Post-apocalyptic world with Bees

Chapter 27

Players are survivors in this unforgiving world, but they all have one thing in common they build shelters.

Regardless of the superhuman strength they have attained thanks to their stats, humans still need to eat or they will die.

That’s why they often set up shelters in places that are easy to defend against monsters, such as supermarkets with plenty of food, and gather survivors to continue their activities.

However, the world is a big place and everyone has different ways of living. Not all survivors belonged to shelters.

Some survivors were ostracized by the shelters because they had lousy jobs or were physically disadvantaged, while others chose to go outside to find food.

“Shit. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize it wouldn’t register with the detection system I set up…..”

“If you have time to complain, run!”

“Oh come on, Cheonsu, this isn’t an ordinary bastard, it’s a field boss, there must be some kind of ability to hide one’s presence, so stop whining!”

In that regard, the four players currently running through the mountains, fleeing from the giant mushroom that was chasing them, belonged to the latter group.

Their job-based growth didn’t fit in with the safe haven of a Shelter, and they wanted to take a more active role in their future survival.

Whether it was a stroke of luck or not, it was the profession they got early on that enabled them to do this.

All four of them held three-star or higher jobs that were treated as high-ranking from the start.

In particular, Lim Seokchul, who serves as the leader of the group, and his wife, Yeon Soo-hee, are both skilled players in their own professions.

“You… You guys should leave me and run away. At this rate, you’ll all die for nothing because of me!”

“Seokchul, please hang in there a little longer!”

“If Uncle Seokchul dies here, who will lead us? There’s a light coming from that direction, so just try to stay strong until we get there, please!”

However, was it only that moment when he got his job that he was lucky?

The spore attack that the field boss scattered during the first encounter.

Seokcheol had taken the attack that was supposed to hit his wife, Soo-hee, but it must have been aggravated while he was running away.

*Thump!* *Thump!

As if their situation wasn’t bad enough, it seems that Stinger has been gradually narrowing down the range.

It looks like it has already killed several people before, with melted white bones all over its body like ornaments.

“Kishishishish!”

The four players face contort in horror as they realize that despite being a mushroom, it seems to have an evil grin on its face.

“Everyone, I’ll buy you a bit of time, so run!”

Seokchul roars in a tone that suggests he is prepared to die.

However, is the threat coming in a more unexpected and overwhelming fashion?

Despite Seok-chul’s last ditch effort, the three remaining members of the group are unable to leave.

It seems that even they will…..

*WeEeiIinNngGg~~!!!* *Buuuuuuzzzzz!!!*

The terrifying sound of flapping wings comes from the direction they were trying to flee.

The players who were forced to react to the sound as if it were a natural instinct of life could not help but stiffen their bodies.

[Peridot Galehound Corps Commander Bee (★★★)] – Elite Bee

[Rubigem Dark Releaser Corps Commander Bee (★★★)] – Elite Bee

A pair of bees whose size is as enormous as the sounds of their chilling wing beats.

Their mere presence is enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine, but that’s not all.

“Oh, my God……”

[Rubigem Worker Bee (★★)]

[Peridot Worker Bee (★★)]

[Rubigem Honeycomb Bee(★★+)]

[Peridot Ramdoc Suicide Bee(★★+)]

…..

As if the first two were not enough of a joke, countless swarms of different types of bees followed.

It’s impossible to count them all.

A swarm.

Faced with such an overwhelming number, Soohee and the others froze in place, hopelessly devoid of energy.

With an army of bees in front of them and another one behind them, what could they possibly do?

All they could hope for was to die painlessly.

But against their expectations, things began to take an unexpected turn.

*Weing~* *Bzzzz!!*

As if to protect them.

A large honeybee takes the brunt of Stinger’s stem attack.

*WEEEEEIIINNNNGGG~~~*

This is followed by a harsh flapping of the wings as if giving orders, and the bees begin to behave strangely.

*Weing~* *Bzzz!* *Buzzz!* BUZZzzz!!*

A projectile falls out of the sky, seemingly out of nowhere.

Like a bomb, it lands precisely on Stinger’s body and begins to unfurl red and green fields, respectively.

“W-What the hell!”

A bee using what appears to be an item?

The absurdity sinks in for a moment.

“Yeon-ah, no time to freak out, get out of the way, that’s poison!”

“But the bees are——.”

“‘If you stay in here like this, chances are you’re going to die! Stop worrying and start thinking about how you’re going to live!”

Roused by the thunderous shouts of Kang Cheonsu, a 3-star Hunter, the group scrambles to pick up the downed Cheoksul and quickly make their way out of the area.

But was their choice the right one?

*Weing~* *Buzz!* *WeiIing~* *BuZzzZzz!!*

The bees fly by, as if they were completely invisible.

They charge at the Stinger, who is wielding his stalk attachment, with intense hostility.

*Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!*

In the process, quite a few bees drop to the ground as cold corpses, but that doesn’t finish the surprise.

*Skkkrr!!*

The corpses of those bees that died.

[Peridot Worker Bee Zombie (★★-)]

[Rubigem Worker Bee Zombie (★★-)]

…..

As if there was a necromancer among the various bees’ ranks, the dead bee zombies stood up one by one and threw themselves to Stinger without sparing their bodies.

“Kee, kee-kit!”

A momentary lapse in concentration.

Seizing the moment, the bees perform aerobatic maneuvers and drive their stingers into his body.

“Kickit! Keekit!”

Surrounded by a swarm of bees, the Stinger struggles, unable to do anything.

