Chapter 55: Chapter 55
And so, time passed. Belissar still hadn’t managed to control his mana outside of his body yet, but today his lack of progress did not cross his mind. No, today, Belissar had other things to consider, for he had just finished the latest purification. He selected another ten mana, bringing his numbers to the current values:
With this latest increase, he had reached his goal. He could now conduct an expansion purification.
Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.
Belissar hesitated at that. He did not know how strong a small purification would be, but he couldn’t imagine it would be weaker than the minor purifications. It could be as strong as the initial purification...or stronger, for he didn’t know what the intial purification was classified as. His bees were both capable and numerous at this point and his traps all stocked and prepared, but they had only been tested by the weaker shades thus far. He still didn’t know if they could handle the shade from the initial purification as easily as they did its smaller kin.
And if the next purification was stronger than that...then sacrifice would be inevitable, and victory would not be guaranteed at all. Belissar would almost certainly have to watch his bees fall and could end up losing everything he had built so far. He had been so focused on reaching this point that he hadn’t truly considered the risks involved.
He got up from his chair and gathered some honeycomb. He made his way to the Shrine of Bees in the Flower Meadow. He placed the honeycomb in the chest and then knelt in front of the statue of the God of Bees. Niobee followed along quietly, as she always did.
“Do you have any guidance for me? I...don’t want to see my bees get hurt again.”
He felt a slight warmth and opened his eyes. The Shrine was glowing slightly. The glow then faded, which allowed Belissar to catch a glimpse of another light. He turned to the side and saw the nearby Bee Memorial. Both the beehouse at its center and the pillars surrounding it glowed faintly.
Her wings began to buzz louder.
“Then, others hurt King.”
She slowed down a bit.
“Now, King has hive, has workers. Now, hive protects King, helps king.”
Belissar smiled and lifted his finger. Niobee landed on it and he gently brushed her back.
“...thanks, Niobee. How about we try to protect each other from now on?”
Niobee flew off his finger and began dancing rapidly.
“No! King is king! Workers, soldiers protect queens, King!”
Belissar chuckled as Niobee continued to dance. His steps were just a bit lighter as he returned to the farmhouse for the night.
Chief Rohsuak lifted an eyebrow.
The Sacred Den Master nodded.
“We have a big fight coming up, so I want to make sure everything’s prepared.”
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin and then nodded.
“I see. Is there danger approaching?”
The Den Master paused for a moment before shaking his head.
“Um, I don’t think so. Not unless you saw something on the way here?”
Chief Rohsuak shook her head and the Den Master continued.
“It’s more...I have to do this to expand the Tower.”
Chief Rohsuak nodded. She didn’t know many details of a Sacred Den’s inner workings, but that made sense given what little she knew.
“I see. In that case, it is wise to prepare for battle. Should I return tomorrow?”
The Den Master paused again.
“Um, maybe? I, um, might be busy.”
Chief Rohsuak gave him an encouraging smile.
“How about I check in the day after to see how things are going, and we can decide our future schedule from there?”
The Den Master nodded.
“Um, yeah, that sounds good.”
Chief Rohsuak nodded and then turned to Metsaitti and his hunters.
“Let’s all take a break then.”
The other hunters began to complain but Metsaitti just nodded and told them to pack it up. Soon, they were walking with Chief Rohsuak back to their camp.
“Take your hunters and scout the Underway. I’ll make sure everyone is prepared.”
The other hunters, bless their hearts, just looked confused. Fortunately, Metsaitti had caught on, and took them ahead. Chief Rohsuak let out a sigh.