Chapter 155
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Ally
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Thud! Thud-!
Kraaaang!
It wasn’t just one or two, but ten Disaster-class boss monsters that had appeared.
Was it because they inherently possessed a certain level of power befitting their rank?
With strength incomparable to elite or field bosses, they shattered the layers of beeswax walls and advanced.
It was a perilous situation, but thanks to his honey products and healing poison bees, Seong-hyeok had managed to prevent a single casualty among the bees and residents so far. He was confident.
‘No matter what they try, they’re in the palm of my hand.’
From the start, the only thing he expected from the beeswax walls was to buy time.
As long as they had fulfilled that duty, a scenario with casualties was unimaginable.
Besides, Seong-hyeok wasn’t alone, was he?
“We’ll take the left.”
“I may not be fond of humans, but for the sake of the bees, I suppose I must lend my strength. I’ll do what I can; you handle the rest.”
“There’s never a reason to refuse a fight! Especially if it’s for nature!”
The enemy wasn’t the only side with Disaster-class bosses.
Though they might be outnumbered by the monsters from the gate, they were confident in their quality.
Not to mention the buffs from the honey products.
“Kiriririk.”
“Kyaaaaaak!”
And then there were the predatory Venus flytraps, which had successfully bred even further with the help of the bees.
With the means to stop these troublesome foes prepared,
Seong-hyeok’s role was obvious.
“Don’t overdo it. Just hold on without getting killed.”
Seong-hyeok’s immense stats had reached a point where comparing him to a player of the same level was an insult.
As the strongest melee beekeeper, his job was to deal with the problematic Disaster-class boss monsters as quickly as possible.
However, an event unfolded that rendered his carefully laid plans useless.
Snap! S-snap! Squeeze—!
It was the appearance of enormous tree trunks, the likes of which he had never seen before.
A binding spell, not cast by Seong-hyeok or the residents, but by a Wood High Elf.
“Grrrrrrrk!”
“How dare this thing!”
“……Hm?”
Was it as the saying goes, ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’?
Friction arose among the ten Disaster-class bosses.
In other words, internal conflict.
* * * * *
As is the case on Earth, most monsters summoned in any commercialized dimension, regardless of race, are hostile to all other beings.
They are especially hostile toward ‘players.’
Some see them as food.
Others, as trophies.
And then there are those who repeat the slaughter simply to relieve stress.
The monsters emerging from Monster Gates are particularly ferocious in this regard.
* Effect (Active): Summons a Monster Gate for 1 hour. The monsters that appear from the summoned gate do not distinguish between friend or foe and greedily devour everything. However, the summoned monsters will also disappear when the gate closes. (Cooldown: 15 days)
This was the basic active effect of the Monster Gate.
A gluttony that didn’t distinguish between friend or foe, and a ferocity born from a short, one-hour lifespan.
But perhaps that ferocity was somewhat tempered once a being achieved the rank of a Disaster-class boss?
‘…This place is so comforting. It feels like I’ve come home.’
Was it because she was a Wood High Elf, one who could feel the richness of plants, especially trees, with her entire being?
The apiary was a festival of trees, blooming in abundance after the flowers, thanks to the bees’ pollination.
The aura of nature emanating from the World Tree at the center of the farm was more than enough to soothe her ferocious mind and body!
‘How could I possibly attack such a land?’
Unable to bring herself to attack, she defied the command issued by the Monster Gate.
No, Selyan's subsequent actions went far beyond mere defiance.
“Grrrrk! How dare you attack me. Have you lost your mind?”
“You don’t know your place. To stand in the way of my delightful massacre!”
Her outstretched tree roots halted their advance.
A pang of regret for her irreversible action washed over her, but Selyan chose to see the good in it.
“It’s a one-hour life, anyway.”
Rather than clinging to a life that had less than an hour left, she simply chose to follow her heart.
She couldn’t protect everything, but her hope was that her interference would at least minimize the damage to the forest. That was Selyan’s gambit.
But could she have ever imagined it?
This forest, cultivated by bees and the World Tree.
The apiary would not fall so easily.
After all, the Monster Gate hadn't been an enemy ambush; it was a door he had opened himself.
Naturally, he had all the countermeasures planned out.
“Insignificant piece of wood! I’ll tear you apart limb from limb!”
“You’re first.”
“Ha! Pathetic prey…”
Stab! S-s-s-stab!
“Kehehk! Urk! Keok!”
Thud.
[You have hunted the Disaster-class boss monster, Ancient Troll King Kurarara Lv. 50 (★★★★★+). You have gained experience and 5,895,000 coins…….]
The power of the Bee Sting Art, targeting and striking a single point.
The deadly bee venom and Seong-hyeok’s power, which allowed him to pierce through tough skin and inject it directly into the bloodstream.
It might seem simple and brutish, but it was the apiary’s most effective countermeasure.
* * * * *
“……”
Selyan’s firm resolve to minimize the damage to the forest.
That resolve was casually shattered by the scene before her.
An individual with a seemingly ordinary appearance, nothing more than a mere ‘human.’
Yet the scene unfolding before her eyes felt like a dream.
“W-what is this?”
“Hey. You don’t need to bind all of them. Just restricting their movement like you’re doing now is enough.”
His overwhelming martial prowess, dispatching a Disaster-class boss of the ‘same’ rank as herself in mere minutes.
And this human, who was now casually asking her to continue restraining the others.
It was rather dumbfounding, but what could she do?
When she thought about it, the situation was unfolding favorably for her own goal.
