Chapter 69
*Clang!* *Clank!*
The sound of hammering emanates from the smithy.
The blazing heat of the furnace and the molten minerals made the building's interior feel like a sauna.
But Kim Chul-kang never stopped hammering, even though he was sweating profusely.
*Clang!* *Clank!*
As if he doesn't care that sweat is pouring down his forehead and running down into his eyes.
Repeated hammering while squinting.
It's impossible to take his eyes off the task at hand, as even a momentary pause or hitting the wrong spot could lead to a fatal flaw in the finished product.
In fact, the grade of the finished piece of equipment is a matter of pride for any blacksmith.
So even though his eyes are stinging, his attention is focused solely on the hammer and anvil.
*Hiiiiiisssssssss!*
And finally, as though it were a crowning point, there was a significant amount of water vapor generated by cooling the hot pounded item in the prepared bucket of water.
*Weing~!*
*Bzz!* *Bzzzzz!*
By nature, bees are extremely averse to hot temperatures.
As a result, the bees passing by that path, seemingly irritated by the noise, flutter their wings in annoyance and veer away from the forge, avoiding it as they move.
"Hehehe, Seems like they're a bit irritated."
The armor was made for the bees, but the bees were annoyed when they passed by.
But what can he do?
Just as humans have preferences for hot and cold things, it’s inevitable that bees also dislike certain things.
"At least now they'll start to like me."
Starting with the freshly finished work, the smithy is filled with tons of small pieces of steel.
From afar, it might just look like a collection of scraps of iron, but upon closer inspection, each of these is a piece of armor, a crafted artifact.
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[Miniature Armor (★★-)]
※ Warning: Due to its incredibly small size, the adjustment system does not function.
* Category: Armor
* Defense, Resistance +20
* Health +200
* Shock Absorption: 20%.
* Durability: 30/30
* Description : This is a ★★-grade armor with an extremely miniature size, crafted by a skilled blacksmith. Highly pure minerals were used, but its performance was compromised by its small size.
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Designed specifically for bees.
A miniature armor that truly lives up to its name.
Of course, as a 'Craftsman', it was unacceptable to him that its performance was compromised by its small size,
"Still, it requires less materials and can be made in large quantities, so I'll just have to get used to the shortcomings."
Kim Chul-kang made a compromise on this point.
In any case, the small size and low material requirements are enough of an advantage, and with effort, he will eventually be able to overcome this disadvantage.
And best of all.......
"Mr. Chul-kang. We're here!"
"Hello!"
"Oh ya. The little ones are here."
The twin sisters who came to the call of Chul-kang.
Along with the power of their two unique classes, Fairy Hands and Pure Packer, they brought with them a vast supply of bee cocoons, which are as plentiful here as minerals, and are one of the necessary ingredients to 'complete' the miniature armor.
"Then I'll have them packed here along with the fairy's blessing."
"Leave it to me!"
"I'll make sure our little honeybees work safely!"
Just as bees work in groups, each with their own assigned roles, so do humans.
Another group that exists on a beekeeping farm.
To ensure their safety and prove their worth, humans began to collaborate,
And so the days passed in the blink of an eye.
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For Sung-hyuk, a typical night can be summarized as a time of nonstop work.
In a conventional world, humans would require constant sleep no matter how long they endured, but this is a different world.
For instance, Sung-hyuk, who is able to exert superhuman strength through his stats, doesn't have any problems with being active even if he doesn't sleep for a long time.
Of course, that doesn't negate the need to sleep at all.
It merely means that the need to sleep and rest is much less of a necessity than it was in the ruined world.
And it's likely to be 'Endurance' on the list of stats.
In fact, the stat that benefited the most from "Bee Processed Products Lover" was Endurance, and in the process, Sung-hyuk needed less and less sleep as time went on.
"Sung-hyuk, don't you ever get tired?"
One person watched Sung-hyuk as he worked.
