In the white marble hall, amongst the statues of ancient but not forgotten heroes, there stood a brilliant golden throne. Its brilliance was only amplified by pure and splendid lighting, the illumination stemmed from a magical item best known as the Holy Candle, and there were no less than a hundred of them nested in decorative candelabras and chandeliers.
There on the golden throne, showered in the candlelight of the Holy Light, sat the Holy Emperor himself. His gold-threaded robes were pristine white giving him that aura of both regality and purity. In his hand he held a massive sceptre, the divine grade item was a symbol of his rule, but also a tool of great power. His hand was clutching tight on the sceptre as if afraid to lose it, and his face was painted in an expression of deep contemplation.
His empire was rocked by chaotic events, one after the other in a seemingly endless wave. It all started as something insignificant, just a disturbance in a border kingdom of no significance, and yet it somehow built up to this… He had the feeling that the Holy Empire was inching towards a significant turmoil, something big enough to challenge his divine mandate to rule.
The recent events were the most disturbing, first it was the Archivist and then the Oracle. The Master Archivist had brought him a time-honoured scroll, the old texts told a tale of an ancient power which should not be disturbed. Yet the descriptions of that which should not be awakened were all too familiar by this point. And then the High Oracle had barged into his bedchamber with the most unwelcome vision, she had foretold a great Calamity which soon will befall his holy domain. Moreover, the reports of his generals on the frontlines only strengthened the validity of the old text and the foreboding vision. All three had a certain common keyword.
“Spiders…” The Holy Emperor whispered with dread.
Right after the whisper, a long sigh escaped his lips.
“We’ve been wrong in our assumptions.” He tightened the grip on his sceptre. “The Demon Lord had nothing to do with this.”
Indeed, the power they were up against was much more ancient, primordial even, and likely just as troublesome as the Demon Lord. No! It was clearly worse.
Either way, this called for urgent and regretfully desperate action where the best solution was a certain ritual.
The Holy Emperor let yet another deep sigh. The ritual he was thinking was no mere feat to achieve, it required exotic ingredients and an obscene amount of mana. Worse, it would Sunder the involved priests and mages leaving the Empire crippled until they recovered.
With resolve, the Holy Emperor turned to the nearby priestess. “Call the High Priest and tell him to assemble the Clergy. We shall commence the Hero Summoning!” He said with all of his imperial authority.
The previously bored and glazed-over eyes of the priestess brightened with a spark of excitement. “At once, my holiness.” She had practically sprinted out of the hall.
===
Despite what one might think the Spider Kingdom had issues of its own, actually, it was on the cusp of experiencing a disaster of unprecedented proportions, a Calamity of its own. At the very foundation of the disaster was a certain substance, or to be more precise the lack of it. Yes, we’re speaking about the ambrosia of the spiders, the Slug Jelly.
You see, it could only be produced by one highly esteemed Johny the Magnificent Slug. While Johny was well-equipped to squirt a barrel of it a day, she still was a single slug, and one slug for 200 000 spiders was just not even near enough!
The jungle was scouted and scoured for the kin much like Johny and wild DustyBlue fields were turned upside down, and yet, there were no slugs to be found. After all, it seems that Johny was a unique aberrant, a rare exception to what once was a sterile jungle.
So what is there to do? – indeed, a difficult question. To alleviate the issue substitutes were invented, like the TomGrape Syrup; it was close but it was never good enough. However, yet another promising candidate was found, it was the highly sought-after Honey, an ingredient found in the Dark Forest. The spiders liked it so much that they nicknamed it as the liquid gold. That liquid gold soon also caught the attention of the Spider King, and it seems he liked it just as much as his spiders.
Let's skip some minor events and let’s just go to the natural conclusion. There in the ‘you know where’ the Spider King was sitting at the workbench. Atop the worksurface, there was a glass jar with a live beehive inside. The little bees buzzed and crawled agitated in their containment. He looked at little insects with curiosity, they weren't exactly the bees he remembered but the critters inside were close enough.
“I just need to find the queen and then Evolve her.”
Yup, this was the beginning of the Ultimate Solution to an encroaching calamity.
“I’m ready.” A juvenile spider crafter chirped happily.
This little assistant wielded a rather large hammer, it was there to squash the angry bees in case the evolution didn’t go right. Thinking about it a fly swatter would have been more appropriate, but you can tell that to the spider…
The Spider King opened the jar and proded the hive breaking it in search of his quarry. The bees buzzed with anger and stung his hand.
“Hammer Time?” The spider asked expectantly.
“No.” He smiled at the overeager spider. “It doesn’t even sting.” It was his Enhanced Poison Immunity talking.
