Chapter 116
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: The Honeybee Garden
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The newly acquired Hidden Piece, a special status: Honeybee Garden.
As its effects took hold, the first to react were none other than Rayleese and the other Flower Elves.
“Wh-what is this…?”
“I’ve never felt an energy like this before.”
Like plants overgrowing from an abundance of energy.
The Flower Elves pleasantly absorbed the energy through the flowers and vines blooming on their bodies.
Frankly, their reaction was only natural.
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[Honeybee Garden]
* Classification: Special Status
* Area of Effect: Any space inhabited by bees that fulfill the conditions for the Honeybee Garden
* Effects: Honey Storage +10%, Incubation and Eclosion Speed +30%
* Effect - Abundant Honey (Passive): Increases the total amount and quality of honey that can be obtained from nearby flowers.
* Description: A garden where various types of bees live together in harmony. The collective energy of the numerous bees boosts the honey production of plant species.
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Honey that could be obtained from plant species.
The special effect of the Honeybee Garden increased the very quantity and quality of it.
In truth, this alone was a satisfying enough effect for Seong-hyeok, who did business with honey byproducts, but the bees’ Hidden Piece didn't stop there.
“You guys really are tearing up the stage, aren’t you?”
A 10% increase in honey storage for all bees and a 30% increase in the speed of incubation and eclosion.
The former was an undeniably overpowered effect, as it would drastically increase the speed and efficiency of honey collection.
Just think about it.
What if the ten-million-strong bee army began gathering honey with all these effects applied?
Add to that the increased speed of incubation and eclosion, and it would create a virtuous cycle, enhancing both quantity and quality!
*Bzzzz~*
*Bzzzzzz—*
[Wild Beehive - Rock Honey (★★★+) honey status has reached 100%.]
[Guardian's Extra-Large World Tree Beehive (★★★+)] honey status has reached 88.251%.]
[Guardian's Extra-Large World Tree Beehive (★★★+)] honey status has reached 98%.]
[Honey is ready for harvest!]
…
As if to prove it.
A constant stream of honey notifications sounded in Seong-hyeok’s ears.
One might have grown weary at the prospect of becoming even busier, but Seong-hyeok, a man who had dedicated his life to bees, thought nothing of the sort.
“The honey… it calls to me.”
Honeybee.
Seong-hyeok's thought process had become that of a bee itself.
He momentarily felt the urge to immediately harvest the honey his bees had collected and turn it into processed goods.
*BZZZZZ!!!*
“Ah, but of course, our queen’s business comes first.”
The youngest queen buzzed her wings fiercely, as if showing off her presence.
He had briefly forgotten while checking on the Honeybee Garden, but the Garnet Gem Queen Bee was a high-grade being, boasting a rank of 4-star+.
Naturally, the youngest queen’s abilities were anything but ordinary.
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[Garnet Gem Queen Bee (★★★★+)]
※ Wing and Pollen Sac organs have undergone 1 evolution.
※ Pollen Sac organ has undergone 1 focused evolution.
※ Gathering-type enhanced evolution (Evolution Material - Alamatan Wild Strawberry Fruit (★★★★-) as a supplementary material) has been performed once.
* Eclosion Process for Higher Species Owned: Garnet Gem Honey Pot Bee (★★★-) -> 18.4% (+4.8), Garnet Gem Honey Bush Legion Commander Bee (★★★★) - Elite Bee -> 2.552% (+1.181)
[Queen's Pheromone - Pollen Sac Enhancement (Lv.5)]
* Classification: Skill
* Mana Cost: 500
* Effect (Active): For 600 minutes, increases the honey storage of all bees within a 30km radius by 5%. (Cooldown: 300 minutes)
[Queen's Honey Strawberry Bush (Lv.4)]
* Classification: Skill
* Honey Strawberry Bushes Grown: 0 / 4
* Mana Cost: 2,000
* Effect (Active): Grows a Queen's Honey Strawberry Bush. (Cooldown: 24 hours)
* Description: An ability acquired by absorbing the Alamatan Wild Strawberry Fruit. Grows a bush that continuously produces honey-filled strawberries. As the level increases, more bushes can be grown.
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“…Honey Strawberry Bush?”
The Honey Strawberry Bush, a skill possessed by the youngest queen, shattered his expectation that nothing could be special anymore, given the wide variety of unique traits he’d seen.
*Bzzzz~*
The youngest queen, showing off a reddish-brown abdomen similar yet distinct from the Ruby Gem's, let out a charming buzz.
It marked the beginning, heralding the birth of the farming bee.
* * * * *
*Bzzzz~*
*Bzzzzing~*
Countless bees set off on long expeditions, tirelessly searching for flowers.
During that process, pollination occurred, scattering pollen far and wide.
Some might have metaphorically described the bees’ work as flower farming, but who could have ever imagined this?
[Garnet Gem Queen Bee (★★★★+) uses the skill, Queen's Honey Strawberry Bush (Lv.4).]
[2,000 Mana has been consumed.]
[A Queen's Honey Strawberry Bush (★★★★+) has been grown.]
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[Queen's Honey Strawberry Bush (★★★★+)]
* Classification: Special Object
* Growth Rate: 0%
* When fully grown, it will bear sweet Queen's Honey Strawberries.
※ Queen's Honey-drizzled Strawberry: Bees that come into contact with the scent of the Honey Strawberry receive a movement speed +10% buff that lasts for 40 minutes. (No Cooldown)
* Health: 25,000
* Defense: 120 Magic Resistance: 30
* Description: A ★★★★+ grade Honey Strawberry Bush grown by the Garnet Gem Queen Bee.
