Chapter 169
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: The Dragon's Trail
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A considerable amount of time had passed since the world turned upside down.
While it was more than enough time for great changes, both physical and mental, some things were bound to stay the same.
And if one were to pick a prime example, it would be the honeybees.
Bzzzz~
Buzzzzz~
Always boasting the same fluffiness, they shoved their heads into flowers, coveting the luscious honey.
Once the bees had painstakingly gathered their honey, the next step was up to Seong-hyeok, the beekeeper.
[Collection Great Success!]
[The Authority of a Bountiful Mindset is activated.]
[The effect of Overflowing Abundance is applied.]
[Garnet Gem Honey (★★+) x203...
The pleasure he felt when harvesting the honey that filled an extra-large beehive to the brim.
Moreover, the true charm of honey did not end there.
[Honey Tea Crafting Great Success! The Honeybee Guardian's Blessing is engraved upon the Honey Tea.]
[Honey Soap Crafting Great Success! The Honeybee Guardian's Blessing is engraved upon the Honey Soap.]
[Honey Mead Brewing Great Success! The Honeybee Guardian's Blessing is engraved upon the Honey Mead.]
...
Honey, by its very nature, truly shone through crafting.
The finished products, created through various processing methods including aging, first passed through Seong-hyeok's lips to raise his stats, and then to the residents.
And finally, after passing through the exchange, they turned into a massive amount of coins.
Coins Owned: 1,060,882,335
The amount alone had long since surpassed a staggering one billion.
It was astounding enough that a single individual, not some large organization, possessed such a sum, but could anyone even imagine?
That this sum of over one billion coins had been completely spent just a short while ago in preparation for the dragon raid.
"Whew. This is all thanks to you guys."
Bzzz~
Bzzzzzz~
The dragon raid, of course, but also the bee byproducts and the rental business.
He was truly sitting comfortably on a cushion of money made by the bees.
However, Seong-hyeok didn't rest on his laurels with one billion coins.
Money, by nature, was nothing more than a useless scrap of paper if you just held onto it.
But there was no need to worry; Seong-hyeok had long since become an expert at spending money, just as he was at beekeeping.
[The 3rd Integrated Server Auction has opened.]
The third integrated server auction began as time went on.
He might be a honeybee whale ready to make a big splash again, but sadly, this time his bullets weren't aimed at the auction house.
Shwaaa-
[You have used Chesooreu's Golden Carriage Summoning Ticket (???).]
[The Dark Moon Golden Carriage hears the news and comes to you.]
It was incomparably more expensive than the auction house, but the effectiveness of Chesooreu's goods had been thoroughly proven by the dragon raid.
[The transcendent being, the great Golden Goblin Lord Machertti, licks his lips as he gazes upon the VVVIP whale.]
Seong-hyeok's coin bullets were now aimed beyond the market, toward a department store.
* * * * *
Chesooreu's Golden Carriage, run by a golden goblin that even those with considerable power in the dimensional plane couldn't easily find.
"My, my. What an incredible human."
That was why Chesooreu found the current situation quite amusing.
The beekeeper from Earth, summoning him again only a few days after using him for the purpose of a dragon raid.
"Hahaha, one billion. This is the first time in my life I've ever coveted a human's business acumen."
Among the countless races, humans were, after all, nothing more than insignificant creatures.
And wasn't the dimension of Earth the most recently commercialized one?
An explosive growth rate, the likes of which were hard to find even in history.
But what surprised Chesooreu more than anything were the actions of the being before him, Yu Seong-hyeok.
"These are new products. Are you interested in purchasing them?"
______________________________
[Guardian's Fragrant Herb Samcheong Honey Mead (★★★★★+)]
※ Remaining aging period: 10 days (Flavor and effects will be greatly enhanced upon completion of aging.)
* Classification: Consumable
* Upon consumption, various beneficial effects are granted, and the 'Sage's Perfect Scent' is applied to the individual. Permanently increases Mental Power by 25, up to 3 times. Current consumption: 0 / 3
※ Sage's Scent: For 30 minutes, all stats increase by 30%, and the cooldowns of all possessed skills are reduced by 30%. (Cooldown: 120 minutes)
[Guardian's Honey Strawberry Blue Deer Antler Honey (★★★★+)]
[Guardian's Honey Grape Venus Flytrap Honey Preserve (★★★★-)]
______________________________
Craftable from 4-star- grade all the way to the highest 5-star+ grade.
Items possessing the best effects, created by mixing special honey with ginseng and fruits.
"I welcome them all. I will accept them for a more than satisfactory price."
He wasn't the kind of golden goblin to simply pass up items valuable enough to be used in struggles for supremacy in other dimensions, not just Earth.
* * * * *
The various 5-star+ grade items obtained through a satisfying shopping trip at the Dark Moon Golden Carriage.
However, the owner of these armaments was not Seong-hyeok.
He was already fully equipped with 5-star+ grade items like the Dagger of Essence and the Origin of Regeneration.
There were consumable items he could use, like a 'Resurrection Engraving Scroll,' but sadly, Seong-hyeok didn't have much need for it right now.
* Effect - Heart Revival (Passive): Resurrects immediately upon death. All owned coins and items are not lost. (Cooldown: 150 days)
A resurrection effect was already built into his Heart Eater title.
