Chapter 81
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Dual Evolution
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Even in a world that felt like the apocalypse, the flow of time remained constant.
Accordingly, players were developing day by day, leveling up in their respective roles.
“Oink, oooink!”
“Squeaaal!”
Amidst all this, whether it was the influence of being appointed guardians of the World Tree or simply their extraordinary growth rate, the three baby bears were rapidly growing larger each day, their eyes slowly beginning to open.
Buzzzzz—
“Yes, I know. My little queens.”
Watching the baby bears grow was a satisfying pastime in its own right, but Seong-hyeok’s primary interest would always be his bees.
Naturally, there was no way Seong-hyeok would fail to notice the changes in his queen bees.
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[Ruby Gem Queen Bee (★★★+)]
* Growth Rate: 100%
[Imperial Topaz Queen Bee (★★★★+)]
* Growth Rate: 99.99%
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The ‘growth rate’ was arguably the most crucial factor for a queen bee.
It was only natural for the Ruby Gem Queen Bee to have reached 100% after so much time, but the Imperial Topaz Queen Bee reaching that point was something Seong-hyeok had intentionally orchestrated.
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[Resonance with the Queen Bee (Lv.3)]
* Effect - Happy Queen (Passive): The growth rate of a queen bee under the Honeybee Guardian's resonance is slightly increased.
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This was the skill he had acquired upon reaching level 30, Resonance with the Queen Bee.
During the war with the Chinese server, he had used it exclusively on the Imperial Topaz Queen Bee to produce more Geonchug-i, aiming to utilize the Wax Turret skill Geonchug-i had newly discovered. As a result, she had quickly reached a growth rate close to 100%.
“You’ve both worked so hard.”
Buzzzzz—!
Buzzz—!
The great labor of a queen bee, laying countless eggs every single day.
As if moved by Seong-hyeok’s words of acknowledgment, the two queen bees approached his cheeks and nuzzled him with their warm, fluffy bodies.
For a moment, he felt a renewed sense of gratitude for the Honeybee Guardian’s class-specific trait, ‘Loved by Bees.’
“I prepared this for you two. I hope you like it.”
He had diligently built up the growth rates of his two queens for this very moment.
Reacting to his words, the two darlings buzzed even more insistently, urging him to evolve them. Seong-hyeok, too, took out the evolution materials he had prepared in advance.
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[Prainkito’s Wing Fragment (★★★★-)]
※ This item is infused with a divine fragment of a Transcendent Being. (Boasts a much greater effect than ordinary items.)
* Classification: Consumable, Material (Evolution)
* Related to flight and speed
* Description: A ★★★★- grade wing fragment shed by the transcendent being, Insect King Prainkito. It contains a superior power due to a minuscule divine fragment.
[Essence of Sweetness (★★★★+)]
* Classification: Consumable, Material (Evolution)
* Related to sweetness
…….
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Then and now, capitalism was king.
He had purchased Prainkito’s Wing Fragment during the third auction and obtained the Essence of Sweetness as the first-place point reward from the war.
Buzzzzz!
Booooong!
Did these little ones have a discerning eye?
Upon seeing the evolution materials that would grant them great power, their eyes flashed as they rushed forward.
It was obvious what both of them were after.
The Essence of Sweetness, which boasted a much higher rank of 4-star+.
“Now, now, calm down, both of you. A queen must be elegant, right?”
Obsession knows no species or age.
Seong-hyeok had no desire to see them fighting over what they found more appealing.
“Dad worked hard to get both of these. Are you really going to fight over them? Hm?”
Buzzz….
Buzzz—
Persuading the two of them was not difficult.
Knowing his two kind-hearted queens, they wouldn't place a value on something Seong-hyeok had worked hard to obtain.
“I’ll use the one that best fits your current evolution state, so just trust Dad and follow my lead.”
Buzzz—!
Honestly, if he could, Seong-hyeok would have loved to prepare 4-star+ items for both of them, but what could he do?
Unless he was a god, there was a limit to the items one could possess.
In that case, there was only one thing Seong-hyeok could do now.
[Prainkito’s Wing Fragment (★★★★-) will be used as a supplementary evolution material.]
[The available options will be partially modified.]
[Essence of Sweetness (★★★★+) will be used as a supplementary evolution material.]
…….
That was to maximize their efficiency by using supplementary materials that matched the unique characteristics of each queen bee.
It went without saying that the wing fragment was for the Ruby Gem Queen Bee, and the Essence of Sweetness was for the Imperial Topaz Queen Bee.
“So this is what my queens have chosen?”
Buzzzzz—
Boooooooong—
[Would you like to select Speed-focused Enhanced Evolution? YES / NO]
[Would you like to select Sweet Essence Evolution? YES / NO]
“YES.”
With the queens’ final choice, the two queen bees began their leap—not just one step forward, but a leap of many stages that would affect countless other bees.
* * * * *
Such is the greatness of a queen bee that the evolution of just one can exert a tremendous influence on the entire farm.
But what if there were not one, but two?
And what if the supplementary materials used in their evolution were 4-star- and 4-star+ grade items?
Setting aside the most basic effects of evolution, such as the increase in the bees’ stats, the resulting changes were enormous.
[Imperial Topaz Princess Bee (★★★★) has secured a nest.]
[Spawning will now commence!]
First was the Imperial Topaz Queen Bee, who, by absorbing the ‘Essence of Sweetness,’ became the first of the queens to reach ‘★★★★★,’ or 5-star rank.
Among the noticeable changes, the most prominent was undoubtedly the ability to now possess three Princess Bees, up from the previous limit of two.
“Forget everything else, this is the best part, of course.”
One might ask what’s so great about simply adding one more Princess Bee, but that would be to completely disregard the bees’ production system.
