The Bee Dungeon

Chapter 214: Bee Committed!

Belissar, Tarwantrad, and Chief Rohsuak were all sitting around as the celebration wore on. Belissar nervously picked at his food, eating just enough that the bees wouldn’t stop to check on him. He was trying to enjoy the taste of the honey, but he could not help his worry. The God of Bees said it was handled and he trusted her but he still really wished he knew what was going on. He’d probably remain anxious until Tarwantrad could speak with the Oracle of Flowers and hear from one of the directly involved parties…

Suddenly, a wave of hot mana surged through his Tower, and a wave of messages surged across his vision.

New mission received: Help one bee queen receive a full blessing from the God of Fire

New mission received: Share a monster bee queen with a dungeon patronized by the God of Flowers

The God of Flowers wishes to offer you a quest. Accept?

Belissar blinked repeatedly. He glanced over at Tarwantrad and found she had stiffened and was gaping at the air.

“Um…”

Chief Rohsuak looked at him with concern.

“Tower Keeper? If I’m not mistaken, that was the power of the God of Fire, was it not? Has something occurred?”

Belissar slowly nodded. He glanced throughout his Tower and found the God of Fire’s braziers now present in both Lava Fields.

“The gods have done…something. I just got new missions from the God of Bees relating to the God of Fire and God of Flowers. The God of Flowers also wants to offer me a quest…but…”

Belissar hesitated, given that it was a reward from the God of Flowers that had triggered this whole affair. What if she wanted him to do something that would antagonize the God of Fire? Fortunately, Velebee was riding on Niobee’s back as she always did at the queen meetings, and immediately began to glow.

“Hive-Builder! Queen of All Bees says accept mission from Queen of All Flowers!”

Belissar furrowed his brow. If the God of Bees was asking he was going to accept…but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried.

“Sorry, I’ll do as the God of Bees ask, but…if she’ll have mercy on me…could I ask a question first?”

“Queen of All Bees says can!”

Belissar bowed his head.

“Thank you. Will this mission…upset the God of Fire?”

Velebee immediately danced the negative.

“Queen of All Bees says won’t!”

Belissar let out a sigh and then smiled.

“Thank you. And thank you Velebee.”

He reached out and gently brushed Velebee’s back with a finger, then accepted the mission.

New mission received: Complete the God of Fire’s mead mission as soon as possible.

Belissar slowly let out another sigh, letting all the tension drain from his body. He took another deep breath before he looked up at Chief Rohsuak.

“Ok, I think it’s settled. The God of Flowers just tasked me with completing the God of Fire’s mission, so I think they made up?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Chief Rohsuak didn’t hide her own smile as she let out a deep sigh of her own.

“That is a sincere relief.”

Belissar could only nod at that before turning to Tarwantrad.

“Did you hear from the gods too?”

Tarwantrad snapped out of her stare to look at Belissar. She slowly began to smile.

“Yes, yes I did. The God of Flowers wishes for me to support you…as does the God of Bees.”

Belissar beamed as warmth filled his chest. The God of Bees really did take good care of him, he’d have to thank her again. He resolved to ensure she had a steady supply of mead offerings from now on.

Since the situation with the gods was seemingly resolved, Belissar was able to walk into the post-celebration meeting with confidence. He had a big smile on his face as the bee queens assembled and saluted. While the possibility of a god fight had been incredibly stressful…there was no doubt that Belissar had profited greatly today.

“So, we have a lot to discuss tonight. First of all, the God of Flowers upgraded her blessing. Here are the new effects.”

Small Blessing of Flowers

Effects:

- Flower-related options appear with a small increase in frequency.

- Additional special flower-related options are unlocked and may now appear

- Flower monster upgrades and evolutions have a small deduction in resource cost and unlock difficulty

- Small boost to the growth of flowers and Flower-type monsters

- Slight boost to the stats of Flower-type features and monsters

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The bees immediately began swarming in “Amazing, incredible!” dances. Belissar chuckled and waited for them to calm down, but he certainly agreed. Every effect of the God of Flower’s blessing had upgraded from slight to small, while a new effect had appeared that made flowers stronger. A timely blessing given his Tower had just started raising monster flowers…and that was before they began cross-pollinating with Tarwantrad’s Flower dungeon.

But that was only the beginning of their decisions for tonight. Belissar continued once the bees had finished their dance.

“Next, we have another rare Bee choice from the God of Bees herself.”

Belissar nearly trembled in anticipation as he opened the reward. He had high hopes for this one…

Please select a monster:

- Monster Reed Bee (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)

- Monster Bee Knight (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)

- Butcher Bee Queen (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)

Belissar made a wide grin, and even laughed as soon as he saw the glowing option. The God of Bees had delivered and provided exactly the bee type he was hoping for. He knew immediately what to pick.

But then…he looked at the other options. He knew he shouldn’t look, given what he had to do this time, but he couldn’t help it. He was curious. He assumed Tarwantrad was as well given the way she was leaning towards him. So…he went ahead and read out the descriptions.

