I watched it shuffle away and flew down to one of the pouches I had managed to untie.

  I landed on it, opened it, and crawled inside.

  There was only one thing inside.

  A big crystal.

  It was elongated, shaped like a pyramid at the top, then rounded at the bottom before ending in a cube shape. It almost looked like it was meant to be placed into something. Not a key exactly, but like those human things from the memories—something designed to click into place.

  I wanted to take it with me, but it was far too heavy right now.

  I started buzzing and shaking as I tried to remember how to get back here. As I did, I felt something release from me, spreading from inside through my pores with a scent that screamed mine and started to cling to the pouch.

  Maybe it’s some kind of pheromones or something similar. It was somewhat exhausting, but at least it didn’t cost mana to do.

  I flew back out, and the scent felt strong. Strong enough that the pouch felt like it was mine now and would be easier to find.

  I didn’t think about it any more than that as a brilliant idea hit me.

  I flew after the walking corpse’s body.

  This is how I will get my stolen pouch back one day.

  It hadn’t gone far. The smell guided me easily. I landed briefly on the pouch the corpse was carrying and used the skill again. It only took a second.

  I was about to try untying it properly this time, but remembering the pain from before, I decided not to risk it.

  As the corpse kept walking away, it left a trail of my scent behind.

  I didn’t know how long it would last.

  But at least now, I had a chance to get it back.

  I went back and opened the last pouch. It was filled with small glowing crystals. I could only carry two of them, and they looked like they had been broken off from larger chunks.

  I used my new skill on the pouch, then flew out. I picked up the gemstone I had left on the branch and started flying back.

  On my way back, I could see why there were no bigger animals around. I passed two more wandering undead. They smelled bad, but not as bad as the first one.

  Maybe I’m just starting to get used to it.

  I studied them for a while. First of all, they seemed to be patrolling. They never went outside a ten-meter radius from the middle of their patrol routes.

  I also think they were tracking by smell, because I could hear one of them sniff every time it reached the edge of its route. Neither of them reacted to my presence, and they didn’t react to smaller creatures either. One of them walked straight through a spider and its nest.

  It almost looked like they were intentionally avoiding the larger spider webs. I could understand the bigger nets—but even the smaller ones.

  After I felt somewhat rested, I flew away from the one I had studied. They had been about a thousand meters from each other, so I wondered how many there were, and whether they wandered and patrolled the entire edge of what must be the Dead Place.

  I got back to my hive and felt something ease inside me when I saw my egg. I left my gemstone beside it and started using the nectar I had stored to make a honeycomb, then flew out to get more.

  I did one more gathering round before I had to sleep. I curled up beside the egg and the gemstone and fell asleep.

  The days after that were uneventful. I saw the undead now and then while gathering my gemstones, and once I had enough energy, I inspected them.

  It only said:

  I think it might be because they are magical or higher level, but I’m not really sure. Either way, it irritated me.

  Why won’t this level up and show me more? I use it as much as I possibly can—when I don’t forget it.

  I had come pretty far after three days of work and gemstone gathering, and I had already made the first wax coating.

  I just needed more honeycombs so I could store food for more than just myself. I had run out of honey crystals two days ago and could feel the difference between my own honey and my mother’s honey crystals. Mine didn’t have as much energy, and I had to nap more during the day to do the same amount of work.

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  I had a nap in one of the bags while picking up a glowing crystal piece, so I was full of energy on the way back. And on my way back, something new and interesting happened.

  When I passed the first undead, for the first time since I had seen it, it looked at me.

  I flew nearer and landed on a branch. The only difference was that I looked down at the crystal.

  I was completely sure of it. With my amazing deductive abilities, I was certain of it.

  I left the crystal on the branch and flew away. The undead kept staring at where the crystal was.

  Before I could return, the undead started to shuffle toward it.

  I reached the gemstone but decided to see what it would do. When it reached the trunk, it started to climb.

  I felt somewhat impressed. I had thought they were only capable of the most basic actions.

  I picked up the crystal and flew away again to see what it would do—and my calm vanished.

  It jumped and started running after me.

  I flew faster. It kept up.

  What is happening?

  Is this crystal really that important?

  I landed on a high branch once the initial fear passed, remembering that just because it was fast didn’t mean it could fly.

  This time it climbed much faster and reached my branch quickly. I flew a few meters away. It tried to follow, but the branch broke.

  It didn’t seem smart enough to realize the branch wouldn’t hold.

  It didn’t even try to stop its fall or land properly. It belly-flopped to the ground with a sickening sound.

