Chapter 53
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: A Wave of Change
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Chapter 53
In a single moment, the apiary gained two new elite bees and a high-tier bee on par with an elite.
Their arrival heralded a great wave of change for Seong-hyeok's apiary.
[The Imperial Topaz Princess Bee (★★★★-) has secured a nest.]
[Spawning activity will now begin!]
Among them, the most noticeable change was in 'numbers'—an essential element for any bee colony.
And the one responsible for this was none other than the princess bee.
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[Imperial Topaz Princess Bee (★★★★-)]
※ As a princess bee under the Imperial Topaz Queen Bee, its evolution is restricted.
* Brood: 1,454 (Eggs: 1,454)
* High-Tier Eclosion Process: Imperial Topaz Silkworm Bee (★★★-) -> 3.6% (+0.4), Imperial Topaz Architect Legion Commander Bee (★★★★) - Elite Bee -> 0.022% (+0.009)
* Spawning Speed: 7 per minute
* Hatching Speed: 6 hours
* Eclosion Process: 15 hours
* Skills: Spawn (Lv.5), Princess's Pheromone (Lv.5), Poison Sting (Lv.2), Flight (Lv.4), Princess's Bee Cocoon (Lv.1)
* HP: 450 (+210) Mana: 450 (+120)
* Attack: 25 (+6) Defense: 30 (+7) Magic Resistance: 22 (+5)
* Description: A ★★★★- grade Imperial Topaz Princess Bee native to the 'Deltaria' dimension. Compared to the queen, there is a partial penalty to the birth rate of high-tier species. It has awakened the ability to produce silk due to the Imperial Moth's cocoon.
※ This princess bee has a master. Its stats are partially boosted according to the master's level.
[Princess's Bee Cocoon (Lv.1)]
* Type: Skill
* Mana Cost: 0
* Effect (Passive): Ejects 1 Princess's Bee Cocoon every 12 hours.
* Description: An ability acquired by absorbing the Imperial Moth's cocoon. Due to its affinity with the queen, it receives significant indirect benefits, allowing it to produce higher quality bee cocoons. As the level increases, it can produce a greater quantity of cocoons, and the chance of a higher grade increases.
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'Still, she's a far cry from the queen.'
Compared to the queen bee, whose Spawn skill had reached level 12 through her recent evolution and could now lay 16 eggs per minute, the princess bee's level 5 skill only produced a meager 7 eggs per minute.
To be honest, her absurdly low spawning speed and high-tier eclosion rate compared to the queen were somewhat disappointing, but that thought lasted only for a fleeting moment.
His mind soon filled with positive thoughts.
“Still, this is great. Compared to having nothing, it's a huge boost in strength, right?”
After all, it was common sense that having something was far better than having nothing.
The fact that she could lay 7 eggs per minute was only disappointing when using the Imperial Topaz Queen Bee as the 'standard'. By any other measure, it was incredible.
[The Honeybee Guardian's class specialization, Guardian's Reliability, is activated.]
[The Imperial Topaz Princess Bee's (★★★★-) spawning speed is doubled.]
Besides, didn't Seong-hyeok have Guardian's Reliability, the class specialization of his unique 5-star class, Honeybee Guardian?
With her spawning speed doubled, the princess bee could now lay a whopping 14 eggs per minute.
And assuming she laid eggs continuously for a full day, that meant she would be the driving force behind adding nearly 20,000 bees to the legion!
“You’re amazing. I'm counting on you from now on, Your Highness!”
The benefits of an increased bee population were numerous.
Most fundamentally, the speed of honey collection would increase, and as their territory expanded, they could engage more actively in combat.
Of course, the sad reality was that the sacrifice of bees would also increase in the process.
But that was the way bees had always lived.
For their kin.
They were the epitome of altruism, unhesitatingly sacrificing themselves if it meant contributing to the growth of the collective and becoming its nourishment.
What's more, if their numbers grew faster than they died, could anything possibly stop them?
