Chapter 64
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Shadows and Growth
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Shadow Empress, Rehurin.
The power of an authority Cha Hye-rin gained through her incarnation contract with a Transcendent Being.
Was it because of the high stats Cha Hye-rin had accumulated through her levels and job specialization?
She was able to use Rehurin's authority quite extensively within Chapter #2, and the most useful of them all was this.
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[Shadow Doll (Lv.2)]
* Classification: Skill
* Max Summonable Entities: 2 / 2
* Mana Cost: 500
* Effect: Detaches a shadow to summon a shadow doll that has a will of its own and resembles you. (Cooldown: 120 minutes)
* Description: Summons a shadow doll with its own will that shares your desired actions and field of vision. The shadow doll shares 20% of the main body's stats and can perform all actions such as attacking, defending, and acquiring loot, which is transferred to the main body upon its demise. However, all stats are reduced by 10 for each active shadow doll. As the level increases, you can maintain more shadow dolls, and the stat-sharing efficiency with the main body increases.
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Shadow Doll.
Literally, the power to summon an entity identical to oneself.
Of course, the cheat-like ability to summon another self came with a significant penalty, but it didn't really matter to her.
* Life Harvester: The number of field boss monsters and humans killed is recorded. When the harvest quota is met, you gain 1 stat point. 13 / 30 (Total lives harvested to date: 8,323 -> Accumulated stat increase: 277)
The 5-star unique job, Silent Step.
Due to the effect of her job specialization, Life Harvester, acquiring stats wasn't too difficult as long as she could continue hunting.
Moreover, China's declaration of war created the perfect environment for her.
The players from the Chinese server who would come flooding in.
For her, they were like a fish finding water,
an all-you-can-eat buffet.
However, even she had her worries.
It was her adoptive mother, Lee Yeon-bun, and the children she had brought with her.
‘This is problematic…’
Until now, the relatively strong regular "uncles" had been enough to handle things, but it was impossible for her to block all the players from the Chinese server who would swarm in like a human wave, and that would lead to a crisis for the shelter.
The boiling killing intent and the love for the family she had to protect.
At a crossroads where she had to give up one of the two, the person who came to her mind was Honeybee.
Yu Seong-hyeok, the man obsessed with bees.
‘Seong-hyeok can do it.’
A legendary figure who had already proven his exceptional power, comparable to her own, by showcasing his VVVIP status at the auction house.
Thus, to catch two rabbits with one stone, Hye-rin decided on one of her important 'family' members.
‘He's the only one here I can trust my family with.’
She had made up her mind to form an alliance with Seong-hyeok.
“What in the world are you?”
And then, at Seong-hyeok's sharp observation in instantly seeing through her 'shadow', she, the 'main body', let a smile grace her lips.
‘As expected, you're no ordinary person.’
Her shadow doll, which had never been discovered by anyone until now.
Rather than being flustered by the fact that she was found out, she expressed satisfaction and explained her current situation to Seong-hyeok in detail.
* * * * *
“So you're saying your real body is out hunting Chinese players?”
“...Yeah. Are you disappointed?”
For Hye-rin, this was essentially her first confession of murder.
In a situation where her limits were off, she felt 'nervous' for the first time.
A person killing another person.
It was usually enough to evoke disgust, and under normal circumstances, it would be a major crime among major crimes.
However…
“Why would I be disappointed by that? It'd be one thing in the old world, but things are different now.”
Killing someone in a properly functioning society would make you just a murderer, but now, facing the apocalypse and war, it was different.
It was a situation where killing people could actually be considered a public service, used as fertilizer for leveling up.
Of course, if she were slaughtering innocent people, Seong-hyeok wouldn't approve, but he focused on the fact that Cha Hye-rin didn't have the 'Evil' mark.
In the system's eyes, that must mean she wasn't just a senseless killer.
* The Silent One: No matter what happens, you will never become evil.
Well, it was a misunderstanding caused by the 'Evil Immunity' effect, one of the specializations of 'Silent Step', but what could be done?
As long as they didn't share their job specializations, there was no way for Seong-hyeok to know the detailed effects.
