Prologue
-If the bees go extinct, humanity will go extinct in four years.-
A half jesting, half serious hypothesis.
However, this hypothesis never holds true, at least not for current humanity.
Why is that?
That's .......
[Do you wish to place the Ruby Gem Queen Bee (★) in the Guardian's Oversized Acorn Hive (★+)? YES / NO]
"Yeah, I'll put it in."
Bee Guardian, Yoo Sung-hyuk
As long as he's alive and kicking, the bees will never go extinct.
In this world, there are some people who get obsessed with something and are willing to do nothing but harp on it to death.
Of course, most of the time, the best intentions are often fleeting and quickly fizzle out due to lack of commitment.
However, when we say "most", we mean that there are a few exceptions.
Some of them start as short as half a year and stay in it for a year, five years, or until the end of their lives.
There are others who are considered "Deviant" in the common sense of the word.
And along those lines, Yoo Sung-hyuk is clearly an outlier in the latter category.
"Ew, that's gross, but Sung-hyuk, do you like it that much?"
"Wow. Don't you ever get tired of it? Why do I have to see it all the time?"
"It's a real poisonous tree."¹
Those who watched from the sidelines could only shake their heads in disbelief at what bordered on obsession.
Well, as it turns out, the story of how Sung Hyuk fell in love with bees isn't actually a very fond one.
A bee attacked him on a flower he'd touched carelessly as a child.
The first pain he had ever felt in his life.
And although it was not what Sung-hyuk had intended, it was Sung-hyuk's first experience of killing.
That was the beginning.
Sung-hyuk's curiosity was piqued.
Since that day, Sung-Hyuk has been gathering as much information as he can about bees.
He lost his parents in a childhood accident and grew up in an orphanage, which often pushed him to his limits, but it's said that the harder the road, the more challenging it is.
Sung-Hyuk tried to do as much good as he could on his own.
To ensure the smooth running of the orphanage, even at a young age, he was involved in household activities such as cleaning and washing dishes, and the director supplied him with books and materials on bees, and when he became a middle school student, he even worked part-time with the director's permission.
"Thank you for your support. Director."
"I made sure the job was as close to what you wanted as possible.. I believe that if it were you, Sung-hyuk, you would definitely be able to do well."
And then, years later.
At the age of 24, Sung-hyuk left the orphanage to live independently, but he never lost his interest in bees.
Some say that Sung-hyuk's interest will one day cool down like a blown out candle.
It's not like bees are some kind of philosophical subject, they're just a species, and if you keep studying them like that, you'll eventually get to the end.
Of course, it's not that Sung-hyuk didn't think about this at all, but at least he decided not to think about it right now.
One shouldn't stop running because there's an end.
This is incomprehensible to Sung Hyuk's common sense.
"By then, I'll be attached to something else anyway."
For now, all Sung-hyuk can do is do his best with what he's currently passionate about.
But did someone read his thoughts?
[The transcendent perceives this dimension].
[The system is updating the dimension: 1, 2, 3%.......]
".... What is this?"
As if someone had scribbled in thin air.
Characters written in an unknown language.
A text I've never seen before, neither in English nor French, but for some reason he could read it naturally.
At first, he rubbed his eyes, thinking he was hallucinating, but the "%" kept going up.
"Hmmm, am I dreaming?"
If this is a dream, it doesn't make much sense.
Soon, however, the '%' reaches 100%, and Sung-Hyuk is able to understand the situation.
[......100%, revamped and updated, best wishes for survival in the new world].
[Please select your job, you have 1 hour left].
※Attention! There is a fatal penalty for not choosing a profession.
______________________________
[Notification]
※The list of available jobs is influenced by the karma of your life to date.
[Job List]
* Beekeeper (★)
* Alchemist (★)
* Mad Explorer (★★★★★) - Unique (Currently, 3 candidates have not yet been selected.)
* Bee Guardian (★★★★★) - Unique (1 candidate has not yet been selected.)
※ Unique is an occupation where there is only one per dimension / TIP - The first person to grab is the owner.
______________________________
Reality has become a game, thanks to the intervention of a being called the Transcendent.
Honestly, Sung-hyuk has pretty much stayed away from gaming since he became obsessed with bees, but he seems to know that the more '★'s on a job list, the better.
What's more, a whopping 2 out of 4 jobs have the keyword 'Unique', which means there can only be one per dimension.
But for Sung-hyuk, who has devoted 24 years of his life to following the bees, his career choice is practically a foregone conclusion.
[Select 'Bee Guardian (★★★★★) - Unique'? YES / NO].
※ Once you decide on a job, you can't change it again, so please decide carefully.
"YES."
[You have switched to the profession 'Bee Guardian (★★★★★) - Unique'].
[Player Yoo Sung-hyuk's record will be updated, please check the status window].
A class choice without any hesitation.
______________________________
[Yoo Sung Hyuk].
