Chapter 170
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: The Gold Dragon Hunt
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A single Gold Dragon, captured by the bee surveillance.
Immediately after receiving the information, Seong-hyeok set out.
“I’m sorry for making you relive that memory. But this is important.”
“Not at all. If I can be of help to my benefactor, it’s nothing.”
It was always safest to assume the worst in any situation.
Although he had already succeeded in hunting two dragons, he couldn't rule out the possibility that there were more than just the one that had fallen to Earth.
But was it fortunate?
“The Gold Dragon Telairn… yes. He was definitely among those who attacked us.”
The one discovered this time was the same dragon that had scattered back then.
A brief sigh of relief that he wouldn't have to fight two or more dragons at once.
Seong-hyeok didn't forget to reward his informant for dredging up bad memories for his sake.
“Thanks for your help. Share this with your friends, and I’ll be counting on you in the future.”
“We’re always grateful.”
Finely crafted honey clusters that Seong-hyeok had made for the fairies to eat.
It might look like the nutritional supplements the bees consumed, but its contents were entirely different.
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[Guardian's Special Prismatic Royal Jelly Nutrient (★★★★+)]
* Category: Consumable, Material
* Upon consumption, ‘Royal Jelly’s Acceleration’ will be applied. (Cooldown: 90 minutes)
※ Royal Jelly’s Acceleration: Increases the speed of production and growth-related processes.
* Description: A ★★★★+ grade nutrient filled with the creator's affection. It contains a selection of eight different types of royal jelly. It boasts outstanding effects on production and growth.
______________________________
Nutritional supplements were always doubly effective when tailored to the consumer.
For bees, it was better to boost stats for combat and increase movement speed for collecting and transporting nectar, but for fairies, it was a different story.
*Shhhk- Shhhhhk-*
[You have discovered Fairy Queen's Powder (★★★★★)!]
[You have discovered Fairy Powder (★★★★-)!]
[You have discovered Fairy Powder (★★★★-)!]
…….
Powder falling from the fairies’ bodies with the passage of time.
This item, aptly named ‘Fairy Powder,’ had long since become an essential component in crafting.
Its catalytic effect was so remarkable that as soon as it was produced, the blacksmiths and Thomas would come looking, hovering around in hopes of getting even a few scraps, which was almost baffling.
But now that he knew the royal jelly nutrient had an effect, his worries had all but vanished.
“As long as I provide it consistently every time the cooldown is up, production won't be an issue.”
The output was more than three times greater compared to when he didn't provide the nutrient.
Moreover, this wasn't the end of the virtuous cycle.
“Fairy Powder. This stuff is really something.”
Thomas wasn't the only one; Seong-hyeok, too, was burdened by the karma of a Mad Researcher.
He utilized Fairy Powder in various crafting processes, and among the many things he completed after numerous attempts, some increased the magnitude of stat boosts, but what truly captured Seong-hyeok’s heart was related to the queen.
The Queen Bee.
And by extension, oviposition—the most crucial part of the entire bee ecosystem.
The effect, enhanced by about 30% with the addition of Fairy Powder, was nothing short of astonishing.
“Looks like I’ll have to lease out some bees again soon.”
The bees’ vigorous reproductive power had once again surpassed the thirty million mark due to the explosive increase in their laying speed.
Of course, since he fed it to the eight queens and three princesses from time to time, the consumption of Fairy Powder had also risen significantly, but for that part, there was a suitable solution called ‘time.’
Why, you ask?
[This place is far too bountiful for fairies to live. A land flowing with milk and honey.]
[The Call of the Fairies is applied.]
* Effect - Call of the Fairies: Summons fairies from the spirit world at a random probability. This probability increases the more bountiful the forest is and the more it flows with milk and honey.
It was because of the title, Friend of the Fairies, that he had obtained while rescuing them.
Lured by its effect, the number of fairies visiting from the spirit world was increasing several times a day.
Furthermore, Seong-hyeok wasn't the only one with this title.
Thanks to the quest that could be shared with ten others, people like Yeon Su-hee and Lee Yeon-bun had it too.
There were eleven identical titles in total.
