Chapter 70
The world tree is still in its primary growth phase.
In human terms, it would be considered an infant, but is it really living up to its name as the World Tree?
The tree is by far the largest in its immediate vicinity.
"I know I shouldn't say this, but it's a tree that challenges me, and if I could make plywood out of it, I'd be able to......Argh, why are you smacking me!"
"If you know you're not supposed to say it, don't say it, unless you want to get beaten."
It's not surprising that Lim Seok-chul, a tree slayer by profession, would harbor the desire to cut down a tree.
The status of a world tree could not be judged simply by its size,
[World Tree's Embrace is applied].
[Growth rate of all natural vegetation and crops that can grow within the World Tree's domain is increased by 100%, and the frequency of rare natural vegetation is slightly increased].
[World Tree's Intimidation is activated].
[While within the World Tree's domain, the Attack and Movement Speed of those deemed enemies are reduced by 5%].
Such is the inherent power of the World Tree itself.
In addition to the vibrant vitality seen before, the buffs that boost the growth of crops and natural vegetation called Embrace, there's also the effect of Intimidation, which applies an area-of-effect debuff to all entities in an area deemed as an enemy!
The presence of the World Tree, which is nothing short of perfect in every way, has resulted in rapid growth of greenhouse crops, natural vegetation from mushrooms spread by spore mycelium bees. Monsters also have suffered reduced attack and movement speed, making them easier to fight.
Is that the end of it?
*Weing~~* *BuZzzZz!*
*WeIiNngGg!!*
The world tree began to naturally bloom beautiful flowers over time.
Naturally, the bees that live and die in the flowers are drawn to the fragrance of the flowers and naturally stick their heads into them.
The subsequent harvesting of nectar.
*BzZz!!* *BzZzz!*
The cute bees fluttering their wings and legs, completely addicted to the nectar from the World Tree Flower, which must be quite delicious.
[Rubigem Honeycomb Bee (★★★-) has made contact with Prefion's World Tree Flower (Divine), growth is stimulated, and a slight boost in nutrients is given].
[Peridot Worker Bee (★★+) has made contact with a Prephion's World Tree Flower (Divine). Growth is accelerated, giving a small boost in nutrients].
[Imperial Topaz Silkworm Bee (★★★-) has contacted a Prephion's World Tree Flower (Divine). Growth is boosted, nutrients are slightly increased].
....
Does the World Tree's influence extend to flowering despite being a tree?
Just like the previous crops, a synergy with the bees!
Thanks to them, the flowers of the World Tree began to bloom more and more beautifully over time.
[Rubigem Honeycomb Bee (★★★-) has collected nectar, Current Honey Status 95.981%]
[Rubigem Worker Bee(★★+) has collected nectar¹. Current Honey Status 96.522%]
[Peridot Worker Bee(★★+) has collected nectar. Current Honey Status 88.132%]
[Peridot Worker Bee(★★+) has collected nectar. Current Honey Status 88.916%]
.....
Also, it seems that the nectar contained in the flowers of the world tree is beyond what is obtained from any other crop or flower.
A significant amount of honey fills the hive.
Moreover, this honey had a special effect other than simply increasing the current amount of honey,
[Foraging Success!]
[The fragrance of the World Tree's honey affects the aging process].
[Obtained 11 Rubigem World Tree Honey (★★★-)].
[Obtained 12 Peridot World Tree Honey (★★★)].
[Obtained 9 Imperial Topaz World Tree Honey (★★★)].
....
It turns out that, just as Sung-hyuk had predicted, in addition to the Spore Honey, he got a special kind of honey with the keyword "World Tree" in it.
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[Rubigem World Tree Honey (★★★-)] x 11
* Category: Consumable, Ingredient
* When consumed, restores 500 Health and Mana along with a full feeling of satiety, and imbues the user with the Energy of the World Tree.
※ World Tree Energy: Increases Movement Speed by 2% for 10 minutes (stacks up to 2).
* Description: This is a ★★★-rated Rubigem World Tree Honey. It boasts excellent restorative effects, with nutrients extracted from the flowers of the World Tree naturally infused into the honey. It provides exceptional benefits for recovery and imbues a special energy that permeates the body.
[Peridot World Tree Honey (★★★) x 12
[Imperial Topaz World Tree Honey....
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A state where the effect of the World Tree's aura is attached to it, even though it hasn't been processed at all.
"What would happen if I processed it?"
