These scouts does not look like a big deal; they had no powerful status and no 'special' abilities, just some utility skills.
"Hello! Welcome to the world! I am your mom~ everyone's mission is to explore and map the region around our House, report anything strange or that seems useful, always be very careful, and you can eat as you wish before you leave!"
"Thank you very much, mom!"
When I finished speaking, all the Scouts started going out wanting to get a bite of food to eat while I stayed behind with Trevis.
"Is that it? You won't even ask about their abilities?"
"Huh? I already know what they're good at, and now I just need them to do the work."
"I understand..."
"Now you can go back to your mission, try to find out the location of the human camp, if you are want, pick up some scouts to follow you and help."
"They would just slow me down..."
"But they could help you get in touch with us easily! But I won't force you to anything; if you want you can take some of them to help you, but it's your choice."
"Okay, I'll go without them; I prefer to work alone."
"No problem~"
As soon as we finished talking, Trevis left for his Special Mission, while Ken and the nurses began the process of cleaning the breeding Combs. I went to the combs that contained the [collectors] and stood there waiting for them to hatch; there was only a little time left, and I was very curious to know their maturation time.
After a few minutes of waiting, large white larvae with small yellow dots emerged from the egg and began to eat the shell. Soon, the larvae began to vibrate and sway, signaling to the 'nurses' that they were hungry. Soon, one of the bees helping Ken came close to one of the combs and began to spit out large amounts of the special royal jelly that I had created in my spare time. As soon as the larva finished eating the jelly, I tried to analyze it to find out how long it would take for it to emerge as a [collector], and soon found out that it would only take 2 days, thanks to the fast-growing royal jelly.
'All Right, 2 days... Once the cooks hatch, these guys will emerge; soon a new nursery will be built, and we can move all the other drones in there.'
Now I need to wait for Hans, it was still a few hours until he emerged, and while waiting, I would produce more royal jelly.
----------------------------------------
[warning]
The [Create food] skill has reached Lv3
Damn it! I finally got 1 level in [Create food]! I had to produce an absurd amount of food just to gain this level. How much food will I need to make to get Level 10? And what will I gain at Level 10? If I get to Level 5, do I get another sub-skill?
While I was thinking about the skills, a worker came and told me that Hans was about to emerge from his chrysalide, and so I put everything aside and ran to Hans Chrysalis.
Arriving at the place, the soldiers who were only serving as patrollers while Hans was going through the evolution were all around Hans waiting for him.
"How will he look?"
"Strong as fuck for sure!"
"Really badass!"
"Boys make room for Hans!"
"Ohh, okay, mom!"
As we stood there just waiting for Hans, soon Hans Chrysalis began to crack, and in a few moments, a black and strong arm came out from inside the chrysalis, followed by 3 other arms that soon broke the entire cocoon revealing a bee very different from the old Hans.
The Bee was taller and thinner than the old Hans, he had a chitin armor that was easily harder than that of an ordinary soldier, with a wider and more muscular limbs, and his bee back was much smaller than one of a soldier. But he had a Metallic-looking iron stinger that looked like a harpoon, but even so, it was still too small to be caled a 'spear', the harpoon-shaped Stinger was only slightly larger than the Stinger of an ordinary soldier, and I don't know how that could be used as a harpoon.
"Hans?..."
"Yes, mother!"
Hans voice was the same as always, only higher and sharper, and Hans had a big "presence" that easily distanced himself from the others.
[Status] Name: Hans Species: Solitary honeybee Level: 1 Class: Lancer Mana:N/A Life: 15.2 Str: 8.1 Def: 2.3 Spr: 12.5 Int: 14.5 Wis: 16.5 + Information
[Skills]
{Impale} lv1
Pierces through enemy defenses, causing bleeding and additional damage over time.
{Royal Duty} Lv 2
You can sense whenever your queen is in danger, if you fighting in her presence you gain 3x bonus in all stats. Get the (Disabled) effect after the end of a fight using the Royal duty.
{Maternal Connection} - locked
You have a deep mental connection with your mother that cannot be broken.
{Strong limbs} - Lv 3
All yours limbs are very strong and can carry 3x your own weight.
{Unshakeble Will}
Your own self is part of something bigger, and your mind and will cannot be affected by external factors.
