Chapter 44 : Honey Jelly Global Dominance

Blind Swordsman, Dusik.

He gained new power through awakening.

Mole species are born with poor eyesight.

They can barely distinguish objects right in front of them.

So how could they be unmatched in their ability to dig through the earth?

It was all thanks to their sharp intuition.

Along with their keen sense of smell, hearing, and touch, they possessed a unique animal instinct.

For them, eyesight was actually unnecessary.

Because of this, their other senses became even more refined.

The species that evolved like this were the moles of today.

Their daily repetitive mining labor forged their battle-hardened, compact muscles perfectly suited to wielding a sword.

This was exactly where Dusik’s awakening came into play.

His latent Swordsmanship Talent finally blossomed!

Kyaaak—

The chief goblin, split in half with a single slash, let out a horrifying scream.

There was no chance to react.

How could one catch a mole suddenly bursting out from beneath the ground?

Their movements were so swift that they couldn’t be seen.

The panicked subordinates hurriedly launched attacks.

Arrows and stones flew through the air, thrown in an attempt to block Dusik’s movements.

But it was all futile.

Dusik’s movements were far more agile than their counterattacks.

He dug back underground, then attacked the trembling goblins once more.

Puuuk—

One by one, the goblins collapsed, plunging into a state of complete panic.

An unseen swordsman was tightening his grip on their throats.

No matter what monster it was, none could be completely fearless.

They were just duller than humans.

Every living creature feels fear.

With a blink of an eye, a comrade standing nearby drew his last breath.

His head was shattered into a grotesque mess.

The fleeing one and the one who swung his short sword while screaming all met the same fate.

Kki, kki-eek.

The last remaining goblin trembled uncontrollably, gripped by terror.

It could feel it.

That its turn was coming soon.

Sploosh—

With that final strike, all the goblins invading the mine were wiped out.

When no more vibrations from them were detected, Dusik emerged from the underground tunnel.

Then,

Dusik spoke.

“I punish monsters that attack my friends!”

That was the oath of the tough guy, Dusik.

***

“Alright, then let’s meet at the Pyeongya Entry this evening.”

Dohyun’s newly planned vaccine project wasn’t bad at all.

It preserved the company’s image while aiming to expand the business worldwide this time.

The bio industry.

If possible, it was one of the fields that promised a bright future.

Since detailed discussions were scheduled after work, the remaining time would be spent decorating Pyeongya.

This was the perfect opportunity to level up the construction design.

By now, nearly 5,000 tons of magic stones had accumulated.

With a stable fixed income secured, it was time to finally build the long-postponed structures.

First, public restrooms and a dining hall.

As the number of beastfolk residents increased, it was no longer possible to delay.

Our beast friends always worked hard, so at least the facilities should be good.

No holding back on magic stones for this.

Appropriate restrooms and dining halls were installed, then the interiors decorated.

The dining hall was equipped with automatic meal dispensers and drinking fountains, filled with the favorite foods.

The restrooms likewise stocked with tissues, wet wipes, and cleaning supplies.

In an instant, nearly 1,000 tons of magic stones were spent.

Was it a waste?

Not at all.

It should have been done much earlier—now it almost felt like a favor.

Still, the village’s basic layout was complete.

This should be enough even if more beastfolk come.

Then, let’s upgrade the design.

There were 4,000 tons of magic stones left.

Not too little, not too much.

Of course, upgrading the shop alone would leave only half remaining.

Why hesitate?

Upgrade now.

[Tam Construction Blueprint] LV.2

[Buildings available for construction]

Natural Hot Spring: 1,000,000 kg

Karaoke: 500,000 kg (available if small building or larger constructed)

2-ROOM: 500,000 kg (available if small building or larger constructed)

Broadcast Station: 3,000,000 kg (available if small building or larger constructed)

Small Building: 10,000,000 kg

Pool Villa: 5,000,000 kg

Beast Academy: 30,000,000 kg

Blueprint Level Up: 50,000,000 kg

[View Blueprint LV.1 List]

The entire list had changed.

Just like with the shop, the prices were fierce.

But the convenience facilities increased dramatically.

Karaoke, PC Room, broadcast station, even a pool villa.

And beastfolk could all use these?

Imagining Bbyak holding a microphone and singing was quite amusing.

Hmm, not sure if it suits him.

That part could be figured out later.

After all, with the lack of magic stones, none of this could be built anyway.

For now, the cheaper karaoke or 2-room buildings required at least a small building—meaning a minimum of 10,000 tons was needed.

It was disappointing but inevitable.

But there was another option.

Hot springs.

They were great for recovering from fatigue.

Where to start? Let’s build one first.

1,000 tons was a considerable sum.

Only one could be built with the remaining amount.

Still, purchased without hesitation.

The more convenience facilities that connected the various places, the better.

The hot spring was installed in a scenic spot.

Underneath a large flowering tree, where the sun shone best.

A place where the brothers sometimes took a break together.

As the hot spring was set up, a wooden fence rose around it.

Soon the earth was softened, and emerald-colored water began to well up.

White steam curled upwards.

A natural hot spring, which until now had only been seen in photos, was created inside the tower.