“Hehe. Right? I thought you'd think that way. …After all, you're from Sunflower Orphanage too.”
“Anyway, I have no intention of spreading your secret. But if it gets dangerous, get out of there immediately. If you die, I won't be able to face your family or the director.”
“Okay. Don't worry about that.”
A slight misunderstanding that arose from their mutual values and convictions.
How this would tip the scales of Seong-hyeok's gains and losses remained to be seen.
* * * * *
At some point, did it begin?
A single post appeared on the Chinese server's dedicated community board.
Among the countless posts, it was the only one that spoke of a 'warning', so most of the Chinese players were drawn to it.
【Churyong-sensei: Don't go to the marked area on the Korean server. The reason? Don't ask me, because I don't know either!】 - Views…
- This is Churyong-sensei, who was leading a clan-level shelter from China that invaded the Korean server. I don't care if you declare war on the Korean server and invade, but do not, under any circumstances, go to the area I've marked. Don't ask me why, because I don't know! Because… my comrades who went there. They whispered that everything was fine, that they couldn't see anything, and then, without a trace, contact was lost! I don't know if it's a monster or a player, but there's an invisible monster living there! I'm, I'm warning you!
【Comments (327…)】
- Battoujutsu: lol, look how pathetic. Scared of the Korean bastards?
- -Deon-: What's there to be scared of? Whether it's a monster or a player, just kill it.
- Mushroomer: fr lol
- Jangcheongeom: Huh? My buddies and I are about to arrive at that marked spot. I'll check it out.
- Suryun: Oh, if it's you, Jangcheongeom-nim, we can trust you!
- Kingkingjelly: We're counting on you, Jangcheongeom!
…
The content of the post was clearly stating a danger.
But in every country, among all people, being told not to do something only makes them want to do it more.
Just then, one of China's famous figures, Jangcheongeom, who happened to be near the location, decided to turn the situation to his advantage and draw attention to himself.
“How is it, Wichen? See anything around?”
“No, nothing at all. Not even a hint of a monster, let alone a player.”
“Tsk, guess it was just a warning to get attention.”
The feeling of bitterness and annoyance was brief.
Soon, Jangcheongeom felt a strange sense of discrepancy.
“…Wait a minute. Wichen used a search skill and there's still no sign of anyone? Isn't that even weirder?”
Wichen, who had the 2-star job of Scout, had a search skill with a considerable range.
He could detect the location of any player or monster within that range, so even if no players were found, monsters that constantly respawned usually were.
But this time, not even an ant was detected?
Something was wrong.
As his instincts screamed a warning, Jangcheongeom was about to choose to flee with his comrades.
Jangcheongeom trembled at the emptiness he felt for the first time.
“Wh-where did you all go?”
Just moments ago, they had been laughing and talking beside him, but now their spots were empty.
Suddenly, he was the only one left standing in this space.
Overcome with a tightening sense of fear, Jangcheongeom tried to flee without looking back, but by the time he made the decision, it was already too late.
“...!”
A sharp slash came from nowhere, covering his mouth and slitting his throat in the blink of an eye.
If there was any silver lining, perhaps it was that his silent end came without any pain.
But as he was dying, Jangcheongeom could see.
He saw the grim reaper-like being that had delivered death to him.
The figure had a wide smile on its face,
“For the first time, my actions were acknowledged. And by my family, no less!”
muttering incomprehensible words to itself, its expression one of pure bliss.
* * * * *
After cementing his cooperative relationship with Cha Hye-rin, Seong-hyeok's bee farm continued to grow day by day.
Seong-hyeok steadily crafted beehives whenever the cooldown was up, and the bees collected new nectar to ripen into honey.
It was always the same pattern, but as the quantity gradually increased, Seong-hyeok ceaselessly harvested the honey to create processed goods, and there was also a way to deal with the occasional leftovers.
“Kkuwong! Kkuwoong!”
“Kku-eong!”
*Lick-*
*Slurp, slurp-*
It was feeding the honey to Yongbi and Danbi as a sort of meal.
Bears were omnivores to begin with, and a species particularly fond of honey.