+5 Wisdom
{Basic flight} Lv6
You have learned the art of flight, and now you have an easier time flying and stabilizing yourself
SPEED: +8
{Stinger Growth} Lv 1
Makes your stinger grow quickly until it reaches a limit size, if your Stinger is broken it regenerates over time
{Combat posture} Lv 1
Concentrate yourself to enter the [Combat posture], once you are in the [Combat posture] you gain 15% more [Strength] and [Agility], if you fail to enter the [Combat posture], you gain the effect [Paralysis] for 5 seconds.
{Taunt} Lv 1
In a group battle, enemies have a higher chance of preferring to attack only you. Takes 15% less damage from enemies and deals 10% less damage in a group Fight.
{Swift Charge} lv1
Executes a lightning-fast charge, closing the gap between enemies rapidly.
[Traces]
[Super developed]
You grew up very well in your youth! And now you can fell the results!
The [Speed], [life] and [strength] are multplied by 2
[Perfect soldier]
You were created to be the perfect soldier, and now you are.
+10% Strength +10% Speed +10% life
{Super protective}
You care so much about those you love, so much that you are willing to get hurt for them
Gain the ability:Taunt
{Focused Assault}
Maintains focus during battles, minimizing the impact of distractions and status effects.
What the fuck?!
The already scary Hans just got scarier as hell!
'No, no, make no mistakes... That rabbit I saw a long time ago had 150 health and was just a potato chip for that wolf, so Hans is not really 'powerful', but if Hans met that termite that attacked him in the past, he would wipe the floor with him, easily.'
"Hans! How do you feel? All right? Hungry? Tired? Uncomfortable?"
"I'm fine... I feel... Powerful, much more powerful than before, and I feel ... A giant famine!"
"There's plenty of food in the new warehouse the worker's are creating. Feel free to- "
Before i even finished speaking, Hans in the form of a blur passed me and ran to the warehouse; neither I nor the young soldiers could react, and all we could do was try to run after him. When we got to the depot where we were keeping a giant conglomerate of [pieces of honey], all I could see was Hans ripping large chunks out of the conglomerate and eating as if it was his last day on Earth.
"Hans!? How much food can you eat?!"
Soon the big conglomerate that could feed the colony for days had arrived halfway, and Hans showed no signs of stopping, and again I was faced with the mystery of "where the hell is all this going," because the Food ball was easily 3x the size of Hans, and he had already eaten about 3/5 of the whole conglomerate!
"Gee! Look at him, mom! Hans will finish all the food soon!"
"Wow, where does all this go?"
ALL MY HARD WORK, NO!!
I spent hours that were equivalent to whole days of work to get all this food together, and Hans simply devoured it all in 3 minutes!?!
"Ahhhh, now I'm satisfied; thank you for the food!"
"Thanks for the food? Thanks for the food?!! You ran out of stock that I thought would last a whole week!! Do you have any idea how much effort I put into this?! Today everyone will have to eat pure honey because we have no more rations!"
"I-I'm sorry; I didn't know I would be so hungry..."
"ARGH! I can't even be mad at you! I saw it coming! I just didn't expect you to run out of stock! You better be Really badass Hans!"
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"Yes, mother! Now that the number of my brother soldiers is increasing, and I have managed to evolve, I will surely be able to do much more for the hive, I will personally guide all the soldiers so that they can evolve quickly and protect the hive and everyone!"
"Awnnn, I hope this works out Hans, but please try not to raise the levels so fast... If I need to feed an entire group of drones like you, I'll end up dying of exhaustion!"
"I understand, so until our food conditions improve, I will ensure the safety of the workers and the colony!"
"That would be very good Hans, soon as the collectors are born and the laboratory is ready, I will start sending all the workers to work with pollination, so they can level up and get some evolutions for themselves."
"As soon the Cook bees Hatch I will start an "extreme" food production and then you can level up as fast as possible!"
----------------------------------------
Today, the first two [Collectors] bees are about to hatch. In the meantime, Hans had gone out with the boys and managed to evolve them all to level 3. Therefore, he decided to stop hunting and assigned all the soldiers to protect the colony. During these two days, the workers completed the entire moving of nursery and had started the project to transform the inside of the tree into my personal laboratory. However, since only a small group was necessary for that task, the majority went out to work as pollinators and honey collectors. Trevis still hadn't found anything concrete, but he assured me that were people somewhere there. They must have fled to the plains to the north near the lake, where the dangers are lowers, and life easier. This was really concerning for me, a group of mysterious beings appearing in an empty land. They could be colonizers, beggars, or there might be a city or village somewhere in those plains.
