I Met a Honeybee
Overlord Operations Team 1.
Kang Min-su sat at his desk, sipping coffee through a straw as he looked at his inbox.
[Unread Mail: 32]
It was the company’s internal email system, and the tasks he needed to handle were organized and sent to him by email.
In other words, those thirty-two emails represented the number of things he had to do.
“Haa…… Why doesn’t the workload ever go down no matter how much I do?”
Kang Min-su let out a long sigh.
Normally, once you finished work, the amount left should decrease.
But no matter how much he did, this workload showed no sign of shrinking.
Click, click.
Kang Min-su pressed refresh.
[Unread Mail: 34]
Click.
[Unread Mail: 36]
Click…….
[Unread Mail: 40…….]
“Is this insane?”
Was this Schrödinger’s inbox?
The number of unread emails increasing every time he observed it was obviously not normal.
He did not want to click anymore.
A wave of anxiety hit him that if he refreshed a few more times, the number might jump to one hundred.
“Team Leader!”
At that moment, Kim Min-cheol called for Kang Min-su.
Hearing the urgency in his voice, Kang Min-su felt uneasy as he walked over to his desk.
“What is it? Why are you calling me so urgently?”
“I think you need to see this.”
“Can I not see it?”
“If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to report it to the CEO…… Are you okay with that?”
“……Isn’t bringing the CEO into this a bit much?”
If anyone else said that, it would have been a joke, but Kim Min-cheol was absolutely capable of doing it.
With no other choice, Kang Min-su looked at the monitor.
[Hidden Piece discovered!]
[You have accomplished an astonishing achievement.]
[Dwarf Elder Hotirn’s Favorability has greatly increased.]
[Dwarf Hote’s Favorability has greatly increased.]
[The Dwarf Clan feels great goodwill toward you and will regard you as their benefactor.]
[If you ask for help, the Dwarf Clan will actively assist you.]
[You have obtained a Sacred Sword Fragment.]
[You have obtained a Special Seed.]
“This is fucking insane…….”
After reading the messages displayed on the monitor, Kang Min-su cursed without realizing it.
“A Sacred Sword Fragment and a Special Seed? What the hell is this?”
A Sacred Sword Fragment was one of the essential materials needed to forge a Sacred Sword.
The other materials were difficult to obtain too, but compared to how hard it was to acquire a Sacred Sword Fragment, they were relatively easy.
“It looks like he found another Hidden Piece.”
“Again?”
“Yes. A Hidden Piece was triggered on the Dwarf Elder’s side…….”
“…….”
Kang Min-su felt dizzy.
Another Hidden Piece.
At this rate, Kang Min-su was going to develop a neurosis over Hidden Pieces.
BEEP!
[Sacred Sword-related quests.]
[77 Sacred Sword Fragment-related quests deleted.]
[45 Sacred Sword Fragment-related items deleted.]
The quests and items related to the Sacred Sword Fragment were deleted.
It was enough to drive him mad.
“What do we do? If that user keeps going like this and actually makes a Sacred Sword…….”
“……That part is still fine. He needs other materials to make a Sacred Sword, and the related Special Class hasn’t appeared yet.”
“That’s true.”
“That part isn’t the problem…… The Special Seed is.”
“I’ll…… pull up the list.”
“Do it.”
Kim Min-cheol worked the keyboard and brought up the list of plants that could appear if the Special Seed germinated.
Kang Min-su’s expression stiffened as soon as he saw it.
[Piercing Iron Ore], [Lightning Mithril], [Frost Fruit], [Flower of Elquines], [Herb of Immortality], [Sylphid’s Radish Leg], [Restoration Raspberry], and more…….
“…….”
“……That’s horrifying.”
The instant they saw the list, they felt suffocated.
Not a single thing on it was normal.
Most of the items were Grade A or higher, and their options were absurd.
“Team Leader…… What do we do……?”
“……Can’t you see from my face that I don’t have a plan either? Don’t ask me.”
“But you’re the Team Leader!”
“……Don’t you want to become Team Leader?”
“Absolutely not. I like being a team member.”
“You should get promoted.”
“Nah, I’m fine. Sometimes it’s nice to be content with where you are.”
