Chapter 101
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: The World Tree's Call
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What in the world is going on?”
“Whoa, I almost got crushed to death.”
“Wow, this is... incredible.”
The World Tree had been growing steadily before.
But was there some fundamental difference between its first and second stages of growth?
It was as if a rapid growth spurt had been triggered.
Having nearly doubled in size, the ground was inevitably torn up, and nearby beehives were cracked. The damage was unavoidable.
Still, Seong-hyeok let out a sigh of relief that no one was hurt and looked at the fluffballs gently lapping up the wild honey.
“Squeee!”
“Haha. Good thing I timed the harvest just right so you could all eat.”
The cracked beehives were a shame, but as long as they weren't completely destroyed, they could be repaired.
Seong-hyeok, satisfied just to have harvested the wild honey at the perfect moment, approached Yeon Su-hee.
“Would it be alright if I checked the information for its second stage?”
“Of course.”
In any case, the whole incident was due to the World Tree's second stage of growth.
Ultimately, growth meant that there would be corresponding merits.
Moreover, this wasn't just any ordinary tree, but a 'World Tree,' a fantastical species!
And just as he expected…
______________________________
[Prepyon's World Tree 2nd Stage (Divine)]
* Guardians: Mach, Mungchi, Nareu
※ Time for 2nd Stage World Tree to blossom: 1 day 20 hours (Growth period and grade can be accelerated through additional effects.)
* The World Tree's buffs and debuffs are applied to all entities and objects within a 300km radius.
※ World Tree's Vigorous Spirit: Increases allies' attack power and movement speed by 5%. All honeybees' honey storage capacity +3.
※ World Tree's Embrace: The growth speed of all nearby growable natural vegetation and crops is accelerated by 150%, and the appearance rate of rare natural vegetation is greatly increased.
※ World Tree's Pressure: Decreases enemies' attack power and movement speed by 10%.
※ Nature's Shield: Envelops all personnel within the area in a shield made of nature's power. The shield's effect is maximized the more numerous and abundant the plants are within the area. (Cooldown: 24 hours)
______________________________
As if flaunting its power, the World Tree's abilities had become far stronger upon reaching its second stage, affecting a much wider area than before.
Not only that, but the newly added power, 'Nature's Shield,' was uniquely classified as a skill possessed by the World Tree itself, its effect heavily focused on defense, befitting the steadfast tree.
“This is a perfect match for the honeybees, isn't it?”
“Tell me about it.”
Above all, its unique property of growing stronger the more abundant the plant life was…
This was inevitably linked to the honeybees, which pollinated the flowers and trees around the bee farm through entomophily.
*Bzzzzzzzz—*
*Bzz—*
Was it a physical manifestation of this fact?
The honeybees, rather than being surprised by the enlarged World Tree, were devouring the feast before them as if they were at a restaurant.
They greedily indulged in the honey, which had become even more plentiful and concentrated than before.
*Brrrrrr-*
Mesmerized by the truly natural, high-quality nectar.
The honeybees quivered their abdomens, their heads buried deep inside the flowers as if they had fainted from the sweet scent.
Furthermore, it wasn't just the humans and honeybees who rejoiced at the World Tree's growth.
“Oh, ooooh!”
“…It's beautiful.”
Greendale and the Poison Elves stared at the World Tree as if they were entranced.
For a group that rarely made a fuss to react so strongly, the connection between the World Tree and the elves could not be ignored.
Proof of this came in the form of the Hidden Piece, the Tree of Life, which was acquired along with the World Tree's growth.
______________________________
[Tree of Life]
* Classification: Special Circumstance
* Area of Effect: All allies within the World Tree's domain
* Effect: All stats +5. Summons forest-related lifeforms and earns their favor.
* Description: Those within the range of the Tree of Life gain a stat advantage. The World Tree's call summons distant forest races and removes their hostility.
______________________________
A benefit of +5 to all stats, granted unconditionally to all allies within the area.
Considering that one gained 5 stat points per level up, this was a truly tremendous effect.
Even excluding the skills gained from leveling up, it was equivalent to granting the power of five whole levels.
And didn't the bee farm have an army of ten million honeybees?
“The favor from the forest races is amazing, too.”
Additionally, the Hidden Piece had the special effect of summoning forest races and erasing their hostility.
If this was combined with Seong-hyeok's 'Druid of the Forest' title, it would surely create a rather decent synergy.
“Companion. With this, my sisters might be able to find their own way here.”
“That's certainly welcome news.”
Take the Poison Elves, their current allies, for example. They were essential for survival, skilled in both combat and daily life.
It was no exaggeration to call them an all-rounder race.
Naturally, if these elves and other forest races were to join the bee farm, it would be beneficial to Seong-hyeok and the honeybees in one way or another.
That was why he had readily accepted Greendale's request for the elves to join them and had even provided support to Jeongrichung for the search.
Since there had been no news so far, Seong-hyeok had been considering spending points to trade for information, making this a case of killing two birds with one stone.
*Rumble-rumble-rumble-*
Had about a day passed since the discovery of the Hidden Piece?
As if to show the results.
An earthquake shook the ground.
Wondering if an enemy had appeared, Seong-hyeok held his stinger at the ready.
However, the honeybees' reaction soon told him that this was not bad news, but good news.
*Bzzzz!*
*Bzzzzzzzzzz!*
[The bees are expressing high affinity toward a being that is friendly to you.]
