MTLNOVEL Chapter 155: Beehounds
And as the best woman in the world, instead of cringing at my awful line, Ambrosia only smiled widely.
"Of course, Nectus. The pants and everything else. You've been away from me for too long."
"I *knew* I could always rely on you, Amby."
***
The Council only gathered by noon.
Instead of Workharder, her second-in-command was present: Commander Foreman Keepworking. Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire
At some point between the invention of the furniture and my return from Camp Rich, the Council Chamber was upgraded with a large round table and six chairs. The furniture was rough, but it *was* better than standing for hours.
The table was also a great place to put lit candles and stacks of wax tablets, which someone already did.
As soon as I sat down, an Attendant appeared over my shoulder, silently asking if I needed anything. When I nodded, she smiled and poured me a cup of nectar.
"Thanks, Delivery," I thanked her.
Delivery made a circle around the table, serving snacks and drinks to those who asked.
With her presence, sitting at a round table, I felt almost like a knight despite not wearing my armor at the moment. Arthur of the round table and my Queen Ambrosia right next to me!
She sipped on her own cup of nectar, then turned to me, smiling.
"What's first on today's Council, Nectus? The recent victory? You mentioned you gained more gene points for morphotypes. And a new morphotype!"
I shrugged.
"It's not the main thing I wanted to talk about, but might as well get this out of the way quickly."
For better or worse, at the moment, I didn't have enough options to spend several hours discussing them.
Beemarines got a slight upgrade—I just put more gene points into venom potency. Now it reached the 10th tier, but still wasn't at maximum level!
Unlike my 'Electrical Charge' gene, which was at the top of its power.
I could've made a new morphotype with a focus on the electric attacks, but it lacked potential. Besides, there wasn't much sense in giving the limited amount of larvae I could morphotype combat-oriented morphotypes when I already had one.
Instead, it was better to make a morphotype with an entirely new specialization and set of genes.
And with the genes I had, there was only one non-militant option.
"We still don't know where the humans—the green giants—came from. The recent storm would've wiped out all their trails. Eventually, our dragon riders will discover their settlement, but even afterward… It will do us good to have better scouts."
Bloodhero frowned.
I looked at her.
"Do you have an objection?"
"I just don't understand, Father. Why not give the new morphotype your incredible power—the 'electricity' thing? Our scouts are already all excellently trained Commandos. They even know how to hunt for themselves and sleep outside the hive. What could—"
Researchina shook her head.
"Instead of asking stupid questions, just think about it for a moment. We have all Father's genes right here." She raised a wax table she must've brought with herself. "Look at this, for a start, Bloodhero."
Bloodhero frowned at the tablet for a moment, then realization dawned on her.
"Ooooh! I'm sorry, Father, I understand, and I shouldn't have interrupted."
I chuckled and shook my head.
"It's alright, at least you got it now. Or at least… let's see if you got it right!"
As I said this, I quickly scribbled a list of genes for the future morphotype—a sketch of an unsaved setup I just made in the system.
[Olfactory Perception X (MAX)
Faster Regeneration X (MAX)
Improved Metabolism V
Fast Learner IV
Thick Skin IV
Faster Youth Development I
Flying Carriers
Throwing Wrists
Meat Digestion
Perfect Memory
Grass Digestion
Danger-Averse Reflexes]
"Yes, I got it, Father!" Bloodhero nodded after reading the list. "Olfactory Perception—their sense of scent will be better. They sniff out anyone! Um. The 'X' number is bigger than the one we had before, right?"
"Oh, yes. It stands for 'ten'. Not the most intuitive, I know…" I should've just written the list using Arabic numerals instead of roman ones. For all their great engineering, the Romans were bad with numbers. They didn't even have a zero.
"So, back to the explanations. Scouts with this morphotype will have a great sense of scent to sniff out creatures and resources of interest. They will also have a perfect memory to find the route back to the hive, and from the hive to interesting locations. The rest of the genes will help them survive in the wild—the scouts will be able to eat even grass, and won't need much food in the first place. Plus regeneration, thick skin… the staples."
My Advisers nodded in understanding, except Tabletina, who had an objection.
"Father, I suggest that you remove something and put at least several tiers of 'Improved Immunity' in there. According to my observations, scouts that leave the hive for longer times have higher chances of falling sick soon after. And to infect others, too."
I raised my eyebrows. Well, that made sense—the farther they went, the more they slept on the ground instead of a warm wax cell, the easier it was for their immunity to suffer.
It was good that I had 'Improved Immunity II' as my actual gene and new generations grew with it.
"Alright. Let's rearrange this."
I've removed all but the last tier of 'Thick Skin', along with 'Faster Youth Development', and replaced them with immunity.
[Olfactory Perception X (MAX)
Faster Regeneration X (MAX)
Improved Metabolism V
Fast Learner IV
Improved Immunity IV
Thick Skin I
Flying Carriers
Throwing Wrists
Meat Digestion
Perfect Memory
Grass Digestion
Danger-Averse Reflexes]
〔Improved Metabolism V: reduces need for food by 25%.〕
There was only one thing remaining—add the morphotype to the system and give it a name.
"These bees will bravely venture into the unknown, far, far away from home. Unnoticed heroes with unnoticed names–but nothing will go past their antennae. Their morphotype name will be… Beehounds!"
There was silence for a moment. Then my Advisers cheered, despite the lack of understanding on their faces.
"You know, hounds are those dogs—I mean, beasts—with a great sense of smell. I was about to call them 'Beeagles', you know. But this world doesn't even have beagles…"
At the mention of beasts, my xenophobic Advisers grew even less inspired.
I sighed.
"I already saved the morphotype, I can't rename it now! Let's—let's just go to the next item on the agenda. Advisers, I declare that we must build a railroad!"