“A person should have ambition. As a man, shouldn’t you aim higher?”
“I don’t have that kind of ambition.”
Kang Min-su let out a deep sigh at Kim Min-cheol’s resistance.
There was nothing they could do right now.
If Yeong-ung had used an exploit or some kind of illegal program, they could have sanctioned him.
But he was a completely legitimate user.
There was nothing the operators could intervene in.
“Can’t be helped…… Put that user on the S-Rank Management List for now.”
The S-Rank Management List was reserved for users who had a major impact on Overlord’s scenario.
There were currently only three users on it.
Overlord Rank 1, Dragon Knight ‘Escal.’
Overlord Rank 50, Necromancer ‘WonhyoDaesaGoinmul.’
Overlord Production Rank 1, ‘Peogeosun.’
Those three were the only users predicted to have a major influence on Overlord’s scenario.
And now Yeong-ung had proudly joined the S-Rank Management List as well.
***
‘No results.’
Several days had passed since Yeong-ung received the quest.
During that time, he had combed through the internet with a fine-toothed comb for information about the Special Seed.
For now, searching online was the only thing he could do.
‘Tch. If I weren’t stuck in the Spirit Realm…… I could travel around more widely…….’
Yeong-ung was currently stranded in the Spirit Realm.
Because of that, the internet was his only source of information.
‘Hote said it’s dangerous outside, right?’
There was no telling how many monsters like the Giant Troll were out there.
If there was only one, he could burn it with the lighter.
But what if there were more?
According to Hote, there were no monsters near the temple, but they appeared once you traveled a little farther out.
‘I don’t particularly want to die for no reason.’
Users revived even if they died.
But dying came with a one-week login restriction.
On top of that, there was an experience penalty, level loss, skill-level loss, and even a random drop from the items you carried.
There was too much to lose by dying, so he had to be careful.
‘If I can’t log in for a week, who’s going to take care of my crops?’
“I’ll have to look into this later. There’s no answer online.”
“Master, squee!”
“Hm? Pepper, what is it?”
“Come outside, squee!”
Pepper’s urgent voice came from outside.
Yeong-ung closed the internet window and left the temple, heading toward the garden plots.
“What happened?”
“Look at this, squee!”
“This is…….”
It was the place where he had planted the Refri Herbs.
Time had passed, and the herbs had grown, but this time they had grown in a slightly unusual way.
“They’re flowers?”
“Flowers bloomed, squee!”
Yeong-ung had never imagined the herbs would flower.
A fragrant scent came from the blossoms.
“They smell kind of sweet too, squee!”
“A sweet smell? Could there be honey?”
“What’s honey, squee?”
Pepper did not seem to know what honey was.
Then it happened.
BUZZZZ!
A sound came from somewhere.
“Squee!? Master!!”
“This is…….”
Something was flying above the garden plot.
A moment later, the creature beat its wings rapidly and landed on one of the flowers.
“It’s a bee?”
The creature was indeed a bee.
It had a yellow body with black stripes and strangely fluffy fur.
‘A bumblebee?’
It looked similar to one.
“Squee!”
“It’s okay. Bumblebees aren’t aggressive.”
Unlike dangerous bees such as hornets, bumblebees were generally docile, much like honeybees.
Of course, they could still sting if threatened.
‘Let’s see…….’
Yeong-ung looked above the bee.
[Spirit Honeybee LV. 10]
It was a level 10 Spirit Honeybee.
SLURP, SLURP, SLURP!
The Spirit Honeybee buried its face in the Refri Herb flower and greedily sucked up the nectar.
Its wiggling backside was lethally cute.
BUZZZZ!
Apparently satisfied after drinking enough nectar, the Spirit Honeybee beat its wings happily and flew toward Yeong-ung.
Then it rubbed its body against him.
BUZZ!
DING!
[The Spirit Honeybee’s Favorability has greatly increased.]
[The Spirit Honeybee is extremely satisfied after enjoying delicious nectar for the first time in a long while.]
[The Spirit Honeybee wishes to remain here.]
[Will you allow it?]
A message window appeared and asked him a question.
Caught off guard by the unexpected prompt, Yeong-ung was slightly bewildered.
