Chad awoke and was immediately greeted by the sight of dead bees strewn across the ground in front of him. He tried to blink at the sight, but couldn't for some reason. Then the smell hit him like a truck. He didn't know what kind of smell it was, but it smelled like sadness and hatred. Chad was just laying there and trying not to let the overpowering scent overwhelm him, when something interrupted his quiet suffering.

  Congratulations! You have survived the reincarnation process, and have successfully matured into a [Silverwood Honeybee Worker]. As a gift to welcome you to your new life, please choose two of the following rewards.

  10 free attribute points

  1 grade C skill selection

  2 mutation points

  1 growth type grade E piece of equipment

  Chad really wasn't in the mood to deal with these mysterious pop-ups at the moment. His body hurt, and he was trying hard not to think about his current situation at all. Unfortunately, brains tend to think, and Chad felt the memories of recent events flash through his mind. He tried to stand up, but his legs just waved through the air to no effect. He could see what the problem was, in fact he could see almost everything around him. He watched in morbid fascination as his black chitinous limbs flailed about, and at the body that was attached to said limbs. Instead of the powerful muscular body he was used to, he saw the round black and yellow striped abdomen, the thorax, the wings, and two antennae waggling back and forth on his head.

  As Chad's distress rose, he started to smell a new scent in the air. This one smelled like panic. Immediately he heard a buzzing sound approaching his position, and he felt a mix of relief and fear at the sight of a massive bee approaching his immobile form. Actually, Chad could see that the bee wasn't too much larger than himself, but he was just not used to seeing bees larger than himself. The other bee landed with surprising grace next to him, and started wiggling for some reason.

  "Ah, what fortuitous luck! A survivor of the massacre. My dear maiden, do you require assistance?"

  Chad froze as the words registered. Somehow a giant bee just talked to him... Wait, maiden? Who? Me? Chad focused back on the words in his head and pondered on the words [Silverwood Honeybee Worker]. Much to his surprise, more words appeared in his head.

  [Silverwood Honeybee Worker]: Honeybee workers are the backbone of the hive, and the Silverwood honeybees are no different. The workers are all non-reproductive females that see to the survival of the hive by constructing nests, cleaning, feeding larvae, collecting and processing food, and defending the hive from invaders. The majority of Silverwood honeybee workers die before their first evolution, either during the harsh winter or in valiant defense of the hive.

  There was a lot to unpack there. Chad kind of already knew about bee workers being all female, and he figured bees had a lot of work based on the general perception of bees. However, two things stood out in the description. First, he was indeed a female now. Second, what the heck is a first evolution? Individual bees can evolve? He was pretty sure that wasn't how evolution worked.

  Chad's thoughts were interrupted by the sensation of movement, and he saw the larger bee pushing him over with it's mandibles. He reflexively twisted and maneuvered his legs to try and help, but his legs smacked the other bee in the face and generally got in the way. The other bee was seemingly unbothered by the smacks, and with a mighty shove pushed Chad right side up. Chad was feeling a bit guilty for essentially slapping the other bee in the face, so he tried to apologize.

  *wiggle wiggle*

  Chad was trying to say 'sorry for hitting your face. It was an accident', but for some reason he started to wiggle and move around. 'That was weird. I definitely wasn't trying to wiggle.'

  Then the other bee began to wiggle in return, and Chad felt like the bee was speaking again.

  "Don't worry my dear, us drones are used to harsh treatment. Why I myself was kicked out of my old hive last winter, and only survived by the grace of finding a particularly warm lake surrounded by remarkable flowers that bloomed in the dead of winter. Why I nearly gave up any hope for survival, and it was only my desperate desire to be accepted by a queen that kept me going."

  Chad gave in to the wiggle-speak and started wiggling his reply. "Well I'm glad you were here to help me at least. Thank you."

  The drone froze for a second before he continued speaking/wiggling. "My dear, you are as sweet as honey. Never before have I had the pleasure of meeting a lady as kind and gracious as yourself. My name is Waximillian, but you may call me Ian. Would you do me the honor of giving me your name?"

