Chapter 191
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: The Bustling Apiary
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The bees settled in, their work continuing safely.
Was it because the bees' mortality rate was at an all-time low?
The birth rate of bees soared, thanks to the nine queens and seven princesses.
With each passing day, a considerable number were born, and those that matured into adults diligently embarked on their journeys to find flowers.
[Honey is ready for harvest!]
[Honey is ready for harvest!]
[Honey is ready for harvest!]
...
The result was a ceaseless stream of notifications, announcing that the hives were full.
Like an infinite möbius strip of honey.
As soon as he finished extracting honey from one extra-large hive, the sound of another harvest notification would ring out from somewhere else.
Most people would have buckled under the endless workload, but Yu Seong-hyeok was far from ordinary.
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[Yu Seong-hyeok]
* Level: 71
* Strength: 4,237 (+920) Agility: 5,020 (+1,203) Durability: 7,289 (+2,476) Control: 4,551 (+1,045) Mentality: 4,040 (+995)
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Seong-hyeok's relentless curiosity and the bees' various byproducts.
Combined with his love for processed bee products, the result was an unbelievable set of stats.
Anyone who saw Seong-hyeok's stats would be not just amazed, but utterly dumbfounded!
It was easy to see why Seong-hyeok had become the strongest beekeeper in close combat, but the real secret to his current power wasn't related to fighting—it was his 'Durability'.
Things like royal jelly, propolis, and bee venom.
The Durability stat was where the byproducts obtained from the bees had the greatest impact.
For ordinary people, it was merely a way for tanks to withstand monsters a little longer or to increase their survival rate, but for Seong-hyeok, the concept applied a bit differently.
[Gathering Great Success!]
[The Authority of a Bountiful Mind is activated.]
[The effect of Overflowing Abundance is applied.]
[You have obtained 207 Peridot Honey (★★+).]
[You have obtained 38 Peridot Carnivorous Venus Flytrap Honey (★★★).]
[You have obtained 70 Peridot Acacia Honey (★★★-).]
[You have obtained 66 Peridot World Tree Honey (★★★+).]
[You have obtained 80 Peridot Beeswax (★★+).]
[You have obtained 31 Peridot Royal Jelly (★★★-).]
[You have obtained 22 Peridot Propolis (★★★).]
...
He wasn't some damn 24-hour convenience store, yet Seong-hyeok's honey-extracting rush was nonstop.
All of this was possible thanks to his rock-solid Durability, which allowed him to endure the massive workload.
A result of his increased stamina.
And was that all?
*Slosh~*
*Drip— Drooop—*
*Gush~*
The creation of processed honey products, which could be called the true pleasure of the apiary farm.
The ingredients the bees had gathered with all their might.
He repeatedly refined every last bit they had scraped together, leaving nothing behind.
[Mass Processing is used.]
[Due to the low value of the finished product, no grade reduction occurs.]
[100 x Guardian's Peridot Bee Venom Honey Tea (★★★+) have been crafted.]
The honey processor personally crafted by Fergus.
Now with an additional one, he operated the two machines ceaselessly, literally becoming a one-man honey factory churning out processed goods.
*Whirrrr-*
*Vrooooom-*
The finished products were then either registered on the exchange or consumed directly to increase his stats—an endless process.
But as they say, all things that have a beginning must have an end, right?
With Seong-hyeok's masterful skills and various lab equipment, he could now easily handle even larger quantities than before.
Normally, one would be happy that the work was almost done, but...
“Tsk. It's a bit of a shame.”
[The Transcendent Being, Beau, the Inquisitor of Madness, nods in agreement.]
Was Seong-hyeok a man who lived by ordinary standards?
Befitting a life spent almost entirely obsessed with bees, he was someone who wished to live completely immersed in honey.
Just as perceptions vary from person to person.
For him, spending all day extracting honey and crafting was the true joy of life.
But was it that his wish had been heard?
*Buzzz~*
*Buzzzzzzz~*
A massive legion of bees approached with the sound of beating wings.
And not a single one of them was coming empty-handed.
Despite their small size, they had worked together to hunt monsters or had come bearing natural flora.
However, what Seong-hyeok had been eagerly awaiting wasn't just the bees.
“Oppa! Should I pour it all over here?”
“Stack it up nicely, please.”
“Leave it to me.”
*Ruuuuuumble—*
The moment the elite porter Kang Yeon-ah released her soul bag, a tidal wave of honey came pouring out like crazy.
It was the fruit of the bees' labor from the second, third, and fourth apiary farms.
The product of their efforts, brought to fruition in places packed with extra-large automatic honey extractor hives.
“Yes. This is it!”
“...”
Seong-hyeok's crazed laughter as he watched the mountain of work pour down.
Yeon-ah's expression as she watched him was unusual, but what did it matter?
[You have leveled up. You have gained 5 stat points.]
After all, a good result is all that matters.
The news of a level up, which hadn't come in a long time, made Seong-hyeok's smile grow even wider.
* * * * *
Those who do not work shall not eat.
A maxim that was the basic principle of this land of labor.
However, none of the farm's residents were ever forcibly mobilized for work.
After all, in a world of endlessly respawning monsters and incidents, growth was essential for survival.
Besides, hadn't the current residents of the farm passed the bees' grueling interview to get here?
“Looking for people to join an expedition to the south!”
“Oh, Ms. Gyeong-suk. I'll go with you.”
“You're with child now, is it alright for you to go out and fight?”