Naturally, as they all belonged to the same bee farm, the fairies’ visits were constant, and as a result, their numbers had grown from a mere seven to over thirty.
The bee and fairy populations continued to grow.
Along with the various other residents, including other forest races.
As he hurried through his beekeeping, now a daily routine,
‘I will protect the bees’ home, no matter what.’
Seong-hyeok resolved to subjugate the Gold Dragon—the biggest problem plaguing his farm.
* * * * *
In this apocalyptic world, the death of bees was an unavoidable consequence.
For Seong-hyeok, it was the worst kind of act, like driving a nail into his heart.
And the ones who had committed this act on the largest scale were the dragons.
If he had his way, he would have wiped them out on the spot, but as the saying goes, ‘more haste, less speed,’ so Seong-hyeok gathered his thoughts.
‘His level is 86. I can't take him lightly.’
Compared to the Red Dragons he had hunted so far, Porreirn and Kasisidor, who were levels 75 and 77 respectively, a level 86 was a being of a different caliber that couldn't be ignored.
If he attacked with the bees in the lead as before, it was plain to see that he would suffer astronomical losses once again.
But if Seong-hyeok took the lead, he would likely crumble under the dragon's immense power.
‘Hoo, this is driving me crazy.’
Well, giving the dragon more time wasn't a good option either. The dragon was currently recovering the levels it had lost due to the penalty.
No matter how he thought about it, he was troubled by the undesirable outcome of a dragon raid, which unconditionally demanded the sacrifice of his bees.
Was it because his feelings were transmitted through the Bee Link?
*Bzzzz~*
*Buzzzzz~*
A swarm of bees approached Seong-hyeok one by one, cheerfully wiggling their bottoms.
Their dance was always adorable, but this time, his heart ached for some reason.
Even without words, the bees’ spirit of sacrifice seemed to say, ‘We’re okay.’
As it had been since the time of Lich Velmorn.
It was a natural course of action for these creatures, befitting the pinnacle of altruism, but watching them felt like his heart was being torn apart.
“Thanks, but I’ll just accept your sentiment.”
*Bzzzzz!*
He no longer had any intention of achieving greatness through the deaths of his bees.
‘It’s not like I need the bees to survive.’
It was the other way around.
Creating an environment for the bees to live in was the very reason he bore the title of ‘Honeybee Guardian.’
To do that, he had to find a breakthrough to turn the dragon into a roast without great sacrifice from his bees.
The multi-layered beeswax walls weren't bad, but they weren't enough to face a level 86 dragon.
‘The initial burst of firepower is the biggest hurdle.’
He hated to admit it, but the immense firepower that came from the superior racial stats of a dragon was undeniable.
In this regard, Seong-hyeok had a few ideas.
After all, he was the first player in the world to successfully complete a dragon raid twice.
Moreover, didn't he have Mark Thomas, a true Mad Researcher by profession?
With his Geonchug-i bees already working tirelessly, he now had human engineers to push just as hard. If he put his mind to it, producing consumable inventions that could deploy barriers was entirely possible.
Also, in the worst-case scenario of death, Seong-hyeok had the insurance of Heart Revival.
And besides all that, he had a trump card.
“Huhu, this is a special product we're introducing only to our esteemed patron, Mr. Seong-hyeok. We wish you the best of luck.”
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[Merci's Highest-Grade Polymorph Inhibitor Device (★★★★+)]
* Category: Consumable
* When used, it suppresses all transformations within a 30km radius for 30 minutes. The closer the target, the stronger the suppression. (Cooldown: 60 minutes)
※ Caution! When suppressing a target of high caliber, the duration will decrease rapidly, and the effect may be halved or not apply at all.
______________________________
It was a special item introduced by Chesseur.
As it turned out, even if the world changed, capitalism was still the ultimate power.
* * * * *
“This place is finished, too.”
Led by Chris, America's 3rd-ranked player.
It was a large shelter that had been powerful from the start.
Was it because its people had repeatedly risked their lives to capture monsters?
The monster respawn rate had now decreased significantly.
And even if monsters did appear, it was no longer a challenge, as Chris’s faction had long since run out of living people.
*Clatter- Clatter-*
“Kiuuuuu-!!!”