The worker bees were happy to work as pollinators; according to them, it was very relaxing. And with that and the work of the soldiers, I gained a bit of XP.
[Warning]
You earned 12.4 Xp from your's workers.
It was very little, for sure, especially considering that I had dozens of bees working on it. But I think it's because I only receive a small portion; as far I know, I should get something like 1/4 of all the XP they earn. So even though it's not very good for me, but it's still something.
Even with this small amount of Xp, I seemed to be the person who was evolving the most in this hive, looks like receiving a small xp tax from several members is much better than earning a large amount of Xp at once from a battle, my growth was slow for sure, but it was constant. And more importantly, I had never fought anyone, and yet I was already almost at Level 6, the workers barely had Level 2, while the soldiers had to risk their lives for the high Xp they earned.
Another thing I noticed was that the soldiers were... Cruel. Really cruel. There's some creatures like aphids and small larvae trying to feed on the flowers like us. They were too small and weak to even be a threat for the workers, of course, if many attacked, it would be deadly, but a single lonely aphid wouldn't bother a worker bee.
And yet, the soldiers massacred any creature that wasn't a bee. It seemed quite cruel to me. Sure, there's the aspect of competing for food and territory, but killing even the offspring of these insects seemed really cruel. And when I asked about it, their responses were:
"Huh? Mom! They're enemies! Whether they're weak or strong doesn't matter! They're all enemies!"
Hans supported the soldiers viewer point, and the workers too. It seemed like everyone was very kind to each other, but that was only if you were one of my children; anything else was a deadly treath and dangerous enemy.
"Mom! Look, the collectors are hatching!"
"Oops, got distracted again, thanks Ken."
From the large silk cocoons emerged two large bees that simply looked like chubby bees, but wider and shorter, and they seemed to be sleepy for some reason.
"Hmmmm, hungry...."
"Hello! Welcome to the world! I am your mother!"
"Mom.... Hungry...."
What's wrong with these guys? They sound like lazy talkers.
[Status] Name: N/D Species: Solitary honeybee Level: 1 Class: Collector Mana:N/A Life: 5 Str: 0.1 Def: 1.2 Spr: 0.3 Int: 2.2 Wis: 6.6 + Information
[Skills]
{Storage Mastery} Lv 1
You can store nectar and pollen efficiently, increasing the overall capacity of our natural storage pouches.
{Precise Collection} Lv 1
Collect nectar and pollen with exceptional precision, minimizing waste and maximizing the amount gathered in a single trip..
{Maternal Connection} - locked
You have a deep mental connection with your mother that cannot be broken.
{Sticky Sap Retrieval} Lv 1
You can extract sticky substances like sap or resin from plants, which can be useful for various colony activities.
{Unshakeble Will}
Your own self is part of something bigger, and your mind and will cannot be affected by external factors.
+5 Wisdom
{Cautious Flight} Lv 1
Our flying speed is intentionally kept low to avoid spills and damage to collected resources, making it more cautious in its movements.
{Low Profile} Lv 1
Keep a low profile, making it less noticeable to potential threats in its surroundings.
{Delicate Handling} Lv 1
Grants the ability to handle delicate flowers and plants without causing damage during the collection process.
{Energy Conservation} Lv 1
Conserve energy during flight, allowing it to cover longer distances with minimal fatigue.
[Traces]
{Slow-paced Foraging}
Unlike Your industrious counterparts, You take our time when collecting resources, meandering lazily from one flower to another without haste.
{Dreamy Daze}
In moments of extreme exhaustion, You may drift yourself into really vivid dreams in the mid-flight, your wings fluttering softly as they navigate the border between wakefulness and slumber.
Effects:
* You're always sleepy, but never need to sleep.
* You can get confused with what is real and what is not
Wow, these guys seem to be good for nothing other than collecting materials and sleeping. They can't do literally anything else! They have low energy and always would be tired. But that [Dreamy Daze] trait, what the hell is that shit?!! What now?! Schizophrenic bees?! They do not need to sleep is very 'stolen' they can function 24 hours a day, but hallucinate during work... What the fuck!
