The monster horde ended the day after her new drones hatched. If Regina had known that, she might have just tried to hide them in the forest.

When Max brought a group of three level 1 drones into the outpost, the elves seemed just a little nonplussed. Regina watched them closely. She saw Anuis’ eyes narrow in what might have been realization or intense consideration, and Bianorn glanced at her with a look she found difficult to read. But at least none of them made an issue of it.

She managed to deflect their questions, hopefully. For the most part, she just told them that she didn’t really know where her people came from — which was at least a half-truth, since she had no idea where she had come from or how exactly whatever biological or magical process made the drones worked. She also said that there were some issues she would rather not speak about, as they were sensitive for her and her companions.

Regina didn’t get the impression that they were satisfied with it, but the elves didn’t press her too much. Instead, they focused on packing up their camp. The number of monsters in their surroundings had decreased, and when Anuis declared that the horde was over and they were leaving, the forest seemed about as safe as it had been before, if not more so.

“It’s usually quiet after a monster horde,” Bianorn told her when she mentioned that observation. “Many strong monsters have been killed. Those that survive generally retreat and lick their wounds.”

“That is why I’m confident you will be safe even without us,” Anuis said, stepping up to where they were standing at the base of the treehouse. She inclined her head towards her. “It has been a pleasure, Regina. I wish you the best of luck.”

Regina mirrored the gesture. “To you as well, Anuis. Safe journey.”

The others quickly made their goodbyes as well, and before she knew it, the elves were walking down the trail, leaving them behind. Regina stood looking after them for a while.

After a minute, she heard someone shifting behind her and turned. Her hive was gathered in the small clearing, looking at her expectantly.

She paused for a moment. Seeing them like this, the difference between her old companions and the new hatchlings was apparent. Not so much physically, of course. Max was just a bit taller than the new Warriors and Tim might be as well, and they might look just a bit sturdier and more muscular, but that was all. No, it was in the way they looked at her, in the way they held themselves. She could tell that Max, Tim and even Mia and Tia kept a small bit of their attention on the surrounding forest. The others just looked kind of eager.

She smiled at them. “How have you been settling in?”

Ben exchanged a look with his brother Dan, before he spoke. “I don’t think we’ve had much settling in to do, my Queen.”

She chuckled and nodded. He wasn’t wrong. Regina considered them for another moment. Ben had started with the same stats as Tim, while Dan had one point less in Dex and one more in End. Bea, on the other hand, had stats like Mia’s, but with a point in Str traded for one in Con.

“Is there anything else we can do, my Queen?” the young Worker asked now.

“Pack up everything if you haven’t already,” Regina answered. “We’re going to move to the new site immediately.”

The others nodded and hurried off to gather what supplies they had. Fortunately, the elves had been kind enough to leave them some camping equipment, and they had meat from the monsters they’d fought.

It didn’t take long for everyone to be ready to leave. Regina glanced back once, then led her expanded hive through the forest. She shook her head to herself. This was probably a big enough group not to have to worry about monsters, but a part of her still wanted more. She’d let her mana fill back up, use it for the most necessary tasks, wait until it was full again, then lay more eggs. At least a scout or two this time. Maybe another Worker. There was probably a lot of work in front of them.

Once they reached their new home, or rather where it would be, Regina felt herself smiling. It was a nice summer day, with a fresh breeze tempering the heat from the blazing sun overhead. The lake’s water glittered in the sunlight, and it smelled of grass, fresh earth and new beginnings.

“What now?” Max asked, glancing around.

Regina had given it some thought. “We should build some shelters first, like we had before, just to keep the rain off when necessary. Then we’ll get started building proper structures. There’s clay by the water, but we’ll probably have to just let it bake in the sun instead of firing bricks properly. We’ll also use the wood of trees we cut down. Do any of you have anything to add?”

She looked around, but they all shook their heads.

“Good. We’ll probably have to experiment a lot. I was thinking we might even try building two different houses in two styles, a log cabin and one with bricks, so we’ll see what works better and how much effort it takes.”

“We’ll need a lot more than two houses anyway,” Mia commented, frowning thoughtfully. “But it’s not like we have a time limit, do we, my Queen?”

Regina shook her head. “I’d rather get a settlement going as soon as possible, but no, not really.”

“What about defenses?” Max asked.

“We can build a ditch and a palisade,” she answered. “I don’t think we have the means for anything more, but it should be enough to at least keep some monsters off and help us fight the ones who’ll attack anyway. But our biggest defense is probably going to be you Warriors. You’ll also do the bulk of the hunting for food and level that way.”

“There are also fish in the lake,” Tim noted. “And if it comes down to it, we can just eat grass and leaves from the forest.”