  Chad cringed a little at how Waximillian was talking to him, but the drone had helped him out, and was being very polite. Almost too polite. Chad almost responded with his own name, but he hesitated at the last moment. It wasn't that he didn't want to give his name, but was he really Chad Rich anymore? He had died, and he left his old family and old life behind. He wasn't even a he anymore for goodness sake! After a moment of thought, Chad decided to embrace his new life. Sure it kind of sucked so far, but at least he was alive. Then with a little internal chuckle at the absurdity of his situation, he gave a different name.

  "My name is Beatrice, and the pleasure is mine."

  You are known as Beatrice by 100% of individuals who know you. Would you like to change your name to Beatrice? Yes or No?

  There was a moment of hesitation, but Beatrice decided to start her new life now. Yes.

  The name on your status page has been changed to Beatrice.

  Status page? Beatrice was curious about what his... no, her status page was about. She was just about to focus on the words when Waximillian broke into her thoughts.

  "Beatrice, a lovely name. Now, if you would be so kind as to help me find the queen of your hive, I would be most grateful."

  "I don't know. I just emerged from my... cell? when a couple of bears were attacking the hive. Then I fell and knocked myself unconscious." Beatrice tried to shrug, but her antennae just waggled in circles. But, it looked like she got the point across.

  Waximillian's front legs lifted in a gesture that Beatrice was sure meant surprise. "Truly? I must say you have an excellent grasp of language for a new worker. Why, it took me weeks to figure out how to articulate properly. I did get my skill upgraded thanks to my efforts however."

  "You have a skill for speaking?" Beatrice was under the assumption that skills were supposed to be flashier, given how game-like this world was shaping up to be.

  "Of course my dear, and so do you. I should tell you that we all receive the same skill upon reaching maturity, workers and drones alike. On that note, I must insist you spend a few minutes working through your status page. It's apparent to me that you haven't yet looked at your status, and you'll be able to learn a lot about yourself by doing so."

  "That sounds like a good idea, but can I ask you a couple questions first?"

  "But of course, you may ask me as many questions as you need to. But I must insist that we relocate first. It isn't healthy to remain in a dead nest you know."

  Beatrice was reminded of the grim surroundings, and actually looked closely at the nest for the first time. The nest felt massive and cramped at the same time, with rows upon rows of hexes making up the walls. It would have looked nice and orderly, if it weren't crushed and torn in nearly it's entirety. And the floor was littered with dead workers, thousands of them. It was a sobering sight, and Beatrice marveled at the fact that she was even alive.

  "That... makes sense, Ian. Lead the way."

  "It would be my pleasure." Ian made a little bow and took off into the air, wings buzzing loudly in the deathly silence.

  Beatrice was worried about flying at first, but as her wing began to buzz it all came naturally. She lifted into the air and started following Ian to the entrance. The entrance was especially torn up after the bear attack, since they obviously had to widen the hole to be bear-sized. She almost stopped flying in midair when they cleared the entrance.

  The Hive, it turned out, was nestled in a wooded glade. And it became clear to Beatrice why her species was called Silverwood honeybees. The tree were covered in bark that shone a dull silver in the moonlight, their leaves were a pale yellow that almost looked like gold, and the trees were absolutely massive. They almost looked like redwood trees, but with silver bark and leaves that were more like an aspen tree's. Beatrice almost lost sight of Ian as the magical landscape drew her in, but she managed to pull her focus from the forest and followed Ian up and through the silver trees.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  It only took a few minutes of flying before Ian turned to a specific tree and flew into a hole midway towards the canopy. Beatrice followed and landed on a carpet of dirt and moss, looking around at the little hollow.

  "Welcome to my humble abode. From the amount of acorns that used to clutter up the place, I believe this hollow used to be the home of a Silverwood squirrel." Ian gestured as he spoke, which looked a little silly when he was also wiggle-talking.

  "Thanks for having me. Sorry to impose, but do you have anything to eat? I haven't eaten anything since... ever?" Beatrice was just asking to make sure, but didn't really expect Ian to have anything. Drones weren't involved in anything except mating and dying if her memories were correct. But, she was pleasantly surprised.

