The Bee Dungeon

Belissar observed the Second Third of the First for a while longer to ensure she would be ok, but the hive of hives seemed to have things well in hand. Once the First of the Fifth’s First Daughter delivered swirled honey and the Second Third of the First prepared to evolve, Belissar finally turned his attention away.

As luck would have it, another queen needed his attention.

“King! Third of Sixth has question.”

Belissar smiled up at Niobee.

“Got it, let’s go.”

Belissar returned to the nexus door room and found Urubran, Chief Rohsuak, and the Third of the Sixth right where he left them. Urubran grinned when he approached.

“Ah, Belissar! There you are!”

Belissar returned the smile.

“Hello again, did you need me for something?”

Urubran nodded.

“Yes, we have a proposal for you, Belissar. I’d like to get some of the Third of the Sixth’s honey. I’m hoping both to evolve the stingless bees Tarwantrad helped me raise and to implement Chief Rohsuak’s Trial of Fire method. In exchange, I’ll share flowers and Fire monsters with you, if you want them.”

Belissar only needed a second to decide.

“Sure, that sounds good to me.”

Urubran grinned again.

“Thanks Belissar! I’ll bring some stuff over soon. Also, I’m extending an open invitation to your monsters and sworn defenders. Anytime any of your disciples of Fire want to explore more Fire rooms, just send them my way.”

Belissar glanced at Chief Rohsuak, who smiled back at him.

“Got it. My Tower’s open too, if any of your bees want to visit.”

Urubran chuckled.

“They just might.”

Afterwards, Belissar spoke with Chief Rohsuak and the Third of the Sixth about arranging a visit to Urubran’s dungeon, as both were very clearly interested in checking it out. Chief Rohsuak mentioned that if Urubran had Fire rooms that were hotter and more magical than the Lava Field, Belissar’s sworn defenders could use them to challenge themselves and work their way up to the Dragonvein Volcano.

She also had a dangerous gleam in her eye when she spoke about having Metsaitti do just that.

The day soon came to a close and Belissar turned in for the night. The next morning, he awoke to find the Second Third of the First had completed her evolution. He turned his Tower sight to her, finding the queen’s yellow hairs had turned pale white, leaving her a ghostly black and white. Belissar grinned and looked to see what the Tower had to say.

Reanimating Monster Bee Queen

Vitality: Minimal

Strength: Minimal

Speed: Average

Magic: Above Average

Defense: Minimal

Resistance: Below Average

Special: Above Average

Notable Skills: Reanimating Sting, Brood Reanimation, Self-Reanimation, Undying, Brood Mother, Command Offspring, Control Undead

Spawner Upkeep: 40 (20 with Blessing of Bees)

Evolves From: Monster Bee Queen with Death Attribute Mana

Description: A monster bee that has evolved to hold Death mana in their body and in the their hive’s mana link. Death is not the end for these bees, reanimating bees can remain active for time after receiving a mortal wound and any reanimating bee that is killed will rise as undead and continue working for the hive. Their venom and honey are packed with Death mana which not only harms the living but will also reanimate anything killed by them, provided the corpse is filled with a sufficient concentration compared to its original life force and mana reserves.

This one is a queen who can raise a hive of reanimating monster bee queens. Should her reanimating children fall, she may raise them again, including undead bees who are killed once more. Additionally, the queen can extend the Death mana linking her hive to other undead and make them part of her brood. This ability is automatically applied to undead reanimated by her or her hive, when targeting other undead it depends on the strength of the queen’s mana and her hive’s mana compared to that of the target undead. Note that retaining control of undead that are not brood offspring requires reserving part of either the queen’s mana or the hive mana, if either of these is insufficient the undead may break free. Like the rest of her hive, the queen can also self-reanimate after death, but note that she will lose her ability to lay living eggs if this occurs and so she should avoid this at all costs.

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As an evolved monster bee queen, the reanimating monster bee queen also has a superior ability to raise evolved bee types and can lay monster bee types in her evolution lineage in addition to reanimating monster bees.

Belissar blinked and then grinned. Bees that wouldn’t die, even if they were killed! It was like having an entire hive of immortals with bees that would come right back to life when hurt, though probably as zom-bees.

That…was a good question, actually. What was the difference between an immortal and a reanimating bee? What about zom-bees? Was coming back as a zom-bee the same as coming back as an immortal? The one zom-bee in questioned was still acting like a worker bee, albeit in a far more clumsy manner. Was she the same worker bee, or something else?

Belissar decided he should really ask Hesfalle about all this. And not just to figure out reanimating bees…

Mission: Raise or evolve a monster of both Bee and Death types and rare or better rarity completed!

Reward: One uncommon Death-type room feature choice.