Especially in this chaotic world.
In this place where a game-like system existed, the bees were not simple-minded creatures that relied solely on overwhelming numbers.
There were highly intelligent individuals, elite bees who could act as legion commanders, capable of utilizing the weapons and buff items crafted by Seong-hyeok and Cheon-su at the right time and place to further strengthen the legion and wield its power effectively.
And that wasn't all.
[Natural Flora, Peridot King Verdant Bush Clover Mushroom (★★★-), has been discovered!]
New types of mushrooms were continuously being discovered.
Their value wasn't limited to just being edible.
“Looks like I've found something else worth researching properly, eh?”
Seong-hyeok, a lifelong beekeeper, also possessed the disposition of a mad researcher.
Because of this, his near-obsessive madness for discovering and 'experimenting' with things allowed him to always find new poisons and items, combining them with bee byproducts for optimal use, making his potential for growth limitless.
[The Transcendent Being, Bo the Mad Researcher, praises your excellent attitude.]
Seong-hyeok's instinct for research was strong enough to be acknowledged even by a Transcendent Being.
Was this its way of responding?
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[Peridot King Verdant Bush Clover Mushroom (★★★-)]
* Type: Consumable, Material
* Upon consumption, HP decreases by 300 over 30 seconds. Causes paralysis and high fever for 30 minutes.
* Description: A ★★★- grade Peridot King Verdant Bush Clover Mushroom native to the 'Earth' dimension. This king bush clover mushroom has unique mycelia that only grow with the help of a special insect. Its potent toxins cause paralysis and high fever upon consumption.
※ Upon consumption or use, there is a 26% chance to obtain fully viable Peridot King Verdant Bush Clover Mushroom Spores (★★+).
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As could be inferred from its grade, this newly discovered mushroom with 'King' in its name had effects on a completely different level from the mushrooms grown from the spores spread by the previous Spore Mycelia Bees.
And just as potent as its effects was the individual who had spread it—an 'elite bee' far from ordinary.
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[Peridot Cordyceps Legion Commander Bee (★★★★)] - Elite Bee
* Skills: Gather (Lv.9), Poison Sting (Lv.5), Flight (Lv.5), Cordyceps's Poison Sac (Lv.3), Legion Commander's Command (Lv.2)
* Honey Storage: 0 / 785 (+45)
* HP: 1,115 (+520) Mana: 1,020 (+470)
* Attack: 73 (+12) Defense: 75 (+33) Magic Resistance: 66 (+29)
* Description: ...Thanks to the special mycelia it harbors deep within its body, high-quality natural mushrooms grow wherever it passes. With its superior intelligence, it can command a swarm of bees under its control. The power of its spore poison has been altered to match its evolutionary path due to the Stinger's slime mold spores.
※ This bee belongs to a swarm under a queen bee with a master. Its stats are partially boosted according to the master's level.
[Cordyceps's Poison Sac (Lv.3)]
* Type: Skill
* Mana Cost: All
* Effect (Passive): HP decreases by 100 per second for 1 minute.
* Effect - Cordyceps's Nourishment (Passive): Activates upon the death of the Peridot Cordyceps Legion Commander Bee. Special mycelia absorb the nutrients from the corpse, causing a cordyceps to bloom.
* Effect - Spreading Mycelia (Passive): At random intervals, mycelia clinging to its body are scattered along its flight path, causing mushroom-related natural flora to grow.
…….
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Looking at the effect alone, the skill's ability didn't seem much different from that of the Spore Mycelia Bees.
However, befitting an elite bee, the efficacy of the mushrooms born from the mycelia spread by Dongchung-i was beyond imagination.
Hadn't the King Verdant Bush Clover Mushroom they just checked possess a destructive toxicity incomparable to the previously discovered spotted or fly agaric mushrooms?
And most importantly...
“An effect that only activates upon death. I guess that's to be expected from a cordyceps?”