Clad in shadow, the shadow doll, Cha Hye-rin, trails alongside as if in wonder, providing company in conversation.
"The bees are amazing, too. The way they never rest."
"I don't know about your main body, but it must be hard to control your shadow doll while you're asleep. Or are you always awake?"
"Hehe. Take a guess."
"...Scary."
Whether it's true or false, he can't tell, but Sung-hyuk doesn't feel any 'hostility' from Cha Hye-rin.
Sung-hyuk also doesn't have anything against Cha Hye-rin because she's earned the bees' favor since their previous conversation.
A player he doesn't want to be an enemy of, even if they can't be full allies.
Since their first encounter, Sung-hyuk had instinctively sensed that about Cha Hye-rin."
"But with all the Chinese players coming in, it's a waste of time to rest. If there's going to be an ambush, it's better to do it at night than in the morning."
And it turns out his instincts were right.
Player.
In other words, Cha Hye-rin, who talks about killing people.
In the midst of a war and a situation where if one don't kill the enemy, they'll die, there's not a single thought of saying something as awkward as humanity, but her comment about going out and killing as if it's a point-scoring exercise is not hard to swallow if you're the opposition.
"You've changed so much."
"And you're still the same?"
The world has become a game, thanks to the intervention of the Transcendents and their pets.
In this apocalyptic place, Sung-hyuk and Cha Hye-rin converse while watching each other's behavior.
*Weing~~*
*BuzZzz!!* *Buzzz!*
With bees that are constantly collecting nectar.
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"It's finally done!"
"Waaaaaaaah!"
"Nice work, Uncle!"
The cheers echoed in the midst of the usual repetitive operations.
Sung-hyuk is surprised when the three residents, who have been crammed together in the forge for some time, call him over.
As if to surprise him, they had carefully wrapped the items in the corner of the workshop building.
______________________________
[Pure Armor Bundle (★★+)] x 20
* Category: Consumable
* Description: A ★★+-grade armor bundle with the keyword 'Pure' engraved on it. The neat packaging does not cause any damage to durability, and when used, the 'Pure Armor Packaging ' buff is applied to the armor in the package.
※ Pure Armor Packaging: Increases Defense and Magic Resistance by 5% for 10 hours. However, if an item has already been buffed with pure packaging once, re-packaging it before the cooldown expires will not apply the effect. (Cooldown: 20 hours)
※Package Contains: Miniature Armor imbued with Fairy Power (★★) X 500
______________________________
The packaged bundles, each boasting 500 units of contents, totaled 20 bundles, meaning there are a whopping 10,000 units in total.
What's more, as a person who lives by the bees and dies by the bees, Sung-hyuk quickly figured out who the owner of the "miniature armor" was.
______________________________
[Miniature Armor Imbued with Fairy Power (★★)]
※ Warning: Due to its incredibly small size, the adjustment system does not function.
* Category: Armor
* Defense, Resistance +30 (+5), Movement Speed +1%.
* Health +400, Endurance +3
* Shock Absorption Rate 45%.
* Weight has been significantly reduced due to fairy power.
* Durability: 60/60
* Description: ★★-grade armor imbued with fairy power. The finished product has been imbued with a bee cocoon containing the power of fairies, allowing for improved defense and more freedom of movement.
※ The effect of pure armor packaging is currently active. (Remaining time: 10 hours)
______________________________
*Weing~~*
Sung-hyuk calls a bee that was working nearby.
And sure enough?
The bee doesn't seem to be confused by Sung-hyuk's command and puts on the finished miniature armor on its own.
*Bzzz!* *Bzzz!*
For the first time, the bee tries on the armor.
Puzzled by the feel of the steel, the bee moves around and around in it.
But then she realizes that the added 'fairy power' makes it lighter, and the bee cocoon doesn't hinder her movement at all.
*Wiggle* *Wiggle*
The bee wiggles its bottom in delight at the fact that its stats have increased.
