Chapter 167
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: The Honeybee Rental Business
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The apiary was, without exaggeration, the most fertile land not just in Korea, but in the entire world.
Could the residents, witnessing this environment where the World Tree stood and countless honeybees thrived, even begin to imagine?
From the very beginning.
The sheer effort it took to build such a magnificent swarm.
Bzzzz~
Bzz~
“This is all thanks to you.”
Thinking back to those early days, he was once again reminded of just how much effort the queens had put in.
While the birth of countless new honeybees each day was a joyous sight, it wasn't without its problems.
Amidst the overflowing abundance, the honeybee population continued to swell.
For now, he could accommodate all these cute little creatures, but Korea, being a relatively small country, would inevitably reach its limit.
Thus, one of Seong-hyeok's biggest worries was the day the number of bees would outnumber the flowers.
Bees, too, needed food to survive and reproduce.
And hadn't Seong-hyeok's bees long since surpassed the lifespan of ordinary ones?
But as the saying goes, there's always a way out, even when the sky is falling.
Seong-hyeok had a plan of his own.
“If Korea's limited space is the problem, then I just need to look abroad.”
It was a simple matter of expanding their territory to solve the problem.
Honeybees were admirable creatures, not just for their cute and dainty appearance, but for their actions as well.
There was a reason for the saying that if bees went extinct, humanity would follow within four years.
Bzzz!
Bzzzzzz~
[Star Sapphire Worker Bee (★★★-) has come into contact with natural vegetation, Beryl Almond Tree Flower (★★+). Growth is promoted, and nutrients are slightly increased.]
[Garnet Gem Worker Bee (★★★-) has come into contact with natural vegetation, Octagon Strawberry Tree Flower (★★★). Growth is promoted, and nutrients are slightly increased.]
[Star Sapphire Healing Venom Bee (★★★+) has come into contact with natural vegetation, Sunlight Melon Flower (★★★-). Growth is promoted, and nutrients are slightly increased.]
…….
Bzzzzzz-
Even now, his bees were diligently burying their heads in the flowers of the various crops around the farm, frantically sipping nectar.
To the uninformed, it might look like a simple meal, but for both the bees and humanity, this natural pollination was not an 'option' but a 'necessity'.
Knowing this, Seong-hyeok had no intention of limiting his bees' territory to just his apiary.
“10.5 million bees. More than enough to spare.”
Unlike in the beginning, his bee population was now more than just ample; it was reassuringly vast.
Considering their numbers were still steadily increasing, expanding to distant continents would be no problem at all.
“It's the perfect way for everyone to help each other out.”
Seong-hyeok would gain territory for his bees and a considerable amount of coins, while those who rented them would get high-quality crops, seeds, and even sweet honey thanks to the pollination. A win-win situation for everyone.
Of course, that didn't mean he was completely without worry.
“……This will work, right?”
Seong-hyeok was only human.
No matter what it was, trying something for the first time was always nerve-wracking.
He couldn't help but feel as tense as he did when he first sold honey on the exchange.
But as if to tell him not to worry...
Bzzzz~
Bzzzzzz-
The bees flew to his side, cheerfully wiggling their bottoms.
“Right. With you guys here, it's bound to be a 100% success, isn't it?”
He recharged for a moment, cheered on by the adorable little creatures whose presence alone was healing.
“They should be arriving any time now.”
[Player detected!]
[Player detected!]
[Player detected!]
…….
Speak of the devil.
The honeybee rental business.
Its first customers were the farmers gathering from all corners of the globe.
* * * * *
In a world where lives were constantly threatened by randomly appearing monsters.
With battles breaking out endlessly, the value of food was inevitably much higher than before.
That's why most shelters, from small to large, treated farmers—the pillars of their food supply—as essential personnel. But even they weren't without their problems.
“Is this the entire harvest?”
“The yields are decreasing more and more.”
“Damn it. It's dry and juiceless. I'd rather chew on rubber.”
Barren land and insufficient pollination.
Everything was a consequence of nature becoming more desolate than in the old world.
This led to a vicious cycle of harvesting only low-quality crops.
Most of what they ate was purely for survival, but now, that worry was gone.
【Korea/Honeybee: Announcing the start of Honeybee's healthy honeybee rental service. We look forward to hearing from interested farmers.】
- Rent our honeybees, each one as effective as a hundred.
Their superior natural pollination abilities will enrich your crops and spread abundance to the surrounding area.
Ownership of any honey produced by the bees during the rental period belongs to the renter. Upon request, we are also willing to process it for a small fee.
Please note that the primary purpose of the rental bees is natural pollination. A warning will be issued if they are forcibly used for combat.
Honeybee's post on the community board.
“N-No way...”
Any farmer would know.
Honeybees were the undisputed champions of crop pollination.
And these weren't just any ordinary honeybees.
These were bees raised by Honeybee himself—the world's top beekeeper, known as a top player for both his combat prowess and his honey products!
Naturally, what happened next was obvious.
“Bees! We have to get those bees!”
“I don't care how much it costs!”
“W-We have to get this!”
