LIGHTNOVELWORLD Ch 49
Chapter 49
“Ms. Soo-hee, did the Goddess of Abundance say something about this?”
“No, this is also the first time I’ve learned about it.”
Why did he think of it at this time?
The Transcendents must have seen a lot of things while hanging out in myriad dimensions.
It stands to reason that their knowledge of other hidden pieces would be considerable.
Sung-hyuk wanted to ask Soo-hee, the only incarnation on the farm, more questions just in case.
[Transcendent Being, Seeker of Madness Bo cautions that they can only give a few vague hints, and that beyond that you will have to realize it for yourself].
[The Transcendent Being, the Great Golden Goblin Lord Macherti rubs his hands together, telling you that if you want something, you’ll have to pay a decent price for it].
Or perhaps he should say?
Nothing in this world is given away for free.
Furthermore, even the Transcendents can only offer hints and clues to a limited extent.
Beyond that, help is not possible through interference.
‘Of course, this should be expected.’
Aside from item sponsorship, the influence of the Transcendents seems to have a certain amount of limitations when it comes to sending messages.
Without any restrictions on spreading the acquisition conditions for Hidden Pieces freely, there is a high probability that there will be serious complications.
“Sung-hyuk, Did you check the description yet? This looks like it’s going to be a bit crazy.”
“I’ll check it out now.”
For now, he pushed aside his worries about the future.
Sung-hyuk checked out the effects of the power that was now accessible to him.
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[Land Flowing with Milk and Honey].
* Category: Special Situational
* Area of Influence: A 800 meter radius based on the presence of ★★★+ ranked cows and bees.
* Effect: Slightly increased yield from all foraging actions in the area of effect, +5 honey storage for all bees, greatly increased chance of natural vegetation appearing, grants a special quest once per day based on the situation, level, and karma.
* Description: Gain advantage on all foraging activities in the area covered by the Land of Milk and Honey, significantly increase the chance of natural vegetation appearing due to the fertile land, and grant a special quest once per day.
※ Note that you can only receive one Special Quest per player.
※Note that the special situational effects of the Land of Milk and Honey do not stack.
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The special effects are optimized for Sung-hyuk’s bee farm, which by all accounts is “primarily” foraging and beekeeping.
Not to mention, the increase in honey storage, which is only 5 units, is a huge benefit for Sung-hyuk.
The current total number of his bees is now close to 1.3 million.
Although it’s only worth a mere 5, if it’s multiplied by 1.3 million, it becomes equivalent to the value of hundreds or thousands of bees.
And that’s for cows and bees that are rated 3+, which is the threshold for coverage.
For cows, it’s still only Prefion’s cows, but for bees, it’s a different matter.
‘It applies to all Queen bees, including TunTun, Lily, as well as the Mycelium bees.’
Almost fitting for a 5-star unique class, Bee Guardian.
As a result of his sincere efforts, Sung-hyuk has quite a few 3-star+ bees around him.
Not to mention the queens who are constantly laying eggs in the hive,
Starting with the Galehound bees, whose population has now grown to four, and Dark Releaser, who has reached around nine.
And then there’s the newly added elite bee, The Peridot Spore Mycelium Bee.
Each of them can be an intermediary of sorts, enabling the ‘Land Flowing with Milk and Honey’ to be enforced!
[A quest is given based on your Level and Karma].
[You have been issued a special quest, Making 500 honey-related processed items].
In addition, some of the special situational features had the capacity to directly issue quests to players, not just influence things based on proximity.
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[Special Quest: Make 500 Honey-related Processed Items].
– Make 500 honey-related processed items of any kind. -.
* Quest Duration: 12 hours
* Rewards: EXP, 5,000 Coins
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Experience and 5,000 coins.
For someone like Sung-hyuk, who has amassed over a million coins, this may seem like a small reward, but the real value of this quest is that it doesn’t have to be taken in such a manner.
‘I just need to do what I’m already doing, so this is like a bonus, right?’
