Chapter 64
The Golden Goblins have done a tremendous amount of work on the first floor.
But their rejoicing is only temporary.
After all, they're that kind of species.
Goblins.
And especially those glistening golden goblins, each and every one of whom has an insatiable thirst of greed.
"Kikik! We're very competent, so we won't work until we get what we deserve!"
"Honey! Give us the honey, human!"
"Give us your bees' round bottoms, too! Kikik!"
That's what he hears from the golden goblins upon arrival at the mine.
It's as if they'll go on strike until their demands are met.
[The Transcendent Being, Golden Goblin Lord Macherti, advises you that their demands are justified and that you, as their employer, should manage them].
It seems that even Macherti is not inclined to help this time, so Sung-hyuk wordlessly checked the status of the mine.
* Number of Golden Goblins working : 5 / 7 All of them are dissatisfied with their current situation. They demand maintenance costs and treatment according to the 1st floor conquest!)
* Wage Adjustment : Currently 0% satisfaction (To fill the gap, you'll need to increase their upkeep costs and the gifts they want.)
* When satisfaction reaches 100%, they will start working.
To put it simply, the golden goblins will not work until they are content.
The value of the minerals they produce is also high in purity, so increasing the amount of coins they receive is definitely not a loss for Sung-hyuk.
"Then now...."
The fastest and simplest way, for the time being.
From the original 300 coins per hour to 500 coins per goblin, Sung-hyuk increased the upkeep cost of the Golden Goblins.
[The Golden Goblins' satisfaction rate reaches 40%].
[The Golden Goblins are still not satisfied].
"This is not enough!"
"More! Give me more!"
The golden goblins are still throwing a fit and stomping on the floor, even though they've nearly gotten twice as much.
He was about to raise the maintenance coins even more.
When Sung-hyuk remembered their words, he changed his mind.
'I don't necessarily need to raise the coins to increase it, right?'
As things stand now, 100 coins cost 20%.
In other words, he needs to raise another 300 coins to fill the remaining 60%.
While 800 coins may not seem like a lot to Sung-hyuk, the amount of coins per hour combined with the fact that it's per goblin is not a small amount to overlook.
"I'll give you the opportunity to pet the bees' round body and bottom once a day with a cup of honey tea, one in the morning and two in the evening."
"H-Honey tea?"
"Uh, Bottom!?"
"That sounds great, human!"
And so, honey and bee bums were the answer.
Unexpectedly, it works quite well, and the golden goblins all respond positively.
That's because they all remember the sweetness of the honey tea Sung-hyuk gave them previously.
One can only imagine the results of giving them something like that.
[The Golden Goblins' satisfaction level reaches 92%].
[The golden goblins want a little bit more to satisfy their conditions].
An increase of 52%, even more than the 200 coin raise.
He briefly consider increasing the amount of coins, but is still 8% short.
"Hmm, but I think just one in the morning is a bit insufficient."
"I agree, Goldy1. We should be having lots of them in the morning."
Amidst the grumbling conversation of the golden goblins, Sung-hyuk asks just in case.
"Then how about two in the morning and one in the evening?"
"Oooh, you're definitely the one who got the attention of Lord Macherti, Kikik!"
"Excellent judgment!"
"Wonderful, wonderful!"
[The Golden Goblins' satisfaction level reaches 100%].
[Wage adjustment successfully completed].
[The golden goblins scurry to their preparations to start working].
"......."
For a moment, Sung-hyuk stares over the golden goblins with an expression that seems to say, "Did this work?".
Even if they're swift and colored in golden light, are they really goblins after all?
The cunning of humans, who are the rulers of all things, is a role that cannot be escaped.
"Ah, right. Come here before you guys go back to work."
After hiring two more golden goblins, the desire for experimentation kicked in.
Sung-hyuk pulls out a bee stinger to level up his skills.
"Heek!"
"Get away from me, I don't need it, human!"
"Put that weird tool away now!"
The golden goblins had once been stabbed already and used as guinea pigs.
They screamed out their displeasure at being used as test subjects,
[The Golden Goblins' satisfaction level reaches 120%].
[The Golden Goblins enter an extremely happy state. The number of minerals they work on increases based on their satisfaction beyond the limit].
The body is indeed an honest law.
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On day 45, things are looking up.
One might think it's an ordinary day, but that's not the case for Sung hyuk, who has been preparing a processed honey product with numerous high-end by-products for this occasion.
[Do you want to place the 'Guardian's Tricolor Honey Galehound Venom Honey Tea (★★★+)' in the auction starting at 15,000 coins? YES / NO]
[Do you want to place 'Guardian's Tri-colored Honey Realeaser Bee Venom Propolis Cosmetics (★★★+)' in the auction house starting at 12,000 coins? YES / NO]
[Do you want to place the 'Guardian's Tri-colored Honey Royal Jelly Pills (★★★)' in the auction house starting at 10,000 coins? YES / NO]
.....
The second round of the Asia Server Auction is scheduled to open at 6pm tonight.
With so many Asian server moguls spending money, what better way to make money than in this environment?
For those of the production class like Sung-hyuk, it's the perfect place to unload what they've been holding onto for premium value.
"Ugh! Seriously, they take so much commission just to list items, it's ridiculous! It was the same last time too!"
"It's really unscrupulous."
"Oh, if you haven't registered yet, you can leave the listing registration to me. I should have mentioned earlier, but I'm exempt from listing fees, and the commission is reduced by 10%."
"Oh, is that really true?”
"Then I'll ask you to do me this favor, Sung-hyuk."
"I'll ask you to do the same for me and my brother, please."