Soon enough, his health drops to zero, and he slumps to the ground, lifeless.

“Th-This is ridiculous…..”

“Killing a field boss so easily?”

The bees utilize unusual items, the zombie appearances, and other things.

The field boss monster was neutralized through various unusual methods.

Of course, in the process, quite a few bees were also killed, but the number of bees in the swarm remained numerous.

“Uhh, what happens to us now?”

“Well. I’ve heard that bees don’t eat meat, but now I don’t know.”

Even with the death of Stinger, the threat that had been chasing them, Cheonsu couldn’t relax.

An army of bees, perhaps even more threatening than Stinger.

They didn’t know if the bees had saved them or if they’d just destroyed an intruder.

In addition to their own lives, Seokchul’s steadily declining health is a visible sign of the current state of the party, having been attacked by Stinger’s spores.

Stinger’s spore poison is a whopping 3-Star-grade poison.

With no antidote for it, there’s a 100% chance that Seokchul will die at this rate.

Despite spending all of the money they had on the way here to purchase and administer health potions, the venom has a significant stack and duration, and shows no signs of waning.

*Weing~~~* *Buuuzzzzzzz!!!*

In the worst possible environment.

A lone bee pops out from the middle of the swarm.

The fluttering of its wings is a flash of light in the midst of countless thoughts about whether it’s the gate to hell or death.

*Buzzzz!!* *Bzzzz!!*

But unexpectedly, the sound of the bee’s wings, fluttering so close to them, was devoid of pain.

Opening her eyes slightly, Yeon-ah’s eyes widened as she realized that there was an item hanging by its hind legs in front of her.

[Guardian’s Rubigem Honey Tea (★+)]

[Guardian’s Rubigem Honey Tea (★+)]

…..

This is an item that even Yeon-ah is familiar with.

After all, it’s Honeybee.

This is an item produced directly by the top-named player on the Korean server on the exchange, equivalent to being a spy if you don’t recognize it, isn’t it?

“No way….”

Only after the urgency of the battle was over did Yeon-ah recall.

Rubigem and Peridot.

Weren’t the words in front of these bees the keywords for those renowned processed honey products?

“Huh, Honeybee. You mean it’s okay for us to have these?”

The honeybee pointed to the injured Seokchul with a wiggle of its fluffy body as if to suggest that the words were correct.

After giving the dying man some honey tea to revive him, the bee gestures for the players to follow and begins to lead them off.

***

A steady stream of updated visuals from the scouting bees.

Sung-hyuk checked the peridot honey soap at the sight of the players being helped by Lily along with the guidance of the bees.

Guardian’s Peridot Honey Hygiene: Immune to the effects of ★★+ ranked poisons for 40 minutes and increases Attack by 2% (decreases durability by 1, cooldown by 60 minutes).

A hygiene effect that provides immunity to the effects of 2-star+ poisons and a detoxification effect.

However, the Stinger they were facing was a 3-star Field Boss monster.

Obviously, to detoxify its poison, they would need a detox effect of the same 3-star rank.

Otherwise, the only way to deal with it is to keep pouring Health Potion after Health Potion until the poison’s duration is over.

However, don’t forget that the power of the poison is a 3-star poison, comparable to that of a Galehound venom.

What if the duration of the poison is incredibly long?

Not to mention, what if it has additional effects?

“Regardless, it’s best to detoxify it first.”

If the honey soap alone isn’t enough to detoxify, he can add a few more things to it.

“Bee venom is essentially a poison, but it can also be a medicine, depending on how it’s applied.”

One of the first uses is bee venom from Rubigem and Peridot.

Contravenom¹

A method of using another poison to eliminate a poison.

The next method of application was through skills.

________________________________

[Bee Acupuncture (Lv.1)]

* Requires a weapon with a needle or blade to be equipped.

* Classification: Skill

* Mana Cost: 0

* Effect (Passive) : You become able to see a creature’s acupuncture points.

* Description : You will be able to identify the acupuncture points of your opponents, allowing you to deal lethal damage or grant beneficial effects. As you level up, you gain access to more and deeper acupuncture points and a variety of additional effects.

________________________________

The skill Bee Acupuncture, which he gained upon reaching level 20.

It’s a typical unused surplus skill on a beekeeping farm, since all he does is collect and process honey, but the passive that allows him to identify acupuncture points is quite nice.

Some of Sung-hyuk’s ecological research during his 24 years as a beekeeper included some research on bee stings, and he was able to identify acupuncture points to relieve nerve pain, improve blood circulation, and treat hair loss.

He had a good idea of where to puncture the body.

“It’s my first time performing it, but it will work.”

However, Sung-hyuk is not an oriental medicine practitioner, and in fact, his experience with acupuncture needles in his life is limited to a few times on his own body.

In other words, he’s a knowledgeable but unlicensed practitioner.

But if there’s a 100% chance of dying if left untreated, he might as well try, right?

“It’s not free anyway.”

No offense to the clueless, but Sung-hyuk isn’t exactly a saintly individual who lets players off the hook for realizing where he is.

After all, though he did hunt down the field boss, Stinger, shouldn’t he get his money’s worth for the bees he sacrificed and the items he invested in, such as honey tea and bee venom bombs?

“Even if I don’t know anything else, at least I’m good at one thing: reading faces”

An infinitely affectionate father to his bees, but an infinitely calculating creature to his fellow humans.

That’s the basic motto of Yoo Sung-hyuk, a bee guardian.

** ** **
TL/N:

1. It involves administering a specific substance to neutralize or counteract the effects of venom or poison.