The processing of honey into various products is something Sung-hyuk has always been doing.
But by simply performing the action, he’s able to earn this passive income.
Once per day.
Even if it’s only 5,000 coins, if it’s constantly multiplied, and if the difficulty and rewards of quests increase as one’s level increases, it’s a huge amount.
By no means a negligible sum.
“Hehe, this is great. I’m going to go chop wood now, since the quest requires it.”
“I better get back to feeding the livestock and harvesting the crops.”
And best of all, this special situation quest is granted to each player per day.
This means that not only Sung-hyuk, but also Seokchul and Soo-hee, as well as Cheonsu and Yeon-ah, who are currently occupied with their work in the field outside.
“In any case, please tell the Goddess of Abundance that I’m extremely grateful.”
“Yes, I understand.”
A hidden piece with far greater impact than it appears.
Sung-hyuk wanted to finish it right away, so he immediately traveled to the dimensional tunnel he had installed in the workshop.
* * *
As always.
Sung-hyuk’s beekeeping farm is a labor of the heart, with every day and hour that passes.
*BuZzZz!* *WeIinNng~*
*Weing~~*
Bees flying around the farm constantly, as if the notion of laziness or idleness is completely erased from their minds.
The effects caused by them are beyond imagination in this chaotic world
“Thanks to you guys, I slept very well and am refreshed, ho ho ho.”
“I never knew a life devoid of constant attacks could be so blissful.”
It’s a dangerous world, where monsters can attack at any moment.
Needless to say, in every shelter, it is necessary to be constantly on guard, but not at Sung-hyuk’s beekeeping farm.
Bees scattered in every direction.
Each one of them was fully capable of fulfilling the function of keeping the place secure, which meant they didn’t have to worry about anything at all.
“You little ones are all working, and I can’t afford to be fooling around.”
“Ah, those plump bottoms. It’s therapeutic. I’ll work hard, guys!”
In addition to that, the bees’ adorable red and green bodies had the effect of encouraging the viewer to forget about playing.
Not to be outdone by the bees’ diligence, Sung-hyuk and the other residents completed more than their daily assigned quota,
“Come and take a bite.”
After doing all that work for the day, how could they not be happy to be greeted with a hearty meal?
The residents patted their full stomachs and began to scurry off to their respective work stations to maximize the food’s effects.
Among them, Soo-hee pauses from cleaning up and approaches Sung-hyuk.
“Sung-hyuk. Take this.”
“What’s this?”
She hands over a single item as if it’s nothing.
Sung-hyuk can’t help but be surprised when he sees that it’s filled with a glistening white liquid.
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[Prefion’s First Milk of Abundance (★★★★-)]
* Category: Consumable, Material
* Upon consumption, grants the exclusive ability ‘Abundance Mindset’ for a one-time use. Consumed to Date 0/1
※Abundance Mindset (Permanent): Increases the results of all Foraging actions by 3%.
* Description: The first milk of the ★★★★-ranked cow of Prefion, a livestock that corresponds to the status of a Divine beast, containing the full power of abundance. As it is the first milk obtained, it has the most concentrated power and is recommended to be consumed without further processing. When consumed, it grants a one-time, permanent power boost to the player.
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Just by reading the description, the effect is far from mundane.
And even the 3% bonus effect is not something to take lightly.
Sung-hyuk’s class, Bee Guardian.
For Sung-hyuk, who is a honey collector whether he likes it or not, this effect is probably more than imaginable, both financially and in terms of experience gained from collecting honey.
[The Transcendent Being, Prefion, the Goddess of Abundance, gives a brief nod to indicate that although she does not approve of the incarnation’s behavior, she finds it acceptable].
In fact, even Prefion, who always smiles in approval, as if to indicate it, expresses her disapproval of this behavior in a message.
“Ms. Soo-hee. I appreciate the gesture, but I can’t accept this.”
People are selfish.
