The Bee Dungeon

After the victory celebrations, Belissar went to check out the nearest pond. It was…well, a pond. It was only about as long as he was tall and would come up his ankles, maybe even as deep as his knee at the most. There were no particular plants or features, the crystal clear water let him see the empty rock at the bottom.

It was a bit of water and that’s it. But, at the end of the day, that was all Belissar needed it to be. He knelt down and cupped a bit into his hand, then took a sip. His first drink of water since becoming a dungeon master. It was cool and refreshing.

He then returned to the Apiary farmhouse for the night. He sat back in one of the chairs, for he had something he wanted to think about before he went to bed.

DP: 1695

When reviewing the Tower’s status, he noticed his DP had grown substantially. He knew that he was receiving way more DP than before thanks to both the bear people’s gathering group and their hunting group, but only now did he realize just how much he had received. He reopened the DP store for the first time since it first appeared.

DP Shop

- Extra Room Feature Choice (Cost: 1000 DP)

- Extra Monster Choice (Cost: 3000 DP)

- Extra Room Choice (Cost: 3000 DP)

- Additional Room Slot (Cost: 5000 DP)

- Boost Maximum Mana (Cost: 5000 DP)

His eyes widened as he compared the numbers. When he had first seen it, his DP income had been all of one per day. Even the cheapest option would take him years to afford. So, he had basically written off the entire thing as too expensive to ever afford and largely forgotten about it.

Now? Now he could already afford a new room feature choice, and he was well on his way to the others. He could buy something right now if he wanted to.

So, it was time to consider if he wanted to, and what he should aim for. A room feature now, or one of the other options later? He asked himself what, if any room features he needed.

In the end, though, he couldn’t think of anything specific. As luck would have it, he had already gotten a water source just today, which was the main feature he wanted. He could think of other things that could be useful: more plants for the bees, more traps for better defense, maybe something to help the bear people and get even more DP. Yet, he couldn’t think of a specific thing that he needed right now, and since the choices seemed random he had no idea if the feature in question would be something he wanted in any case.

So, he considered the other choices. More monster options was always a good thing. The sprayers had been incredible, dealing with shades while minimizing the risk to his bees. He had also already seen plenty of options that would be useful. He could get digger bees if they ever showed up again. Carpenter or mason bees might help him with his current construction projects. Monster bee captains would make the army even stronger than it was. Plus, who knew what other options were out there?

New perks were a bit more expensive, and thus far the effect of perks seemed a bit more subtle compared to new monsters or features. But, it made his Tower and his bees stronger, and didn’t require him to spend any more mana to do so. Likewise, he could expand his room limit and get more rooms to work with. He could make an Orchard just for the bear people, maybe even an Apiary if he was willing to let them interact directly with the bee colonies. He still hesitated on that, but the bear people had respected his bees thus far so maybe it wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Plus, a second farmhouse might provide a good place for lessons with Juosiutik.

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But, ultimately, Belissar determined which option he would want right now. New room types would be the most helpful, he thought. He still had a fourth room slot he hadn’t used, and he had a bunch of plants unlocked that he didn’t have a suitable place to grow. If Dirt Tunnels appeared again, for example, he could probably grow all those cave plants he had…not to mention that Juosiutik had a bunch more she could share in that case as well. And even if Dirt Tunnels or another underground option wasn’t available, new room types meant more plant options from Basic Resource Plants, so it wouldn’t be a loss either way.

He had already received new features from the minor+ purifications and new plants from the bear people. He also figured that new types of bees might show up from all those new plants, so he might also get some new monster types as well. He didn’t really know what perks would show up, and he could expand his mana just from the daily purifications. As such, a new room typed seemed like the best option he could pick.

Well, he would have to wait a bit longer before he could afford it and who knows? Maybe he’d get a room option from one of the purifications before then. In any case, Belissar had a plan for his growing DP, so he said goodnight to Niobee and then went to sleep.

It turned out Belissar’s thoughts would be correct. Belissar awoke and was making his rounds through the Apiary beehouses when he came to one of the new ones. The queen was waiting out at the front and began to dance rapidly as he approached. Next to her stood a worker bee. A worker bee with red and black stripes.

Belissar grinned. He had a feeling he knew what was going on.

“Good morning. You want to show me something?”

The queen danced her salute and then the worker bee flew up towards Belissar.

Burning Monster Bee Worker

Vitality: Minimal

Strength: Minimal

Speed: Average

Magic: Minimal+

Defense: Minimal

Resistance: Minimal+

Special: Minor

Notable Skills: Burning Poison Sting, Heat Resistance, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring

Description: A monster bee worker raised on honey infused with Fire attribute mana. Both its body and its venom run hot. Stings will burn and may cause fever. Can produce fire and heat-resistant wax, a necessity for its Fire-mana infused honey. ɽÀ𐌽o͍βÊS

Belissar nodded. As he expected, one of the queens had raised a new bee type from the flame radishes.

“Good work. If you can, try to raise some more of these, we could use them.”

The queen froze, standing completely still for a moment before she burst out into as rapid a salute dance as she could. Belissar chuckled.

“Well, there’s no rush, so don’t overdo it, ok?”

She saluted once more before rushing into her beehouse, the burning worker following after her. Belissar shook his head. He was a tad worried she might get carried away now that he had asked something directly, but it was true that he could use those bees. Flame resistant wax would be a godsend given all of the building materials currently available in the Tower were flammable. These burning worker bees could very much resolved that concern and reinforce the firebreaks he was planning. If there were enough of the burning worker bees, then brush fires would no longer represent an existential threat to the Flower Meadow.

And that was only the first of the new plants he had received. Belissar couldn’t help but whistle a tune as he continued on with his morning.

***

With the help of the soldier bees, construction on the new beehouse accelerated dramatically. The soldiers working together could lift a beam faster than Belissar could. In addition, after lifting one beam the soldiers would rotate out for another group, allowing the work to continue while the first group rested. Within a day, they had already finished the framework.

Belissar was now sawing planks for the floors, walls, and roof. The bees did attempt to help with that task but the small handle on the saw made it hard for the bees to get sufficient leverage. Belissar had some ideas on that but he didn’t have the resources nor skills to make a metal saw. Perhaps he should ask the bear people about it, they had to have gotten their metal tools and weapons from somewhere, after all.

But for now, Belissar didn’t mind. He wanted to do this for the bees, so it would defy the point if the bees took care of every part of the task. The bees also could lift the planks without too much trouble, so began laying the floor even as Belissar worked on the planks.

Belissar halted the work and reviewed their progress as they approached the purification cooldown. It wouldn’t do for the soldier bees to go into a fight tired, after all. His eyes widened a bit as he saw the frame with part of the floor taking shape. At this rate…they’d be done much sooner than he anticipated. Belissar grinned.

Everything seemed to be going very well.

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