"Hello~~ How are you guys?"
"Hungry.... Ugh..."
"Ken, bring them some food, please?"
"What?! Can't they walk on their own? Why do I have to go get food for these lazy ones!?"
"T-They're not lazy... They just seem not to be good at anything else other than their main job. They're not like you, who are good at a little bit of everything."
"UGH! Fine! Hey, you two! Go get food for the collectors! Now!"
Shameless boy... He complained and then just sent other people in his place...
After a while, the other two nurses brought food, and the collectors started eating happily. I have to admit, the collectors are far the cutest of my childrens. They don't have muscles or chitin armor like the soldiers, they're not slender like the workers, not small like the scouts, and not intimidating like Hans. They look like a bee plushie – round and soft, with nothing that says "I'm threatening, get away bitch." They're more like, "Do you want a hug?"
"Delicious... Mmmmm"
"Mom... What do we need to do...?"
"OH, hehe, eat a little more, cuties~~ You can work later."
"What the hell, what a shameless favoritism at daylight is this?!"
"What?! It's not favoritism; I'm just letting them prepare themselves!"
"Prepare my ass! You sent all the scouts away as soon as they hatched, but now you're drooling over these lazy ones!"
"Ugh..."
"Alright, boys, I want you to help Matt collect nectar to make honey. Can you both do that?"
"Ohh... Sure, Mom! No problem..."
"Talk to Steve; he'll tell you where to go. Steve is at the main entrance, guiding the workers. Feel free to eat whenever you're hungry and ask anything!"
"Yes... let's go, brother..."
"Hmmm"
The two little plushie collectors 'left' the room, moving at such a slow speed that they seemed to be just floating through the air.
The collectors were adorable, for sure, but the scouts seemed to be more useful. In the last two days, they bombarded me with information . like where are the best flowers, special resources, dangerous zones, and strange creatures. With that, I figured out how [Memorial Memory] works. The scouts could mark information they found important, and then it became information that went into a 'folder' in my mind. And i could access the folder at any time and know all the essential information.
But there was still a big problem with that. The more information the scouts sent me, the harder it became to remember all information. Like a folder full of files, you're absolutely sure that the information is somewhere there in the middle, but there's are so many files that you can't find a specific one easily. Unless you remember exactly the date or the 'name' of the file. But storing this information was also problematic for me; it was like creating a folder with all the important files and then creating a sub-folder with the 'really important files.' The problem is that the more information enters, the harder it becomes to say what is important and what is not, and soon you end up with 'important files, very important files, super important files, mega important files, super mega important files.' It was just too much information!
I seriously need a 'mental secretary' bee. I can't keep all this information at once. Possessing all the knowledge in the world is useless when you can't process it in uselful information.
The cooking bees had hatched and would soon emerge with the help of the fast-growth royal jelly, and now I just had to wait for the [Beacons] and the new collectors. That's left me with about 40 creation combs ready to be used and three ansious nurse bees.
"Mom! Produce more Soldier! We need to ensure the safety of our home!! And the colony always needs more members!"
"I know, I wanted to wait for the royal cooks to be born to see their utility and if it would be necessary to create more of them before using the avaliable space."
"Create more at once! Stop being so picky with it! Or create more workers! We always need more workers!"
"W-Well, I wanted to wait until I unlocked a bee option specialized in construction, but I guess you're right. I won't unlock more options without laying eggs."
"That's it! Hurry up!"
"What enthusiasm is this, guys? You look like a bunch of withdrawal addicts..."
"'W-we Sorry Mom.. We're just worried about the hive. We need to increase our numbers urgently. I know you think we're okay... But.. We're not doing so well."
"What the hell? Why didn't you say it before?! What the hell is happening, Ken?!"
"Mom... We are insects... We are in the middle of a verdant and resourceful Plain, do you really think we are the only ones who want this place? I heard from Hans, that every day it gets more and more difficult to protect all of us, the insects that exist around our house are beginning to lose their 'fear of the unknown' and seeing that we are not a threat to them... Now that Hans has evolved, I think we may have bought ourselves some time, but without more soldiers it's just a matter of time until a creature much stronger than all of us put together comes to us... The scouts saw many animals and powerful creatures that roam around, and as insects we are easy prey for them... We need to win in numbers!"