* Age : 24
* Level: 1
* Profession: Bee Guardian (★★★★★) - Unique
* Number of Queen Bees available: 0/1
* Coins: 0
* Skills : Dimension Queen Bee Capture (Lv.1), Build Guardian's Hive (Lv.1), Divine Beekeeping (Lv.1)
* Health: 200 Mana: 100
* Attack: 6 Defense: 3 Magic Resistance: 3
* Stat Points: 0
* Strength: 7 Dexterity: 16 Durability: 20 Control: 12 Spirit: 10
[Job Specialization - Bee Keeper].
* Beloved of Bees: Your affinity with bee species in all dimensions is maximized.
* Bee Venom Immunity: Grants full immunity to harmful poison effects associated with bees.
* Bee Link: You can only communicate your thoughts to the bees you are affiliated with.
* Guardian Reliability: No matter where your queen bee is, she'll lay eggs and hatch twice as fast, as well as speed up the eclosion² process.
* Guardian Spirit: Bees don't tire easily when it comes to their work.
* ???
______________________________
"Is this real?"
Sung-hyuk could see nothing but 'Capture the Dimension Queen Bee'.
If this game-like system isn't a dream, Sung-hyuk is ecstatic that he might be able to encounter new bees.
* * * * *
After choosing a profession and checking his status.
Sung-hyuk didn't hesitate to pull his cheeks together.
"It's definitely not a dream, judging by the pain."
Such a ridiculous situation in a world that was normally going well.
He'd have preferred it to be a dream.
For Sung-hyuk, who focuses on one thing and sticks to it, getting caught up in something that doesn't even make sense was something he hated.
However, as you live in this world, there are bound to be deals that you can never refuse.
______________________________
[Dimension Queen Bee Capture (Lv.1)]
* Classification: Skill
* Mana Cost: 0
* Effect (Active) : Captures a random type of queen bee of rank '★-' to '★+' (cooldown 20 days).
* Description: Captures queen bees of different types that exist in different dimensions. As your level increases, the chance of a failed capture decreases, and the rank of the captured queen increases.
※Only failed capture reduces the cooldown to 24 hours.
______________________________
"A new species of bee, a whole new level, I can't stand it."
For Sung-hyuk, who has lived his life outside of bees, meeting a new species of bee is like winning the lottery for an ordinary person.
What's not to like?
The long 20-day cooldown and the possibility of failing to capture the bee is a bit daunting, but that's exactly why Sung-hyuk didn't hesitate to try out the skill.
[Use Skill, Capture Dimensional Queen Bee (Lv.1)].
[Bee Guardian's net swings across the dimension].
[Capture Success! Do you want to add the Ruby Gem Queen Bee (★) to your population? YES / NO]
※ If NO is selected, it will be treated as a failed capture.
"Nice!"
He'll never know if it's the low probability of a failed capture or just a stroke of luck, but it's a successful capture.
When asked if he wanted to register, Sung-hyuk said YES without hesitation.
[Ruby Gem Queen Bee (★) is registered to player Yoo Sung-hyuk. Current remaining Queen Bee population: 1 / 1]
"A Ruby Gem Queen Bee, I've never heard of such a thing!"
Well, even on Earth, completely new animals, plants, and insects are discovered from time to time, but for Sung-hyuk, the important thing is that this new species is a 'bee'.
______________________________
[Ruby Gem Queen Bee (★)]
* Has not yet found a home.
* Brood : 0
* Growth rate : 0
* Egg laying rate : 2 eggs per minute
* Hatching speed : 8 hours
* Allegory Course: 18 hours
* Skills : Spawn (Lv.1), Queen's Pheromone (Lv.1), Poison Sting (Lv.2), Flight (Lv.2)
* Health : 85(+5) Mana : 25(+5)
* Attack : 6(+1) Defense : 2 Magic Resistance: 1
* Description: A ★-ranked Ruby Gem Queen bee found in the dimension 'Deltarian'. Unlike other bees, Ruby Gem bees are characterized by a very fast hatching and pupation process, and when you add them to your hive, you get Ruby Gem honey, which is great for energizing them when they start laying.
※ This is a queen bee with a master. The stats are partially adjusted based on the level of the owner.
______________________________
"Ohhhh!"
It's not just any honey, it's Ruby Gem honey!
As a bee freak, Sung Hyuk has tried every honey on earth, east and west, but never Ruby Gem honey.
It's no wonder, then, that the Ruby Gem queen bee is a species of bee from an unheard-of dimension called the Deltarian.
"This is not the time."
The idea of a new source of honey was born.
But it's impossible to get honey from a single queen bee.
The first step is to create a home for the queen so she can start laying eggs in peace.
______________________________
[Guardian's Hive Construction (Lv.1)]
* Category: Skill
* Mana Consumption: 80
* Effect (Active): Craft a random type of hive (cooldown 3 days).
* Description: Consumes mana generated by your body to create a hive that allows the queen bee to start a colony. As your level increases, you will be able to craft higher-grade hives.
There is a chance to get a stronger, better hive with the keyword "Guardian" engraved on it.
A higher quality hive can be obtained by adding wood and honeycomb as additional materials besides mana.
______________________________
Luckily for Sung-hyuk, there is a class skill that fits the bill perfectly.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. Metaphor used to tell that instead of changing, instead the habit grew more like a tree.
2. The emergence of an adult insect from its pupal case, the hatching of a larva from its egg.
