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.

Minor+ Purification completed! Please select a reward* (*One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees):

- +75 DP

- +15 Max Mana

- Beehive (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee, Resource, Monster Nest)

Belissar’s grin grew. For once, he didn’t need to wait until after the celebration to make his choices. He knew exactly what he was going to pick this time.

Beehive selected.

Beehive variation unlocked: Belissar’s Beehouse.

Belissar nodded in satisfaction. He would have insisted on upgrading the beehives anyways, so he was pleased to learn the Tower could build his versions right away. And now, all his bees could receive the honey production and brood growth benefits of the Apiary’s beehouses. Perhaps it wasn’t the water source he had been thinking about, or something as dramatic as new bee types, but anything that made his bees happy was an ideal choice for Belissar.

Plus...there was the fact that such a feature came from a minor+ purification which he could perform every day and that his bees proved they could handle. Who knows what other options might be available from those rewards?

In any case, he was satisfied for now and it was time to bring out the honey for a victory celebration...

***

The next day, Belissar stepped out of the Apiary farmhouse. He intended to get started placing beehives for each of his queens but there was a bit of math to do first, which meant have some dirt he could drawn numbers on to keep track of it all. Which he now did. There had been nine Apiary beehouses compared to thirty-two queens, four each from eight spawners, so there were quite a few who had gone without. He then took a look at the new feature...

Beehive

Mana Upkeep: 5 (2 due to Blessing of Bees)

***

The Third Queen of the First Dynasty of the Sixth Spawner, the first of her line, fluttered her wings as she checked over the latest batch of honey. It was coming along nicely. Sure, it wasn’t nearly as good as the First of the Fifths, or any of the other nine Apiary queens who were born before her, but she could say that it was her best.

She had been born just a few minutes too late to receive one of the magic palaces, and so she had been relegated to the outskirts. She had to build her hive by her own hand, and her workers had to imbue the nectar of mundane flowers by themselves. They, therefore, couldn’t produce honey in the kind of quantities and quality that the other queens could and her hive couldn’t grow anywhere near as quickly. Soldiers, if she had been inclined to raise any, were just a dream, and she was still of a similar size to her workers at the moment.

It was a humble, but good and honest living. She may not have done much in comparison to her peers, but everything she had was achieved by her own efforts, and those of her children. She took pride in it, that was the truth.

Still...there was some small part of her whispering on the edge of her mind. It asked...what if she had been born but a few minutes earlier? What if she had been one of the favored queens who received magic palaces and flowers brimming with mana? What if her hive produced honey in such quantities that they could offer tribute to the King on a daily basis, receiving constant visits from him as a result?

What if it had been her?

But she put such things aside. Such was her lot in life and all she could do was make the best with what she had. Maybe, one day, the King might see her efforts and...

She buzzed her wings and shook herself. Such thoughts did not aid in her work and there was work aplenty for her to do. So, she tried to put her wondering aside and get back to it.

But at that moment, something changed. The air began to thrum with mana, causing all of her workers to pause. Her antenna twitched as she reacted to the swirls of power flowing all around her. The very walls of her hive began to glow, growing too bright for her to make out anything.

Then, slowly, the light began to die down. And the Third of the Sixth froze solid once she could see again.

Her hive was gone, or at least the hive she had before. Thick wooden walls like the trunk of gigantic tree replaced the exterior of her hive, granting her powerful protection against the outside world. And, most of all, she could feel rivers of mana flowing through the walls and even the air itself. The mana flowed into her honeycomb, imbuing the nectar stored there as her workers might otherwise have needed to. The mana wrapped around her eggs and larvae and they drank it up, accelerating their growth. The mana even condensed down in empty cells and honey began to spontaneously drip from the walls.

Her mind couldn’t process what had occurred. Her workers began to dance around her as they requested instructions.

And then, she felt the tremors as something huge approached her hive. She slowly turned around and crawled towards the entrance as a shadow fell over it. She peeked outside and confirmed the unthinkable suspicion that crept into her mind.

There, standing outside of what was once her hive, was the King.

“Hey there. Sorry for doing this without warning you, but it helps you. These hives aren’t the best but I’ll build you a new one soon, so hopefully this is ok for now.”

The Third of the Sixth began to tremble. The King...had gifted her a magic palace? Was going to make it even better later because he wasn’t satisfied with it?

Her mind went blank as she began to dance. She had no idea what she said to the King. But what she remembered was this.

The King had seen her. Had acknowledged her. Had gifted her with the same blessings the others had received. Now she could grow as powerful and productive as them. Now she could make vast quantities of excellent honey like them. Now she could offer tribute to the King without worry or shame.

And she would do just that.