  It rose again and ran, one of its arms hanging uselessly. It still tried climbing using one arm and its legs, attempting to use the dangling limb. That’s how I knew it at least wasn’t broken at the shoulder.

  Watching it slam its broken arm into the tree made me feel deeply disgusted. It didn’t seem to feel pain or understand its arm didn’t work and just kept hitting it over and over, making a sick thudding sound.

  It got up again after almost fifteen minutes. The damaged arm looked totally ruined now, and it jumped this time. It tried to grab me with its good hand, and if I hadn’t flown away, it would have caught me.

  I heard a heavier thud.

  It didn’t rise.

  I didn’t really focus on the level I gained. I was too impressed by the jump—it had leapt almost four meters from an unsteady posture.

  I looked down at it, saw its head twisted at an odd angle, and felt a spark of satisfaction at the level-up.

  But what truly excited me was the plan and eventual revenge forming in my mind.

  I hid the shiny crystals near my nest in different nooks, so even if one was found, I would still have the others.

  I wasn’t sure how the puppy would react seeing the crystal, or if the undead would start attacking my hive if I had it inside.

  Now that I had a plan, I just needed to find them—those nasty creatures.

  But I couldn’t just leave my egg and my nest, so I kept building it. Eventually it became easier, but more importantly, things lost their wonkiness as I worked.

  Then I heard the most beautiful sound.

  My mind flooded with memories of bees shaping wax—different kinds of hives, different structures, different techniques. But one thing stood out. Some of the bees in those memories could see nectar glowing, the same way my pollen sense worked. One of them even saw dark dots in the nectar and removed them while shaping the wax.

  I looked at the skill.

  I had been too occupied with human thoughts and ideas of revenge to really work on my skills.

  I wanted that glowing nectar ability, and I should advance my pollen sense.

  But first, I looked at my lazy girl. It was probably time for you to chip in.

  I felt something change within the egg and flew out, knowing that once she hatched, I would need more bee bread. This time, only the shiniest pollen and nectar would do.

  It went… okay.

  There were setbacks.

  First, I couldn’t figure out how to trigger the new skill. I tried looking at the nectar. I even tried eating it. But it didn’t want to shine.

  What’s with that? If other bees can do it, then I should be able to do it even better.

  I’m the queen.

  The pollen wasn’t a problem yet, but I only managed to gather enough shiny pollen for one batch—if even that.

  Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t be the only one who needed this skill. I would need all my workers to have it too.

  I kept working, and it helped.

  Then I had another thought.

  If inspection worked based on how I asked questions, maybe I could inspect my hive as a whole.

  I tried.

  The only things I got back were: beeswax, lesser beeswax, pollen, lesser honey…

  How dare the stupid system call my wax and honey lesser. It was made by me—a queen of the highest caliber.

  So no more “lesser” for anything I make.

  It didn’t change anything. It still said “lesser.”

  When I inspected the entrance, I got something new.

  It showed more as a creature. I don’t know why I hadn’t expected that, but it still felt weird. The same memories would have thought of me as something lesser and below them—me, a queen—being lower than a fleshy creature that isn’t even beneficial to its surroundings, while I am extremely important to the environment.

  In truth, I wasn’t sure that logic even applied here. This was a different world. I pushed the thought aside.

  So I couldn’t see the progression of my hive. At least not like this. The quest still said zero on all parts, and my mana was low, so I just kept building.

  The next day, something happened that had never happened before.

  The puppy was gone.

  That morning, after I came back from gathering nectar to make wax, she—

  I think it’s a she. Something that powerful couldn’t be a drone, right?

  Whatever she was, she was gone.

  After using up all the nectar, I made a circle around the area just to be sure the puppy had left, then went to the flower.

  It felt like a she.

  She was the most beautiful flower I had ever seen, giving off a lazy but lovely feeling. Her petals were pointed, colored in different shades of blue and pink.

  When I landed on her, a wave of joy and peace washed over me. It shocked me. It was the first time I had ever felt something like that from a flower. She felt… somewhat sentient.

  I think she was telling me to take nectar—but also to leave something behind.

  My scent.

  I wasn’t sure if that feeling came from me or her, but it didn’t matter. It felt necessary.

  So I went in and gathered nectar. As I drank, I felt something strange—almost like seeing double, or a pulsing sensation. As I concentrated, a headache formed, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  Then I heard the sound I had waited for, across so many flowers.

  Like fog lifting, the nectar began to glow.

  It was blinding.

  No pollen had ever glowed like this. The intensity was on another level entirely. I had to look away—it was overwhelming.

  After a minute or two, I could finally think about taking the nectar.

  I moved closer, gathered it—

  And lost consciousness.