Farmers rushed to their shelter leaders, their fervor bordering on a coup as they persuaded them with near-threats.
But such threats weren't even necessary.
“I've already placed an order.”
The leaders, who craved vibrant crops more than anyone, wouldn't miss the chance to also obtain Honeybee's honey during the rental period.
* * * * *
The ball Honeybee had set in motion, called 'honeybee rental'.
Its impact far exceeded Seong-hyeok's wildest imagination.
“Whoa, what is all this?”
“I never thought I'd see a sight like this in my life.”
“Huh? Hey, isn't that a ranker? He's famous in America!”
A massive procession had gathered, a mix of Easterners and Westerners.
There were players from neighboring countries like China, Japan, and Vietnam, of course, but also from as far away as Europe and the Americas.
Among them were even famous rankers known in Korea!
“Oh, over there?”
“Of course.”
“Honeybee really is something else, huh?”
The destination for these high-profile individuals was, naturally, Honeybee's apiary.
One might expect them to be flustered by the massive crowd, but these were Honeybee's bees.
Bzz~
Bzzzz!
Bzz-bzz-bzz-!!!
Their skills had been honed since their time as interviewers during the resident recruitment.
No matter how many guests arrived, the bees guided them with perfectly synchronized and orderly movements.
Slurp, slurp, slurp-
Bzzzzzz-
They even managed to not miss a single opportunity to dive headfirst into any flower they passed, collecting pollen and nectar!
And that wasn't all.
“Look at how those flowers are sparkling. It's like looking at jewels.”
“Just seeing the honey dripping from their mouths is making me drool.”
What was the purpose of the guests who had come here?
Most sought to obtain better-quality crops through natural pollination.
Seeing is believing, after all.
The best way to showcase a product is to let people see it with their own eyes.
Bzzzz~
The sight of countless bees pollinating on the way to the center of the apiary was nothing short of mesmerizing.
“S-So cute!”
“How can they eat so heartily?”
“Oh my, look at those little bottoms.”
Their devilish charm captivated even those who knew little about bees.
“Everything is going according to plan.”
At the end of it all, Seong-hyeok, who had orchestrated this through the eyes of his scout bees, wore a satisfied smile.
* * * * *
Renting out the bees required suitable beehives.
The Poison Elves, who, like Seong-hyeok, knew how to handle bees, were a great help in this process.
“I'm glad I could help, even in this small way.”
“You worked hard. I'll make sure you get plenty of honey later.”
“I shall look forward to it.”
With so many orders, mass production was essential.
Thanks to the help of Greendale and the other Poison Elves, the production went smoothly.
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[Small World Tree Auto-Harvesting Beehive (★★-)]
* Classification: Miscellaneous
※ Auto-Harvest: When honey status reaches 100%, honey is harvested, creating byproducts nearby. (Cooldown: 12 hours)
※ World Tree's Bounty: Slightly increases the amount of honey obtained upon harvest.
* Currently empty.
* Capacity: 0 / 1,000
* Current Honey Status: 0%
* HP: 500
* Defense: 50 | Magic Resistance: 35
* Durability: 130 / 130
* Description: A ★★- grade Small World Tree Auto-Harvesting Beehive. An item crafted without the aid of skills. When a certain amount of honey is stored, harvesting begins automatically.
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The only downside was that, due to his skill being on cooldown, he couldn't imbue the beehives with its effects, resulting in a significantly downgraded version.
Compared to the extra-large hives that could easily house 500,000 to 700,000 bees, its stats were quite shabby, but that didn't matter to Seong-hyeok.
“For rentals, this is more than enough.”
The main purpose of the rental was pollination through natural means, not honey collection.
From the bees' perspective, as long as it functioned as a home for the duration, they were perfectly content.
In fact, their smaller size was even better, as it allowed him to make rental contracts with more people around the world!
Well, that would require contracting with a great many people, but perhaps thanks to Honeybee's reputation and the high value of bees to humanity...
“……I'm going to have to make more beehives.”
“Fufufu, leave it to me.”
Despite the minimum three-month rental period and the not-insignificant fee of 100,000 coins per day.
The number of contract inquiries shattered his expectations, soaring past the moon and into Andromeda.
While he was happy that his burgeoning rental business was entering a golden age, a corner of Seong-hyeok's heart felt heavy.
Bzzz~
Bzzzzz~
As if they knew they had to part, the bees from the small hives snuggled against Seong-hyeok.
No matter the reason, Seong-hyeok couldn't help but feel sad about parting with his bees.
“Oh, you lovely little things……”
He felt the warmth from the fluffy fuzz of the bees in his arms.
He wished they could stay by his side forever, but as someone who had dedicated his life to bees, he knew that for them to truly walk a happy path alongside humanity, the land of Korea was far too small.
And so, Seong-hyeok faced them not with a tearful face, but with a smile.
“Alright, you guys. Be good out there, okay? Daddy will come see you again someday.”
Bzzzz~
Bzz~
This farewell wasn't forever, only for a moment.
The immense prosperity that the honeybees had brought to humanity.
Was now beginning to spread beyond the Korean server and out into the world.