The Bee Dungeon

Chapter 110: The Wise Bee-cision?

Chapter 110: The Wise Bee-cision?

Belissar once again stood by the Bee Barracks as the daily purification commenced. Beero and the others wanted to take part but Belissar asked them to hold off until for today. He wanted the Orchard bees to weave some slings and the soldier bee army to get some practice moving the wounded bees around before he exposed them to danger, so the lightning attack’s debut would have to wait.

Fortunately, today’s purification was another bird-shade…which struggled in the new Dirt Tunnels. It kept crashing into walls and the roof, and eventually just began walking until it finally found the end. At that point it got hit by a Sticky Honey Trap, the soldier bee army set upon it, and that was that.

Belissar was pleased to find the Dirt Tunnels caused the bird-shades as much trouble as he hoped.

After the victory celebration, Belissar gathered the queens once again, with Chief Rohsuak and Beero attending too. Well, Beero had always been present since the meeting was at the memorial, but they were specifically including her now as the representative of the wounded soldiers, since as a soldier she hadn’t felt confident dancing among the queens previously.

And Belissar had something to discuss.

DP: 3235

He once again had enough DP for another choice from the DP shop. His initial instinct was to grab a new monster and expand the soldier bee army’s options even further. On the other hand, today’s purification reminded him that rooms could also present a defense in and of themselves, as a bird-shade that could terrorize the open air of the Flower Meadow proved all but helpless in the constricted Dirt Tunnels. And thus far, most of his room choices had prioritized providing resources for his bees, so perhaps there were great potential defenses he hadn’t tapped yet. Additionally, new room types could also provide new flower types and therefore new bee types. A fire-related room, for example, could go along well with the incoming fire queen…and maybe the God of Fire himself.

However, all his room slots were currently occupied at the moment, so he’d have to either save up to purchase a room slot, conduct a purification expansion, or else remove an existing room before he could add anymore. So, a monster would probably provide the greater immediate benefit, while a room would be a choice for the future.

In any case, he asked the bees and Chief Rohsuak for their opinions before sharing his own thoughts. The bees had the usual recommendations of more flowers and more bees. The Firstborn was particularly concerned about the strength of the soldier bee army following the turtle-shade, while the First of the Fifth was a bit reserved this time, agreeing with the Firstborn. Beero just saluted as the queens spoke. Chief Rohsuak, for her part, nodded along.

“We seem to have plenty of resources now, Sacred Den Master Belissar, and are still putting to use the new ones you’ve recently made. I think now would be a good time to boost your Tower’s strength.”

Belissar nodded at that and made his choice. As much as a new room appealed to him, it would make more sense to wait for an expansion purification. So, he selected the monster option.

Extra monster choice purchased. One monster choice now available.

Please select a monster (One or more choices upgraded due to Blessing of Bees):

- Monster Bee Captain (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee)

- Monster Stingless Bee Queen (Rarity: Rare, Type: Bee)

- Monster Bee Gardener (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee, Nature)

The first choice was a repeat, the Monster Bee Captain. Boosting the coordination and effectiveness of the soldier bee army certainly wouldn’t hurt. At the same time, though, with communers boosting communication and allowing queens to direct their workers and soldiers remotely, the captains didn’t seem as necessary to Belissar. He imagined they still had to help somehow, but it perhaps wouldn’t be a particularly dramatic improvement.

Monster Stingless Bee Queen

Vitality: Minimal

Strength: Minimal

Speed: Average

Magic: Minimal

Defense: Minimal

Resistance: Minimal

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Special: Above Average

Notable Skills: Tackle, Wax Coating, Brood Mother, Command Offspring

Description: A stingless bee that has accumulated enough mana to become something more. Mostly similar to her mundane cousins, but more aggressive. Lacking a stinger, these bees defend themselves through a combination of physical assaults and coating enemies in wax and propolis. This one is a queen, and capable of building a hive of monster bees.

Belissar tilted his head at that. Stingless bees? There were stingless bees? Bees without stings would be convenient for a mundane beekeeper but how would they defend themselves in the wild? The description said something about tackling and coating in wax and propolis, and maybe that’d work for other insects but what would they do about something bigger like a bear? Or, in this case, a shade? The description gave Belissar more questions than answers.

