</em>


    <em>Evolves From: Monster Bee Queen</em>


    <em>Description: An evolved Air attributed monster bee queen that ranges wide and far to manage multiple hives simultaneously. Arge wingspan andmand of the wind enable fast, far, and efficient flight, while highly sensitive antennae can sense and respond to her offspring¡¯s mana from astounding distances. The queen¡¯s body is optimized for a nomadic lifestyle, including superior vision to scan her surroundings, arger size for better endurance, and the ability to store eggs toy all at once whenever she visits one of her hives.</em>


    <em>As an evolved monster bee queen, the nomadic monster bee queen also has a superior ability to raise evolved bee types and cany monster bee types in her evolution lineage in addition to nomadic monster bees.</em>


    Belissar¡¯s confusionsted only a moment, as he remembered the Fourth of the Seventh was busy evolving. A quick check with his tower sight confirmed she was the one who had evolved¡­and unlocked the first new queen type that came with its own spawner.


    He smiled and sent her his congrattions, earning a ¡°King best king!¡± dance from the happy queen. Then¡­he went about his day as previously nned.


    The new queen was great, and the Tower seemed to imply it was a step up from the other queen types that had evolved thus far, but Belissar didn¡¯t feel the need for a new spawner just yet. These queens were specialized in traveling, scouting, and managing multiple hives, and so far, only the Fourth of the Seventh was doing such things. The spawner was just a bit too expensive, and there was always a chance the Fourth of the Seventh could either raise new nomadic queens herself or help existing queens evolve if more were needed.


    But now that he knew there were more advanced versions of the queens, he¡¯d certainly be on the lookout for anymore.


    At that moment, every queen in the Tower paused, most notably the First of the Fifth. Her First Daughter had been unusually distracted, and slow in responding despite the sheer magnitude of the opportunities unlocked by the boosted honey production. The First of the Fifth was about to check in on her when a wave of mana blew through the Tower like a gust of wind. The drones in her hive twisted the mana with her own, revealing it carried a message along with it.


    <em>¡°Hi! Can hear?¡±</em>


    The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s mana was now perceptible all the way in the Apiary, passing through the shortcut there. Her First Daughter soon began to spread a confirmation through the Orchard¡¯smuner exchange.


    The Fourth of the Seventh had evolved. And not as the Second of the Sixth or Third of the Sixth or Fourth of the Eighth had, merely taking on an attribute from honey. No, the Fourth of the Seventh had be a new kind of queen, as different from the rest of them as ancer was from a soldier, or a gardener from a worker. She was the first to achieve what they were all striving for.


    For the second time that morning, the First of the Fifth received news that changed everything.

 POBee 208.2 - A Bee-con of Progress

    <em>¡°Hi, can hear?¡±</em>


    The Firstborn swayed midair and loss control of her mana. Instead, she focused on the wave of mana that had just hit her, very much like that of amuner¡¯s. So, once her drones had deciphered the message, she had them respond.


    <em>¡°Fourth of the Seventh?¡±</em>


    A momentter, another surge of mana hit her.


    <em>¡°Wow, can hear Firstborn! Amazing, incredible!¡±</em>


    The Firstborn could not help but join the Fourth of the Seventh in a celebratory dance. She instinctively understood what the power of the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s mana she felt implied, much less the fact that the Fourth of the Seventh could now send her mana all the way through the shortcuts without the aid of amuner. The Fourth of the Seventh had evolved. Truly a cause for celebration, a great victory for the hive of hives and one of her fellow queens.


    When she had finished dancing, the Firstborn took a moment to groom her antennae as she organized her thoughts. It was no surprise that the Fourth of the Seventh had been the first to seed, the Firstborn had expected it would be either her or the First of the Fifth. And it was well-deserved, who else had innovated new ways of running and organizing hives? Who else had determined how to make the hive of hives a practical reality? What other queen would dare to scout the Beyond personally, exposing themselves to the dangers beyond the King¡¯s realm?


    The Firstborn finished her grooming and took off once more. As before, she began to concentrate her mana not within her stinger, but around the exterior of it, as the karnuq had exined to her.


