Chapter 9
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Judge of the People
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In this chaotic world, it wouldn't be surprising if an enemy attacked at any moment.
Under such circumstances, what would be the most powerful defense mechanism?
Numbers?
Physical strength?
A unique trait that made it difficult for others to approach?
Abundant resources and reconnaissance capabilities through high speed?
In truth, all of them were necessary.
A formidable force that couldn't be breached would have large numbers, with each individual possessing physical strength and the unique trait of poison.
If it also had a supply chain built on abundant resources and scouting abilities, it would be truly impenetrable.
But in these early stages, it was impossible to have everything.
There was only a chance to choose a single specialty.
And through the newly born scout bees, Seong-hyeok knew that the path the Ruby Gem Queen Bee had chosen was the right one.
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[Ruby Gem Scout Bee (★+)]
* Skills: Gather (Lv.1), Poison Sting (Lv.1), Flight (Lv.2), Agile Movement (Lv.1), Scout (Lv.2)
* Honey Storage: 0 / 6
* Health: 35(+5) Mana: 65(+20)
* Attack: 4(+1) Defense: 2 Magic Resist: 0
* Description: A ★+ grade Ruby Gem Scout Bee from the dimension 'Deltaria.' It is exceptionally fast and smaller than other bees. As a result, the amount of honey it can gather at once is quite small.
※ This unit belongs to a swarm with a master. A portion of its stats is boosted according to the master's level.
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At first glance, its stats seemed focused solely on speed, and the amount of honey it could gather was ridiculously small compared to a worker bee.
However, the true excellence of the Ruby Gem Scout Bee wasn't its ability to gather honey, but, as its name suggested, to 'scout.'
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[Scout (Lv.2)]
* Type: Skill
* Mana Cost: 15
* Effect (Active): Attempts to detect and scout for vegetation or enemies within a 300m radius. (Cooldown: 5 minutes)
* Description: Uses its antennae to detect nearby food sources, objects, and enemy threats in advance. No matter the distance, the scouted information is converted into an image and transmitted to the master. As the level increases, the detection radius expands.
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The scouting function could detect threats from unknown enemies in advance and, at the same time, discover flowers that could be crucial sources of honey production.
Moreover, the Ruby Gem Scout Bee wasn't the only superior species to emerge from the Queen Bee's evolution.
*Buzzzzz— Buzzzzz—*
Unlike the scout bees, which had become smaller to specialize in reconnaissance, this new bee had a much larger body and more developed hind legs.
And there it was, a new species, the Ruby Gem Honey Pot Bee, equipped with a visibly large pollen basket.
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[Ruby Gem Honey Pot Bee (★+)]
* Skills: Gather (Lv.3), Poison Sting (Lv.1), Flight (Lv.1), Abundant Pollen Basket (Lv.2)
* Honey Storage: 0 / 150(+50)
* Health: 150(+35) Mana: 35(+5)
* Attack: 6(+2) Defense: 10(+3) Magic Resist: 3
* Description: A ★+ grade Ruby Gem Honey Pot Bee from the dimension 'Deltaria.' It is rather slow but larger than other bees. Its well-developed pollen basket allows it to carry a large amount of honey at once.
※ This unit belongs to a swarm with a master. A portion of its stats is boosted according to the master's level.
[Abundant Pollen Basket (Lv.2)]
* Type: Skill
* Mana Cost: 0
* Effect (Passive): Increases Honey Storage by 50.
* Description: Increases honey storage capacity via a large pollen basket. As the level increases, it can gather even more honey.
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True to its unique appearance and name, the Ruby Gem Honey Pot Bee's greatest advantage was a honey storage capacity that was incomparable to that of a worker bee.
"Hmm. You're quite plump. You're a cute one too, little guy. How about you and your friends get to it?"
*Buzzzzz— Buzzzzz—*
As the description explicitly stated, it was 'slow'—considerably slower even than the standard worker bee.
"Well, I guess it can't be helped with that size."
For a superior species born through a rare chance during emergence, being slower than a worker bee was a bit disappointing, but the advantages of the Honey Pot Bee were more than enough to outweigh that drawback.
If nothing else, its health and defense were currently the highest among all the bees, excluding the Queen Bee herself.
"Well then, I'm counting on you for my research and the Queen's safety. Welcome, friends."