Especially since the honey collected by Seong-hyeok, the Honeybee Guardian, was all top-quality, Yongbi and Danbi would always act cute, belying their large frames, whenever it was mealtime.
[Yongbi and Danbi's loyalty has become even stronger.]
True to their title as giant bears, the amount they consumed in one sitting was enormous, but Seong-hyeok didn't mind at all.
Both had leveled up, with Yongbi reaching level 26 and Danbi level 27.
As former field boss monsters, they could not only tear most monsters in two with a swipe of their paws but also served as excellent tank-class mounts for transportation.
“It's really nice having a lot of combat-oriented people.”
Normally, expanding the territory would have naturally resulted in the sacrifice of bees.
But now, that number had decreased noticeably.
As mentioned before, Yongbi and Danbi's contributions were significant, but the performance of the newly joined combatants, including Jang Ji-ho and Kim Gyeong-bae, could not be ignored either.
Their tenacious survival skills, which had allowed them to survive in the outside world away from the forest, were proof enough of their abilities.
Furthermore, they didn't just have 'skill'.
“Wow, on top of the lady's gukbap buff, being armed with another buff makes these monsters too easy.”
“Can't forget the traps, various items, and the support from the bees.”
The constant doping from Lee Yeon-bun and Yeon Su-hee's food.
They were wrapped in buffs and overflowing with items.
And was that all?
“The brand-new weapons and armor that old man Cheol-gang made. The effects are no joke, for real.”
“Of course. Look at the rank. They're all 3-star. There can't be many players fully armed with items like these right now.”
The various high-purity, high-grade minerals obtained from the Golden Goblin Mine.
They were first processed by Ahn So-hyeon of the Fairy's Hand and then forged into usable equipment by the master blacksmith, Kim Cheol-gang.
Earning coins was easily covered by the byproducts of the bees anyway.
Seong-hyeok invested these armaments generously in the combatants, and thanks to that, they continued to hunt safely without threat to their lives.
“I heard our friend Seong-hyeok provided all the minerals too. We have to repay this debt, guys.”
“Of course!”
“You wouldn't be human if you didn't appreciate this kindness.”
“Gotta have a conscience. Let's not be ungrateful beasts.”
The swift disposal of monsters, the rapidly strengthening combatants, and the safely expanding territory.
In this continuous virtuous cycle, the farm's territory expanded at a pace far exceeding Seong-hyeok's expectations.
[Dungeon, Den of the Steel-Tusked Boar (★★★-), has been discovered!]
[Natural Flora, Hundred-Year Ginseng Embracing Heat (★★★+), has been discovered!]
[Natural Flora, Leech Deodeok (★★-), has been discovered!]
…
Furthermore, as the territory expanded, they discovered dungeons that were lairs of neglected monsters and hidden high-rank natural flora.
In this chaotic world, dungeons were typically tricky existences that could cost a shelter its members' lives, but for those armed with equipment and buffs, they were grounds of opportunity to speed up their leveling.
“…It's been like this for a while. Was I always this lucky?”
He occasionally checked the community board in his spare time.
According to its contents, dungeons were known to be quite difficult to encounter.
According to the information summarized by Jeongrichung, there were fewer than ten dungeons in the entire city of Seoul.
Yet, as if someone was spoon-feeding him from behind, dungeons were being discovered ceaselessly near Seong-hyeok's farm.
And on top of that, 3-star+ ranked natural flora.
Discovering natural flora of this rank was rare, not just on the Korean server.
No, it was something you could count on one hand across the entire Asian server.
[The Transcendent Being, Golden Goblin Lord Macherati, senses that the time is near.]
[The Transcendent Being, Mad Inquirer Bo's eyes sparkle.]
And most importantly, there was something else.
[Macherati's Golden Goblin Mine's 1st floor conquest has reached 100%.]
[The 2nd floor, where even more valuable minerals and gems appear, has become available for conquest.]
[The number of hireable Golden Goblins has increased by 2.]
[The Golden Goblins have begun to demand a higher maintenance cost and a corresponding amount of honey!]
…
Macherati's Golden Goblin Mine, purchased at the first auction.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a growth-type mine.