Well, the merit of being able to resurrect multiple times wasn't insignificant, but a semi-permanent armament was naturally more appealing than a one-time-use consumable.
In any case, it wouldn't have been bad to keep all the numerous 5-star+ grade armaments he'd obtained by investing over a billion coins, but Seong-hyeok didn't do that.
'I can't cover every area by myself.'
No matter how high Seong-hyeok's stat points were, he only had one body.
On the other hand, the size of the bee farm was expanding to a size as immeasurable as the growing number of bees.
Even with Bee Step, there were limits due to the cooldown, and Seong-hyeok's 'main' role was, after all, a beekeeper who harvested honey.
Ultimately, unless it was an emergency, most of the fighting was left to the residents.
Therefore, Seong-hyeok summoned the trustworthy people from his farm.
"B-Bro, what is all this?"
"T-This seems too extravagant for me to accept."
Every single one was extraordinary.
5-star+ grade items that could only be obtained from Disaster-class boss monsters that required a raid to hunt.
Since he was handing them over without asking for anything in return, how must the recipients have felt?
The quality was so high it was insulting to even compare them to items bought at the auction house.
Naturally, a battle of wills unfolded between the giver and the reluctant receivers, but unexpectedly, the matter was resolved quickly.
"Prepare yourself to receive as much as you've given. No, even more, Seong-hyeok."
"Of course. I'll be counting on you in the future."
Yeon Su-hee, who was considered the strongest among those reluctant to accept, took the 5-star+ item without hesitation.
Having received all sorts of things until now, like the Heavenly Peach Seed.
As a veteran, she understood without him needing to say it.
She knew the intention behind what Seong-hyeok wanted from them.
That this was never meant to be a 'free' gift in the first place.
Combatants like Go Dal-su and Han Jong-su could protect the bees with their enhanced martial strength,
while the producers would shine even brighter in procuring and utilizing various materials.
"I'll pay you back more than what it's worth, so you'd better be prepared."
"You rascal. I'll feed you wild ginseng gukbap for all three meals a day!"
"You're going to regret this, oppa."
"Look forward to it, my companion."
"...Wait, aren't I the one giving out the items here?"
He was clearly the one giving them items, yet for some reason, he felt like he was being threatened.
"This is how residents of the Land of Labor should be."
He let out a small laugh at their determination to pay him back with more than interest.
* * * * *
Washington, the capital of the United States.
This was the location of a shelter belonging to Chris, a top-10 US ranker who held the 3rd spot. It was known for being quite massive.
It had a reputation for being a place that had already secured complete safety from randomly respawning monsters, but now, that was merely a facade.
"More! Bring more living monsters!"
A massacre of monsters, taking place inside a building concealed by triple and quadruple layers of security.
The one at the center of it was none other than the Gold Dragon, Tellairn.
Having escaped the dungeon in China, the penalty was decreasing amidst the humans.
A smile naturally formed on Tellairn's lips as he savored the gradually returning power of his Dragon Words.
"To grow this quickly. I should have done this sooner."
The mind-controlled humans were bringing him experience points on a platter, so all Tellairn had to do was deliver the finishing blow.
Of course, because they had to capture an excessive number of monsters, and specifically capture them alive, they sustained minor injuries.
Fatalities were also frequent, but that was of no concern to the Gold Dragon.
"Don't treat the heavily wounded; bring them here. If they're going to die anyway, I shall put their lives to more valuable use."
Rather, if they were gravely injured, he could simply use them as nutrients.
For Tellairn, he could even recycle the accumulated corpses into dragon tooth warriors, killing two birds with one stone.
"Just you wait. When my body has fully recovered, I will avenge my kin."
The Gold Dragon, dreaming of revenge for his kind, felt satisfied with his progress, which made his previous actions in China feel foolish.
But could Tellairn have possibly imagined?
Bzzzz~
That the entire situation—him secretly controlling humans to gradually regain his power—was being watched.
By a single, tiny honeybee.
* * * * *
The purpose of the bee rental business was a complex mix of many reasons—maintaining the bees' ecosystem, nature, money—but the biggest among them was this.
[Monster discovered!]
[Monster discovered!]
[Player discovered!]
...
All sorts of information that could be gathered thanks to the scout bees spread across the world.
Well, a considerable amount of it was useless to Seong-hyeok, but it was still better than having nothing at all, wasn't it?
It was perfect for identifying the lairs of villains or respawning Disaster-class boss monsters—a so-called Honeybee CCTV.
Since he could survey every corner of the world with outstanding reconnaissance abilities and no blind spots, he actually earned a decent income from it.
"Information is money, after all."
Thanks to Jeongrichung's existence, Seong-hyeok didn't even need to give a direct hint; he just had to pass on the information.
His joy at securing unearned income one way or another was short-lived.
Seong-hyeok had a hunch when a single monster discovery notification popped up from within a city teeming with players, and as expected...
[Monster discovered!]
The target was found after a period of waiting.
[Due to the opponent's high level, most information cannot be displayed.]
[Gold Dragon Tellairn Lv. 86 (★★★★★+)] - ???
Upon hearing the unexpected jackpot news, Seong-hyeok hurried his preparations.