Besides, even if he was human, if a being with such immense power was protecting the forest, it could flourish for even longer, using beings like herself as nourishment.
No, perhaps it could cultivate nature for a lifetime.
Creak! Cre-creak!
And so, Selyan squeezed out every last bit of her strength.
‘I will protect it this time.’
She burns what little is left of her 30-minute life to protect this new environment, one that echoes her own destroyed homeland—a place now faintly existing only in her memories—and is creating an even greater nature with the bees.
Snap! Squeeeeze!
Like the Wood High Elf she was, connected deeply to nature, her steadfast trees spread in all directions, ensnaring the monsters from the gate.
How much time had passed?
Soon, the only individual from the Monster Gate left alive in the vicinity was Selyan herself.
A feeling of having protected a place like her home swelled within her, and she smiled in satisfaction.
“Kill me now.”
With all threats eliminated, the only thing left was for her own life, which would soon fade anyway, to become nourishment.
But what came for Selyan was neither a sting nor a blade.
Bzzzz~
Bzzzzzz~
Innumerable bees, their wings buzzing in harmony, enveloped her.
As if to protect her.
The stingers of the bees that huddled together and pricked her skin did not carry a deadly poison that drained life force.
[Star Sapphire Healing Poison Bee (★★★★-) uses the skill, Healing Sting (Lv.6).]
[Star Sapphire Healing Poison Bee (★★★★-) uses the skill, Healing Sting (Lv.7).]
[Star Sapphire Healing Poison Bee (★★★★-) uses the skill, Healing Sting (Lv.4).]
…….
Just as the skill name suggested, Selyan’s vitality was gradually restored by the healing power contained within the poison.
Furthermore, once she had regained her strength, Seong-hyeok wordlessly handed her a honey product.
“W-what is this?”
“It’s a special sandwich with wild honey. You’ve been acknowledged by the bees, so you can eat it.”
Meat from livestock raised on World Tree ginseng, fruits and vegetables naturally pollinated by bees.
And for the finishing touch, a sweet sandwich generously slathered with wild honey, personally harvested from a wild hive!
The aroma alone was an irresistible invitation, and she took a bite.
“That was delicious, human.”
“Yeah? Glad to hear it.”
A taste so satisfying, she could have considered it her last meal.
[Monster Gate (★★★★★+) is disappearing.]
The notification of the Monster Gate’s disappearance sounded, and she closed her eyes, but only for a moment.
Selyan felt that something was wrong.
“……Why?”
By all rights, she should have disappeared long ago.
Yet, there must be a reason she was still alive.
And sure enough?
[All the bees in the apiary have acknowledged your existence. The disappearance process will not be applied.]
[Prepion’s World Tree wishes to make you, who has met all qualifications, a guardian.]
The process of disappearing wouldn’t be applied at all.
A notification message that literally meant she could continue to live.
“How about that? Bees are the best, right?"
Bzzzzzz~
Not only could they avert a scheduled death,
they also came with delicious sandwiches and the cuteness of their wiggling butts.
And so, the second Monster Gate event concluded successfully, without a single casualty and with the gain of a useful new talent.
* * * * *
Unlike Poison and Holly, who had joined Seong-hyeok under different circumstances, the Wood High Elf had joined the apiary through a rather unique case.
She had arrived alone, without any accompanying Wood Elves, but Seong-hyeok was more than satisfied with just that.
“Her strong binding ability is perfect.”
In terms of damage, he was already overflowing with options, from his countless bees to his poison bombs.
Besides, wasn't Seong-hyeok himself more than sufficient in the damage department?
In that context, a new resident packed with crowd control abilities would be of unimaginable value.
Plus, there was no need to verify her skills, as he had witnessed them firsthand in the previous battle.
Most importantly, the fact that she had been acknowledged by the bees and had become a guardian of the World Tree, following in the footsteps of the three bear cubs, meant he had no reason to worry about being backstabbed.
One could tell just by watching her adapt to the apiary.
“I look forward to growing with you, Mother of Life, World Tree.”
“I ask for your guidance, my brothers and sisters.”
“You are all so adorable! Little bees.”
A wide smile was plastered on Selyan’s face as she fraternized with the other three types of High Elves under the bees' guidance.
Perhaps it was a trait of Wood Elves, but her straightforward and easygoing personality, unlike that of the picky Flower Elves,
allowed her to get along with the various other races,
like the humans and the Digs, without much friction.
Gaining a strong and trustworthy ally was reassuring, but something else made Seong-hyeok’s heart feel even fuller.
“This is why you do raids, isn’t it?”
______________________________
[Yu Seong-hyeok]
* Level: 66
______________________________
The first thing that stood out was Seong-hyeok’s level, which had leaped up in an instant thanks to the massive amount of experience.
Before opening the Monster Gate, he had been level 62; now he had gained a whole four levels.
If Seong-hyeok, a high-level player, had gained this much, what about the residents with lower levels?
For the apiary as a whole, it was explosive leveling.
No, even calling it insane leveling wouldn't be an exaggeration!
But the best part of a raid wasn’t actually the experience.
[★★★★★+ Royal Gacha Ticket] x 9
[Centaur’s Treasure Fragment (★★★★★+)]
[Dead Man’s Grim Reaper Cloak (★★★★★+) - Treasure]
…….
Just looking through the list filled his vision with an incredible volume of 5-star+ grade loot.
Well, it was only natural.
This was the glorious bounty from hunting no less than nine Disaster-class boss monsters.
The coins alone amounted to nearly fifty million.
As for the treasure fragments, he had enough to pick and choose which treasure to complete if he so desired.