POBee 403.5 - Bee-lieve in the Bee that Bee-lieves in You!

Belissar and Finnakynne discussed the details of his deal with Remfalla afterwards. Finnakynne crossed her arms and sighed.

“I see…yeah, you probably do need more complex traps to challenge the silver elves and, well, Remfalla is the best went it comes to traps. But…she’s also not very nice, Beely. Mother dearest had her running the dungeon specifically because of that, so she could pour her mischief into making life as dreadful for the Hunger as possible.”

Belissar frowned.

“…should I not listen to her, then?”

Finnakynne sighed yet again.

“Like I said, it is true that she can help you, but you might not like the traps she makes. So…”

Finnakynne took a deep breath.

“Let me know when she stops by to advise your traps, and I’ll tag along. I can help you tone down the traps so they don’t completely traumatize your challengers.”

Belissar smiled.

“Thanks Finnakynne, I appreciate that.”

Finnakynne glanced away.

“It…it’s nothing, Beely. You’ve earned my help, that’s for sure. I should probably also give Remfalla her original name back, come to think of it…”

Finnakynne muttered the last part to herself, so Belissar didn’t catch it. But, before he could ask about it, he felt a spike of concern shoot through the hive of hives.

“Niobee! What’s going on?!”

Niobee buzzed on top of his head.

“Second Third of the First upset! Hive in trouble!”

Belissar immediately spun around while Niobee and Finnakynne both took off, flying on either side of him. The bumblebee soldiers around Finnakynne joined them, flying overhead.

“Got it, let’s help her right away!”

As Belissar started running for the nearest shortcut, he sent his Tower sight over to the Second Third of the First, along with a Tower message.

“Second Third of the First! Are you ok?!”

But then, just as suddenly as the spike of worry came, it suddenly vanished. The Second Third of the First soon replied…but she no longer seemed upset.

“King! Ok! Figured out! Know how evolve now!”

Belissar blinked. He slowed down, but continued observing the Second Third of the First’s hive with his Tower sight, trying to understand what had happened.

There was a big pile of rabbit corpses by her hive now, big enough to start affecting the mana and the room. A brown patch of wilted flowers surrounded the pile and had grown large enough to reach the Second Third of the First’s hive. Apparently, the cause must have been a growing concentration of Death mana, because the gardeners had started planting Underworld Phlox in the room within the brown area.

Belissar winced when he looked inside the Second Third of the First’s hive. The bees seemed sickly to him, they were moving slowly and weakly, while the amount of brood had shrunk compared to other hives. The Second Third of the First was staring at worker bee that was stumbling around as if poisoned. Belissar focused on the bee, trying to see if he could identify any symptoms…when the Tower intervened with a monster status.

One that made Belissar stop dead in his tracks.

Zom-Bee Worker

Vitality: Minor

Strength: Minimal

Speed: Below Average

Magic: Minimal

Defense: Minimal

Resistance: Minimal

Special: Minimal

Notable Skills: Necrotic Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Undead Resilience, Brood Offspring

Description: A deceased monster bee worker that has risen as a zombie. Unlike other types of zombies, a zom-bee worker has no instinct to attack the living, but instead to continue working for its hive. As such, monster bee queens may reconnect zom-bees to their hives so long as they are able to manipulate Death mana.

While the zom-bee worker can no longer produce venom, her stinger is instead filled with rotting fluids and necrotic Death mana and is still dangerous to the living. As zom-bee stings fill the victim with Death mana, any corpse killed by them is more likely to rise as undead. The zom-bee loses coordination, the ability to produce wax and propolis, and the ability to fully process honey compared to a living worker, but like all undead they gain unnatural resilience, free from the needs of the living. They will not die from damage that would kill the living and even should their bodies fail they will continue to act until their mana is depleted. They are thus also able to utilize Sacrificial Strike repeatedly so long as they have mana.