“That's why I have to work even harder for my little one. It'll be harder to move around when my belly gets bigger.”
In this world of survival of the fittest, falling behind was directly linked to death.
Was that why?
Like the saying "birds of a feather flock together," they had all gathered, with not a single idler among them.
Well, while personal disposition played a part in most residents adopting this mindset, the biggest reason was the bees.
They were everywhere on the apiary farm, beating their wings more diligently than anyone, their heads buried in flowers.
Who would want to live like a freeloader after seeing that?
Furthermore, perhaps because they were Seong-hyeok's familiars, the bees were extremely friendly and affectionate towards people.
*Buzzz~*
*Buzzzzzzz~*
“Oh my, are you trying to protect my little one? Hoho, thank you.”
“Looks like you won't need to protect her after all. Heh heh heh!”
“Hmph...”
Just as the queen was the top priority for protection, the commander bees formed a guard around her, while other bees gently approached and rubbed against the side where the fetus was.
With their safety guaranteed, the hunt was bound to be a success, and for those who returned after a good round, there was a reward waiting.
“The meal's ready, so everyone fill your stomachs before you head out!”
“Eat it or don't. I've set it out, so grab your own portions!”
Mealtimes had now become a point of pride for the apiary farm.
It wasn't just the seasoned cooking skills of people like Yeon Su-hee and Lee Yeon-bun; meals in this topsy-turvy world were bound to be different from before.
“For dessert today, I tried making some honey dalgona lattes. I hope they're to your liking.”
“I've prepared some honey-cured jerky, so don't forget to take some before you head out to battle.”
“Ahh! This is perfectly sweet, it's amazing, ma'am!”
“Puhaha! This is what I live for.”
The World Tree and the bees.
And the ingredients from the livestock pens, boasting a variety of flavors and aromas.
Seong-hyeok may have been frugal in other areas, but when it came to ingredients for meals, he provided them generously and for free, resulting in bountiful feasts.
Moreover, it wasn't just the delicious food that boosted the residents' vitality.
“I heard you're expecting. Congratulations.”
“Oh my, you shouldn't have. I'll use it gratefully.”
For festivals or joyous occasions.
Valuable items were distributed whenever there was a special day.
The growth of the residents had a significant impact on the bees' safety, so it was never a matter of just giving something to one person and being done with it.
“Thanks for your hard work carrying the honey today. This is precious, so use it sparingly.”
“Kyaaak! Thank you, Oppa!”
“I'll use it well, Seong-hyeok.”
“I'll be counting on you in the future, my compatriot.”
He handed out the high-quality processed goods one by one to those who approached, as if bestowing awards.
It might seem like he was giving them out to all the residents, but unfortunately, that was impossible.
Understandably so, as the apiary farm had grown larger over time, the number of residents had swelled to thirty thousand.
But of course, Seong-hyeok had his own way of handling this.
Performance and contributions to the apiary farm were considered, of course.
In addition, the high-quality processed goods were distributed based on powerful influences that only certain people possessed, such as their connection to the World Tree, the large-scale dimensional tunnel, unique classes, or Disaster-class boss monsters.
Of course, without modern conveniences like computers or smartphones, it was nearly impossible for Seong-hyeok, who spent every single day extracting honey and crafting, to keep track of everyone's contributions. But was he alone?
*Buzzz~*
*Buzzzzzzz~*
The admirable bees, present everywhere on the apiary farm.
What would happen when you had tens of millions of these creatures, who not only shared a hive mind but also possessed excellent memories and sharp work ethics?
The astonishing greatness of the bees, who could record everything without omission, even if it took days and nights.
Their flawless processing ability, with no issues like taking bribes, was amazing enough, but the bees' strengths didn't end there.
*Buzz! Buzz~*
*Buzzzzzzz~*
Their appearance, as if they had gathered all the cuteness in the world,
and the swarms of bees that, with their keen senses, flocked to the intended recipients without needing to be told.
Thanks to them, Seong-hyeok could comfortably distribute the expensive, pre-planned processed honey products without any trouble.
“Woooow...”
“I'm so jealous.”
“*Gulp.* I heard that stuff is really good for your... stamina.”
Well, since these were processed goods that sold for hundreds of thousands, even millions of coins at the auction house, they couldn't go to everyone.
It was an unavoidable system where only a select few received them, which could be seen as unfairly rewarding the same people over and over, but Seong-hyeok wasn't so thoughtless.
“Khahot! I finally got one. I'll use it well!”
“See, hard work really does pay off.”
In this topsy-turvy world where one's class through karma was bound to have a huge impact.
If you couldn't keep up with others in terms of ability, couldn't you just make up for it with time?
“I'll definitely succeed next time.”
“I'll back down this time, but there's no way I'm losing the next one.”
If a week wasn't enough, they could try for a fortnight; if a fortnight wasn't enough, they could try for a month. Anyone could receive the reward as long as they built up their contributions, which in turn served as motivation.
Of course, this had the downside of somewhat overheating the competition, but it wasn't a major problem.
“Thank you all for your hard work. And this is a new product, a honey soap. It has the effect of permanently increasing Durability by 1, and it has 50 durability points, so if you'd like to use it, please form groups of 50 and receive one from the bees.”
“A p-permanent stat increase!”
“Thank you!”
The existence of Seong-hyeok, with his tens of billions of coins and massive honey production, was in itself both a lubricant for and a deterrent to the competition.