Finally, he found the queen he was looking for, he pulled her out and closed the jar back up.
“Hammer time???” The spider asked again.
A few rather Enraged bees escaped but that was of little concern.
“Not yet, spider.” He pulled the queen bee closer. “[Evol…], hmm.” He stopped abruptly.
“I knew it! Bad bee! Hammer Time!” The spider swung up.
He lowered the spider’s hammer back down. He stopped because he remembered another insect-like creature from the Dark Forest. She was in part responsible for the presence of the hammer in this experiment. But anyway, she had left him something rather precious and completely on a whim he decided to spend it at this very moment.
“[Imbue: FairyDust], [Evolve]”, he imbued the queen during the evolution. The goal was something more than just a monster bee.
The queen glowed in purple and her body increased in size rapidly; she stopped growing by the time she reached the size of a collectable figurine. Her final shape changed to a more humanoid appearance, her round head lost most of its insect-like features and the number of limbs shrunk to four: two hands and two legs plus a voluptuous bee butt at the back. Just like a fairy would, the bee queen had all the feminine features which were strategically hidden by tuffs of that yellow bee fuzz.
The bee stretched her wings wide and buzzed with contempt pointing her improved stinger at Spider King.
“A failure!” The spider chirped at perceived failure in excitement for some reason. “Hammer Time!!!”
“Nope!” The Spider King stopped the swinging hammer with his hand.
The bee flinched at the prospect of being squashed.
“[Inspect]”, he finally invoked.
Monster Race: Apidae
Variant: HoneyBee (Queen)
Magic Affinity: Nature
👑
🐝
🍯
HP:10
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MP:50
STA:50
Active Perks
[Sting], [Pheromone Attack]
Passive Perks
[Synthesise: RoyalJelly], [Egg Layer], [Hive Mind]
Resistances
[Fire Weakness: Medium]
The small surprise was the RoyalJelly it produced and not Honey; the latter must be made by the workers only.
“I think the experiment was a success.” He announced giving a meaningful look to the spider.
“Oh. Okay then.” The spider put the hammer down reluctantly.
The bee in question looked with fear at the hammer, then at the murderous spider and right after to the Spider King.
“Bzzz,” she buzzed but in a much more subdued tone, “this royal bee is at your service.” With those words, she kneeled.
Of course, the evolved bee spoke! At this point, it didn’t even come as a surprise.
“Bzzz,” she buzzed again looking back at the jar of angry bees. “But please spare the hammer from my subjects,” she glanced at the restless hammer.
“Ah, of course, I’ll evolve them too.” Yet without the precious FairyDust this time. “But first, let's visit a friend of mine.” He picked up the glass jar and went for the exit.
The Bee Queen fluttered her wings and followed right after.
Disappointed at the lack of the ‘Hammer Time’, “Tch!”, the spider clicked its spidery tongue. “Maybe another time.”
…
Without much trouble, the evolved bee was brought to the highly esteemed Johny for inspection.
“Oh, How Marvellous!” Johny exclaimed in her eldrich voice. “This Will Do, Yes, This Will Do.”
There was a good reason for him to bring the bees to Johny. You see, one of the morning milking sessions might have gotten too sticky leaving Johny seeded with a Monster Core; a happy accident at that because the esteemed slug had obtained a Mutate perk. The perk was similar to the Spider King’s Mutate but also different; it was more nuanced. As a rule, Johny’s mutations always ended up with either Eldrich or BlueDust flavour, and sometimes both. Well, several rather vicious plants had to be exterminated, although there were just as many successes - namely a beautiful cherry blossom-like tree but with blue petals instead. The BlueBlossom trees were planted all around Johny’s house, the gazebo, enchanting the already sureal feel of the structure.
“Go say hello to Johny.” He encouraged the Bee Queen.
The bee landed on one of Johny’s tendrils. “Bzzz,” she buzzed curiously. “Is this… jelly I smell on you, bzzz? A RoyalJelly perhaps?” She asked with wonder while looking at the massive jelly sacks right infront, all six of them.
“Better. Slug Jelly.” She retrieved just a dollop. “Have a try.”
The bee slurped up the substance and her eyes opened in shock.
Johny smiled at the tiny bee, however, the smile wasn’t warm, it was the opposite – cold and calculating; more like an evil grin. “Got You. [Mutate]!”
The bee fell off the tendril much like an autumn leaf. Shakes and convulsions rocked her body, a change was taking place. The iconic bee-black and bee-yellow was turned into blue and black, but more importantly, a set of eldrich tendrils sprouted on her back.
“Ta-Da!” Johny clapped in achievement. “A Bee For the DustyBlue Flowers, And Other Blossoms I Have Mutated.”