Without wasting any time, Sung-hyuk unwraps the remaining packages and calls out to the bees around him.
The resulting reaction is nothing short of amazing.
*Weeiiing~~*
*Buzz!!* *Buzzz!!*
Just as even the most altruistic of individuals have their greed, so do bees.
Like customers at a 90% off sale at the grocery store, the fervor of wearing the armor with an almost manic determination.
Given that there are only 10,000 completed armors compared to the millions of bees on the farm, it's only natural that a fierce competition ensues, akin to a first-come-first-served battle.
*Bzzz!!* *Bzzzz!*
However, there was something different from the people pushing and shoving randomly,
Like bees who prioritize the "collective," they put on their armor in a first-come, first-served fashion, without fighting or injuring each other.
*Wieng~*
*Weing~~♪*
"Puhaha!"
"Hehehe, you poor thing, it's so funny!"
Meanwhile, the honeycomb bee, who had joined the first-come, first-served race, is unable to wear the armor due to its size, and the vacancy is filled by a quick scouting bee.
*wi... weing...*
Was being large originally such a disadvantage?
A honeybee that grew large in order to specialize in carrying nectar.
It squirms and approaches Sung-hyuk, feeling sad that it couldn't wear it even though it picked it up first.
"Hmm. I'll take care of yours later."
*WEING~!*
With a pat on the head, the honeybee flies away happily.
But will the innocent honeybee ever know?
Sung-hyuk had quietly muttered "someday" afterward.
*Weing~~*
"Wow...."
Well, all that aside, it was pretty cool to see the bees armed with armor.
What can one say?
It's not an exaggeration to say that the sight of a bunch of well-trained knights is beyond magnificent, it's a sight to behold.
"Hehehe! If you're still surprised by this, it's going to be difficult. After all, I still have one masterpiece left."
As if with experience, he knows how to please people.
After the bees, Kim Chul-kang hands over another item.
______________________________
[Miniature Steel Armor imbued with Fairy Power (★★★)]
* Category: Armor
* Defense, Resistance +50 (+5), Movement Speed +3%.
* Health +2,500, Endurance +10
* Shock Absorption Rate 80%.
* The weight has been significantly reduced due to the fairy's power.
* Strength of Queen Bee's Cocoon: Increases Defense of all friendly bees in a 500M radius around her by 5 (stacks up to 2)
* Durability: 220/220
* Description: ★★★-grade armor imbued with fairy power. The Queen's Bee's Cocoon has been modified to provide increased defense and more freedom of movement through the finished product.
______________________________
Unlike the diminutive miniature armor that preceded it, this one was considerably larger.
However, it's still a bit too small for a human to wear, so it's almost obvious who it belongs to.
*WEING~~*
Now a massive 25 centimeters long, it's strong enough to easily squash a Elder Wasp.
With the strength of a general, it rushes at full speed to grab the equipment before anyone else.
"Ha, that's the way. Even the general needs to wear armor to look formidable."
"Wow! Tuntun is so cool!"
"Hehe! It's pretty and cute."
Wearing armor makes one look more impressive and reduces the number of sacrifices in battle.
"....."
Sung-hyuk was grateful for their time, effort, and results.
Even if the minerals and bee cocoons they used had come from Sung-hyuk, without them being able to 'process' them properly, the bee armor would never have been created, or if it had, it would have been extremely late!
Breaking down what little boundaries he had left with the new residents, Sung-hyuk approaches the three of them.
"Hehehehehe! You don't have to be too impressed. It's our way of showing our gratitude to the bees!"
"That's right, that's right!"
"Cute bees!"
Everyone smiles as they say their piece.
“Then, please take care of them in the future.”
"I just did the right thing."
But they couldn't have imagined it.
"That includes all the armor for the bees currently present and those yet to come."
"Then just leave it to...... huh?"
The karmic weight of a 5-star unique class.
The significance of Sung-hyuk's fanatical advocacy for the survival of the bees.