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A Queen's Honey Strawberry Bush grew near the hive where the Garnet Gem Queen Bee resided.
The shrub, true to its name, began to emit a sweet honey scent as its flower buds opened, and bees, drawn by the fragrance, gathered around it.
[Ruby Gem Scout Bee (★★★-) has come into contact with the Queen's Honey Strawberry Bush (★★★★+). Its growth is stimulated, and its nutrients slightly increase.]
[Ruby Gem Worker Bee (★★+) has come into contact with the Queen's Honey Strawberry Bush (★★★★+). Its growth is stimulated, and its nutrients slightly increase.]
[Garnet Gem Worker Bee (★★+) has come into contact with the Queen's Honey Strawberry Bush (★★★★+). Its growth is stimulated, and its nutrients slightly increase.]
[The movement speed of the bees that made contact has increased.]
…
Bees had a behavioral pattern of actively making contact with any flower that could provide honey.
And as always.
The bee and the plant.
These two, inextricably linked, achieved natural pollination, benefiting each other.
“This is great, just great.”
Naturally, for Seong-hyeok, who was master of both the bees and the bush, it was a perfect win-win.
The very pinnacle of efficiency!
And was that all?
The true power of a queen bee, no matter what anyone said, came from the bees she birthed.
The forces of the Garnet Gem bees, now steadily expanding their own domain, could no longer be ignored.
*Bzzzz~*
*Bzzzzzzzz~*
Was it because they shared the same 'Wing, Pollen Sac' evolution tree?
The Honey Pot Bee bore a strong resemblance to the Honey Jar Bee.
But that didn't mean they were exactly the same.
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[Sweet Pollen Sac (Lv.1)]
* Classification: Skill
* Mana Cost: 0
* Effect (Passive): Honey Storage increases by 10, and collected nectar gains added sweetness.
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Unlike the Honey Jar Bee's 'Abundant Pollen Sac,' which purely increased honey storage, the Honey Pot Bee had a special trait of adding sweetness to the collected nectar, further increasing its value during maturation.
Now that he had a secure production system, unlike in the early days, the Honey Pot Bee was honestly more effective than the Honey Jar Bee, but there was no room for discrimination among Seong-hyeok's bees.
“You guys are the reason I’m alive. Really.”
Just as a parent loves all their children equally.
To Seong-hyeok, every single bee was precious.
*Bzzzzing~*
Seong-hyeok’s sincere feelings spread through the Bee Link, and the bees, energized, began to work even harder.
However, while most bees were heading toward flowers to collect nectar, there was one peculiar bee that strayed onto a different path.
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[Garnet Gem Honey Bush Legion Commander Bee (★★★★)] - Elite Bee
* Honey Storage: 0 / 850 (+325)
* Health: 1,050 (+360) Mana: 2,000 (+800)
* Attack: 50 (+12) Defense: 70 (+35) Magic Resistance: 70 (+35)
[Honey Strawberry Bush (Lv.1)]
* Classification: Skill
* Honey Strawberry Bushes Grown: 1 / 1
…
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It was the newly added elite bee, Deombur-i.
Like the queen, it was born with the same skill that allowed it to plant Honey Strawberry Bushes.
Was it thanks to that?
Throughout the apiary, not only flowers but also bushes bearing honey strawberries were beginning to bloom with flower buds.
It was hard to believe that all these changes were brought about by a single type of queen bee!
But this wasn't the only wind of change that had come to the farm.
*Bzzzzzzzz~*
A luscious, shimmering blue, star-lit abdomen.
If the Garnet Gem bees created an advantage through farming Honey Strawberry Bushes, the Star Sapphire bees distinguished themselves in combat.
“Everyone, focus!”
“Injured, fall back!”
“Enemy spotted over there!”
Despite having grown stronger through the monster gate, the battles against monsters were still fiercely raging.
With the Wild Beehive and the World Tree, not to mention the Treasure Hunters, powerful monsters were bound to appear, so it was only natural that casualties would occur.
However, since becoming residents of the apiary, not a single one had been lost.
(Don't overdo it. If you get hurt, recover quickly. We have plenty of supplies, so don't worry.)
That was because Seong-hyeok’s shelter was the source of processed honey products.
Knowing they played a crucial role in reducing bee casualties, Seong-hyeok provided them with emergency health recovery items like honey tea.
But now, something new was added to the mix.
*Bzzzzzzzing!*
A fierce battle was underway.
And from there, the bees’ support followed.
*Stab! Thwip- thwip!*
But the bees, with their gleaming stingers at the ready, charged not at the monsters, but at the residents of the apiary.
A bee's stinger was barbed, meaning a single sting would be a fatal wound to itself.
It was the worst-case scenario: allies destroying each other.
“Thank you, little ones.”
“I’ll draw strength from this!”
“Let’s go, friends!”
But unexpectedly, the people stung by the bees seemed to regain their energy and returned to the battlefield.
Even more surprising was the sight of their injuries slowly healing!
This was all thanks to the power of the newly joined Star Sapphire Healing Venom Bees.
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[Healing Sting (Lv.1)]
* Classification: Skill
* Mana Cost: 100
* Effect (Active): Honey Storage increases by 10, and collected nectar gains added sweetness.
* Effect - Non-detachable Stinger (Passive): The stinger does not detach, no matter how many times it is used.
* Description: A stinger transformed with healing power. Increases the stung target's health and mana recovery speed by 100%. The amount of healing increases as the level rises.
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