NOVEL NEXT Ch 4
Chapter 4
A time when a beekeeper holed up in the mountains was immersed in honey gathering with his little bees.
For those outside the modern world, just getting through the day was a living hell.
Monsters that kept regenerating and popping up from anywhere, no matter how many they killed.
But man is an animal of adaptation, right?
Unlike the first time, when they were stupidly caught off guard, the survivors of the third day were no longer stupidly taken by surprise.
Jobs were handed out to everyone as if to prepare them for this situation.
And since they were already living in a collective, the people around them were trying to survive by sticking together.
“Oh, those monster bastards. They’re poisonous, I tell ya.”
“Ugh, I’m desperate to get a good bath, I swear.”
“Does that really matter to you guys right now, I’m so hungry that I’m about to bid farewell to my stomach lining.”
“This isn’t a forced diet, haha.”
The biggest problem for survivors, without a doubt, is food.
There’s a grocery store or convenience store nearby.
There are a lot of restaurants that have ingredients, so what’s the problem?
At this point.
This is because, unlike in the early days, most players have gotten used to dealing with monsters by now.
But it’s not really the monsters that are the problem.
*Vroom vroom vroom—!*
A motorcycle horn blares with ferocity.
The group of survivors, who had been staring at the convenience store, duck into the building as if they were about to encounter a demon.
Unfortunately, the survivors, who were rummaging through the convenience store at the time, don’t have enough time to escape and are captured by a group of players on motorcycles.
“Oh my God, these guys are crazy. Don’t they realize this is our territory yet? I can’t believe they’re staying after setting such a good example.”
“I’m sorry, s-sorry!”
“Please, I beg you, spare my life.”
“Haha, what a bunch of immoral assholes. If you touch other people’s stuff, you should be punished accordingly.”
The survivors, a man and a woman who appear to be in their mid-twenties beat their heads against the ground and beg for their lives.
The ones who cackle and spit as if the spectacle is just plain funny, despite the seriousness of the situation.
In the days when the law functioned properly and there were police officers in charge of policing, there was no way this could have happened in broad daylight in Korea.
But unfortunately, the world has changed due to the modification of the system.
A strictly predatory system.
A jungle where the strong dominate and the weak must fend for themselves or face death if caught.
“Hey, Bro. What do you want me to do, hang them both?”
“Take care of the man. The woman is a bit more my style, so try to talk some sense into her.”
“Hehehe, Leave it to me, Bro.”
Needless to say, the results of these simple “fixes” that are thrown out with a wry smile are disastrous.
“How many minutes do you think he’ll last?”
“I bet 10 coins in 3 minutes.”
“Oh, but he looks strong, maybe he’ll last five minutes. 20 coins here!”
“It’ll be fun if he lasts longer, dude.”
“Please, please——aahhhhhh!”
“Kyaaaa, Oh…, Please! Oh, brother! No-!”
*Vrooom–* *Thud!* *Thud!* *Vrooom–* *Thud!* *Thud!*
Male survivor tied to a motorcycle and being dragged along.
Even as the body and face are being frantically torn apart on the asphalt, blood is being splashed, and lives are being cut short, the group can’t stop laughing about the whole thing.
“Fuck, the dude doesn’t last five minutes and he’s done.”
“Hey, I got the closest timeframe, so give me all your coins, assholes.”
“Ha, Fuck.. Jeongsu, you bastard. I’m pissed, totally furious.”
The cruel laughter of a group of men who feel no guilt over killing people, but rather see it as a form of entertainment.
Soon their laughter and gazes turn to the female survivor, trembling like an aspen tree.
“Hey, girl, make a choice. Do you want to follow in his footsteps and die, or do you want to make a better life for yourself?”
“Hey, but you’re pretty and you have a pretty good body, so we’re giving you a choice, and if you do what you think is best for you and us, at least you won’t have to worry about starving to death, lol.”
“I don’t know what’s going on with you and that guy, but my brothers are better than that. I hear you’re pretty skilled at night.”
“Wow. Doesn’t that make us look like a bunch of gentlemen too?, haha”
“Hmmm, Hmph”
A world where survival of the fittest has become the law.
In a world where the strongest can take over everything, people’s true colors can’t help but show through.
Public order is broken and no one can say anything when someone kills another person.
There, people were feared more than the monsters.
* * *
Six days after the world turned into a game, a lot has changed for Sung-hyuk.
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[Yoo Sung-hyuk].
* Level: 9
* Health: 200 Mana: 300
* Attack: 15 Defense: 9 Resistance: 12
* Stat Points: 0
* Strength: 17 Agility: 26 Durability: 20 Control: 12 Spirit: 30
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The biggest change is, as expected in a world with a “game” system, is the level of progression for Sung-hyuk.
Despite living in the mountains all this time and never having a single combat experience, he reached a whopping level of 9.
All of this is thanks to Sung-hyuk’s steady collection of honey from Rubigem’s bees and the processing of the byproducts, which he has learned to do without wasting any experience points.
And of course, it wasn’t just Sung-hyuk’s leveling up that changed over the course of six days.
_______________________________
[Rubigem Queen Bee (★)]
* The nest currently exists.