"Sung-hyuk, you always have so many interesting things."
What's more, Sung-hyuk has earned the title of "Great Hand of the Era" through his frugal spending power at the auction house.
* Majesty of the Great Hand: Reduces fees on the Exchange by 10%, and waives registration fees for Auction House entries.
The most significant effect of this title, the 'Majesty of the Great Hand', is that the fees charged when submitting to the auction house are waived.
In addition, the auction house's registration fee is 100% used up whether the item is sold or not, so one has to be prudent, but this is no longer necessary.
"Thanks to Sung-hyuk's help, I won't have to worry about the risk if it doesn't sell, so I guess I don't have to worry about the registration fee."
"If it sells, you can keep the portion of the fee for yourself."
"I agree."
Are all livelihoods considered naturally prone to 'risk' and therefore deserve special treatment?
The residents express their willingness to pay Sung-hyuk a fee for his services.
Certainly, starting with Soo-hee's finished dishes and Yeonbun's soup,
Seokchul's plywood and Kang's weapons, and then the twin sisters' processed goods.
High-quality goods made without fear for their lives on a safe bee farm would be worth quite a chunk of coins when sold!
If Sung-hyuk is able to take even a portion of those profits, it will be a huge boost to his future coin earnings.
But.......
"No, I'll only take the entry registration fee if the sale is successful. The rest, you can keep as a gesture of goodwill."
"Are you sure that's okay, since you're also selling processed honey at wholesale prices?"
"Yes. I just want you to focus on growing fast. Your growth will greatly reduce the casualties of the bees."
Rather than being greedy, Sung-hyuk decided to invest in building trust among the residents.
After all, people are more likely to remember those who help them in times of need.
Total Coins: 1,210,825
After being heavily publicized on the auction house.
Thanks to the significant spread from the Korean server to the Asian server, the honey processed products alone are enough to make a lot of money.
In that case, it would be more beneficial to win the hearts and minds of those who possess great promise for the future than to be attached to a small amount of coins.
"...Thank you so much. I will not forget this favor."
"I'll make sure to repay the favor to the extent that you won't regret it, Sung-hyuk."
"I'm beyond grateful for the mineral resources you've provided me. I will create the greatest masterpiece I can and present it to you one day."
Honestly, it's not without its worries.
As they say, if a favor continues, it becomes a perceived right.¹
They could take Sung-hyuk's favors for granted and not value the sacrifices of the bees.
"Yes, I will trust and rely on you."
But it's also absurd to not reach out and disclose the means by which they can benefit.
He has to roll as far as he can before he can grow a big snowball.
In addition, getting them stronger more quickly was also the quickest way to ensure that the bees' casualties would be minimized,
*Weing~~* *BuZzZ!!*
"Hello, bees!"
"Thanks as always!"
The situation where everything continues to go well with the bees.
'I don't trust in human nature, only in the choice of the bees.'
Sometimes it's better to trust one's instincts than one's reason.
For Sung-hyuk, he doesn't believe in himself.
Instead, he chose to trust the instinctive choices of the millions of bees that make up the colony.
Moreover, how much does it actually resonate?
*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*
*kku-ingkku-ing!*
"Huff, Huff!"
"Come on, eat your feed."
"Fairy power!"
As if the bees had made the right choice.
The members of the group are more and more diligent in their work in order to repay what they have received without resorting to trickery.
They gave their all, even though their entire bodies were drenched in sweat. Without hesitation, both adults and children did their best. And when they occasionally met honeybees, they would show a genuine smile.
"Big Brother Sung-hyuk. Please include this one here too!"
"Sung-hyuk. Please help me too!"
With that, a few more items were added before the second auction house opened,
"Then I wish you all a happy shopping spree."
"I expect the same from you."
[The second Asian Server Auction House is now Open.]
The highly publicized auction of Honey Bee's honey, on the Asian server.
The second round is now underway.
And, of course, those who have already made a big splash once are sure to make a big splash the second time around.
[You have won the bid on [Orhalpyo Steel Saddle (★★★)] for 95,000 coins].
[You have won the bid on Macherti's Golden Goose Egg (★★★+) for 113,820 coins].
[You have won the bid on Bo's Elixir Controller (★★★+) for 130,000 coins].
[You have won the bid on Gryos' Fine Spiderweb Gloves (★★★+) for 250,000 coins].
.......
As usual, the majority of items favored by the Chinese emperor were swept away once again.
Needless to say, the result is a rampaging emperor who either doesn't get most of the items he wanted or ends up paying a lot more for them due to price competition,
【China/Emperor: Hey, you damned bee! I will tear you apart and utterly destroy you!】
【Korea/Honeybee: Yeah, well, if you're going to come, come.】
The war has already broken out anyway, and Honeybee's words didn't cause much of a stir on the Korean server.
For Sung-hyuk, there's nothing to be gained.
[Transcendent Being, Zion the Forbearer bursts out laughing].
[Transcendent Being, King Frainkito, the King of Bugs, joins in with someone in a hurrah].
[Transcendent Being, Golden Goblin Lord Macherti acknowledges your dominance].
....
Finally, with the recognition of so many Transcendents, Sung-hyuk stood out as the undisputed hero of the Asian server in the second auction house, demonstrating the power of K-Honey as the beekeeper of the Korean server.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. This expression suggests that when someone consistently receives kindness or favors, they may come to expect or consider it their entitlement. It highlights the idea that ongoing goodwill can lead to a sense of ownership or privilege over those acts of kindness. Essentially, the more someone experiences positive treatment, the more they might perceive it as their due right.
