Chapter 27
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: A Light in the Darkness
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In the natural forest, shrouded by the dark of night.
But despite this, a bright light shone from Seong-hyeok's beekeeping farm. The honeybees flew through the light, skillfully finding flowers even in the darkness to gather nectar.
For honeybees, which are not typically nocturnal, this was truly a remarkable feat.
However, it wasn't all that surprising, considering the system of evolution, as well as the Ruby Gem and Peridot bees.
Both species were honeybee types that inhabited other dimensions—Deltaria and the poison zone, Graham—not Earth.
Furthermore, for Seong-hyeok, who was expanding his territory, the darkness wasn't much of an issue.
Why, you ask?
“Looking at them like this, they feel less like beehives and more like natural streetlights.”
One of the items Seong-hyeok had purchased from the Exchange that was proving most beneficial was the Gillight plywood.
It wasn't just one or two beehives made from this light-emitting material, but six of them, lined up on the farm, continuously radiating light. This allowed the honeybees to continue their activities without their vision being significantly obstructed.
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[Guardian's Extra-Large Gillight Blood Jade Plywood Beehive (★★★-)]
* Classification: Other
* Applies 'Guardian's Blessing of the Light Spirit' to all allied entities and objects within a 13(+2)km radius.
※ Guardian's Blessing of the Light Spirit: Alleviates fatigue and grants 15(+2)% immunity to vision obstruction effects. For natural flora capable of growth, the growth rate is accelerated by 43(+6)%.
[Guardian's Extra-Large Gillight Plywood Beehive (★★+)]
[Guardian's Extra-Large Gillight Lurium Plywood Beehive (★★★-)]
······.
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“Anyway, it's not like the light hurts my eyes, but it would be a problem if I added any more.”
Of course, this leaking light couldn't be seen as purely beneficial.
Back when there was only one Gillight plywood beehive, the light wasn't that intense, so it didn't matter.
But now, the light of six hives was concentrated in one place.
Emitting light in all directions was, in a way, like advertising, “I'm over here!”
In fact, thanks to that, a small but not insignificant number of monsters had been drawn to the light.
“For now, the top priority is doing my best to minimize damage to the honeybees.”
In this bizarre world, battles with the endlessly pouring out monsters were unavoidable.
Teunteun-i and Lily.
The command of the two legion commander honeybees, the use of items like bee venom bullets, and honeybee zombies.
Focusing on minimizing damage to the honeybees as much as possible, as soon as the cooldown for 'Honeybee Processed Goods Aficionado' was up, Seong-hyeok took out various royal jelly pills and propolis films, tossed them into his mouth, and swallowed them down in one gulp with Cheonram Bee Venom Honey Tea.
Consumables that granted permanent stat increases, so precious and expensive that others wouldn't dare touch them.
But for Seong-hyeok, who could produce and process them himself, they were items he could obtain anytime just by beekeeping, so he consumed them without hesitation.
“Phew, that's good.”
Ruby Gem and Peridot.
By diligently taking four of these two health foods—with their exquisite sweet yet tangy flavors—every single day, Seong-hyeok's stats were rising at a breakneck pace.
And as a result,
[You have met a specific awakening condition. -> Base Psyche stat of 100 or higher, excluding item effects.]
Following Durability, his Psyche stat finally became the second to reach 100.
Just as Seong-hyeok had expected, it seemed that reaching a certain value in each stat unlocked the conditions for a Honeybee Guardian's Hidden Piece.
[The Honeybee Guardian's authority grows stronger. The mana of all honeybees in the swarm increases, and their skill leveling speed is enhanced.]
[The effects of this authority will grant more mana and increase skill leveling speed as the Psyche stat rises.]
“This is pretty good, too.”
The mana and skills of ordinary individuals like worker bees might not be very useful, but for higher-tier Elite and Veteran honeybees, it was a direct boost.
More mana meant they could use their skills more often, which in turn would speed up their skill leveling. It was like giving wings to a tiger.
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* Strength: 39 Agility: 111(+25) Durability: 173 Control: 32(+10) Psyche: 101
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“I should probably focus on getting all my stats past 100 quickly, right?”
The Hidden Piece.
To unlock all the Honeybee Guardian's authorities, after Durability and Psyche, he first needed to get his Strength, Agility, and Control stats past 100 as well.
Obviously, among them, Agility was the one he could achieve the fastest.
Excluding the effects of equipped items, based on his 'base' stats alone, he needed about 14 more points.
He had to either level up three times or succeed in creating a processed good that permanently increased Agility.
“It's so tricky. I don't know if it's because my skill level is still low, or if I need to add another ingredient.”
In truth, following the royal jelly pills and propolis films, Seong-hyeok had tried all sorts of processing methods with the help of his skills and knowledge, like cosmetics and pure powders.
He'd attempted every method imaginable, but the result was, regrettably, a bust.
No, he did manage to get one thing.
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[Guardian's Peridot Lilyzer Bee Venom Propolis Cosmetic (★★★+)]
※ Remaining period: 10 days (Toxicity will be neutralized when the period ends.)
* Classification: Consumable
* Upon use, along with effects like skin beautification and immunity enhancement, the 'Guardian's Peridot Lilyzer Bee Venom Propolis Beautification' is applied to the entity, and Control is permanently increased by 1 for a single use. Current uses: 0 / 1
※ Guardian's Peridot Lilyzer Bee Venom Propolis Beautification: For 60 minutes, immunity to all types of penalty effects increases by 55(+8)%, and Control increases by 16(+3). (Durability -1, Cooldown 60 minutes)
* Description: A ★★★+ grade Peridot Lilyzer Bee Venom Propolis Cosmetic inscribed with the Guardian's keyword. The harmony of Peridot Propolis and Ruby Gem Lilyzer Bee Venom provides elasticity, skin beautification, and immunity. It also permanently increases a stat once per player. However, as the toxicity has not yet been fully neutralized, there is a high chance of skin trouble and side effects upon use.