“[Inspect]”, he had to check.
Monster Race: Lesser Eldrich
Variant: JellyBee (Queen)
Magic Affinity: Nature
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🔹 🐝 🔹
🍯
HP:10
MP:50
STA:50
Active Perks
[Sting], [Pheromone Attack], [Sprinkle Dust]
Passive Perks
[Synthesise: RoyalJelly], [Egg Layer], [Telepathy]
Resistances
[Fire Weakness: Medium], [BlueDust Resistance]
Status Effects
[Minion]
“Okay…” There were more changes than he had assumed. “She changed her race to Eldrich!” He was worried about that part. “Won't that make her hostile?” He remembered some rather carnivorous plants Johny had mutated.
“She’s My Minion Now So There Is Nothing To Worry About.” Johny beamed him a confident smile. “Now Hand Me The Rest Of The Bees.”
He did just so, and while Johny was busy transforming the bee colony, the Bee Queen finally woke up. She glanced at Johny, and the slug glanced at the bee. They were silent like that for a good moment. Perhaps something was communicated, but either way, the Queen Bee bowed to the nearby King and with a quick buzz she flew towards the BlueBlossom trees.
Soon after, the rest of the bee colony was Mutated into Eldrich JellyBees. The workers weren’t evolved or imbued with FairyDust, hence they remained much like bees, just a lot larger plus an addition of an odd tendril or two. The busy bees flew around the flower garden poking their faces into dusty petals to gather what they needed.
“It Will Take Only A Moment” Johny informed. “Come, Have A Rest.” She invited to sit in the nearby gazebo.
True to her words, the bee workers didn’t take long to gather the stuff they needed. They gathered on the table and around the conveniently placed bowl. A strange ritual followed, it was rather obscene: the bees formed a circle and began kissing each other while passing a blue-tinted liquid while at it. The end product was spat into the bowl and then fanned vigorously with their wings. Perhaps it could be thought of as spit or even vomit, but it was simply unaged honey, aware of such realities, and without hesitation, the Spider King dipped his finger into the still warm and sticky liquid and then right into his mouth it went.
“Yum!” He reacted at the taste of it. “Not Slug Jelly but not Honey either. It's entirely different!” Either way, it was just as sweet.
Johny laughed at the quickly emptying bowl. “Make Sure You Leave Some For The Spiders.”
“Oh, you’re right. This was the purpose of this experiment after all.” He licked the last of it from his finger.
“Bzzz.” The Bee Queen landed on the table. “Giving all these telepathic commands made me hungry.” She walked up to the bowl. “Bzzz? It's Empty!” She looked accusingly at the culprit.
“It was just too good,” was his excuse.
He expected her to pout or make a scene, but instead the bee just smiled at him mirthfully.
“Really? And you haven’t even tasted my…” She paused for suspense. “RoyalJelly! It will blow your mind I’m sure.”
“Is that so?” He asked with expectation.
“Just a moment, Spider King.” The Bee Queen stepped right into the emptied bowl.
Now considering that honey could be seen as bee spit or vomit, the royal bee jelly would be made similarly, no? However, the Spider King was not expecting what soon followed.
The Bee Queen crouched ever so slightly. “Bzzz,” she buzzed and then began leaking clear liquid right from down under. It was rather viscous and soon pooled into a sticky puddle. “Ahh, I feel much better.” It was as if a great burden just left her body.
This Bee Queen was rather shameless to do something like that right in front of him. He was positively shocked!
“Bzzz? What are you waiting for? This is a treat befitting a King, dig in!”
It did start as a liquid but now was beginning to congeal much like a jelly would, however, considering the place it came from it was hard to think of it as such. Was this bee trying to prank him just like a certain fairy did? This was no RoyalJelly, this was bee pee!
“[Inspect]!”
The Monster System disagreed:
RoyalJelly: A rare and precious substance secreted by the Queen Bee. It possesses mystical properties that can bolster the natural abilities and skills of those who consume it.
“Spider King, Is There A Problem?”
“Bzzz?”
“I guess not.” He scooped the now-cooled and congealed jelly with his finger. “There goes nothing.” He licked it off. “HUH!?” His eyes widened. “This is amazing! I demand more!”
“Bzzz,” the Bee Queen buzzed apologetically, “I can’t do it on demand.”
“Wait, Wait, Wait! It Can't Be That Good. Is It Better Than Mine?”
“…” He had to pause to think, it was a close contester.
Johny misunderstood the silence. “No!!! There Is That Little Spider Who Helped Me With Naughty Plants, The One With A Hammer? Spider!”
Sensing the danger, “Bzzz!”, the queen disappeared into the distance.