* Brood:[efn_note]1. In beekeeping, bee brood or brood refers to the eggs, larvae and pupae of honeybees. [/efn_note] 39,562 (Eggs 3,235 / Larvae 721 / Pupae 2,688 / Worker bees 32,918)
* Growth rate: 57%
* Spawn rate: 3 per minute
* Hatching time: 8 hours
* Allegory Course: 18 hours
* Possesses Skills: Spawn (Lv.2), Queen’s Pheromone (Lv.2), Poison Sting (Lv.2), Flight (Lv.2)
* Health : 110(+20) Mana : 50(+20)
* Attack : 9(+2) Defense : 4(+1) Resistance : 3(+1)
······.
_______________________________
The beginning was humble, but the end will be great.
A swarm of Rubigem bees that started with just one queen.
Today, the queen has added nearly 40,000 worker bees to her colony.
Well, some of them are unhatched eggs and undeveloped larvae, but in time, they’ll all serve as faithful little workers.
And indeed, thanks to the work of those little guys, Sung-hyuk’s current inventory status was unbelievable.
_______________________________
[Rubigem Honey (★)] X 182
[Rubigem Beeswax (★)] x 14
[Rubigem Royal Jelly (★+)] x 37
[Rubigem Propolis (★★-)] x 4
[Guardian’s Rubigem Beeswax Candle (★+)] x 20
[Guardian’s Rubigem Honey Tea (★+)] x 472
[Guardian’s Rubigem Honey Vinegar (★+)] x 258
[Guardian’s Rubigem Honey Soap (★+)] x 222
[Guardian’s Rubigem Honey Wine (★+)] x 162
[Guardian’s Rubigem Honey Wine (★+)] – Aged x 18
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“Hmmm, I guess it’s better than nothing, but it’s a bit overwhelming for one person, isn’t it?”
Sort of.
It’s kind of a life’s work in gaming.
A pile of stuff in one’s inventory.
As the bees continue to grow, productivity increases, but Sung-hyuk is the only one who uses them.
“Uhh. I don’t know if this is going to rot.”
There is no expiration date listed for now, possibly for the convenience of the system, but one never knows.
Just as the acquisition conditions of skills are hidden, there is also a possibility that items may deteriorate after a certain period of time.
He can’t confirm this right now, but if he thought about it, it wouldn’t be a good idea to keep accumulating them like this.
The question of whether or not to go outside and barter or sell the items was beginning to arise in Sung-hyuk’s mind.
[You’ve met the progress requirements for #1 Chapter Update -> 140 hours have passed].
[There will be additional updates to chapter #1. 3, 6, 11%——.]
The status panel of the update displayed, just as it was during the original incident.
But unlike before, the capacity of the update is not as large.
The number goes up quite quickly, reaching 100% in the blink of an eye.
_______________________________
[Notification]
※ Chapter #1 has been updated. The channel will be renamed to ‘Korea Server’. Greetings, players. I’m Riggle, the Transcendent’s pet, and I’ll be helping you with updates and other things on the Korean server. For now, I’d like to applaud the efforts of those who have survived so far, hmmmmmm, enough of the boring introductions, let’s talk about what’s changing with this update.
[Update Details].
* Field bosses and dungeons spawn throughout the field. You’ll be rewarded with some pretty impressive tiered drops for hunting and defeating them. Oh, and don’t worry, the field bosses won’t leave the zone for 10 days, so don’t worry too much about that. What happens after that time, well, you’re on your own to survive.
* Vegetation begins to grow in all sorts of different dimensions. Starting at ★- and going all the way up to ★★★★★+! Who knows, maybe a rock you picked up on the side of the road or some grassroots will give you a crazy boost? Try your luck.
* A community board and exchange will be created for Korean server players to use. However, a small fee will be charged for use. It’s not like we’re digging in the dirt and nothing is free in this world. (Available through the status window.)
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“What’s up with all the notifications?”
Unlike the previous calm notification sound, it’s a really bubbly reaction.
However, regardless of the situation, the contents of the updated history were quite important.
Field bosses and dungeons, are two things that seem like they would be great to have in a game.
But don’t just assume it’s a good thing.
“Maybe it’s over when I die, right?”
This is a place where the game’s systems are in place, but it is strictly “real life”.
A powerful monster or location can be considered a high-risk, high-reward situation where one death could mean the end.
Things where you’re guaranteed to get a good item, but you’re also guaranteed to lose your life if you mess up.
“Whoa, this is it.. It doesn’t feel real yet.”
Six days have passed and he has reached level 9, but ironically, Sung-hyuk hasn’t had any combat experience.
The gravity of the situation never really hit home.
Did they realize that Sung-hyuk was thinking about something serious?
*Buzzzz!* *Weing!* *Bzzzzttt!*
A swarm of bees swarms around Sung-hyuk as if to reassure him not to worry.
“Haha. Yeah, I’ll trust you guys with anything dangerous.”
Even though the bees are about the size of a pinky finger, they’re not a few hundred bees, but rather around 40,000 bees.
By nature, there’s no business in the dungeons.
Sung-hyuk is aware of the risks, but he feels somehow comforted by the sight of the stinger on his trusty little bees.
“Most of all, it’s nice to have somewhere to put the items.”
The idea of different dimensions of vegetation growing on different parts of the planet was something to think about, but Sung-hyuk had other things on his mind,
It was a huge pile of inventory that had been building up.
The idea of an exchange that could handle it made Sung-hyuk’s smile widen.