The Workers took exactly as much time to hatch as the Warriors did. Their eggs were a little smaller in the end, but the hatched workers still came up to Regina’s chest.

Like the rest of them, they had six limbs. While the Warriors sported two scythe-like bladed implements at the end, the Workers’ were less dangerous and more suited to construction and crafting. Their left one was shaped like a shovel, though you could also use the underside as a hammer, while the right one was more of a grasper, with a small blade more suited to cutting cloth or food than combat beneath a pointy bit they might use as an awl and a hooked part bigger than a finger. Their skin was also covered in the chitin-like shell, but it looked thinner than that of the warriors.

The most obvious difference to Regina was that they looked female. She wasn’t sure if that was coincidence, an integral feature of their different roles, or maybe even something she decided subconsciously when she picked those, but it didn’t matter much in practical terms.

The day after they hatched, while the Warriors went out hunting, Regina wanted to get started on constructing a proper building with the Workers.

“My Queen?” Tia asked. “Can we just dig out a room? That seems like it would be simpler.”

Regina shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“The ground here might not be good for digging,” Mia said. “At the hills, it’s rocky, and we’d have to be careful of tree roots and stuff in the forest. Besides, we’d have to be careful to ensure we don’t risk a collapse.”

Regina nodded, looking at her two newest drones. She’d named them Mia and Tia, not the most creative choice, but they didn’t seem to mind. The girls were still smaller than her, but they both had decently high Str, Dex and Int. She called up Mia’s status again.

Mia Drone Worker Level: 1 Mana: N/A Con: 6 Str: 11 Dex: 11 End: 10 Int: 14 Wis: 8

She remembered that Tia’s status was largely the same, except that she had a point more in Con and one less in Wis. The low Constitution meant Regina would hesitate to send them into combat, but at least they weren’t entirely helpless if they were attacked, and they’d hopefully be good in their intended roles.

“We might still be able to use our skill in building a normal hut, I guess,” Tia said. “For foundations, maybe.”

“Right,” Regina said. “What was it called again?”

“Ground Evacuation, my Queen,” Mia replied. “It’s mostly for dirt, but I think it might work on rock, too. The skill just vanishes it without us having to whisk it somewhere else, which should be really useful for digging, but maybe we can find uses for it in other tasks, too.”

Regina nodded and swiped her feet to clear the little sticks and leaves from the patch of ground in front of her. The Drone Workers having a starter Class Skill at level 1 had been a pleasant surprise. With a bit of creativity, it could probably be useful in war, as well, even if it was obviously meant for crafting, or rather, construction. Which was what they needed now, anyway.

They drew in the dirt with sticks as they talked about what they were going to build. It didn’t take long, since they didn’t exactly have many options.

“A simple hut is probably best,” Regina said.

“We’ll need to make sure it gets a proper roof,” Tia said. “We need shingles, maybe? And, of course, proper walls.”

“That means we need wood.” Regina glanced at the forest and frowned. “There aren’t many other building materials around. I guess if we had clay, we might be able to make bricks, but I’m not sure if we could get that.”

“We might be able to find some,” Mia spoke up. She glanced at her sister. “We have some knowledge. We should be able to recognize it if there is good clay.”

“Great. Then I’ll send you out with a warrior to look around the area later.” Regina smiled. “Meanwhile, let’s get started here.”

They’d need to cut down a lot of trees if they wanted to build a log cabin. That would be a lot of work, but probably the easiest choice. They could also try the method with mud and sticks, but Regina was afraid that it might make for worse walls, especially without anything to cover them. Either way, they needed wood.

She led them into the forest to look for suitable trees, but the two Workers quickly took over assessing which ones were good candidates. They didn’t have a proper saw, but they did have a simple ax with a stone head, and the Workers would be able to use their inborn blades, too.

Regina hung back, feeling like she didn’t have much to contribute. She’d get Max and Tim to work on cutting down trees once they were back, too. Until then, she went to a tree and experimented with trying to use magic to help bring it down. Now that there were no eggs in development, her mana was regenerating faster.