Belissar grit his teeth as he realized what had happened…a monster bee worker had died and then rose as undead thanks to all the Death mana. But, he forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down.

He knew this was coming. This was precisely why he had asked a hive to move to the experimental Death room. Hesfalle warned him that the process of adapting to Death mana would not be without losses.

So, he forced himself to look again at the hive before he judged the situation. The Second Third of the First was apparently doing a happy dance, having figured out how to evolve with Death mana. The little zom-bee was doing her best to follow along, stumbling about like she didn’t know how to move her legs. The other workers and soldiers of the hive were reacting to their queen mother’s enthusiasm and apparently trying to absorb more Death mana. The hive of hives had shifted from concern to celebration, the First of the Fifth’s First Daughter was already arranging a delivery of swirled honey so the Second Third of the First could attempt to evolve.

This content has been misappropriated from NovelFire; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

And so, Belissar resolved to…do nothing. The Second Third of the First had known the risks and took on the task regardless. Belissar had decided to trust in her and to face down death with this room. The Second Third of the First had faced down death and her worker paid the price…but by her sacrifice, the bees had broken through and now knew what to do with Death mana. So, instead of reacting, Belissar smiled, and sent word to the Second Third of the First.

“Well done.”

The Second Third of the First moved quickly, requesting swirled honey from the First of the Fifth’s First Daughter. The hive of hives had already noticed her distress and her breakthrough, so her request was easily granted. Soon, the Second Third of the First was curling up inside a cell full of swirled honey, while the poisonous mana accumulated around her. Or Death mana, as she now understood it. It was no mere poison, it did more than simply harm the living, and that would be the key to her evolution.

She knew she was correct when the King himself congratulated her on figuring it out. So she didn’t hesitate, moving to evolve as quickly as she could, and so drifted off to sleep as her worker sealed her cell that very day.

She awoke to find herself standing before the Queen of All Bees…and, somehow, the bee of bees herself was not what drew the Second Third of the First’s attention. No, her attention was drawn to the small, regular monster bee queen hovering by the Queen of All Bees’ side. The monster bee queen noticed her attention and flew down towards her. The moment the Second Third of the First felt the queen’s mana, she froze solid, all thoughts halting. Could it be? Was this queen who she thought she was?

The queen in question had no hesitation as she answered the question.

“Hi! Am Third Queen of First Dynasty of First Spawner of Bee Dungeon! Nice to meet, Second Third of First!”

The Second Third of the First trembled. This was it. This was her vaunted predecessor, the one who bore the same title before her. The bee who laid the foundation on which the entire bee army was built, the genius who had unlocked the key to victory with naught but a minute and a handful of workers. Her great ancestor who she could never live up to.

The Second Third of the First found herself unable to dance, for what could she even say? How would the legendary First Third of First evaluated her efforts? Even though she had succeeded in the King’s mission, she still had not done anything on part with her predecessor’s achievements, so she could not dare to dance in her presence.

The First Third of the First, on the other leg, continued her dance without a care, and began zipping around at maximum speed.

“Amazing! Incredible! Second Third of the First so much better at fighting, at protecting King!”

That finally snapped the Second Third of the First out of her silence, leaving her scrambling to dance a reply.

“N-Not! First Third of First figured out rotating squad attack all on own! Not as good as, no queen as good as!”

The First Third of the First slowed down.

“All hive of hives better than. Tried not die to invader, but failed. Hive died, wasn’t able protect King.”

The First Third of the First flew over and began brushing her antennae against the Second Third of the First’s.

“But Second Third of First and hive of hives succeeded! Protects King, hive doesn’t all die! Took my idea and made better, made work, made succeed! Now am happy, because hive of hives uses idea to win! Hive didn’t die for nothing! Let’s me join hive of hives and help King, even though already died!”

The Second Third of the First was stunned back into silence, having never thought of it that way.

