Chapter 61: Chapter 59: Class Choices

The hive did resemble a kicked beehive a bit, even if Regina disliked the obvious metaphor. She couldn’t think of a better one, though. And the way the drones bustled about, chaotic and yet somehow organized, without getting in each other’s way, was pretty impressive.

“Please don’t worry about Max, my Queen,” Tim said.

Regina turned to him, blinking. “I wasn’t.” She felt a bit guilty to realize that that was … mostly true.

Max had gone out with a few other Warriors and a score of War Drones (assuming she remembered correctly that a set of twenty was called a score, she wasn’t quite sure.) They were hunting a monster Ash and his scouting team had found, a Rock Troll she was pretty sure had reached level 20 at least. It was moving towards the hive, which meant it needed to be dealt with.

Regina had wanted to go out and fight it herself, but the drones had all been obviously anxious about that idea. They wanted her to stay at the camp, especially since they might still get attacked by angry humans at any moment. Max had almost literally begged and pleaded to go instead, so she’d given in. She was pretty sure he wanted to reach level 20 himself. Which would be useful.

“Max can handle himself,” Regina told Tim. The assurance in her voice wasn’t faked. Max had never let her down, had always been the strong presence at her side. She knew intellectually that it didn’t mean he couldn’t screw up, or even just get unlucky. It was just hard to feel that emotionally.

“Of course he can,” Tim agreed.

Regina shot him a look. It occurred to her that Tim might want to be the one who reached level 20 first, but he seemed completely confident, even reassuring. It’s good to see they’re close, no matter what.

Their conversation was interrupted by a group of War Drones and one Production Drone carrying what looked like a hastily put together door through the nascent street. Regina stepped aside to let them pass, glancing around and noticing the group of three Workers, headed by Ina, who were waiting by the skeleton of the newest house. This one was larger than the ones they’d built before, also intended to house a number of sapient Drones. They still seemed to prefer sleeping together, and mostly used furs, scraps of cloth they might turn into pillows and mats of woven grass to build a large sleeping area. Regina herself was happy with her small but more private room and her bed, even if it was mostly just a plank of wood covered with things intended to make it a softer surface. There was talk of building a new house for her, but she’d stopped that. The hive had more important things to do.

They didn’t have to wait long for Max and his group to return. Regina breathed a small sigh of relief as she saw him come out of the forest, followed by a cluster of War Drones carrying the large, gray corpse of a monster. He didn’t look entirely happy, though.

“The threat is dealt with,” Max reported when she met them by the palisade. “I’m not sure what we might be able to use its parts for, but I’m sure there will be something.”

“Good work,” Regina said. “Any problems?”

He shook his head. “No, it went pretty well. Trolls might be tough, but they aren’t the smartest, so we managed to bait it into our trap pretty easily. I didn’t level up, though.”

“Alright.” Regina managed a smile. “Glad to see you’re all okay.”

They stepped into the camp, and the drones went back to various tasks, with Ivy taking charge of the Troll’s corpse. Regina listened to Tim gently ribbing Max about the trip, but she only smiled to herself while pretending not to hear anything.

Max went straight to the training field, and Regina decided to work on some more controlled maneuvers with her flight while watching the drones’ training. She didn’t even get the chance to lift off into the air, though.

As soon as Max finished his first training bout, a fast and hard exchange that left Tim wheezing on the ground and probably regretting his recent decisions while Max stumbled away from him, he froze up. Regina paused, then tried to fold her wings up again when she saw Max looking for her, a smile on his face.

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“I reached level twenty,” he told her, obvious excitement in his voice, even though he tried to appear calm. “It says I can undergo Evolution, and it’s offering me a choice of Classes.”

“Does it say exactly that? Evolution, not Class Progression?” Tim asked. He’d pushed himself to his feet and was coming up behind Max.

The other Warrior glanced back and nodded. “Yes, Evolution.” He hesitated. “What Class should I take, my Queen? There are five options.”

Regina raised an eyebrow. “I think this is one of those decisions everyone in the hive should probably make for themselves, considering how important it is that the choice is one they’re comfortable with and can make the most of, even if I’ll give advice. Which of those options do you like?”

Max frowned and looked off into space, clearly reading System screens. Regina didn’t begrudge him the time, and waited silently until he returned his attention to her. “There are a few that sound interesting,” he said. “Two look like straight-up evolutions of the Warrior Class, probably based on humans. One sounds like a pure Hive thing, but still pretty generic. Then there’s the options of Drone Commander and Royal Bodyguard.”

Regina’s other eyebrow climbed up. “Both of those sound good. Interesting that the latter option doesn’t have ‘Drone’ in the name, but it’s still pretty clearly tailored to you. The other one sounds like something that would be very useful, too, though. What does it say about them?”

“Not much, unfortunately.” Max hesitated for a moment. “I know we need commanders, but I feel like the Royal Bodyguard Class is rarer and maybe a better choice for me. And it does line up with what I’ve been doing, so it should be okay to evolve further …” He trailed off.

Regina was quiet for a few seconds. “Pick which one you want, Max.”

He nodded, then his gaze focused on something in front of him as he clearly made the selection.

The next moment, he stiffened and almost fell over. Tim only just caught him. Regina took a step forward, but hesitated before touching him. It looked like shadows crawled out of the cracks of his shell, solidifying until his body was wreathed in a dark cocoon. After a minute, Max wasn’t visible anymore, just a vaguely person-shaped bundle.

“Is this what I think is going on?” Regina asked, running a hand through her hair.

“It looks like he’s molting,” Tim answered. He was examining Max’s form with interest.

Regina shook her head. “I probably should have expected something like this, given the info about Evolution for monsters,” she muttered. “Let’s get him inside.”

“It should be okay,” Tim said as he grabbed where Max’s feet should have been. “This is probably normal.”

“Yeah.” Regina picked up his shoulders. She appreciated the reassurance, although she was aware Tim probably hadn’t said that just for her sake. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t take very long.”

As they carried Max into one of the houses, Regina focused a part of her attention on her psychic bond to her hive. She didn’t get much from Max. He was obviously unconscious. Then she called up his status with the System.

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