Advancing through tech trees was good, but for bees capable of production, quantity was paramount.
After all, isn't there a saying that there's no champion against a swarm?
Moreover, as befitting an evolution that used a 4-star+ item like the ‘Essence of Sweetness,’ the changes weren't limited to just an additional Princess Bee.
The evolution tech tree, named Sweet Essence.
This effect completely shattered the framework of the existing evolution formula.
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[Sweet Essence (Lv.1)]
* Classification: Skill
* Mana Cost: 0
* Effect (Passive): Stored nectar becomes sweeter as it ages.
* Effect - Sweet Aging (Passive): The efficacy of honey increases.
* Description: A sweet essence acquired by absorbing the Essence of Sweetness. Honey stored in the hive and within the bees' bodies will age to become more effective. As the level increases, the efficacy of the honey will rise.
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There was no new superior species, not even a new elite bee.
In a way, it was the addition of ‘just’ a single skill called ‘Sweet Essence.’
But what was important was that this skill’s effect was more valuable than anything else in the honey production and aging process. And what was even more astonishing was that all Imperial Topaz bees now possessed this skill.
“This is totally amazing…”
It was a common skill that not only Geonchug-i and Silkworm Bees, but even the most basic worker bees would naturally acquire upon completing their eclosion, just like their stinger or flight.
However, to call it common was an understatement; its effects were ridiculously overpowered, no matter how many times one said it.
Why, you ask?
Isn't it obvious!
‘The value of all my honey-processed goods will go up by a level. No, at this rate, I can’t even guess by how many levels they’ll rise.’
An increase in the value of honey directly translated to an increase in the value of processed goods.
Furthermore, this wasn't limited to just Imperial Topaz honey. Seong-hyeok possessed a skill that allowed him to mix the byproducts of different honeys.
For example, if he wanted to, he could naturally blend it with Ruby Gem or Peridot honey, allowing the benefits to be spread across the board.
‘Riggle, was it? I might not like everything else, but this one thing is just perfect.’
Being able to create excellent buff items also directly translated to an advantage in battle.
Seong-hyeok, as the Honeybee Guardian, was thoroughly satisfied with this change, which created a chain of positive effects in every way.
* * * * *
Honestly, while everything was great, the lack of a new superior species or elite bee from the Imperial Topaz Queen Bee's evolution was bound to be a little disappointing.
But there was no need to worry. The crucial point of this evolution cycle was that there were two, not one.
Bzz-
Bzz-bzz-
Booooooong-!!!
Second was the Ruby Gem Queen Bee, who consumed ‘Prainkito’s Wing Fragment’ and chose the ‘Speed-focused Enhanced Evolution.’
As a result, the bees under the Ruby Gem Queen Bee’s lineage became significantly faster than before, and among them, the scout bees, for whom speed was life, became almost twice as fast.
And was that all?
The highlight of any evolution: the addition of a superior species.
Normally, he would have had to wait for one to be born against infinitesimally low odds. But who was Seong-hyeok?
He possessed the skill Resonance with the Queen Bee, which allowed him to obtain a desired superior species of bee with 100% certainty, so he didn't have to wait long at all.
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[Ruby Gem Speedkito Legion Commander Bee (★★★★)] - Elite Bee
* Skills: Forage (Lv.6), Poison Sting (Lv.3), Flight (Lv.9), Agile Movement (Lv.4), Scout (Lv.8), Speedkito’s Blade Wings (Lv.3), High-Speed Flight (Lv.1), Legion Commander’s Command (Lv.2)
* Nectar Storage: 0 / 523(+88)
* Health: 850(+350) Mana: 1,220(+570)
* Attack: 43(+9) Defense: 58(+21) Magic Resist: 43(+18)
[Speedkito’s Blade Wings (Lv.3)]
* Classification: Skill
* Mana Cost: 500
* Effect (Active): Activates Blade Wings for 10 minutes. (Cooldown: 30 minutes)
* Effect - Speed is Power (Passive): The attack power of the Blade Wings increases with movement speed.
* Effect - Spinning Blade Wings (Passive): The attack power of the Blade Wings increases as the body rotates.
* Description: Blade wings acquired by absorbing Prainkito’s Wing Fragment. They boast incredible hardness and will pulverize most targets upon contact. As the level increases, they become harder and their attack power grows stronger.
[High-Speed Flight (Lv.3)]
* Classification: Skill
* Mana Cost: 300
* Effect (Active): Increases movement speed by 300% for 3 minutes. (Cooldown: 10 minutes)
…….
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Following Teunteun-i, another combat-type elite bee, Speedkito.
Perhaps due to the influence of Prainkito’s Wing Fragment, its appearance was quite unique.
Wheeeeeeeeee---
The bee’s body wasn't particularly large, but four pairs of wings stretched out long behind its back.
The eight wings, much longer than its body, gave off the impression of a warrior brandishing eight swords.
“...Come to think of it, your weapon isn’t your stinger, is it?”
As he read through Speedkito’s effects one by one, Seong-hyeok realized something.
Unlike Teunteun-i and Dongchung-i, and unlike other elite or superior bees, Speedkito had a special attack method, using its blade wings as a weapon instead of the venom in its stinger.
Imagining this creature soaring freely through the air, wielding an eight-sword style enhanced by acceleration and rotational force, he felt as if he had gained another general-class elite bee.
“It seems like you’ll be in close combat even more often than Teunteun-i, so I’ll have to ask Mr. Cheol-gang to make some exclusive equipment for you, Ssing-ssing-i.”
Wheeeeee-♪
The Speedkito, now simply named Ssing-ssing-i, seemed overjoyed that Seong-hyeok had given it a name, and it trotted along behind him as they headed for the blacksmith’s forge.