Regina nodded, then looked around. She suddenly saw their surroundings in a new light. “Has anyone actually tried eating grass or leaves yet?”

After a moment, Tia raised her hand. “I tried a few juicy leaves, just out of curiosity. They tasted kind of odd, but I didn’t have any problems.”

Regina just shook her head. Fucking weird alien biology. We really could be an apocalyptic swarm if we tried, couldn’t we? Well, at least I won’t have to worry too much about food supplies.

She looked at the others again, noting that the new drones had remained silent so far. That wasn’t surprising, since they simply lacked the experience to contribute much. But her hive was still bigger than it had ever been, and the additional hands (and other limbs) would be useful.

“Alright,” she said. “Let’s get started.”

They went to the edge of the forest, about two hundred meters from the shore of the lake, to build their shelters. Regina sent Mia and Tia to look for the same kind of vines they’d used before, while the rest of them started cutting and gathering branches.

Building the shelters went a lot more quickly now than it had before, since they had some experience with the process. Regina also didn’t need them to be too fancy, since they were just temporary structures. It helped that her hive had some pelts from monsters they’d killed over the last few days. Those would help keep them warm at night, at least. Although she’d learned that the drones liked sleeping curled up together, Regina preferred less elbows getting in her face.

She was ripped from her thoughts by a familiar low growl. Regina stood up, dropping the branches she’d been holding, and squinted into the forest. After a moment, the System showed her the designation of the Monster stalking them.

Black Panther — Level ?

It was at least level 10, and quite a bit bigger than the other monsters of its kind she’d seen before. After a moment, when it apparently realized that she’d seen it, the branches of the tree rustled and she heard it getting closer.

“Hatchlings and Workers, get back,” Regina commanded. “It’s too strong. Max, Tim, we’ll take it together. I have the center.”

Max and Tim arrived by her side in a flash. They advanced on the panther together, and Regina kept half a step back. She was glad she’d brought along the polearm she’d taken from that human guard.

The panther tried to swipe at Tim, but he deflected it with one of his blade-arms. Then Max attacked, getting its attention. Regina and Tim waited for an opening, trusting in his defense. When it came, Tim stabbed at it from the side while Regina aimed a blow at its legs. The panther dodged to the side, but she still managed to catch its right hind leg and make it stumble.

That was all the opportunity Tim needed. He Charged forward, thrusting his blade into the joint of its other leg. The panther made a yipping sound and folded. Max bashed it over the head and Regina prepared another strike. Then Tim sidestepped with the motion of the panther’s turn and stabbed it in the neck.

That ended the fight. Regina took a deep breath and stepped back, glancing at the forest.

“I leveled up, my Queen,” Tim reported quietly.

“Good job.” Regina smiled at him, then looked at Max, but he was simply staring at the dead monster.

After a moment, she cleared her throat. “Would you get started on harvesting it? Teach the new guys how to do it.”

They still didn’t have consistent access to metal, except for her Conjuration spell, but Regina had been thinking they might be able to make use of monster parts. High-level ones were quite strong, and their fangs and claws should be more durable than mundane animals’. Probably good enough for some spearheads or arrowheads, or even to make things like needles or awls.

She went back to gathering branches and weaving them into the walls for the shelter she’d been working on, leaving the gory work to the drones. By this point, she no longer felt bad about that. Her main strength, besides making more drones, was in magic, anyway. She glanced at her status.

Regina Hive Queen Level: 9 Mana: 170/200 Hive: 7/25, 0 Con: 12 Str: 12 Dex: 12 End: 12 Int: 14 Wis: 14(+1)

She’d used some of her mana earlier to conjure stuff they needed and it was filling back up. Her physical stats hadn’t risen since — ever, actually, as far as she knew. She didn’t think it would stay that way for long, but clearly her mental stats would keep ahead of them.

Regina frowned and sighed to herself. She should reach level 10 soon. She had the feeling that something interesting would happen when she did. She hadn’t gotten a new spell in a while. And she should really practice making Firebolt some more, she knew she was close to getting it. But it was more than that. She suspected that level 10 would be some kind of threshold. Already, she could feel a weird kind of tension in her body, as if it was preparing to do something new.

“How many of these shelters are we going to build, my Queen?” Bea asked hesitantly.

Regina blinked, then looked at her and smiled. “At least three, I think. I have a feeling our hive might be growing quicker than we can keep up with building housing, soon.”

Bea smiled, as did Tia, who had paused in her work to listen in. Mia was still bent over the entrance to the shelter, measuring something in order to put in the door she was somehow putting together, and appeared immersed in her work.

Regina grinned and got back to work again. She felt more relaxed than she’d been in what seemed like a long time, surrounded by her hive in their own territory.