*Buzzz— Bzz—*
*Buzzzzz— Buzzzzz—*
They were new family members joining the ranks of the worker bees, which had all looked the same until now.
Seong-hyeok sincerely welcomed the scout bees and honey pot bees, who would become elites in reconnaissance and honey gathering, respectively.
* * * * *
[Message sent to Player Honeybee.]
[Message sent to Player Honeybee.]
[Message sent to Player Honeybee.]
...
"...I guess recruiting is not that easy."
To an outsider, it was an obsession bordering on stalking.
But with no progress, not even a single reply, Green Bean clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Dal-su, let's just forget about Honeybee. It looks like he has a production-type unique class. If he hasn't responded after all those messages, it's a lost cause. Besides, there's a good chance he's already in a group, right?"
"You're right, Jong-su. We should probably give up on this one. The fact that you and I are the only ones here with unique classes just shows how rare they are."
Frankly, he could understand Honeybee's position.
Even he would be wary if someone messaged him out of the blue asking for his location.
This chaotic world was one where might triumphed over law.
Even now, villains, freed from the 'shackles' of the law, were likely slaughtering and tormenting people as they pleased.
'It's so frustrating. To think they're indulging in such pointless things like killing their own kind when monsters are closing in...'
His unique nickname was Green Bean.
Player Go Dal-su utterly despised the villains who killed people in this 'apocalyptic' situation.
More than that, he had always been ruthless toward those who committed evil acts.
In fact, before this chaotic world began, he had been a police officer, and his sense of justice had been unwavering since childhood.
Of course, Dal-su's rank hadn't been very high.
Once he had solid evidence, he would throw the culprits in jail, regardless of whether they had connections or not.
But the results were disastrous.
Those with connections were easily released, and thanks to ridiculous laws like the Juvenile Act being exploited, the victims shed tears of blood while the perpetrators received nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
'What a load of crap... Rehabilitation through words? Budding youths? It's all bullshit. Beasts aren't worth persuading with words. Only harsh punishment is the answer.'
Because of this, he was never promoted and had nearly lost his job several times, but Dal-su never regretted his actions.
'I'd rather be a little poor and have peace of mind than clean up after the rich and turn a blind eye to the victims.'
His unwavering sense of justice.
Unexpectedly, it granted Dal-su a surprising power in this apocalypse.
★★★★.
Four stars, a 4-star grade unique class: Judge of the People.
Upon acquiring this class, Dal-su saw the class specializations laid out before him and realized there was still hope in this apocalypse.
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[Class Specialization - Judge of the People]
* Judge of Evil: All stats increase by 3x when fighting 'Evil' players.
* Harvest of Justice: Loot drops increase by 5x upon successfully hunting an 'Evil' player.
* Trust of the People: Gain a boost to all stats when you earn the trust of players you are protecting. This effect is lost if the player dies or you lose their trust. All stats +1 per player (Max stacks: 24 -> Max stacks increase by 3 per level).
* ???
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As if commanding him to protect the weak and punish the wicked, the class specializations of 'Judge of the People' were thoroughly focused on that purpose.
As soon as he gained this power, Dal-su formed a group with a few followers and worked to expand their shelter as much as possible.
He didn't mind if the targets were 'weak' individuals like children or the elderly.
In fact, for Dal-su, such people were even better.
After all, those who weren't 'weak' had already formed their own groups and were wary of others, making them difficult to recruit.
Besides, in an apocalyptic world, the weaker someone was, the more inclined they were to entrust their lives to and place their faith in the strong.
"How can we ever repay this kindness..."
"Thank you so much, Officer."
"You saved us, Detective."
[The class specialization of Judge of the People, Trust of the People, has been activated.]
[Player Lee Su-yeong sends her trust. All stats increase by 1.]
[Player Oh Chun-pal sends his trust. All stats increase by 1.]
[Player Kim Cheol-bae sends his trust. All stats increase by 1.]
...
Trust, gained by doing just a little good in a situation like this.
Thanks to this, Dal-su hunted the approaching monsters with superior stats and was the first to secure food and establish a shelter.
And it went without saying, this wasn't the entirety of Dal-su's plan.
* Judge of Evil: All stats increase by 3x when fighting 'Evil' players.
* Harvest of Justice: Loot drops increase by 5x upon successfully hunting an 'Evil' player.
As seen from his 'Judge of Evil' and 'Harvest of Justice' specializations, it was clear.