The cordyceps mushroom itself was a parasitic fungus that grew by feeding on the nutrients of insects.
In fact, during his research on bee ecology, Seong-hyeok had occasionally seen 'bee cordyceps' blooming from the corpses of bees.
And while he knew that cordyceps was also used as a medicinal herb boasting incredibly high efficacy,
Bzz— Bzzzz—
Dongchung-i, who boasted a body as large as Teunteun-i's.
As the bee, which strangely sported a mushroom protruding from its head and abdomen, approached and cutely rubbed its face and rear against him, Seong-hyeok couldn't bring himself to even think about killing it.
“Don't worry. Your dad thinks you're more precious than any mushroom, Dongchung-i.”
Honestly, he was dying to find out the grade and efficacy of a cordyceps that would bloom from a dead elite bee in this chaotic world.
But even if he had the disposition of a mad researcher, the path of his chosen class was ultimately 'Honeybee Guardian'.
It would be one thing if he obtained it under unavoidable circumstances.
Otherwise, it was only natural for Seong-hyeok to prioritize the lives of his bees.
[The Transcendent Being, Insect King Phrainkyto, gives a fatherly smile, finding your love for the bees commendable.]
[The Transcendent Being, Goddess of Abundance Prepion, advises that nature must be allowed to find its own harmony.]
[The Transcendent Being, Bo the Mad Researcher, clicks their tongue in disappointment.]
[The Transcendent Being, Great Golden Goblin Lord Macherty, cackles that the foundation of business is selfishness.]
…….
It seemed the values and directions of amusement pursued by the Transcendent Beings were all different.
The reactions of the Transcendent Beings, some delighted and some dismayed, varied according to Seong-hyeok's choice.
He wondered what he could do in a situation where he couldn't satisfy everyone, but his worries didn't last long.
“What's there to worry about? Even without the cordyceps, there are plenty of other things worth researching, aren't there?”
For Seong-hyeok, the cordyceps wasn't the only thing with research value.
There were the countless poisonous mushrooms that the Spore Mycelia Bees and Dongchung-i would spread, and the honey and bee cocoons from the Imperial Topaz Bees he would soon acquire.
Furthermore, depending on the situation, there was plenty of potential to process the crops and livestock byproducts harvested by Su-hee.
“And I haven't even brought out the real deal yet.”
Besides, the bees Seong-hyeok had luckily obtained this time weren't the end of it.
The princess bee and Dongchung-i.
After those two, didn't Seong-hyeok still have one more?
“Let's see if this adorable little cutie can really produce wild honey.”
Bzz— Bzzzzzzz~
Wiggling its golden rear, another elite bee, the Imperial Topaz Architect Legion Commander Bee, approached alongside Dongchung-i.
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[Wild Hive Construction (Lv.1)]
* Type: Skill
* Mana Cost: 1,000
* Required Materials: Beeswax, Propolis
* Deployable Bee Count: 0 / 10,000 (Only Imperial Topaz Bee species can be deployed. Construction speed and honey gathering speed increase with the number of deployed bees.)
* Effect (Active): Constructs a wild hive that can produce special honey and directs the deployed bees to store honey in it. However, while this skill is active, the Imperial Topaz Architect Legion Commander Bee and the deployed bees cannot perform any other actions or receive other commands.
* Effect - Adaptive Wild Hive (Passive): Depending on the location of the constructed wild hive, you can obtain Rock Honey (石淸), Tree Honey (木淸), or Earth Honey (土淸), each specialized with different effects.
* Description: An ability acquired by absorbing a Wild Jewel Hive Fragment. Constructs a wild hive that can produce special honey, allowing you to obtain honey of the highest quality. As the level increases, you can deploy a greater number of bees, and the chance of a higher grade increases.
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This was Geonchug-i, the bee capable of literally 'constructing' a wild hive to produce what was known as the finest honey of all—wild honey.
Its true power had not even begun to be unleashed.