Naturally, Sung-hyuk is not one to sit idly by as new products emerge to stimulate his desire to experiment.
The karma of having to become a Mad Explorer² was as much a part of his life as being a Bee Guardian.
It seems that he will fulfill the weight of his karmic destiny.
Sung-hyuk wanted to start the experiment right away, but.......
"Still, my first priority is gathering. I can't have the hives overflowing with honey!"
Still, he's a bee guardian.
For Sung-hyuk, collecting honey was more important than processing.
[Transcendent Being, Madness Seeker Bo looks sullen].
[Transcendent Being, King Frainkito nods, saying that order is important].
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After completing his foraging activities and replenishing himself with royal jelly and bee venom honey tea.
Sung-hyuk looked at the warehouse full of his treasures and smiled.
"Due to the limited amount of materials obtained, mass production may be impractical, but there's no shortage of trying different types."
Due to the World Tree's infancy, the amount of World Tree honey is only about 30 pieces.
However, even with this amount, there are plenty of ways to discover through processing.
"Let's start with blending."
The first experiment to be tried is processing mixed honey.
For an item with a small amount such as the World Tree Honey, one of the ways to increase the amount is to mix it with other honeys, for example.
Sung-hyuk's first experiment was to blend one World Tree Honey and two regular honeys together.
[Blended Honey Processing Success! The Bee Guardian's sigil is engraved on the Tri-color World Tree Honey].
[Guardian's Tri-color World Tree Honey (★★★) has been crafted].
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[Guardian's Tri-color World Tree Honey (★★★)]
* Category: Consumable, Ingredient
* When consumed, the user feels a full feeling of satiety, recovering 690(+50) Health and Mana, and is imbued with the Energy of the World Tree.
※ World Tree Energy: Gain +3% Movement Speed for 12 minutes (stacks up to 2).
* Description: A ★★★-grade Tri-color World Tree Honey with the Guardian's keyword inscribed on it. However, during the mixing process, it was mixed with somewhat inferior honey, resulting in limited enhancement of its effects.
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The result is a Tri-color World Tree Honey.
Though, was it because the other two were mediocre?
The effect boost wasn't bad to begin with, but it's not an option that would satisfy Sung-hyuk.
Especially with the 'inferior quality' honey and the explanation that the enhancement of potency failed because of the difference.
"Then, I'll just combine them all by type."
Therefore, Sung-hyuk's next experiment was a straightforward three-honey combination.
All of them are composed of World Tree Honey, and he combined them into one blend.
______________________________
[Guardian's Tri-color World Tree Honey (★★★+)]
* Category: Consumable, Ingredient
* When consumed, grants a full feeling of satiety, restores 1,200 (+300) Health and Mana, and imbues the user with a Strong Energy of the World Tree.
※ World Tree Energy: Grants 9% (+2) Movement Speed for 20 minutes (stacks up to 2)
* Description: A ★★★-grade Tri-color World Tree Honey with the keyword "Guardian" inscribed on it. The blend of extremely high quality honeys greatly increases its effectiveness.
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Thus was born the 3-star+ rated Tri-Color World Tree Honey.
The improvement is mouth-watering, but everything has its fair share of trade-offs.
In this instance, the downside was too much.
"This method is not feasible for the time being. I can't afford to waste the precious World Tree Honey."
A choice of consuming one honey or three honey pots, a choice that must be considered very important.
What happened afterwards is nothing special.
After seeing the new honey, Sung-hyuk's desire to experiment went into overdrive.
[Honey Tea Production Success! The Bee Guardian's blessing is added to the Honey Tea].
[Honey Brewing Success! The Bee Guardian's sigil is imprinted on the Honey Wine].
[Honey Soap Crafting Success! The Bee Guardian's sigil is engraved on the Honey Soap].
[Guardian's Tri-Color World Tree Honey Tea (★★★) has been crafted].
....
The ensuing results were somewhat as expected by Sung-hyuk.
The “World Tree’s Energy” effect, which not only surpasses the effects of processed products made from ordinary tricolored honey, but also enhances movement speed just by the honey itself, was truly remarkable.
In the matter of movement speed, there are two parts: combat and travel.
Particularly in the strategic part of the field, considering the state of the beekeeping farm, which has come to encompass a large area.
"It's good to maximize the effect, but it's also good to make it something that can be used a lot."
No longer is Sung-hyuk the only one on the farm.