Well, he had to imagine their defensive methods had to have some effect on the shades. The gods wouldn’t give him a helpless option, right? Maybe coating a turtle shade in wax could stop it somehow? He didn’t see how they would do that to anything moving faster, though.

Still, this one was also a queen, and so worth considering. If these stingless bees did prove effective against shades, having entire hives of them would certainly help. Though, they’d also be competing for resources with the existing monster bee queens and the bumblebee queens, and Belissar was currently out of room slots. Maybe they’d be a good option to put near the karnuq on the second floor? Though, if they had no stings, the karnuq might end up taking advantage of them. Belissar didn’t think they would but…

Well, there was still one more option to check out in any case.

Monster Bee Gardener

Vitality: Minimal

Strength: Minimal

Speed: Average

Magic: Minimal+

Defense: Minimal

Resistance: Minimal

Special: Minimal+

Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Tend Plants, Enhanced Pollination, Brood Offspring

Evolves from: Monster Bee Worker

Description: A monster bee worker that has come to specialize in foraging. Most bees assist plants as a side-effect, but these bees take it further. Monster bee gardeners directly boost the growth of plants they visit, exchanging mana and tending to the health of the plant. In doing so, they boost the growth and health of all plants, including plant features and plant monsters. They also increase the rate and impact of cross-pollination between different plants. In exchange for all this, they also gather more nectar per visit, and the nectar they gather has higher mana-density, boosting their hive’s honey production.

Belissar rubbed his chin and nodded as he read the description. So, a worker bee evolution that specialized in working with plants? While that wouldn’t help combat shades directly, he could very much see the appeal. More efficient foragers meant more honey, which meant more bees based on the same number of workers and flowers. The Apiary queens would produce even more honey, while the Flower Meadow queens could support more soldiers off their current worker base. However, what really stuck out to Belissar were the parts about boosting plant growth and cross-pollination. Most of his specialized queens, like the medicinal queen, the maddening queen, and the soon to be burning queen that would likely fulfill a mission from a god when she evolved, all evolved as the result of plants that cross-pollinated with mana flowers. So, a bee that would enhance that process would mean even more new types of flowers, and new types of bees to along with them. His entire Tower would benefit from that.

Additionally, he had lancers now as a soldier evolution and sprayers as a soldier alternative. Currently, the only worker evolution was the communer, which had a different job. Acquiring an evolution that would make the workers even better at the job might be a good idea, one that every hive he had would benefit from.

“Well, what does everyone think?”

Belissar made a show of asking everyone but glanced specifically at the First of the Fifth. As the queen in charge of the Apiary, she was the one most concerned with honey after all, and she had also been the one to take the lead on cross-pollination.

She was apparently trying not to say anything but she was also trembling and her legs kept trying to take steps. Belissar smiled, as he believed he could reasonably guess what she was thinking. She withered under his gaze until finally she started to dance.

“New workers would boost production.”

She chose her steps carefully but continued to tremble a bit. Belissar chuckled before glancing around. The Firstborn also seemed reluctant to dance so Belissar looked at her until she, too, started to move.

“Captains might help with army. But more honey needed too.”

He glanced at the other Orchard queen, the First of the Fifth’s daughter, since the Fourth of the Seventh was still out working on her outpost hive.

“Captains might also help run hive? More honey, more flowers always helpful.”

That…surprised Belissar, as he had expected her to agree with the First of the Fifth. Finally, he glanced at Beero, who didn’t move even under his gaze, and then to Chief Rohsuak. She smiled and shook her head.

“I am sorry, but I am not familiar with any of those. You know your bees best, so please do as you see fit.”

Belissar nodded and then thought to himself. But not for too long.

Monster Bee Gardener now available. Monster Worker Bees may now evolve into Monster Bee Gardeners.

Captains helped the current bees work better, but did not provide new options in and of themselves. Stingless bees were interesting and, as brood mothers, perhaps could offer an entirely new line of bees…but they were a risk since Belissar didn’t know exactly how effective they might be, and would compete with existing hives for resources until he could make more rooms. Gardeners, on the other hand? Gardeners made every existing hive better and could also unlock new bee types through cross-pollination. They seemed the most helpful for his Tower as a whole of the three choices.

Once he announced the choice, the First of the Fifth finally broke and began a rapid happy dance.

“Amazing! Incredible! King is best king!”

Belissar couldn’t help but smile and laugh at that.