A hot spring beneath a tree that was always in bloom—just imagining it was enchanting.

Where to warm up first?

Our brothers had been working hard so far; let’s go in together.

Bbyak!

Bbiee—

Pachi pachi!

Bow Bow!

Only their tops were stripped off as they embraced each other.

Then,

Splash—

They entered the water directly.

The water temperature was just right; fatigue seemed to melt away already.

This was what a hot spring was all about.

An involuntary contented sigh escaped.

The brothers enjoyed the hot spring as well.

Bbyak flapped his wings, splashing around excitedly.

Somi curled her ears and placed them like a towel on her forehead, floating on the water.

Toto climbed on Choco’s back, happily playing.

Ah, this is the life.

The hot spring was definitely worth building.

It was huge, too.

This could easily accommodate all the beastfolk in the village.

While they were relaxing peacefully,

the gate connected to the mine started shaking violently.

Duda, duda!

Moles poured out in a rush.

Their faces were all dust-covered, their expressions urgent.

“Why is everyone like this? What happened?”

Quickly changing clothes, he grabbed one of the large moles to ask.

The mole explained frantically with hand gestures.

“Goblins? So Dusik was left alone?”

In this world,

danger was real.

For small, fragile moles, evil goblins were a terrible match.

Thanks to Dusik’s quick response, none of the other moles were hurt, but Dusik himself was in danger.

This wasn’t the time to hesitate.

“Guys, let’s cross quickly.”

Gathering only Bbyak and Toto, he hurried toward the gate connected to the mine.

At that moment,

a small, exhausted-looking mole darted out.

In one hand was a broken hoe, and he nervously looked around.

It was Dusik.

His blindfold was off; maybe he couldn’t see well.

He sniffed around as he did when they first met.

Then, realizing the presence, he ran over happily.

“Dusik!”

Dusik snuggled into his arms.

He told everything that had happened.

Goblins had emerged from an unknown gate, and Dusik bravely fought them.

He had discovered a hidden talent—Swordsmanship Talent.

He was the first of the seven awakened beastfolk to develop an ability.

“Really well done.”

Patting Dusik’s head in admiration,

he truly was brave.

The timid and weak look he had at first was gone.

What remained was just the reliable tough guy Dusik.

More than that, it was unexpected that a gate caused this kind of problem.

He had been thinking about it too casually.

Like the Laruns who crossed over, he should have assumed other monsters could invade.

That was why the toll fee was important.

He immediately set the toll.

The maximum amount was 9,999 kg of magic stones.

Currently, only the Pyeongya, the mine, and Suwon were set as free passage.

Meeting other beastfolk was important, but first was the safety of the existing residents.

He couldn’t let anyone get hurt due to needless greed.

“Sorry, this won’t happen again.”

With this, basic security was secured.

Until Somi provided the latest rifles, this status would be maintained.

Besides, awakening was truly amazing.

It transcended the limits of the species.

Who would have thought that Dusik would become a swordsman?

What about the others?

Curious for no particular reason.

He glanced at Bbyak.

Somi looked, and so did Toto and Choco, all exchanging glances.

They still seemed the same as usual.

Well, no matter.

No need to rush.

They would discover it eventually.

Grow up healthy.

It was then.

From afar came the sound of the Royal Queen Bee’s wings.

Buzz—

An urgent voice.

What? She said she also discovered an awakened ability?

Buzzz buzzz!

She nodded.

The Royal Queen explained her new power.

It was the ultra-fine bee sting!

***

Late evening.

Dohyun, tired once again, carried a stack of documents.

“Ahaha, nice to see you.”

He greeted with a sly smile in front of the lone house at Pyeongya.

Most of the documents were related to the vaccine.

Filled with difficult English terminology.

“You look really tired. Are you alright?”

“Of course. Isn’t this all for world peace?”

Dohyun gave a hearty laugh, seeming fine.

Before sending him off, he planned to give him a full course of hot spring and slime massage.

“To keep it brief since detailed talks would take too long, I’m here to announce the existence of Honey Jelly related to vaccine production. The amount will remain undisclosed, of course.”

The amount of Honey Jelly produced by the queen bee was fixed.

At best, about 10 units per day?

It was practically impossible to distribute it to every player worldwide.

“Instead, we plan to prove its effectiveness and receive investment for vaccine production. Even if it’s a smaller scale, producing it will be a great help.”

Dohyun’s papers showed pledged investment amounts from various countries.

Starting with the United States Association.

As the strongest country, the scale was extraordinary.

Eight zeros.

1.2 billion dollars.

Converted to Korean won? Well over one trillion.

But that wasn’t all.

Europe, India, Saudi Arabia, Dubai—all listed impressive amounts.

“What is all this?”

“Investment for vaccine production. Nothing is certain yet, but with help from American friends, we expect to receive at least this much.”

This was the power of the bio industry.

The amounts seen so far were on a whole different level.

Moreover,

“If Woo Min is okay with it, we plan to expand the business worldwide.”

Dreaming of going global.

Not just domestically or in the US, but worldwide.

This would be the first step to shaking up the global market!