    The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s evolution was proof that she was on the right path. It demonstrated that a queen could indeed evolve by going beyond her instinctual role, changing to fit the desired focus of her hive. So, the Firstborn threw herself back into her training with no further doubts. All she needed to do now was fly forward as boldly as the Fourth of the Seventh and join her children in the task she set before them.Only for yet <em>another</em> set of news to reach her mana, this time from the Bee Barracks itself.


    Frelis awoke and crawled out of her cell, shaking her body and her wings. She began to groom herself but paused as soon as she caught sight of her leg.


    She had changed color. Her chitin was now abination of bright purples and pinks.


    Then she continued her grooming. New color or not, she had work to do. She had slept for far longer than she had intended.


    She quickly greeted her queen mother before setting out. She wasn¡¯t sure how long she had been in the cell, so she needed to check on her charge.


    She quickly arrived at the pond and her flower began waving its vines towards her before she evennded. The moment she touched one of the vines, a surge of mana leapt into her body. Part of it belonged to the flower itself, but part of it was¡­something different. A purple-pinkish mana different from any she had ever felt, save once.


    The blessing of the Queen of All Flowers.


    She found she could not only hear the flower telling her what it needed, she could <em>feel</em> the flower, in a simr manner to how she felt her queen mother or her sisters. And her mana could now reply¡­and more. Her mana flowed into the flower and remained there. New instincts whispered and she began to dance. The mana danced with her and intertwined with the flower¡¯s. The flower grew before her eyes as her mana began to nourish it directly.


    This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The flower responded by wrapping its vines around her and wiggling about. As it did, tiny little vines began to grow across Frelis¡¯s body, intertwining with her hairs and legs. Soon, tiny little flowers began to bloom across her body.


    It seemed she truly had joined the Hive of All Flowers.


    The Third of the Sixth pushed her wings as hard as she could as she flew towards her destination. The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s message shook her to the core. A queen had evolved!


    Had it been the Firstborn or the First of the Fifth who had done so, the Third of the Sixth might have been tempted to excuse it. They were older queens who benefited from the King¡¯s gifts from the very start. It would only be natural if they had evolved before she.


    But instead, it had been the Fourth of the Seventh. A queen even younger than she, who also had not received one of the King¡¯s magical pces untilter in life. The Third of the Sixth thus had no excuse. She had promised to give her utmost for the King, to use the magical pce and the fiery room he had given her to their full extent. And yet, here she was, content with having evolved once with burning honey, but in truth little different than any other queen. The Fourth of the Seventh had just proven that they were capable of far more.


    And <em>then</em> she had learned of Frelis, one who had earned the favor of the Queen of All Flowers and a name from the King. Frelis was not even another queen, but one of the gardeners, and yet she had done what no other bee had yet.


    The Third of the Sixth would not fall behind again.


    And so, she flew to one of theva rivers in the room. There, sitting on a rock in the center of the river, was the karnuq queen herself. She had her eyes closed and a smiled on her face as she inhaled deeply, taking in the burning air all around her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the Third of the Sixth. §²


    ¡°Are you ready to begin?¡±


    The Third of the Sixth immediately danced her salute. She had remembered, recently, that she had only taken the first step on the path of fire. After evolving with the burning honey, fire no longer scorched her. She could handle truly immense temperatures that no other bee could, she could drink the hottest nectar with ease, and she could fly right through mes without harm. Her very blood and mana ran hot.


    But she did not breathe fire. She did notmand the mes. She did not have fire running through her veins or her mana.


    The karnuq queen did. And had received blessings from the Queen of All Fire to boot.


    And now she would teach the Third of the Sixth how she did it.


    The Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s soldier danced about happily, as did every one of her sisters. Their queen mother had evolved! She was now the biggest queen any of them had ever seen and could talk them all from anywhere! It was amazing, incredible!


    The soldier did have to wonder, though, what this meant for her. She looked down at the stems she had been weaving together. She was her queen mother¡¯s first soldier, and still worked on the task she had been born to do. She picked the x flowers, processed and dried them as the King had done, and then wove them into vines the hive of hives could use to carry things. Her queen mother had personally instructed her in this task at first.


    But her queen mother had only grown, along with her ambitions. She not only uncovered the wonders of the King¡¯s realm, but now flew through the Beyond. She had set up a second hive, a feat no other queen had aplished. And now, she had evolved to fly further and faster than ever before, to set up her own hive of hives until her children flew to every corner of the Beyond.