He had managed to complete the first of the four missions the God of Death had given him…and doing so would allow him to complete two more. For the first, the reanimating bees could apparently make Death-attribute honey so that he could make mead to offer to the God of Death. For the second, once the Second Third of the First finished evolving her hive, she could potentially raise new Death-attribute queens that Belissar could share with Hesfalle.

So, without further contemplation, Belissar sent word to Hesfalle about what happened.

Within the hour, Hesfalle ran through the nexus door, followed shortly by Tarwantrad. Hesfalle ran up to him, her eyes shining.

“Belissar! You made Death bees?!”

Tarwantrad chuckled and shook her head.

“As you can see, she’s very excited.”

Belissar grinned.

“So am I.”

He lead the pair over to Second Third of the First’s Flower Meadow. Hesfalle glanced over at the pile of rabbit corpses next to the beehive and tilted her head.

“Have any of the rabbits risen as undead?”

Belissar shook his head. Hesfalle hummed.

“That’s curious. I would have expected that to occur before your bees managed to adapt to Death mana. This has all happened quite a bit earlier than I expected…”

At that point, the Second Third of the First noticed them and zipped out of her hive.

“King!”

She danced an enthusiastic salute. Belissar gave her a big smile.

“Hi Second Third of the First, and congratulations on your evolution. Don’t mind us, you can keep working. Do you mind if we watch your hive?”

“King is best king! Always can watch!”

The three followed the Second Third of the First over to her beehouse and Belissar carefully removed the roof. The Second Third of the First’s bees were entering cells one by one, each one preparing to evolve and match their queen mother. The Second Third of the First was sending her Death-attribute mana into sealed cells, providing the mana necessary for the bees that hadn’t absorbed enough themselves. Hesfalle leaned over the hive to watch, her eyes lighting up once she caught sight of the zom-bee.

“Ah, one of the bees rose as undead?”

Belissar nodded.

“I think that’s what triggered the evolution.”

Hesfalle rubbed her chin.

“Hm, I hadn’t considered that the bees would rise before the rabbits. They’re small, but they are monsters and the rabbits aren’t. I apologize for that, did the bees have any trouble with the undead?”

Belissar shook his head.

“No, the zom-bee just kept working like normal.”

Hesfalle stiffened.

“The zombie…kept working?”

Belissar confirmed as much.

“Yes, the queen also reconnected her to the hive right away.”

Hesfalle’s eyes went wide.

“Ah! So that’s what happened! I didn’t consider your bees mana hive mind, in retrospect they are already connected to their queen in a similar manner to a necromancer and their undead. So, your queen managed a feat of necromancy even before her body adapted to Death mana. Amazing, truly amazing.”

Belissar smiled, very much agreeing with that. Then, he decided to ask his questions.

“If you don’t mind, I had some questions on what’s going on here. The Tower says these bees can reanimate themselves if they die, do you know what’s the difference between that and monster bee immortals?”

Hesfalle shook out of her reverie and focused on Belissar.

“Of course. I could see how you might think they’re similar, but they couldn’t be more different. Immortals, as far as I understand them, are reborn as the same living bees that they were before. Necromantic reanimation, on the other hand, creates a new form of life using a corpse as a material.”

Belissar furrowed his brow.

“So, the zom-bee isn’t the same worker from before? Even though she’s acting the same?”

Hesfalle opened her mouth, then paused, then closed it, then rubbed her chin.

“That’s…you know, I’m not actually sure…”

Hesfalle looked away from him with a thoughtful expression. Belissar waited patiently for her to elaborate.

“So, with normal undead, they are not the same being that they were before. The God of Death normally does not permit the souls of the dead to remain, much less to be bound with their own power. You can use the memories of the soul within the body’s mana to mimic the previous soul’s knowledge, skills, and intentions, particularly if you work along with the previous soul’s dying thoughts, but the undead is ultimately a new creation. A new form of life born out of death, like new flowers nourished by decaying matter.”

Hesfalle then crossed her arms.

“But with your bees, I’m not so sure. A naturally raised zombie normally doesn’t retain any of its previous instincts or behavior unless the corpse was exceptionally strong in life. A monster bee worker should not have qualified…and yet, your zombie worker continued working. The mana hive mind might have changed how things work…especially with immortals. If monster bees can already preserve the souls of their hive within their hive mana, then perhaps it’s possible something is occurring here I don’t understand. But, would the God of Death allow for such a thing to occur…”

Hesfalle thought to herself for a moment before breaking out into a huge smile.

“I don’t know! I’ve never considered necromantic bees before, maybe this is a new form of undeath! Belissar, would you permit me to observe your bees? I would love to see how their abilities develop.”

Belissar smiled.

“Sure. Actually…the God of Death asked me to give you a queen of your own. It’ll have to wait until the Second Third of the First has daughters, but once she does I could help you raise one?”

Hesfalle blinked, then made an even larger smile than before.

“You’re truly amazing, Belissar. I must thank you and the God of Death both. I’ll bring you something for your bees, right away!”

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