[The bees are expressing high affinity toward a being that is friendly to you.]
[The bees are expressing high affinity toward a being that is friendly to you.]
…
Just like with the Poison Elves before, the honeybees' collective intelligence instantly signaled favor and hostility.
And right now, the 'Tree of Life's' effect of summoning forest races was active.
Seong-hyeok realized that whatever was appearing now was not an enemy.
*Fwoosh!*
[Field Boss Monster 'Dig King Molin Lv. 41 (★★★★)' and its kin have appeared.]
[Dig King Molin Lv. 41 (★★★★) & Giant Worm Mol Lv. 40 (★★★★-)] - Field Boss Monster
[Dig Lv. 36 (★★★+)] - Elite Monster
[Dig Lv. 35 (★★★+)] - Elite Monster
…
A dozen or so monsters emerged, tearing through the ground.
Moles riding on giant earthworms, which were likely the cause of the earthquake.
The largest among them, as if drawn by instinct…
…approached Seong-hyeok with its eyes closed, all aggression gone.
*Click. Clack.*
“Squeak. Squeeeak! Squeak!”
“…”
The Dig King naturally extended a forepaw, chittering away.
Honestly, Seong-hyeok had no idea what it was saying, but even without understanding the words, he felt he knew one thing.
*Bzzzz~*
*Bzzzzzz~*
“Squeak. Squeak-squeak!”
The honeybees swarmed the Digs, expressing their affinity as if welcoming new residents, and the Digs nodded their small heads.
“Well, welcome aboard.”
“Squeak!”
They weren't the elves he had been waiting for, but Seong-hyeok offered a greeting of welcome to the rather unique and unfamiliar monsters.
* * * * *
The moles, a race known as the Dig, had newly joined them.
Their numbers were not large, only twelve in total, but perhaps all races considered forest folk were small elite groups?
The advantages that came with the Digs joining the bee farm were by no means small.
“Squeak! Squeak-squeak! Squeak!”
[Natural Vegetation, Underground Bellflower Root (★★-), has been discovered!]
[Natural Vegetation, Underground Deodeok (★★-), has been discovered!]
[Iron Ore Vein (★★) has been discovered!]
…
The first of these advantages was the discovery of natural vegetation and ore veins that grew deep underground, where they couldn't normally be found.
Due to the moles' habit of living underground, they naturally discovered subterranean flora.
“Oh my, thank you, fellas.”
“Well, I'll be. Never thought I'd see the day I'd be getting help from a mole.”
“The Digs are so nice!”
The vegetation, having absorbed the earth's energy, was of a significantly higher quality than what was found above ground, and it seemed that successfully gathering it yielded a considerable amount of experience.
The residents with gathering-related jobs were especially pleased with the Digs' arrival.
[Natural Vegetation, World Tree Wild Ginseng (★★★★+), has been discovered!]
“I… I found it! I found wild ginseng!”
“Wh-what is this?”
“Woooah!”
Furthermore, one couldn't forget that the bee farm, thanks to the World Tree, had a significantly increased appearance rate of rare natural vegetation.
Unlike before, when they had only searched on the surface or dug down to a certain depth, the Digs, whose range of activity extended deep into the earth, were easily discovering rare natural vegetation of an unimaginably high grade.
“Seong-hyeok. If you're okay with it, would you be willing to buy this?”
“Of course, I'd be happy to.”
It went without saying that most of the rare vegetation obtained this way ended up in Seong-hyeok's possession to boost his health, which was a most welcome development.
Moreover, this wasn't the only benefit of the Digs' arrival.
*Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh-*
The Digs and the Giant Worms spread out in all directions from the center of the farm, moving underground.
At a glance, it just looked like they were 'moving,' but the system alerts revealed it was something more.
[The soil becomes fertile due to a special action.]
[The soil becomes fertile due to a special action.]
[Acquired Giant Worm's Castings (★★-).]
…
The Digs and Giant Worms loosened the earth, making it easier for plant roots to grow.
On top of that, the castings produced by the Giant Worms were a natural fertilizer that boasted high efficacy in boosting the growth speed and yield of crops!
“Oh my, thank you, my big friend.”
*Wiggle-*
*Wriggle-!*
Mol, the giant earthworm, lived up to its 'Giant' name with its immense size.
Being an earthworm, its only means of communication was wriggling its body, but did it somehow know that Yeon Su-hee was the master of the World Tree?
The creature frequently showed its face to Yeon Su-hee in particular, producing large amounts of castings and bringing a constant smile to her face.
“Squeak! Squeak-squeak!”
*Wiggle-wiggle!*
And was that all?
The Digs and the Giant Worms.
These two types of creatures were monsters with levels ranging from the mid-30s to the 40s, levels that could not be ignored.
As creatures capable of moving underground, their prowess naturally shone in battle as well.
*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-!!!*
While they could enrich the soil, they could also intentionally collapse the ground if they so chose.
The Digs' and Giant Worms' method of combat was to drag their enemies underground and bury them alive.
Furthermore, there were even cases where an unexpectedly great combination was formed, such as detonating traps made by the trapper Kang Cheon-su in the burial sites.
“…The forest folk. Not bad at all.”
In both combat and daily life.
The Poison Elves and the Dig race proved to be efficient and versatile in all aspects.
A smile graced Seong-hyeok's lips as he thought about welcoming more forest races who would be drawn by the effect of the Tree of Life's Hidden Piece in the future.