    The soldier¡¯s heart swelled and her wings buzzed at the thought. But then, she had to wonder¡­should she continue on her original task? Her task didn¡¯t seem particrly relevant to conquering the Beyond and she <em>was</em> a soldier. Shouldn¡¯t she abandon these stems to go escort her queen mother?


    She was a bit worried she wouldn¡¯t be able to change jobs well. She hadn¡¯t trained to fight like the soldiers of the Flower Meadow queens, nor had she spent much time flying far and fast. She wasn¡¯t sure she could keep up with her queen mother anymore, and wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d be able to protect her from the dangers of the Beyond.


    It was then that she felt her queen mother¡¯s mana jumping from sister to sister, until eventually it focused on her.


    <em>¡°Wow, soldier is good at weaving stems! Amazing, incredible! Can make stem pollen baskets, like karnuq?¡±</em>


    And just like that, all of the soldier¡¯s doubts vanished. She immediately saluted her queen mother and began asking themuner to put her in contact with the scouts. Her queen mother not only wished for her to continue her task, but had assigned a new goal for her. Now, the only thought on her mind was toplete it.


    She did not notice some of her queen mother¡¯s mana remaining in her body, soaking and absorbing into her own as she devoted herself to the task assigned by her queen¡­

 POBee 208.3 - I Bee-lieve I can Fly!

    The Fourth of the Seventh danced about happily. She was big now! Big enough to carry both her firstmuner and the First of the Fifth¡¯s First Daughter on her back, like the Conduit carried her queen mother Velebee! It was amazing, incredible!


    She wanted to carry them outside and show them the mini-hive, but she knew they both needed to stay with the main hive. Maybe once their daughters grew up a bit more! For now, though the Fourth of the Seventh decided to take care of the hive before she left again.


    It ended up being really easy! She was big now, but the worker eggs were still small, so she couldy a ton of them! She couldy as many right now as she would have if she just stayed in the main hive all the time! So that¡¯s what she did! It was a bit hard to fit in between the trays now, but by beating her wings she could wrap the eggs with wind and they would just glide to their cells. It was amazing!


    She quickly filled up all the cells set aside for brood, and then kept going¡­and going. She then felt hermuner rapidly dancing on her back.


    ¡°Queen mother, what doing?! Too many eggs, hive can¡¯t feed, can¡¯t tend!¡±


    The First Daughter, amazingly nice queen that she was, started to volunteer to take care of the eggs but the Fourth of the Seventh danced first.


    ¡°Is ok! Can tell eggs to sleep now! Won¡¯t hatch untilmuner tells to!¡±


    Hermuner stumbled.


    ¡°Huh? But¡­will starve if don¡¯t give honey?¡±The Fourth of the Seventh danced the negative once more.


    ¡°Is fine! Eggs tough now, filled with mana! Don¡¯t eat much if sleeping, so will be fine until hive is ready!¡±


    Themuner stilled at that. Eventually, the First Daughter replied for her.


    ¡°Fourth of the Seventh is amazing!¡±


    Themuner slowly danced her agreement. The Fourth of the Seventh thought they were the amazing ones and danced as much.


    She also went to somerger cells, filling them with big eggs jam packed with mana. Hermuner was worried again but it was ok! The Fourth of the Seventh had lots of mana now, so she could fill the big eggs up so they wouldn¡¯t eat as much honey. Which was good, because the King had showed them a new kind of bee! One with big eyes that would be good for scouting! The Fourth of the Seventh couldn¡¯t wait to see them!


    In record time, she had filled her main hive with as many eggs as hermuner would ever need, so she still had time to go scout! Well, none of her workers or soldiers had evolved yet, so she promised hermuner she wouldn¡¯t go too far today, but she had to go and see what her new wings could do! Once she had gathered her escorts, she took off!


    Her mana wrapped around her wings, creating an updraft of wind as she began to beat them, soaring through the air with a roaring buzz!


    ¡°Queen mother, wait! Escorts can¡¯t keep up!¡±


    And then promptly spun around to find her soldiers and scout workers struggling to follow after her. She slowed down, but kept up the beating of her wings, angling them to beat towards her escorts. The wind blew out from her wings and then wrapped around her workers and soldiers, pushing them forward.


    She danced about in the air as they caught up. Her new wings were amazing!


