Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Going Hunting

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.

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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.

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