Her Spark spell wasn’t much good, since it was still mostly useful for starting fires. She tried using a Magic Missile, but that didn’t damage the trunk of the tree much. Then she tried to cast the Spell, but not release it, instead gathering the attack above her hand. She only managed it for half a second before the energy dissipated, shocking her hand and charring a few leaves.

Regina grimaced, but kept at it. Even after several tries, she only managed to keep the magic contained for a second or so, but when she held it close to the trunk, it had some effect. In the end, it would have been a lot easier to hack at it with a stone ax, though.

She took a break from that and instead began to burn out the remains of the trees that Tia and Mia had cut down. The two Drone Workers started stripping branches and bark off the trunks.

An hour later, Max and Tim finally returned, giving Regina all the excuse she needed to stop what she was doing and go talk to them.

“This is going to take a while,” Max commented, observing the Workers.

Regina shrugged. “Most likely. But it’ll go faster with the two of you helping.”

Max frowned slightly. “Maybe we should still focus on hunting. This work would be easier with higher stats, right? And we would also be safer if we had higher levels.”

She hesitated. He did make a good point there. “Alright. You’re not wrong.” She glanced at the two of them consideringly, then up at the sky. They still had a few hours of daylight left, at the very least.

She didn’t know if the Workers could also level up by doing their jobs, or if they needed to go out and kill monsters, as well. She figured it could go either way. There was little they could do but wait and hope for the best.

"Do you want to go out right now?” Max asked.

She nodded. “Might as well. The quicker I level, the faster our hive gets new members. And we still need all the help we can get.” Besides, she was curious about what kind of progress her next levels would bring.

After a minute of back and forth, it was decided — mostly by Regina, since everyone deferred to her — that they would all go together. She didn’t want to leave the Workers unguarded, and while his injury was mostly healed, she didn’t want to strain Max too much, either. They set off quickly, with Tim going first and Max guarding their rear.

The younger Warrior was silent as they went. Regina, who was walking in front with him, noticed that he was trying to keep his steps as quiet as possible and avoid making a commotion in the forest, which she approved of. That was a good habit to get into even if you weren’t trying to sneak up on a high-level monster at the moment. The two Workers clearly tried their best, but they made a lot more noise.

“It seems that you didn’t have much success hunting earlier,” she finally commented, keeping her voice soft. “Any idea why?”

Tim glanced at her and ducked his head. “We called it a hunt, but really, it was mostly a patrol,” he replied.

She nodded. “Then I’ll rely on you to guide us to a good spot.”

Despite his shyness, he did know what he was doing. Tim led the group through the forest on a direct path to his goal, not slowing down or checking where he was going. Regina readied herself and kept an eye on her surroundings. She didn’t want to get waylaid by a monster.

Luckily, they reached their target area without being ambushed. Tim slowed down and snuck behind a large bush. Regina joined him, noting a faintly familiar scent in the air as she did. They were downwind of its source. Mia and Tia stayed back, while Max stepped forward slowly.

A peek through the bush’s branches showed her what Tim had chosen as prey. There was a clearing with a small group of big wolves lying on the soft ground of the forest. Most of them were a bit smaller than the wolf monster she’d fought before.

“Well, I see you have a high opinion of our skills,” she said.

Tim shrugged slightly. “They’re only level 2 or 3, and there are only four of them. I thought we could take them. But if you’re displeased, my Queen, of course I’ll lead you to where we might find other prey.”

Regina frowned, considering the situation. She focused on one of the wolves.

Flametongue Wolf — Level 2

A quick check showed that the others were similar, with only one at level 3. Still, she hesitated. They could probably each take one. If it was only the three of them against three wolves, she’d be confident. With the Workers to watch out for, it might be harder, though. Was it really worth the risk?

She stepped back and quietly went to join Mia and Tia. “I would like you to participate in the fight so you can gain experience,” she said, keeping her voice down. “Is that okay for you? Can you fight?”

