Chapter 13: Chapter 13

First things first, Belissar apparently had some decisions to make.

Please select a room:

- Forest (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Field)

- Apiary (Rarity: Uncommon, Type: Bee, Resource, Settlement)

- Dirt Tunnels (Rarity: Common, Type: Ground, Labyrinth)

Part of him wanted to make a choice immediately but he held himself back. He had made his first choices haphazardly, and while it had worked out who knows what might have happened if he had known what he was doing? Maybe zombies or clockwork puppets could have killed that monster with ease. Maybe an enchanter’s lab would have had features he could have used to defend himself without days of prep work.

Belissar had long lived a life of shutting up and getting to work, but now his job was to think and make decisions. So, think he did.

Forests were good habitats for bees, their natural environment, even. And greater access to wood might increase his options if Belissar had to build another fire. He could also build other structures as well, maybe some walls or fences might help? Well, that was assuming he could get his hands on some actual tools...

An apiary was where he grew up, and obviously having a place for his bees to call home should help. Especially now that he was blessed by the God of Bees and was going to be relying on bee monsters.

Notable Skills: Poison Sting, Dig

Description: A digger bee that has accumulated enough Ground mana to become something more. Likes to burrow and tunnel, may ambush enemies from the ground.

That...actually helped quite a bit. It seemed monster bee soldiers were related to the monster bee queens and workers, while the carpenter and digger bees were different sorts altogether, each specialized to certain environments. So, Belissar could now choose between strengthening his current hives with combat-specialized members, or gaining new and more versatile bee types that were about the same as his current bee workers in terms of fighting.

Well, the monster bee soldiers had the obvious advantage of being something that could fight more directly. They were the first bee Belissar had seen that justified the name “monster bee.” Yet, the choice wasn’t so clear when Belissar thought about it. The descriptions of their stats didn’t seem that powerful and they were still quite small compared to a human...or a shade of the Hunger. So, would they have been enough to take down a beast like that? Their stingers looked like they would definitely hurt, but would they be enough to kill?

On the other hand, carpenter bees could apparently cut through wood. If Belissar had those and they could listen to him like the other bees could, he could gain a lot of options. They could cut through dandelion stems and twigs on their own, so that Belissar wouldn’t need to pick each one personally. Depending on how good they were at cutting wood, maybe they could even cut through branches, or process wood further. If so, that would make it much easier for Belissar to build a fire next time. Or maybe even more. Maybe he could build fences and walls...or a wooden spear.

He...wasn’t sure any of that would stop a shade like he had faced, but it was something to consider.

He wasn’t so sure about digger bees. Sure, they could definitely dig, it was in the name after all, but would they be able to dig something like a pit trap? That seemed....like It would take quite a while for little bees to accomplish. But still...Belissar’s plan wouldn’t have been even remotely possible if it weren’t for the pit trap, so there was merit to digging holes.

He didn’t feel ready to make a choice there yet, so he went back to the room choices. He tried to see if he could bring up more information on each...

Innate Features: Wild Plant Growth Boost

Description: An open area filled with trees that restrict visibility and provide cover. Excellent for Nature type monsters and features. Excellent for resource production.

Type: Bee, Resource, Settlement

Innate Features: Beehives

Mana upkeep: 10 (5 due to Blessing of Bees)

Description: A farm dedicated to beekeeping. Comes with beehive nodes that produce honeycomb. If Bee type monsters are available, may settle in beehives for a slight boost in brood growth and beehive productivity.

Type: Ground, Labyrinth

Innate Features: None

Description: A network of tunnels dug directly into the ground. Soft walls mean new tunnels may be dug by defenders and invaders alike, and that plants and fungus may take root with ease. Excellent environment for Ground type monsters and features.

The room descriptions didn’t give as much detail as the monster ones, but it was something. Unfortunately, it didn’t answer Belissar’s current conundrums. Apiaries, like he thought, were specialized for Bee monsters but not in the way he thought. They appeared to be more focused on the production of honey than on the growth of the bees themselves. Which...would be excellent if he was still a beekeeper but didn’t seem that useful against the Hunger.

Unless, again, he was missing something about being a Tower Lord? Why would the gods include such an option? Could he somehow sate a shade’s hunger with honey?

He thought back to what he knew of the Tower of the Gods and the Tower Lords. The Tower Lords certainly were said to have great wealth, but every story he was told of the Towers depicted them as defending against the Hunger and protecting the land. Were options just a reward for the Tower Lords themselves? Or would the production of honey play some role in the defense he couldn’t see?

Belissar shook his head. He didn’t know what he didn’t know. And he still didn’t know what to choose. It sounded like a forest might be more useful for the defense, if only to have access to more firewood, but maybe the slight boost in brood growth of the apiary might be more useful? He still wasn’t sure.

And well, he still had some more choices to view.

Please select a room feature:

- Basic Resource Plants (Rarity: Common, Type: Nature, Resource)

- Sticky Honey Trap (Rarity: Common, Type: Bee, Trap)

- Rest Zone (Rarity: Common, Type: Recovery, Zone)

Belissar blinked repeatedly, as this latest set of choices came with yet another set of questions. First of all, some kind of...honey trap? Was that an answer to why the apiary was a room choice? Could he use his own bees’ honey in the honey trap?

And then...what was a rest zone?