‘It wants to stay? If I allow it, does that mean the Spirit Honeybee will live here from now on?’
Yeong-ung looked at the Spirit Honeybee.
As if asking for permission, it flew around him and acted adorably.
Yeong-ung nodded.
“Sure.”
[You have allowed it.]
[The skill, Beekeeping LV. 1, has been created.]
[Beekeeping LV. 1]
Grade: E
Classification: Passive.
Experience: 0.00%
Description: Become the master of honeybees.
Allows you to issue detailed commands to tamed honeybees.
Increases the amount of honey collected by honeybees.
Effects: Honeybee Movement Speed + 10%
Honeybee Attack Power + 5%
Honeybee Reproduction Rate + 10%
Honey Collection Amount + 10%
[You have obtained the title, ‘Novice Apiary.’]
[Novice Apiary]
Grade: E (Multiple)
Acquisition Condition: Tame a honeybee.
Effects: Honeybee Enhancement + 20%
Honey Collection Amount + 10%
Description: Today too, the honeybees clock in and suck nectar.
He had obtained a new skill and title.
BUZZZZ~
The Spirit Honeybee flew happily through the air after Yeong-ung gave permission, then landed on the flower again.
Slurp, slurp.
[You have used the Beekeeping skill.]
[Beekeeping skill experience has increased slightly.]
[You have gained Class Experience.]
“So this is how it works?”
Apparently, beekeeping counted as part of farming, because he gained Class Experience from it too.
BUZZ~!
“Hm? What is it?”
The Spirit Honeybee flew over and spat something onto the back of Yeong-ung’s hand.
“This…… Is this honey?”
Yeong-ung tasted a little of it.
It was incredibly sweet, almost like syrup.
“Sweet!”
“Squee?”
“Want to try some?”
When Yeong-ung held out the back of his hand, Pepper carefully licked it.
“Squee!? It’s delicious, squee!”
“Right?”
“Squee!”
He had already been wondering how he might obtain honey, and now it seemed possible with the Spirit Honeybee.
“Then I’ll be counting on you.”
BUZZZZ!!
On the fortieth day since Yeong-ung started Overlord and became stranded in the Spirit Realm, a cute new member joined Yeong-ung’s Farm.
***
Several more days passed.
The Spirit Honeybee built a home in front of the temple.
At first, it had been small, but now it had grown a little larger.
Seeing it suddenly reminded Yeong-ung of the past.
‘Didn’t a beehive appear beside our place when we had that weekend farm?’
It had happened when his parents had been too busy to visit the farm for several days.
A large beehive had appeared beside the farm shed.
‘Dad! There’s a beehive!’
‘What beehive…….’
‘Honey, what do we do about that? It looks dangerous if we leave it there…….’
‘……For now, let’s call 119…….’
At that moment, an elderly farmer passing by looked at the hive and spoke.
‘May I take that?’
‘What?’
‘Those bees.’
‘You want to take them?’
‘Yes. Is that all right?’
‘We don’t mind, but…….’
‘Hohoho, this worked out perfectly.’
The old man laughed, put on gloves, brought over a container, and literally scooped the honeybees into it.
Then he even used a smoker to drive out the remaining bees.
‘Wahaha! There are a lot of healthy ones here! What a lucky find!’
‘Who exactly are you, sir……?’
‘Me? I run the apiary over there.’
‘…….’
‘Thanks to you, I got some honeybees. Much appreciated.’
‘No…… We should be thanking you.’
‘I’ll give you a jar of honey later.’
The old apiary owner waved goodbye, grinning at the honeybees he had acquired, and coolly walked away.
Yeong-ung still could not forget that sight.
How had the man even thought to scoop up honeybees with his bare hands?
‘He was incredible…….’
“Master!!! Squee!!!”
“Hm? All right.”
Pepper’s call pulled Yeong-ung out of his thoughts.
There was a lot to do today.
First, Yeong-ung went to the place where he had planted the potatoes and carefully dug into the soil with his hand hoe.
A potato about the size of his fist appeared.
Seeing it, Yeong-ung grinned.
“Looks like they’re ready to harvest.”
It was time to harvest the potatoes.