Just a short while ago, they were Americans.
But after the Gold Dragon's experiments, their forms had been horrifically mutated.
From those who became Dragon Tooth Warriors with bones as their material, to chimeras made by forcibly stitching together the corpses of various monsters, including humans.
Of course, hunting was still possible with such beings, but Telairn shook his head.
“I can’t be discovered yet.”
Just as people have different personalities, so do dragons.
Unlike the hot-headed Red Clan, the Gold Clan preferred to strike only when victory was certain.
*Fwoosh-*
A golden flame bloomed in his hand along with the Dragon Tongue.
Feeling ecstatic that the complete recovery of his Dragon Tongue was near, Telairn began to clean up the rest.
“You lowly beings. I shall graciously elevate your worthless existence…”
*Crunch- Cruuunch-*
After transforming even the remaining living people into his minions, he stored them in his dimensional pocket.
As he was finishing up, Telairn noticed something strange.
“……Why?”
No matter how much magic he used, his body wouldn't return to its original form.
There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with the great Dragon Tongue.
Before long, Telairn realized the cause.
“How dare an insolent insect!”
He unleashed a barrage of flames in all directions.
But an attack spread out in every direction was different from a focused one.
Moreover, the flames from his non-draconic form were laughable to Seong-hyeok, whose durability exceeded 5,000.
*Papabak-*
“Hye-rin!”
“Leave it to me!”
After easily tanking the hit with his body, Cha Hye-rin launched herself forward using Seong-hyeok as a springboard.
While she, with attack power and agility rivaling Seong-hyeok’s, held the line, Seong-hyeok wasn't idle either.
“Dimensional Beehive.”
*Bzzzzzz~*
*Buzzzzzzzzz-!!!*
With the skill's activation, a legion of seven million bees burst forth from the Dimensional Beehive.
The sheer power of their overwhelming numbers was one thing, but a closer look at the bees revealed they were anything but ordinary.
[Golden Rock Sage's Fragrant Herb Legion Commander Bee (★★★★)] - Elite Bee
[Peridot Azure Poison Legion Commander Bee (★★★★+)] - Elite Bee
[Peridot Twin-Venom Fang Legion Commander Bee (★★★★★)] - Elite Bee
…….
An army of Legion Commander Bees, most of them elite.
“You wretched insects!”
Had devouring countless monsters and players to undo his penalty up to level 86 paid off?
As expected of a dragon, Telairn continued to bombard them with magic using his Dragon Tongue even while fighting Cha Hye-rin.
However, his attacks in human polymorphed form lacked in both firepower and speed.
And both of these crucial elements fell short.
*Tssssssss-*
His attacks couldn't even get past the impromptu beeswax walls built by Deundeun-i, let alone the main ones.
More importantly, most of his attacks didn't even reach the bees.
“You think I’d let you kill my babies?!”
With his eyes wide open, Seong-hyeok blocked most of the attacks with his body.
Pain seared his skin, but he didn't flinch and pressed the attack on Telairn alongside his bees.
A level 86 polymorphed dragon was too much for Seong-hyeok to handle alone.
But with the support of millions of bees and Cha Hye-rin, it was a different story.
*Stab-stab-stab-*
*Psh-psh-psh-psh-psh-!!!*
Seong-hyeok and the bees’ stinger technique pierced Telairn from all sides.
With Cha Hye-rin’s blade added to the mix, the dragon was getting beaten senseless, unable to live up to its name.
“My minions!!”
In a desperate attempt to buy time to escape, he summoned the modified chimeras and Dragon Tooth Warriors, but their numbers were barely 3,000 compared to the seven million bees.
They would need to take on more than a thousand each, not just a hundred. The battle of attrition was already over.
“Cough!”
The poison finally seemed to take full effect as Telairn coughed up corrupted blood and collapsed.
“Y-You cowards!”
The dragon cursed with its eyes and mouth at the bitter taste of being ganged up on, but to Seong-hyeok and the bees, it was the highest praise.
“Life’s not fair.”
Delivering a harsh dose of reality to the dragon who had surely lived longer than him, Seong-hyeok used all his strength to knock the creature unconscious.