The two girls exchanged a glance, before Tia nodded. “We can, my Queen. Not as well as a Warrior, but we won’t be a burden.”

“Alright, then. Let’s get started. Keep back and only attack when one of the wolves is already injured or distracted, and make sure you’re not in danger from more than one of them at a time.” She glanced at Max. “Look after them and make sure they don’t get overwhelmed.”

They all nodded. Regina gave them one last look before she quietly stepped forward again to join Tim.

She made sure that everyone was in position, mostly taking cover behind a tree and prepared to jump out, before she focused her attention on the wolves. She picked one of the weaker ones as a target and watched to make sure it wasn’t moving. It appeared to be dozing, like most of them. Only one had its eyes open.

Regina exhaled, pulling on her mana and guiding it into shape. Then she let her gathered mana snap out. The attack shot out from her hand and raced towards her target.

The wolves were alarmed by the glowing ball coming for them, starting to stand up. But she’d aimed well, and her target didn’t make it to its feet before the attack hit it in the snout.

Mana: 145/160

Regina blinked the notification away, focused on her opponents. The wolves had obviously noticed them now and were starting to charge her group. She quickly gathered mana for another shot.

The Magic Missile raced out, but this time the wolf was on its feet and managed to dodge the attack. It hit another wolf behind it, impacting one of its hindquarters and causing it to stumble. Regina prepared another one as fast as she could.

Then the wolves reached them. Max stepped out behind a tree and roared, fixing their attention on him. A tongue of flame shot out, but he caught it on his shield. At the same time, Tim circled beside him. His scythe-limb flashed out and he drove one of the wolves to the side.

Regina got another shot off, hitting the same wolf she’d already shot. This time, it stumbled to the side, though it kept its feet. But it was clearly hurt, crouching with its fur bristling. It shot a flaming attack at her, but Regina managed to dodge it, although she had to interrupt her casting of her next spell.

Mia and Tia jumped the injured wolf. Tia brought her shovel-limb down on its snout with force, dazing the wolf. Mia cut its right forelimb with her small blade. But then another wolf turned from Max’s shield and charged them.

Regina cursed and shot another Magic Missile, but it flew wide. The wolf’s fur might have been a little singed, but it didn’t halt, jumping Tia.

The girl screamed as the jaws of the wolf caught on her lower right arm. Then Mia bashed it over the head, but it didn’t let go.

Regina acted on instinct. She jumped forward, shoulder-checking the wolf. That finally made it let go. It was a stupid attack, but she was already preparing her next spell. Just when the wolf lunged for her, she let the Magic Missile fly.

It caught the wolf directly on its open snout. Unfortunately, the magical attack didn’t arrest his momentum, and the wolf still crashed into her. But at least it had made the monster draw back, so it didn’t manage a proper bite and its teeth slid off her shell. Regina took a step back, preparing another spell as quickly as she could, despite the headache starting to pound through her skull and the burning feeling of using too much mana too quickly.

Then Tim was there. He stabbed the wolf, and his blade passed through its singed fur, reaching its heart. The monster shuddered and finally went still.

Regina took a moment to breathe, before she looked around. Two of the other wolves were down, one apparently dead and one badly injured. Max was holding off the last one. She breathed deeply and focused, then cast another Magic Missile.

The attack caught the wolf on the side of its head, just as it was starting to lunge for Max’s shield again. The spell seemed to injure and daze the wolf, turning its lunge forward into a stumble instead of a proper attack. Max stabbed out from behind his shield, catching the wolf in the throat. He used his shield to push it back, then cut it again. The wolf finally fell.

Regina straightened up and looked around the battlefield, blinking. It was a mess, but they’d all made it. Tia was still standing. Then she noticed the notifications the System sent her, that must have been pushed aside until now. It was good that the System had a feature like that. But she didn’t focus on the blinking icon, instead turning to Tia. “How badly are you hurt?”

The Worker poked at her arm and grimaced. “It cracked my shell and it’s bleeding, but I don’t think the bone is broken. It’ll heal.”

It had better. They didn’t have any medicine or even disinfectant.