  "Oh, where are my manners? I'll prepare refreshments while you make yourself at home."

  Ian started rummaging in the darkness, knocking something over and doing a little wiggle-curse that made Beatrice chuckle. She took advantage of the moment of alone time to try and wrap her head around recent events. It would be a lie to say that she was over being killed, and she already missed her old parents and sister, her old friends, her old life. And it was a struggle to think of herself as a girl, especially since she really missed her muscles. Muscles were great.

  "Here you are." Ian said while gently placing down an absurdly large acorn cap full of some kind of liquid in front of Beatrice, then he made another little trip to grab another and placed it in front of himself. "This is a mix of fruit juice and nectar of my own recipe. Let me tell you, it was a struggle to learn how to care for myself. I've come to the conclusion myself that drones are largely useless outside of our main purpose."

  Beatrice felt a bit awkward at the topic, but it wasn't like she'd ever have to deal with that stuff. Workers were infertile after all. For a moment she was unable to figure out how to drink the cocktail in front of her, but she quickly figured it out, a strangely long tongue extruding from her face which started slurping up the sweet liquid.

  "This is really good! It's nice and sweet with a hint of sour." Beatrice subconsciously did a little happy-wiggle as she drained the oversized acorn cap.

  "I appreciate the positive feedback. It has been rather satisfying to do actual work, even if it's just for myself. But, the sense of satisfaction from doing work for a fellow honeybee, especially a little lady such as yourself. I must say you workers have been keeping the good work for yourselves."

  "I feel the need to point out that I haven't really done any real work yet. I just matured, remember?"

  Ian smacked himself with a leg "Oh, I must confess it completely slipped my mind. You're just so eloquent compared to other new workers. You are wise beyond your days dear Beatrice. I can only imagine how far you'll go, with a little time for seasoning. Now, enough of my babbling! Ask your questions before I get carried away again."

  Beatrice took a moment to gather her thoughts, which was a lot easier with a stomach full of sugary goodness. "What are mutation points for? Aren't mutations bad?"

  Ian somehow managed to look taken aback at the question. "Why Beatrice, whatever gave you that Idea? Mutations are almost always purely beneficial. I must admit that my knowledge of the subject is limited, but I've never seen a purely negative mutation. Oh, and mutation points are for purchasing and upgrading mutations through your status page. Miss Beatrice, I suggest you explore your status page if you haven't already."

  "Oh that's right. Please excuse me for a moment."

  "Certainly." Ian gesture graciously with one leg and settled down to rest.

  It only took an instant of focus before a slew of information poured into Beatrice's mind.

  Name: Beatrice

  Race: Silverwood Honeybee Worker Level 1 Tier 1

  Strength:9

  Agility:20

  Endurance:11

  Vitality:9

  Intelligence:13

  Wisdom:10

  Charisma:28

  Skills: Honeybee Interpretive Dance (E), Sacrificial Strike (E), Swarm (F)

  Mutations: Suicidal Stinger (F), Venom Gland (F), Maneuverable wings (F)

  Titles: Reincarnator (A), Survivor (D)

  Beatrice looked over the information with interest. Back on Earth, she had never really gotten into video games. But she did have one friend who literally couldn't not talk about the current game he was obsessing over. So she was fairly confident in deciphering her status screen. She was wondering how to figure out the exact effects of the intelligence stat when more text suddenly appeared in her head.

  Intelligence: This stat governs the power of the mind, including information retention and recall, and calculative abilities. Intelligence also determines magical strength and rough mana control.

  Beatrice would've blinked if she didn't have compound eyes. But now she knew the trick to sousing out information from her status, and she quickly took advantage of that newfound knowledge.

  Strength: This stat governs the power of the body, including muscle density and to a lesser degree, physical durability and flexibility.

  Agility: This stat governs the body's ability to move, including speed, precision, and flexibility.

  Endurance: This stat governs the body's survivability, including physical durability, stamina and to a lesser degree vital energy.

  Vitality: This stat governs vital energy and healing ability.