Part of him wants to take it and drink it in one go, but Sung-hyuk’s conscience refuses to let him do so.
To be honest, foraging is not a behavior that is only limited to Sung-hyuk.
Rather, it’s a natural extension of farming, including harvesting future crops and the produce of livestock.
It would also bring benefits to Yeon Soo-hee.
But did she anticipate Sung-hyuk’s response?
“I’m sorry, Sung-hyuk. Excuse me for a moment.”
An apology that comes out of nowhere.
The next thing she did was something even Sung-hyuk didn’t expect.
The woman who always wore a gentle smile and seemed far from combative.
However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that she was the one who had accumulated the ‘karma’ to obtain the four-star unique profession, Abundance Producer.
“W-What…….”
Does she have high stats?
Or did she use some kind of special power?
Soo-hee charged at him, quite aggressively for someone her age.
Sung-hyuk could have countered it based on his abilities, but he didn’t.
*BzZZz!!* *BZZZZ!!!*
The reflexive aggressive behavior of the bees, interpreted as an attack on Sung-hyuk by Soo-hee.
While Sung-hyuk uses the bee link to stop them, Soo-hee forces the first milk into Sung-hyuk’s mouth.
“I’m really sorry, but for the sake of the future, this should be consumed by Sung-hyuk rather than an old woman like me.”
As if to demonstrate the inconsistency in her actions, she apologizes with her mouth, but her behavior is quite extreme.
Soo-hee covers his mouth with her hand to prevent him from spitting it out.
Sung-hyuk instinctively swallows the milk in his mouth to avoid choking on it.
*Gulp!*
[This is your first consumption experience. You gain the exclusive ability, Abundance Mindset (Permanent). 1 / 1]
The power of an exclusive ability that is semi-forced in the end.
Calming the angry bees, he looked up to see Soo-hee holding out her hand.
“I’m sorry for acting so forcefully, but I felt like I had to do this or you wouldn’t take it.”
“What are you thinking? if I had been any slower to act, your life would have been in danger!”
But when Sung-hyuk heard that, his anger suddenly rose.
For giving up a valuable item to him?
Not really.
If Sung-hyuk had been late in his actions, Soo-hee might have been killed by the bees’ stings.
But whether she realizes it or not, Soo-hee smiles with the kindness befitting her age.
“I have a way of dealing with that. After all, I am now the incarnation of Prefion, the goddess of abundance.”
He knew she wasn’t so simple as to do things without thinking.
When he first met the group, Sung-hyuk had instinctively realized that Soo-hee was the de facto leader of the group.
But no matter what, he couldn’t believe she would act like this….
However, that doesn’t make him less angry.
This power she’s given him will, over time, widen the gap between them like a snowball.
“…..”
In this situation, he’s not sure whether to laugh or cry with joy at this.
Soo-hee’s hand brushes Sung-hyuk’s hair.
“Don’t think about it too much, I just want Sung-hyuk, who is like a son to me, to live a little longer.”
For a woman who farms, her hands are quite rough and calloused.
Now that he thinks about it, he realized something.
Yeon Soo-hee and Lim Seokchul, who belong to a fairly old couple.
Since they are quite good, unless there is a specific reason, they will have children with a high probability.
Although Sung-hyuk, who has been a poor orphan for a long time, doesn’t know it, it’s clear that parents would be worried about this situation, but they have never asked Sung-hyuk to help them when it comes to their ‘children’.
It’s as if they’re resigned to the fact that they know what the outcome will be for their child.
“I’ll use this power gratefully, but from now on, please make it easy on me.”
“…Okay, I understand. Sung-hyuk.”
But somehow, Sung-hyuk couldn’t bring himself to ask about it.
Was it because he knew it was rude to ask about someone else’s personal life?
Of course he didn’t.
But the way Soo-hee’s gaze is looking at him is something else entirely.
It was as if she was looking at someone other than Sung-hyuk,
and it looked incredibly sad.