BD - Chapter 106 - Heavy Bee-cisions (Patreon)

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 accomplish already, though they were running into some snags. The transition from a normal monster beehive to a burning monster beehive was proving more complicated than with the medicinal or maddening hives, as with every burning worker added the hive became increasingly uncomfortable 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 was comfortable crossing the line. Likewise, any part of the hive built of regular 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 access 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 was complete.

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.

Please select a reward:

- Uncommon Monster Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)

- Rare Room Feature Choice (At least one rare or better option)

- Uncommon Room Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)

Belissar smiled and nearly chose immediately before stopping himself. Getting a rare room feature after a full nine common options would be incredibly gratifying. But, given the latest 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.

Please select a reward:

- Uncommon Room Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)

- +100 max mana

- Uncommon Monster Choice (At least one uncommon or better option)

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 bees complied. Belissar glanced 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 place 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 blame 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 have come 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.”

Belissar had never really had to comfort anyone before. So, he just said what he honestly felt. These bees had given their all and accomplished much that he never could. He had no doubt that they would do so again. So, he would not let them blame 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.

Please select a room feature:

- Beehive Bomb (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee, Trap)

- Gravilion Flower (Rarity: Rare, Type: Gravity, Nature, Trap)

- Treasure Chest (Rarity: Common, Type: Resource)

Beehive Bomb

- Type: Bee, Trap

- Mana Upkeep: 5 (3 with Blessing of Bees)

- Description: A beehive that explodes into a swarm of bees on contact. The bee swarm will pursue all targets in the area until the mana comprising them expires. If bee monsters are available different bee types may be chosen for an increase in upkeep.

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 particularly done anything to the latest shade they faced. And, if Belissar really wanted to swarm a target with bees, he could just resolve himself to casualties and ask the workers to do so.

Gravilion Flower

- Type: Gravity, Nature, Trap

- Mana Upkeep: 10 per node, 5 to enable in compatible rooms

- Description: A unique dandelion strain attuned to the force of gravity. Utilizes gravitational fields to launch its seeds at high velocity. When gathered in numbers, gravity may behave erratically nearby, causing random increases or decreases in effective weight.

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 particular effect or result in any special bee types though. It was something of a risky choice in that regard.

Treasure Chest

- Type: Resource

- Mana Upkeep: Depends on possible contents

- Description: A box meant to hold rewards. Can be set to generate resources or products available in the dungeon at regular intervals, mana cost will depend on resource generated and interval of generation chosen. May also be used as general storage.

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 available in the dungeon…so resources he already had available? 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.

Gravilion Flower selected.

Well, that was one choice down. Now for the second…

Author’s Note:

Wait, what do you mean Belissar has never heard the word gravity before? What is he, some sort of uneducated peasant? I’d accuse him of being a non-bee too, but bees don’t worry about silly things like gravity, so guess that doesn’t apply this time.

Anyways!

Has Belissar made the right choice? What will this new and confusing flower do? Will it help the bees defend the Tower? Tune in next time, to find out!