* Durability: 6 / 6(+2) - Cannot be repaired.
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Just like the Peridot bee Cheonram venom from Teunteun-i, he had obtained Ruby Gem bee Lilyzer venom from Lily.
When he first got it, he immediately tried making Lilyzer Bee Venom Honey Tea, but what do you know?
It didn't even have a permanent stat increase.
Something that was just a waste of ingredients popped out.
Of course, looking at the effect alone, it was incomparably better than honey tea made with ordinary bee venom, but what mattered most to Seong-hyeok was a processed good with a permanent stat increase.
In the end, after a few more attempts, what he managed to create was this Lilyzer Bee Venom Propolis Cosmetic.
The first item he'd obtained that permanently increased a stat through 'use' rather than 'consumption'.
Compared to the Cheonram Bee Venom Honey Tea, which was the same 3-star+ grade and increased Strength by 1 and Durability by 2, a single point in Control might seem small. But one shouldn't forget that the propolis cosmetic wasn't a one-time use item that vanished after.
“Being able to use it six times is a huge advantage.”
The permanent stat increase was only once per person, but assuming one person bought it and shared it among six people, it held the value of a permanent +6 to Control. In terms of cost-effectiveness, he could sell it for a pretty good price.
And above all, even if the world had gone bizarre, people's standards of beauty hadn't changed.
The lookism-based society still existed.
It went without saying, but in a world like this, skin care products that were even harder to come by would enjoy endless popularity, regardless of gender.
“Besides, this is an all-natural cosmetic.”
An all-natural cosmetic, containing the essence of nature, made from propolis and bee venom personally harvested by the Honeybee Guardian, Seong-hyeok.
Well, since it was made with bee venom, there was a chance of skin trouble, but once the period passed and the toxicity was fully neutralized, the side effects themselves would disappear, so it was all good.
“Not that I need to worry about that sort of thing anyway.”
Squeeze-
Pat- pat-pat-pat-
Without a care for whether the toxicity was neutralized or not, Seong-hyeok squeezed it out and rubbed it onto his face and hands.
It stung a little, but rather than pain, it felt cool, as if he'd placed an ice pack on his body.
[The Honeybee Guardian's job specialization, Honey Toxin Immunity, is activated.]
[You are completely immune to the harmful toxic effects of honeybees.]
“It's limited to honeybees, but being immune to the poison effects is really convenient.”
Being able to consume or use items made from bee venom without worrying about side effects.
Others might not think much of it, but for Seong-hyeok, who had to constantly use 'Honeybee Processed Goods Aficionado' every six hours, this job specialization was as sweet as honey.
“Alright, now that I've taken care of my health, shall I get back to work?”
With abundant health foods, he took care of his body, stamina, skin, permanent stats, and more.
The work proceeded after taking care of everything he could.
But not long after he started beekeeping and processing, a notification sound echoed in Seong-hyeok's ears.
[Ruby Gem Scout Honeybee (★★+) is attempting to scout.]
The usual, everyday report from a scout honeybee.
However, the reason Seong-hyeok paused his work was because what the scout had found wasn't a cluster of flowers or natural vegetation.
[Player discovered!]
[Player discovered!]
[Monster discovered!]
······.
“It's people?”
The first time he'd encountered other people—four of them—since this bizarre world had arrived.
Checking the image sent by the scout honeybee, he saw they were two men and two women.
[Human ? Level (Not an evil person)]
[Human ? Level (Not an evil person)]
······.
Was it normal for players you see for the first time to be displayed like that?
Their level and name couldn't be identified; it only showed that they weren't evil people.
But that wasn't the important issue right now.
[Spreading Slime Mold Mushroom Stinger Level 18 (★★★-)] - Field Boss Monster
It wasn't just the discovery of players, but also the monster that appeared with them.
There was only a single entity, but the 'Field Boss Monster' designation meant it was not an opponent to be underestimated just because it was alone.
Lich Velmorne had been far from weak, even as a single entity.
This one was a lower level than that creature, but its considerable speed and the way it spewed powerful toxic spores that made the surrounding trees and plants rot away were utterly gruesome.
“······Of all the directions, why are they coming this way?”
To be honest, he didn't want to take the risk for complete strangers he didn't know at all.
He had given Teunteun-i and Lily their own candles and bee venom bullets, but if a battle with a field boss broke out, there would surely be casualties among the honeybees.
But was it because of the light leaking from the Gillight plywood beehives?
The direction they were coming from was an area where his honeybees were busy collecting nectar, their heads buried in flowers and their rears wiggling.
Naturally, the honeybees standing guard would try to deal with any intruders, whether they were human or monster.
“Tsk. Can't be helped.”
If they were evil people or about to be killed by the monster, it might be a different story.
But not only did he not want to see his honeybees harm people, a field boss monster was, ironically, both a risk and an opportunity.
The massive amount of experience and item draw tickets he'd gotten from Lich Velmorne.
And above all, there was the variable of the Dark Essence, which had greatly influenced the Ruby Gem Queen Bee's evolution.
Though it was a matter of when, it was an enemy he would have had to face eventually as he expanded his territory.
To deal with the field boss monster, Seong-hyeok immediately summoned the queen to issue his orders.