  Wisdom: This stat governs the flexibility of the mind, including the ability to make connections and apply knowledge. Wisdom also determines mana capacity, mana regeneration, and fine mana control.

  Charisma: This stat governs social power and flexibility, including the ability to persuade, seduce, or command others, the ability to manage social connections, and the ability to communicate with others. Charisma also increases actual physical beauty and attractiveness, although to a miniscule degree.

  The stats were all fascinating in their own ways, and Beatrice figured any of them could be a superpower if taken to the extreme. She thought about being a super buff bee, but it just didn't feel right compared to being a buff human. Maybe a fast bee, or a magical bee? She put the thought aside and continued prying at her status sheet.

  Silverwood Honeybee: A species of monstrous insects inhabiting the Silverwood Forest. Like mundane honeybees, the Silverwood Honeybees are eusocial and are separated into workers, drones, and queens. The workers maintain the hive, care for the brood, and gather and process food. The drones mate with the queen. The queen lays the eggs. Despite their numbers, Silverwood Honeybees workers are limited by their weak ability to fight outside of suicidal use of their stingers. Rarely do workers evolve past the first tier, and third tier workers are unheard of. Drones are hardly worth mentioning, since they die after mating once. The queens start at tier two and have barbless stingers, but are actually less dangerous than workers due to being specialized egg layers and not having the workers' suicidal combat skills. This has resulted in the Silverwood Honeybees being little more than fodder for the higher tier monsters of the Silverwood Forest, and their honey an easily accessible commodity for the intelligent races and monsters alike.

  "Hey Ian, quick question."

  "Yes miss Beatrice?"

  "Do drones really die when they mate with a queen?"

  "Well, yes. The process itself is fatal, but a drone's purpose is to mate with a queen. I myself am comfortable with my lot in life, and I'm sure most drones don't have time to worry about it at all." Ian gave a bee shrug with his antennae.

  "But with mutations and evolutions being a thing, couldn't you gain the ability to survive the process? I mean, wouldn't an evolved drone be a better mate in the first place? Are there mutations that increase the quality of the offspring after mating? It seems like a waste of potential to mate and die in the first tier."

  Ian didn't respond, and Beatrice was wondering if she should poke him when he burst into excited motion.

  "What a remarkable Idea! It goes against the grain to avoid a natural death, but I do believe you have the right of it dear Beatrice! You my dear, are a genius! In fact, couldn't the same logic be applied to the workers? From what I've seen during my own unnaturally long life, it's nearly impossible for a tier three to be taken down by tier one monsters. But if workers could survive to tier two and continue fighting without dying until tier three. The implications!"

  Beatrice was a bit uncomfortable with Ian's exuberance, especially since she didn't have to work hard for the idea. She couldn't help but respond a bit bashfully. "I'm not that special. I just saw our weaknesses in the species description and figured we should do the opposite."

  "Species description? You mean to say you can access our species profile?" Ian asked with clear skepticism in his wiggles.

  "Yes."

  "Hmm... You might want to keep that to yourself in the future." Ian said with an uncharacteristic level of seriousness.

  "Why? Can't you just pull up a description from the status page?"

  "No. No I cannot. The only method for unlocking a species profile that I know of is to kill a large number of that species. I'm not sure how many kills are required, but a few workers who were unusually good at pest control unlocked a species profile during a minor infestation of the hive. They had to kill hundreds of the pests to unlock even a partial profile. I know you haven't killed anything since maturing, but others wouldn't believe that you hadn't unlocked the profile in the normal fashion."

  "Okay, I'll just say I was inspired by watching the futile defense of my old hive. It was very impactful to see two monsters easily destroy an entire hive. I didn't know about the whole evolution thing at the time, but I think the same idea would have occurred to me if I did."

  "Right!" Ian said with a sense of finality. "It's getting late, and all this talking has worn me out. Let's get some sleep and continue this in the morning. Sound good?"

  "Sounds perfect." And Beatrice meant it. She was tired physically, but emotionally she was completely exhausted. She wasn't sure how bees usually slept, but she saw Ian just stop moving and assumed that was all there was to it. So she settled down and let her mind drift away, and the peace of unconsciousness took her.