Chapter 198
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: The Hidden Dragons
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This wasn't limited to 'Asia' like before.
It was a quest from Honeybee, given to every player in the world.
Since there were no penalties whatsoever, anyone could cancel it at any time, but the vast majority of players did no such thing.
【USA/Belitar: Holy crap. Is this quest reward for real? They’re really giving this out?】
【Congo/Messerim: Isn’t this a lie? How can a player assign a quest to an entire region like this?】
【Germany/Heisenberg: If it’s Honeybee, it’s possible.】
【France/Mariterre: FR, I just completed it and got the reward for real.】
An unbelievable reward, distributed according to the profession one was born with and the level achieved through growth.
Whether strong or weak, the fact that everyone could gain something was valuable enough, and clearing the quest wasn't difficult at all.
[Do you agree to protect the honeybees? YES / NO]
※ Warning! If you harm a honeybee after agreeing, you will be immediately exposed, and your ability to purchase processed honey products will be permanently restricted.
Simply clicking on the quest and indicating acceptance to the notification that popped up.
That alone was enough to receive the reward based on the currently set points, and if one wanted a bigger reward, they just had to raise their points.
【UK/Worst Fog: I’m sharing this since it’ll probably get out anyway, but it seems like fighting alongside the bees gives you a bigger point boost.】
【Germany/Elder Gatherer: I gave the juice from the wild plants I gathered to the bees our leader leased, and my points shot up. By the way, watching the bees eat was so cute ㅎㅎ】
【Korea/Jeongrichung: I've received and confirmed information regarding Honeybee's new quest! You can earn some sweet points by designing your approach to positively synergize with the bees!】
The quest points already increased little by little whenever one hunted monsters or gathered items.
Now that people realized they could earn even more points by helping the bees in battle, contributing to their growth, or feeding them high-quality consumables, it was plain to see what they would do next.
【China/Forgotten Sword: I’m starting to understand the cuteness of honeybees these days.】
【Pakistan/Garousa: Almost at the target points. Let’s do this, bees!】
【Japan/Ninnin: Get rewards and score points with the bees. Killing two birds with one stone, lol.】
The merit of gaining more the better you treated the bees.
A clear system of rewards and punishments established by the quest.
To obtain greater rewards, players all over the world, strong and weak alike, naturally began to treat the bees well.
Thanks to this, the survival rate of the bees that had spread across the globe through the leasing business naturally rose, and what’s more…
【North Korea/Comrade Honeybee: The honeybee is the best!】
【Germany/World’s Finest Science: Let’s be together forever, my little friends.】
【Japan/Niko: Seriously, honeybees are the truth.】
They lived and died by the honeybee.
The cultivation of worldwide bee enthusiasts.
All that was left now was to ride the wave of this overwhelmingly positive atmosphere.
* * * * *
【Jeongrichung: As you requested, I've completed the work on all the server forums.】
【Honeybee: Thank you for your hard work.】
Thanks to a smooth supply of wild honey, the quest with its bountiful rewards was proceeding without a hitch.
With Jeongrichung adding fuel to the fire of public opinion, the situation was progressing even more smoothly.
Of course, because of this, the processed honey products offered as quest rewards were melting away like snow.
Items that could have earned tens, even hundreds of billions of coins were being consumed without proper payment, but Seong-hyeok felt no great regret.
After all, the supply was so overwhelming that it was impossible to sell it all through Chesire alone.
And if he were to sell it to players, he would have to let it go at a price incomparably lower than what Chesire offered. The solution, then, was simple.
“Coin isn’t everything in this world.”
He was already in a position where coin was being produced without shortage, thanks to Chesire and the large quantity of processed honey products being made daily.
In that case, he just needed to shift his focus from ‘coin’ to something else.
*Bzzzzzz~*
*Buzzzzzz~*
Honeybees were everywhere he looked within the apiary.
“That’s right. What in the world could be more important than you guys?”
What could possibly be more important than these charming little things with their fluffy, cute appearances and irresistible allure, wiggling their behinds?
Of course, in the case of the farm in Korea, what with the Disaster-class boss monsters and various other forces and infrastructure in place, bee fatalities were now almost nonexistent. But it was a different story elsewhere.
Even with reliable legion commanders and excellent equipment, the deaths of honeybees were unavoidable.
His heart always ached a little whenever he heard news of the bees born from his subordinate queens, but now, the need for such feelings had significantly diminished.
Furthermore, what Seong-hyeok gained by distributing high-quality processed goods across the world wasn't just the survival rate of his bees.
“The bees are important, but it’s also good for humanity to survive, isn’t it?”
Not only did they permanently increase stats, but even ordinary processed honey products could serve as a potion to grant a second chance at life or provide a doping effect that allowed one to defeat a monster that would otherwise be unbeatable.
Needless to say, the accelerated growth resulting from this would make a significant contribution to raising the average level of humanity.
Besides, Seong-hyeok had his own reasons for wanting individuals to grow quickly.
“Dragons.”
