A Beekeeper in a Magical World

"Let's not talk about whether we can find that legendary little cabin for now. Are you sure there's really a semi-automatic alchemical cauldron there? I mean, such a precious item, the owner of the cabin would have no reason to leave it behind."

"Don't worry, my source of information is very reliable. You know, my friend is a wandering bard who has the ability to 'capture the wind and shadows.' The winds in the forest will reveal their secrets to him."

The tanned man sat cross-legged under a tree, holding a roughly drawn map in his hand. He casually answered his companion's question but never took his eyes off the map.

He was dressed in layers of tattered clothes, with unruly long hair and a rather unkempt appearance.

Compared to him, his companion, who was leaning against the tree with crossed arms, looked much more elegant.

This slender figure, with silver short hair, was dressed in an immaculate emerald green robe. He had at least seven or eight rings on his fingers, some with various gemstones, and others made of pure metal.

"Bards not only 'capture the wind and shadows' but also tend to talk a lot," the man in green robes paused for a moment before continuing, "Anyway, those alchemists treat their recipes like they're more precious than life itself. The ones that make it to the market are just basic formulas. Even if we get our hands on a semi-automatic alchemical cauldron, we might not be able to fully utilize it."

"Don't insult the alchemists; dogs are our most loyal helpers. Whether they're useful or not is another story, but limited-edition rare items are waiting for us somewhere. Don't you want them?"

"Hmph, let's find it first. The cabin is shielded with magic; it won't be easy to locate."

"Don't worry; my friend gave me some useful clues, like following the scent of the Sleeping Moon Flower..."

"Are you talking about the small cabin? Is it built with Ironcore Wood?" A woman's voice interjected at this moment.

"Maybe, why do you ask?" The scruffy man looked up at the figure perched on a tree branch.

In an instant, the woman jumped down from the tree branch.

She wore a black cloak, underneath which was a tight-fitting black outfit, like a graceful black cat. Most of her jet-black hair was covered by the cloak, and she had a clear and somewhat aloof appearance.

"I may have found our target. Follow me."

With that, she donned her hood, placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, and walked off in a certain direction.

"What? That's impossible!" The scruffy man stared at her retreating figure, then back at the abstract map, muttering, "It can't be that easy."

As their guide, he was feeling rather complex at the moment. He wanted to find the cabin but, at the same time, he didn't.

"Let's go and see," the man in green robes said as he followed her.

The scruffy man had no choice but to put away the map, hoist his tattered backpack, and follow suit.

Soon, a delicate and petite wooden cabin appeared in front of them, surrounded by not-so-dense trees.

It wasn't hidden in a dark corner of the forest, as they had initially suspected, and it certainly wasn't underground in this forest. It stood there quite conspicuously.

By the look of it, it was indeed constructed from Ironcore Wood.

This type of wood was very precious, with an exceptionally long growth cycle. Using it to build a house meant the owner was anything but ordinary.

The scruffy man pondered for a few seconds. "There are two possibilities. Either it's the cabin we're looking for, or it's not."

Both of his companions glanced at him, not knowing how to respond.

The scruffy man continued, "If it is the cabin, that means the shielding spell has been lifted. There are two possibilities there as well: either the magic has naturally expired, or someone has intentionally removed it."

"If it's the latter, then there are two more possibilities." The man in green robes picked up where he left off, adopting the same sentence structure. "Either someone got here before us, or the cabin's owner has returned."

The scruffy man nodded in agreement. "If it's the latter..."

"Enough, you two!" The woman put an end to this unproductive discussion. "In any case, no matter the situation, it means our chances of getting the alchemical cauldron have decreased. But I assume neither of you wants to give up here, right?"

The three of them reached a consensus. Rather than rushing in, they used the cover of the trees to circle around to the back of the cabin.

The first thing they saw was a sea of Sleeping Moon Flowers, stretching from the cabin's backyard deep into the forest.

This precisely matched the bard's clue of "following the scent of the Sleeping Moon Flower."

It seemed like they were on the right track.

A figure in a black robe was standing in the midst of the flower field, sticking a tree branch into the ground, its top forked and holding a small wooden pot.

The robed figure held a bottle and poured some golden liquid into it, likely some kind of potion.

Was it to ward off pests?

He seemed to be tending to the flower field. However, his movements were clumsy, far from being an accomplished character, and definitely not like an alchemist known for his dexterity.

You see, alchemy requires precise measurement of ingredients, and the more advanced the alchemy, the more critical this becomes.

Even a slight error can lead to a failed experiment, or even an explosion.

How could someone so clumsy conduct experiments?

"This guy might just be an ordinary person who stumbled into this place."

"If he's just an ordinary person, that's easy."

The long-awaited treasure was right in front of the scruffy man. He couldn't contain his excitement anymore and jumped out from behind the tree.

"Even if he's an alchemist, with the three of us working together, we can handle him. Let's subdue him first!"

...

Hua Mi poured honey into a wooden pot, as a sign of goodwill to the seven pseudo-faerie creatures, welcoming them.

However, before the seven little creatures could arrive, three unexpected visitors came instead.

The guy at the forefront, with disheveled hair and limbs flailing, like an unleashed wild dog, created a path through the Sleeping Moon Flower field, charging directly towards him.

He moved incredibly fast, and there were faint signs of animalistic transformation in his appearance.

"Could this be the 'Beastification Syndrome' mentioned in the Black Forest Adventure Guide?" Hua Mi took a step back, not having time to think, and immediately connected to the Painful Bee Swarm.

During the days when he made Sleeping Moon Flower honey, he also practiced controlling the bee swarm. Especially the combat bee swarm, which might not be outstanding, but was at least manageable.

Buzz—

Accompanied by a high-pitched buzzing sound, a "black mist" slowly rose behind Hua Mi.

It paused briefly in mid-air, swiftly organized itself, and rushed forward.

Flowing like a liquid, it passed smoothly on either side of Hua Mi's body, then converged again and charged toward the suspected Beastification Syndrome patient.

"Ha! Just a trick with bugs!"

The beastified man saw the black swarm and wasn't worried at all. He continued his charge, and with a swipe of his hand, he had long, sharp, black fingernails that seemed like sharp hooks.

A claw descended, leaving five black streaks in the air, as if it had torn through space itself.

His combat style was "Overpowering Strength," meaning if he encountered any magical spells, he just charged in and attacked.

With his physical resilience and resistance to magic, even regular spells wouldn't do much harm to him. And once he got close to his opponent, they were in for a beating, with a barrage of consecutive attacks.

His iron-like claws were aimed at the bee swarm.

The bee swarm split into two, avoiding the attack, except for a few bees in the center that didn't make it in time and were reduced to ashes under the claws.

"Insects?"

Only at close range did he realize that the mist was actually made up of small flying insects, and the buzzing was the sound of their wings flapping.

"Such weak bugs are nothing to worry about. Crushing them is effortless!"

The beastified man sneered, completely unconcerned about the bees that had landed on his face and arms.

But in the next moment, his face twitched.

Then turned red.

Followed by turning green.

And quickly turning white.

"Ahhhhh—Ahhhhhhhh!"

The beastified man let out a wailing scream, as if possessed by a ghost.

He hopped around in place for a few seconds, doing a bizarre dance, before suddenly freezing and collapsing to the ground.