Monster Reed Bee

Vitality: Minimal+

Strength: Minimal+

Speed: Average+

Magic: Minimal+

Defense: Minimal+

Resistance: Minimal+

Special: Above Average

Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Adaptive Nesting, Brood Coordination

Spawner Upkeep: 15 (8 with Blessing of Bees)

Description: A reed bee that has accumulated enough mana to become something more. More individually capable than monster bees, they can act independently, form small communal nests, or gather into eusocial hives as environmental resources permit. Forming burrows in plants, preferably fern trees, they raise their young in one communal chamber where the larvae compete for food. The strongest of the young are therefore more capable and likely to evolve than their siblings as they grow, though at the expense of the weaker.

Individual monster reed bees are generally more capable than their monster bee counterparts, though they do not produce honey or wax. While as a casteless species they cannot raised evolved monster bee types, adult reed bees may evolve into available bee types as suits the individual.

This one had Belissar tilting his head. They weren’t a brood species like the monster bees or monster bumblebees, but also weren’t a completely separate species like the carpenters. They didn’t produce wax or honey, but were apparently stronger…and apparently competed as larvae? Belissar wasn’t sure what to make it all. Maybe they were better for battle or something?

The bees were more subdued about a new species as usual, though he could see the battle meadow queens discussing the same ideas he had been thinking of. He turned to Tarwantrad to see if she knew of this bee type. He found her staring with sparkling eyes.

“Amazing, I’ve never heard of this species before! I’ll have to check if there’s any mention of it in the house of lore…”

Well, apparently Tarwantrad didn’t have an answer for him this time, and definitely didn’t have access to the species herself if she hadn’t even heard of it. But Belissar wasn’t really evaluating the choice, so he didn’t find it a priority to fully understand what it did this time. He’d definitely be interested if Tarwantrad did learn anything more about it, though. In any case, he moved on to the next option.

Monster Bee Knight

Vitality: Below Average

Strength: Small+

Speed: Average

Magic: Minimal+

Defense: Small+

Resistance: Minor+

Special: Minimal+

Notable Skills: Poison Thrust, Death Blow, Harden Chitin, Brood Offspring

Evolves From: Monster Bee Soldier, Monster Bee Lancer

Spawner Upkeep: 40 (20 with Blessing of Bees)

Description: A monster bee lancer evolution. This lancer is no longer content with purely hit and run attacks, and so has evolved to stay in the fight. Tougher chitin, larger size, and greater vitality allow it to take blows other bees cannot, while strengthened muscles allow for powerful thrusts even from up close. These characteristics also make it no less capable at the powerful dives its ancestors utilize, though its heavier body does take more time to move.

Belissar furrowed his brow. He regretted reading this one, because now he wanted it. He really wanted it. An even bigger lancer with tough, heavy chitin plates? One specifically built for durability while still retaining the powerful stingers of the lancers…that they could even use up close? These bees would be perfect to both shore up the bee army’s defenses while also improving its ability to fight back…

That the battle meadow queens immediately ceased all discussion on the reed bees and were now buzzing their wings and spinning about in circles did not help.

But, with a great effort of will, Belissar tore his eyes away from the description and the beautiful preview the Tower tempted him with. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, slowly unleashing it in a dramatic sigh.

“I’m sorry everyone but…we need the butcher bees for the Death room.”

In an effort to distract himself from what he was giving up, he read out the butcher bee description.

Butcher Bee Queen

Vitality: Minimal

Strength: Minor

Speed: Average

Magic: Minor

Defense: Minimal

Resistance: Minimal

Special: Minor

Notable Skills: Bite, Brood Mother, Command Offspring

Spawner Upkeep: 20 (10 with Blessing of Bees)

Description: A vulture bee that has accumulated enough mana to become 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.

The effort worked…partially. Belissar groaned. He shouldn’t have read the monster bee knight description. He really wanted them, and had it not been for recent circumstances probably would have chosen them.

But…he needed butcher bees to deal with the rabbits and get a Death room going, lest he let Hesfalle’s advice and boons all go to waste. The alternative was to let his regular monster bees face the dangers of Death mana and suffer the casualties that would result, rather than the bees built for killing and scavenging. Not only that, the God of Bees had gone out of her way to give him this option specifically. If he did not choose it now, who knew how long it would take before it showed up again? He hadn’t seen bloodsucking bee queens or stingless bee queens ever since passing them up.

He reminded himself of all the God of Bees had done for him, and quickly made his choice before he could change his mind.

Butcher Bee Queens are now available!

He turned to the battle meadow queens and was about to apologize, only to find the Firstborn dancing.

“Amazing, incredible! Will make hive of hives stronger!”

He could only make a helpless smile and gave her a nod. That was Tarwantrad had told him, right? The point wasn’t how great an option was, but how it fit into the Tower and what they did with it. He had made his choice, now they just had to make the best of it.