There was the Transcendent Being who thought of humans as toys, but there was also the anticipated assault of ???-rank monsters like dragons to come.
To prepare for all of that, the rapid growth of humanity was an indispensable necessity.
Of course, Seong-hyeok himself could now hunt ???-rank monsters without much difficulty thanks to his own rapid growth, but the problem was that there was only one of him.
While he could create variables using Bee Transfer, it had a limited number of uses and required the designated bee to be at that location.
And there was another concern.
“...Perhaps there are already some hiding.”
[The Transcendent Being, Sion the Patient, smiles bitterly.]
[The Transcendent Being, Insect Queen Ninekito, feels regret for being unable to help.]
[The Transcendent Being, Archangel Seriel, remains silent.]
…
The higher the class of an entity, the more cunning its actions tend to be.
One could tell just by looking at the dragons, couldn't they?
Setting aside Porleirn, who had turned Russia to ashes, there were Casseither and Telairn who appeared afterward.
They had a history of nesting in a dungeon and in Washington, the capital of the United States where people lived, to build up their strength.
Now that the Chapter #5 update was complete, the next ones to appear would likely be even stronger and working on a more elaborate plan.
Due to the ‘Dragon Slayer’ title, his relationship with the dragons could never improve, and then there were the other threats.
He could tell just by the reactions of the Transcendent Beings who favored him.
Even now, somewhere out there, hiding and gradually regaining the power they lost due to the penalty.
The dragons had inflicted the most fatal damage on his bees.
Even now, the thought of the bees incinerated without a trace by their breath filled him with anger and sorrow. As such, Seong-hyeok wasn't just beekeeping and focusing on his own growth without taking any countermeasures.
“Daddy has absolute faith in you all.”
The Bee CCTV had already proven its worth by playing a pivotal role in discovering the Gold Dragon Telairn in the United States.
The bees, spread far and wide across the world through the leasing business and numerous apiaries, scanned every corner of the continents as if determined not to miss a single ant, and…
[A monster has been discovered!]
[Due to the opponent's high level, most information is not displayed.]
[Red Dragon Strachiv Lv. 85 (★★★★★+)] - ???
[Green Dragon Crime Lv. 84 (★★★★★+)] - ???
[Green Elder Dragon Veleirn Lv. 90 (★★★★★+)] - ???+
“I knew I could count on you!”
*Buzzzzzzz~*
As if to always repay Seong-hyeok’s faith, no matter when or where.
The bees responded once again, dancing in celebration.
* * * * *
As always, the capable swarm of bees never betrayed Seong-hyeok.
Thanks to these cute little ones, he had found the dragons, but the problem was that it was "dragons," plural. Since it wasn't a single entity, a rash approach was difficult.
“Haah. After two, now it’s three?”
With each chapter update, more enemies came over, matching the added systems.
Furthermore, in the past, the two entities had been separated, so dealing with them wasn't an issue, but this time was different.
“Tsk. They’re sticking together like leeches.”
As if someone had tipped them off, the three of them were huddled together, filling up on experience points from the prey that came their way.
Among them, the most bothersome was the ‘???+’ rank he was seeing for the first time.
The creature had the additional identifier of ‘Elder’ and a look that clearly showed its age.
With a beast that was a whopping level 90 standing guard, Seong-hyeok was at his wit's end.
“Isn’t this a total catch-22?”
If he left them alone, they would regain their full power and crush him. But if his side were to attack, even with his high stats, the probability of death would be overwhelmingly high.
Frankly, it was strange that they were still focusing on recovering their strength with such a force, but it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
[Gourmet - Heart Devourer]
The title Seong-hyeok possessed.
Hadn't the process of obtaining it been to consume three Dragon Hearts?
To the dragons, Seong-hyeok was an irregular entity, the likes of which they had never experienced.
That was why they would take their time to finish him off for good.
“Their bodies are the size of houses, but their hearts are pure cowardice.”
For the first time, Seong-hyeok found himself facing ‘time’ as an opponent, not an ally.
Not long ago, he would have sighed, sensing his life was over. But fortunately for the current Seong-hyeok, a breakthrough was already prepared.
※ Archangel’s Blessing (Permanent): Grants a designated target a buff equal to 30% of the owner's total stats for 1 hour. (Cooldown: 24 hours)
※ Fruit of Perseverance (Permanent): Accumulates damage when attacked. Returns the accumulated damage in a subsequent attack. This effect is maximized with higher durability stats.
※ Parasite - Heartworm of the Insect King (Permanent): The undying parasite engraved on the heart enters a state of suspended animation, temporarily stimulating the body to a great extent. All stats increase by 3x for 30 minutes. However, immediately after the duration ends, all stats decrease by 30% for 6 hours. (Cooldown: 3 days)
…
It was none other than the powers bestowed upon him by the Transcendent Beings.
‘No matter what, connections are the best.’
The symbols of those beings whose class allowed them to easily crush even the great ‘???’-rank monsters.
In this crazy world, having connections was indeed crucial.