'Ken's right... Just because it looks like we're okay doesn't mean we're actually really okay. A hive of bees with less than 50 members was not really a 'colony', I didn't need to focus exactly on the numbers of members, I could focus on the quality of each member. To raise a bunche of 'elite' bees, but for that I would need a lot, a lot of food, the more powerful a [class] is, the greater its nutrient consumption. So focusing on quality now was the same as asking to starve, I needed troops capable of producing food to do that, I don't know if the [royal cooks] can handle the job, but probably not, these royal cooks should be focused on 'quality' and not 'quantity'.'
But as we level up in classes, wouldn't we get more and more 'self sustainable', after all I am a [Queen], and I didn't need to eat more than a simple worker, my only weakness was my uselessness in a fight, or low constructions capacities, but my maintenance cost was very 'cheap', the only time I needed to eat a lot of food was when I'am laying eggs.
By gaining [Mana], can we survive eating less? After all, mana was a kind of energy, it could serve to 'energize' and sustain someone's body without food or water... Theoretically.
"Alright, let's see. Soldiers are out of the question. Our food production is too low for that. So, workers? I could increase the XP flow through pollination... But the collectors seem very useful too. Still, they take a long time, and I don't know all their capabilities... Oh, screw it! I'll make as many workers as I can!"
"Thank you!"
After laying about 16 eggs, I started to feel hungry. I told Ken about it, and soon one of the nurses ran to the storage and brought several pieces of honey accompanied by some workers. I have to admit, sitting comfortably, laying eggs while eating is quite relaxing. I just needed a soft sofa and some workers fanning me with palm leaves to be a real queen now.
After laying about 60 eggs, the nurses collected them one by one and placed them in the breeding units. They seemed extremely happy to have someone to take care of, and I was happy to help them.
'Mom... Important.... Workers.... Request.'
'Hmm? Steve? What's going on?'
Wen I was preparing myself for leaving the nursery, Steve sent me a mental notification. It seemed like it wasn't a serious problem, but some kind of request from the workers?
"Steve! What happened?"
Steve was at the main entrance, surrounded by some workers and Matt and Miles.
"Mom! It's nothing serious, but the workers have a request, and I believe you're the only one who can decide whether we can grant it or not..."
"Hmm.. What's the request?"
"They—"
"We want a party hall! A really big one with seats for everyone!"
"Party hall??! The hell?! Do you think what!? That we're in the 90s?!"
"What? What we want is a room for everyone to relax, talk, and eat while socializing, not a dance floor! But I think one wouldn't hurt!"
"Is this serious?!"
Matt and Miles seemed serious about the matter, but their reasons seemed... strange.
"M-Mom.. If you allow me! It's more than just having fun... It's just very uncomfortable to eat in the warehouse itself, and sometimes it gets too cramped... So we all wanted a dining room, where we could eat comfortably and use it as a gathering area when we're not working, and also a dormitory area... It's very uncomfortable to have to cling to the walls to sleep..."
One of the workers had explained the situation, and now that I stop to think about it, I was a mean person. I put everyone to work like dogs and didn't even care about basic things like bedrooms, dining areas, and socialization. Bees are very sociable, especially when they can talk and form full sentences, so this whole environment was making everyone sad. I didn't care about they Living conditions until now; I only thought about the new building and my new laboratory. And for these guys to come here and talk to Steve personally, how bad must the situation be? I never had dormitory problems; my bed was inside the tree, well-guarded and comfortable, while the workers and soldiers had to cram wherever they could to sleep and eat...
"Forgive me boys! I should have thought about this before! Of course, you can make your 'Party Hall,' feel free to call all available workers, and do it the way you think is best! Tell everyone that this is the new priority, okay?"
"Re-Really?! That easy?! I thought we were at least going to get scolded first for asking !"
UGH, what do those guuys think about me?!
"Since you seem to be in a good mood! We also wanted to build a main warehouse that is separate from the building, a main nursery, a cube-shaped wall around the entire colony, a fortified entrance, a super tank with concentrated honey that you can create! Hans wants a training room, the scouts would like their own large warehouse to store 'cool stuff,' and Trevis wanted a special room just for him!"
DAMN, HOW MANY THINGS DID THESE GUYS NOT TELL ME?!