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    They made their way through the shortcuts to the Tower¡¯s entrance and soon reached the Beyond. The Fourth of the Seventh buzzed her wings as she flew through the entrance. Despite her bigger antennae and mana, she still couldn¡¯t feel her main hive very well once she moved out into the Beyond. She could still feel her connection to them, but her mana struggled to move past the gate. Well, they had amuner always hovering right outside the entrance to pass messages to either side, and in an emergency she could talk to the King or the Conduit by reaching out to the Tower¡¯s mana, so it was fine for now! The Fourth of the Seventh thennded on the ground and turned to face her escorts.


    ¡°Going to fly high now! Not sure if workers, soldiers can keep up. But big now! Can climb on back and I carry!¡±


    The workers and soldiers looked at once another before one danced.


    ¡°Queen is queen. Will try.¡±


    The worker in questionnded on the Fourth of the Seventh¡¯s back and clung on. The other workers soon followed. The soldiers hesitated for a bit but eventually climbed on as well. ??


    Once they were all secure, the Fourth of the Seventh began to beat her wings as fast as she could. A gust of wind wrapped around her and propelled her up into the sky. She felt her workers and soldiers tighten their grip so she tried to make the wind wrap around her. Luckily, the wind listened, and only blew against her wings instead of her torso! Her children could hold on easily now, so the Fourth of the Seventh turned her attention back to flying.


    In an instant, they passed the top of the Tower and the trees all around them. The Fourth of the Seventh then spread out her wings and turned. Her big wings caught the wind and spun her about at record speeds before she twisted the wind in the way she wanted to go. She swooped and dove, she looped and twirled. She could fly faster than the soldiers now! She could even fly faster than the flying invaders! She spun about in a huge happy dance, her loops bigger than the Tower! It was amazing, incredible!


    Soon, though, she could feel her children tighten their grip once more, so she slowed down and stopped looping. She turned her attention to her original purpose. Now that she was high above even the trees and the King¡¯s realm, she tested her big eyes.


    She could see¡­everything.


    If she let her gaze wander she could see a vastndscape all around her. She could see the trees stretching out to the south and east of the Tower. The north cleared out to ins and meadows with a river winding through it, and she could see more of the ruins of hives built by humans or karnuq or something like them here and there. The west began to rise, the tnd around the tower bing hills. She could see all the way to where the King¡¯s power fought against the Hunger!


    If she focused her sight, she could see with amazing detail. Colorful flowers caught her eyes and she found that even from here she could make out the colors of their petals. If she looked at the trees she could see their leaves and branches! The trees to the east started to grow bigger than the ones close to the tower! If she looked at the ins she could see more stones ced on the ground in straight lines, and walls made of fallen trees, like the ones the King, the karnuq, and now the Third of the Third liked to build, dividing the ins up into squares!


    She wanted to soar over the trees and the ins and investigate all these things, but she turned and began to descend instead. She had promised hermuner to wait for her escorts to evolve first, so she wouldn¡¯t start the scouting just yet. Instead, she glided down to the first set of ruins and checked on the mini-hive there. She consideredying eggs there, a new part of her instincts wanting to turn the mini-hive into a true hive, but she did not. At the end of the day, she still wanted all of her children to hatch in the warm mana of the King¡¯s realm before they braved the Beyond. So, after confirming all the bees she left there were fine, receiving their reports, and brushing up against them all, she made her way back to the Tower.


    To explore all the new parts of the Beyond the King had purified, she needed her escorts to evolve, so it was time to bring them home! Maybe she would help the soldiers weave stems again while she waited, it had been a while since she did that herself!


    Belissar smiled to himself as he watched Frelis and the Fourth of the Seventh both explore their new powers. Frelis seemed to have evolved, though the Tower didn¡¯t inform him of any new bee types, so perhaps a god¡¯s blessing worked differently than regr evolutions?


    However, Belissar suddenly stiffened as hepared Frelis and the Fourth of the Seventh. He realized something. Something very important.


    The Fourth of the Seventh had unlocked a new evolution. A feat previously matched by only one other bee: Beero.


    So, Belissar turned to Niobee.


    ¡°Hey, Niobee.¡±


    ¡°Yes, King?¡±


    He hummed to himself.


    ¡°Do you think the Fourth of the Seventh would like a name?¡±


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!