To maximize the potential of his unique class, the best method wasn't hunting monsters, but hunting other players.
And not just any ordinary players, but the garbage-like villains who hunted people without a second thought.
'To lure in the trash, you have to throw out some bait.'
Was it because of his experience dealing with scum in his previous profession?
Dal-su was confident in his ability to understand their psychology, for better or worse, and so he used it.
The community board, which seemed to have been made just for this moment.
【Green Bean: We've formed a group and set up a shelter near the mart at Yeouido Station. We have plenty of food, and there are many children and elderly people. Any players in need of help are welcome to come at any time!】
He cast his bait there.
The hint that there were many 'elderly' and 'children' who were relatively easy to hunt, and that the shelter was conveniently located at a 'mart' with plenty of 'food.'
Some might call him despicable, a hypocrite, for using the weak as bait under the pretext of protecting them.
But it wasn't by mere coincidence that Dal-su had been given the opportunity of a 4-star unique class.
"I plan to post this to draw survivors here. Some may become our allies, but others may become our enemies. So, if any of you wish to leave, you may do so now. I can't promise much else, but I will make sure you have enough food."
Before putting his bait plan into full effect.
Dal-su gathered the people in the shelter and shared his thoughts.
He said he wouldn't stop anyone who disagreed with him from leaving.
But that wasn't all he had to say.
*Clang—*
Dal-su's expandable baton, a symbol of his past as a 'police officer.'
As he gently lowered it to the floor, his eyes filled with determination.
"However, if you trust me, and if you at least try to pull your own weight within this shelter, I will risk my life to guarantee your survival."
His voice wasn't loud, nor was his speech long, but his words were filled with sincerity.
Naturally, this led to the activation of a skill he possessed.
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[Staff of the People (Lv.3)]
* Type: Skill
* Mana Cost: 0
* Effect (Passive): Boosts the morale and respect of those who trust you.
* Description: Boosts the morale and respect of those who trust you. As the level increases, it elicits even greater morale and respect.
※ Caution! This effect does not apply to targets of a higher level than you or if you lose their trust.
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Staff of the People, a skill that had played a huge role in Dal-su's efforts to gather the weak.
Perhaps thanks to this passive skill's effect, despite Dal-su's bombshell announcement, not a single person among the weak chose to leave.
"If I can't trust you, young man, who can I trust? At my age, I don't know how much longer I'll last, but as a farmer, I'll do my best to support you."
"I wouldn't have survived without you anyway, mister."
"We haven't forgotten the grace you've shown by fighting for us all this time."
[You are receiving trust from multiple players.]
No, far from damaging his image, their trust in him soared like a rising stock.
"Dal-su! A whole gang is heading this way!"
"I checked with my Eagle Eye. They're heavily armed and have the mark of villains."
"I see. Alright, got it."
And right on cue, a presence arrived.
The fact that they had come to the mart not as one or two individuals but as a whole gang made it obvious to anyone that their intentions weren't good.
Furthermore, with a companion who had a scouting skill, it wasn't difficult to confirm that they were villains.
"Th-There seems to be quite a few of them. Should we help out?"
"No, just Jong-su will come with me. The rest of you stay back and provide cover. Make sure the kids and the elderly don't get hurt. And tell them to prepare lunch and get ready for cleanup after the fight. We'll be hungry."
"Preparing a meal is one thing, but cleaning up the bodies is going to be pretty tough, isn't it?"
"...I've said it time and again, just protecting the weak isn't always the right thing to do. To survive in this damned world, they have to adapt, whether they like it or not."
"Yes, I understand."
Simply coddling the weak was by no means a good approach.
In this chaotic world overflowing with trash, one had to learn to live accordingly.
Fortunately, among the classes in this apocalypse were farmer, fisherman, cook, and packer, among others.
There were all sorts of jobs that allowed even the weak to contribute to their own survival, so having a large number of people was an advantage in its own right.
[The class specialization of Judge of the People, Judge of Evil, has been activated.]
[For the duration of the fight against the villains, your stats will be tripled.]
And just as they each had their roles, Dal-su had his own designated role to play.
"Hoo. Seriously, no matter the era, a good beating is the best medicine for these beasts."
"I couldn't agree more, Dal-su."
*Clang— Clang—*
And that was to feed his special, potent medicine—a duralumin expandable baton—to the villains who had crossed the line and were beyond redemption.