“Second Third of First amazing, incredible, doing things First Dynasty couldn’t! Fought for King, kept safe! Joined hive of hives, worked with other queens! Now hive dying for King, just like First Dynasty, but not failing! Worker still working for King even after die!”

The First Third of the First stopped brushing her and backed up so she could dance again. This time…she danced a salute.

“That why happy Second Third of the First there! Happy Second Third of the First took place! Keep protecting King for First Dynasty! Can do what First Dynasty couldn’t!”

It took the Second Third of the First a while to reply. She trembled and fell to the ground. Her vaunted ancestor, her great predecessor she thought she could never match…approved of her? Thanked her and thought her efforts were amazing and incredible? It was nearly too much for her.

But, in time, she gathered herself and rose back to her feet. She replied to her predecessor in the only way she could and danced a salute.

“Will do best.”

The First Third of the First zipped around in a happy dance once more.

“Second Third of First’s best amazing, incredible!”

The First Third of the First flew back to the Queen of All Bees’ side. The Second Third of the First now stood resolute as she turned her attention to the bee of bees. The First Third of the First was certainly right about one thing: the Second Third of the First had access to resources and opportunities the First Dynasty never had. So, while she still wasn’t entirely sure she was the First Third of the First’s equal…she was determined to make the most of what she had. To do things the First Third of the First never had a chance to and to protect King in her stead, as best she was able.

The Queen of All Bees began to dance and showed the Second Third of the First the new opportunities she now had.

She saw a hive filled to the absolute brim with Death mana. Their stings were even deadlier than a toxic bees’, ripping the very life from their enemies. The Death mana gathered around them, if a swarm of the bees gathered, they could create a concentration of Death mana that killed everything around them…much like the first shade’s attack that had killed the First Third of the First’s hive. The very presence of these bees filled their enemies with dread, their mere buzzing became a piercing noise that drove enemies to flee before they assaulted the hive.

This was an evolution that would make her hive absolute terrors on the battlefield. They could contribute to the army and protect King like never before. They could do to enemies what shades did to the First Dynasty, kill entire enemy hives just with concentrations of their mana. This would let her contribute enough to the King’s defense that she wouldn’t be ashamed to bear the title of Second Third of the First.

But…there was another. A different evolution that used Death mana in an entirely different fashion. This evolution’s hive used Death mana in their hive link and within their bodies. Whenever a bee of this hive died, their body would rise again and continue on with their work. Dead and living bees would work side by side, all part of the same hive. And, when they stung and killed enemies…those enemies’ bodies could rise again too. The queen could connect them to the hive with her Death mana, so that even enemies would work for the hive, working alongside the bees they tried to kill.

The Second Third of the First thought about her predecessor’s dances. About how she could do things the First Third of the First never could because of the opportunities available to her. And one of the things the First Third of the First considered most impressive…was that her worker’s body had continued working even after death.

The Second Third of the First’s thoughts then turned to her worker. Her child who had died to give her this breakthrough, to let her meet her predecessor and hear the evaluation of all her efforts.

Her resolve grew within her. She wanted that child to have place within her hive. She wanted to honor the sacrifice her children made in her desperation to match her predecessor. And…she wanted to do as her predecessor had told her. She no longer wanted to match her predecessor’s innovations in combat, as she despaired that she never would. She wanted to do things that her predecessor never could. She wanted to do new things, carve out a new role within the hive of hives. She wanted to take what the First Third of the First taught her and build something new upon it, work together with the First Third of the First instead of trying to surpass her.

That, ultimately, was the best way to match the First Third of the First’s contributions. That was how she could honor her predecessor, to let her predecessor be a part of the hive of hives even though she was gone. That was how she would keep King safe and make the First Third of the First happy she was there. That was what it meant to be part of the hive of hives.

So, she chose the evolution that would let her build a new hive entirely, one that would let her do things that no other bee in the hive of hives could.

The Queen of All Bees danced an acknowledgement and the Second Third of the First drifted off to sleep once more, her thoughts clearer than they ever had been.