The guard nodded and said "Go upstairs and make a left. Go straight and an official is going to call you over." I thanked him and went up the stairs. I took the left and went down the hall as directed. A Phesurs called out to me and asked who I was. I told them and they smiled. "I have to know where to put you. What do you see yourself doing?" he asked. A pop up appeared and I was able to choose my class. I could be a drone, gatherer, fighter, worker, smith, or artisan. A drone bore and delivered children for the hive. It gave big boosts to fertility and exp. would be given based on births. A gatherer went outside to get precious nectar for the hive. It gave bonuses to navigation, flight, and scouting. Fighters went around to defend and attack targets determined by the royals. Obviously, combat skills would be increased. Not only that, but they got access to weapons and armor. Smiths and artisans made weapons and other things for the hive. Crafting would be boosted. Gatherer and Fighter were the only classes that went outside. I decided to be a gatherer for when I went solo.
Being a fighter was good and all, but I would need the bonuses to navigation, flight, and scouting if I ever wanted to strike out on my own. There were just more things on offer than Fighter. The official clapped his hands and said "Excellent. You can go to the ground floor and fly up to your new position. Do not dawdle around the palace or you may find the guards a are bit more... probing than most." I got the message. Avoid the rapist palace guards. The official then showed me over to where we could find the stairs that went straight up to the ground floor. This staircase bypassed the servant's quarters and was very long as a result. I went over and took a rest at the bottom as there was a place to do so. As I was getting ready to go up, we heard a Phesur approached with a very quiet follower. "I thought I missed you. With all the carnage you left, I was itching for a battle. I'm now a Fighter, so I'm ready for you." it said. "That's a shame. I am a new Gatherers. We won't be seeing much of each other after this then." I said. The Phesur was pissed and leaned in. "That's not a problem for me." he said.
I gave them 10 minutes before we went up. I did not want to be with them at all. When I went up, it was not well lit. I thought it would be fine to just glow on the stairs. In a second, I glowed a dim blue and white. It was my abdomen that glowed, so it did not light up that much in front of me. It spread the light out enough to see the stairs and where were going. When I heard the commotion of fighting, we hurried to see what was going on. The two I let pass me by were fighting a couple of guards. We were all warned of this and I just went past them. There was no way to fight them off at our level. On the other hand, I was solo and it could be good to see how good all these palace guards really were. I charged in with my fists and joined them in the fight. As they came into sight, I could see that there were three of them. They had 225 AP due to the armor and equipment they had on. They also had spears. I did my best to dodge and counter attack, but it was no use. The three of us were defeated quickly. We were at their mercy. I just hoped that they did not have any fertilized eggs inside them.
Just as they began to lean over us, a voice called out. "What are you three doing!?" it said. They stiffened and jumped to attention. I could see that it was a royal Phesur approaching. While Phesurs were all monogender and therefore androgynous, the royals looked fully male in presentation. They were all over a foot taller than us. I was exactly 6 feet tall and they were at minimum 7 feet 1. There were 10 princes that were vying for the throne when the king finally died. Only one could take the throne and the others would either be killed, subjugated and forcibly feminized, or flee to form a new colony. The princes were all followed with their own personally acquired harems and they were the most pampered and feminine presenting. "Prince Trizus! We were defending the palace from a pair of unruly younglings that were traipsing along and refused to leave." one of the guards said. Another pointed to me and said "While we were engaging, this youngling jumped in as well." Prince Trizus looked us over and rolled his eyes. "Younglings that do not know their place will be punished." he said.
