In all the excitement, I had completely forgotten to test my new skill.

  In my defense, a lot of royal things had happened at once.

  Since I had to take care of my royal self, I ate and slept.

  When I woke up again, I was eager to start the day. I clicked and squeaked cutely toward my caretakers, especially the royal one.

  Did they never sleep?

  They were always here, except for the one who had vanished before, probably to evolve, though I couldn’t be sure.

  I tried giving her a suspicious glance, but it was hard without a proper face.

  That was a strange thought.

  Did I even have a face?

  Now that I thought about it, I had never actually seen my own perfection.

  I focused on the wall and mentally called the new skill.

  So the workers made this?

  I didn’t think I had ever seen one before.

  And it said it contained mana. Mana had to mean magic, right?

  The idea thrilled me.

  There wasn’t much else in the room to examine.

  Everything was made of beeswax, so I opened my skill list instead.

  System information?

  That sounded interesting.

  I opened my information screen, feeling a little giddy.

  Wow.

  So many new things.

  When had I gained a level?

  And why did one of the attributes have a minus?

  I focused on that line.

  “Shut it, you rude information box,” I clicked angrily. “You’re weird, not me. No one likes you anyway.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  The other attributes appeared next.

  “Unknown? You’re the weird one.”

  I argued with the screen for a little while longer and felt much better afterward.

  After my epic battle with the rude box, which I like to think I won, my royal caretaker lifted me and fed me again.

  I drifted back into sleep.

  When I woke up, I realized I had gained another level during the night.

  The caretaker was watching me intently.

  Then, without a word or even acknowledging my royal highness, she picked me up and flew off, holding me firmly in her grip.

  For the first time in my life, I flew.

  It was amazing.

  And fun.

  I felt the air rush past my body, or whatever larvae have, and it just felt right.

  We passed tall hallways filled with bees flying at incredible speed.

  Some carried honey.

  Others looked strong and fierce.

  I tried to inspect everything, but we were moving too fast.

  We entered an opening no other bees used.

  Inside were six of the biggest, toughest bees I had ever seen.

  Did that mean her name was hidden, or was “???” actually her name?

  I focused on the subrace, but exhaustion washed over me as we flew deeper into the chamber.

  The room was filled with eggs and honey.

  In the center stood the Queen, surrounded by eight more royal guards and dozens of caretakers carrying eggs through another tunnel.

  We landed before her.

  I tried to inspect her and immediately felt the worst headache of my life.

  It felt like she smiled at my failure.

  I could sense hope and expectation from her.

  Perhaps care, though not love.

  The feeling was both right and wrong at the same time.

  She lifted a crystal that shimmered with inner light and gave it to me.

  I tried to inspect it.

  Nothing happened.

  I tried again.

  Still nothing.

  Was it broken?

  I stopped thinking and just ate it.

  What was that crystal?

  It had to be magical.

  I could feel a surge of energy inside me.

  I could probably crawl for days now.

  I didn’t see any reason to refuse.

  Everyone was watching me expectantly.

  “Yes.”

  “Gluttonous? You stupid box. I’m not lazy or greedy. I’m the hardest-working larva I know.”

  After fuming for a while, I calmed down.

  The choices might be random, or maybe they depended on something beyond my control.

  The mana-related ones tempted me, but I chose the path that felt the most natural.

  “Queen Honey Bee.”

  The chamber seemed safe.

  I was royalty, after all.

  “Yes.”

  I began spinning threads around my body.

  Liquid seeped out and hardened into a cocoon.

  My royal caretaker helped finish wrapping me.

  Darkness closed in, and my consciousness slowly faded away.

  “Great. Back to the darkness.”