That's why Sung-hyuk has dedicated all of his resources to making soap that can be used multiple times, unlike consumables like honey tea and honey wine, which can only be consumed once, and the finished product is generously sold away to combatants instead of being put on the exchange.
"I can't believe you can get something of this quality for this price......."
"You can charge more, but are you sure about this?"
"I have enough to spare, so I'll give you the wholesale price, just make sure the bees don't die with the help of your speed."
"......Thanks so much."
Help given without treating the favor as an entitlement.
As they say, the way a person responds to a favor is different for everyone.
Overflowing with coins, and as much as he could gather from processing honey products, Sung-hyuk's judgment was to overspend coins to raise the survival rate of the bees.
Of course, it cannot be said that the path diverging from egoism is always the best, but Sung-hyuk's decision was made based on his own thoughts.
As a result of Sung-hyuk giving minerals and bee cocoons to Kim Chul-kang and the twin sisters at a reasonable price, a masterpiece called 'Bee Armor' was born!
'Now that we have the method, all that remains is to mass produce it.'
The breakthrough of creating bee armor is exciting enough.
However, there are 3.6 million bees in existence and many more to come.
It's going to take more than one blacksmith to produce enough to fit them all.
This in turn leads to the need to recruit more residents of the bee farm, and the most urgent of these is the recruitment of blacksmiths.
"We've expanded our territory to this extent, we should be getting more residents."
Expanding the area in a linear fashion, rather than spreading out.
The scouting bees are constantly flying around the area where the collapsed buildings are now visible instead of the forest, providing Sung-hyuk with various information.
And lo and behold?
[A player has been spotted!]
[I spotted many Players!]
.....
The notification states that they've found a large number of players that are incomparably more powerful than before.
Sung-hyuk's lips twitched as he read the information that came with the notification.
"Korea is still strong after all."
Koreans in the shelter, engaged in a battle against waves of Chinese players.
Surprisingly, the Koreans are pushing back against the Chinese with overwhelming combat superiority.
However, despite being pushed back, were the Chinese prepared?
As though on purpose, a giant blue gate opens up in the camp where the Chinese players are camped.
Sung-hyuk frowns at the sight of countless Chinese players pouring out of it.
"It seems like they've come up with a brilliant tactic.."
No matter how powerful one is, in front of a group assault, there’s no business.
If that many people came, Korea's advantage would quickly crumble.
"In the end, I guess I have to step up."
Sung-hyuk, The Bee Guardian, was confident in his tactics, but if he were to join the war, the bees would suffer greatly.
However, Sung-hyuk didn't have to worry too much,
"Queens, please give the order to gather the scattered turrets."
*WEINHG~!*
*BUUZZZZ~!*
The national rule of combat, win at all means.
There's a lethal blow that can be delivered to a group of huddled Chinese players.
"Let's show them how natural biological weapons taste."
There are now as many as 23 Wax Turrets.
The time has finally come to deliver the deadly sweetness of the honey-fueled venom bomb, filled to the MAX, to the gathered Chinese forces.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. (In case readers are wondering why nectar turns to honey)Bees collect flower nectar to make honey. Here’s how they do it:
*Foraging: Older worker bees fly out from the hive in search of nectar-rich flowers. Using their straw-like proboscis, they drink the liquid nectar from the flowers and store it in a special organ called the honey stomach.
*Enzymatic Transformation: As soon as the nectar reaches the honey stomach, enzymes begin breaking down the complex sugars into simpler forms that are less prone to crystallization. This process is called inversion.
*Handing Off the Nectar: With their honey stomachs full, the forager bees return to the hive and regurgitate the modified nectar directly to younger house bees. These house bees further break down the sugars using their own enzymes.
*Water Reduction: Within the hive, house bees pass the nectar from bee to bee until its water content is reduced to about 20%. At this point, the last house bee regurgitates the fully inverted nectar into a cell of the honeycomb.
*Evaporation and Thickening: Hive bees fan their wings vigorously, aiding in the evaporation of remaining water. The constant hive temperature of 93 to 95°F also helps. As water evaporates, the sugars thicken into recognizable honey.
So, nectar is the primary raw material bees collect from flowers to create their sweet, golden treasure!
2. Ref. Chapter 0
Sung-hyuk has the Karmic Value of becoming one of the 3x Mad Explorer at the start when the World was modified and changed by a Transcendent(Not yet named), but ultimately chose to go for the Bee Guardian Profession due to his love for the Bees.
