Chapter 57

Gangnam was dotted with private establishments reserved exclusively for VIPs. Queen Bee, a room salon named after the ruler of a beehive, was one of them.

But even among those establishments, Queen Bee was a little different. It catered only to hunters—people who had awakened supernatural powers. Of course, its liquor was so expensive that most of its patrons were well-paid hunters of upper-middle rank or higher.

Vice President Lee Minsung had discovered Queen Bee only a few months ago. Yet before he knew it, he had become a regular.

'... When did it start?'

Even in his confusion, Lee Minsung realized that he was trapped inside something like golden jelly.

'It's sweet.'

A familiar flavor touched his tongue. Honey. He soon recognized exactly what that familiar taste was.

'Royal jelly.'

It had the same aroma as the premium liquor he always enjoyed at Queen Bee. A conversation he had once had with the madam flashed through his mind.

["Madam, what exactly is this liquor? I've looked everywhere else, but no one sells it."]

["Hehe. That's a trade secret."]

He had asked her several times, but she would always change the subject with an inscrutable smile. Normally, he would have used force to pressure her into telling him. But he had found it cute that she could act so haughty even toward an A-rank hunter like him, and had let her be, deciding to play along.

Thinking back on it now, though, perhaps something had already begun to bewitch him then.

Lee Minsung gazed weakly at the madam through the sticky gold obstructing his vision. She was still smiling at him. The sight sent fury surging through him.

But something was wrong. As time passed, his anger was gradually dissipating. And what seeped into the space that emotion left behind was...

'What is this feeling? What the hell is it?!'

He gritted his teeth and tried to reject the emotion. But the madam murmured as though even that resistance was adorable.

"There's no point resisting. You've already consumed far too much royal jelly. So now, just..."

Her slender hand caressed the necklace she always wore around her neck. The green gem set into it shone brilliantly.

[Be loyal to me, my worker bee.]

"...!"

GURGLE!

The instant the whisper of the madam—no, the queen—struck his mind, Lee Minsung's eyes flew wide and his body shuddered. An instinct he had never possessed began to sprout within his mind.

'... My queen.'

* * *

Long ago, there was a Monarch. Querehsha, the Queen of Insects and Monarch of Plagues.

The dimension Querehsha inhabited was a world teeming with hundreds of millions of venomous insects. In that world, she had originally been a single insect—the smallest and most fragile of them all. She was a feeble, insignificant creature who should have been devoured by a larger predator or rotted away under the venom of a stronger insect.

But Querehsha survived in that brutal place. Rather than merely fleeing and hiding, she fed on the corpses of insects larger and stronger than herself, growing little by little. Absorbing their abilities. Accumulating their terrible venom within her body. Querehsha grew ever stronger.

And when the venom accumulated in her body became stronger and deadlier than that of any other insect, Querehsha became the ruler of that world.

And Arsha, the queen bee, had been one of that world's inhabitants.

'... I was truly at a loss when the great and mighty Lady Querehsha died.'

A dimension's Monarch was vital to its existence. The insect world, once a hotbed of vicious infighting, had formed a solid colony centered around Querehsha. But the moment she died, the remaining insects began revealing their ambitions to claim her vacant throne.

'How dare they, not knowing their place...'

Amid that chaos, Arsha realized the destiny she was meant to pursue. Queen. Born a queen bee, she considered herself perfectly suited to become the next Monarch. She had no doubt that if anyone could succeed Querehsha, it was her and her alone.

But the world, having lost its Monarch, had already been torn to pieces and scattered through the gaps between dimensions. It was pure coincidence that Arsha, wandering those gaps, had managed to reach Earth.

'No. It was destiny.'

As soon as she arrived on Earth, Arsha assumed human form. Acting more human than anyone, she blended naturally into life on Earth. Unlike the magic beasts from other dimensions that had stupidly tried to conquer Earth through brute force and died, Arsha chose to adapt, as befitted an insect.

No, adaptation was the flattering term. In truth, she was living as a parasite.

'To think that I, a queen, have been reduced to this...'

Arsha felt humiliated.

She had no worker bees. A queen bee without workers was a queen in name only. In her original dimension, Arsha had commanded countless workers. But of all those bees, she alone had escaped the gaps between dimensions.

'I need more worker bees.'

The other magic beasts that had died trying to conquer Earth would have been unable to bear such a situation and rushed into action. Because they were fools.

'Relying on brute strength alone will only get you killed.'

Querehsha's death had taught Arsha that painful lesson.

'Even Lady Querehsha, so great and powerful, died.'

Viewed from afar, the war between the Monarchs had truly been a clash of immense, mighty beings. But Arsha knew her place.

'I'm not even a Monarch. I don't have a single worker bee. I can't afford to act rashly.'

That patience was Arsha's true strength. Enduring patiently, again and again, she burrowed deep into Korean society and worked to understand human civilization.

'There's not much to it.'

Eventually, she realized human society was far more like that of insects than she had expected.

'In the end, this is another world where the most ruthless wins.'

The only difference was that power took the form of money rather than venom.

That was why Arsha had not immediately turned Lee Minsung into a worker bee. Admittedly, turning a hunter as powerful as an A-rank into a worker also required steadily poisoning him with her royal jelly.

'But there's no harm in putting him to other uses first, then turning him into a worker bee.'

Anyone else would have taken him as a worker immediately, but Arsha's patience had allowed her to make that choice. And thanks to it, Lee Minsung had brought even more hunters to Queen Bee while still human. His social standing and fame had so many uses.

'I was especially surprised when he even brought me Stardust.'

The moment Arsha saw Stardust, she understood that demons had made it. And what it was for.

'So the demons have infiltrated this world too, just like me.'

But it seemed the demons had adapted to this place in a different way. As a queen bee, she remained hidden while increasing her workers. The demons used humans as ingredients to create Stardust and amplify their own power.

'... This could be useful.'

What if she strengthened humans with Stardust before turning them into worker bees? That would produce stronger soldiers.

But the amplification provided by the existing Stardust was too weak. So once again, she waited patiently for the demons to improve its performance through further experiments.

And the man distributing more of that Stardust than anyone else was Lee Minsung—the unfortunate tycoon whose inferiority complex had exploded when his chauffeur awakened as an S-rank.

Arsha clicked her tongue as she watched Lee Minsung transforming into a worker bee, trapped in her royal jelly.

"... What a waste. I'd been looking forward to the day you became an S-rank."

Had that happened, Lee Minsung would have become an even more influential celebrity dominating Korea's hunter community. And her own position, as the one controlling him from behind the scenes, would have risen with his.

More hunters. More authority. More power. And ultimately...

"I could have commanded a worker bee with the power of an actual S-rank hunter."

Still, this outcome wasn't bad either. In fact, this would be her first A-rank worker bee. The sudden disappearance of a hunter as powerful as an A-rank would attract public attention, which was another reason she had not turned Lee Minsung into a worker until now.

"Ugh..."

Inside the golden royal jelly, Lee Minsung gritted his teeth, his face contorted in pain. His eyes were glowing gold.

"Grrgh...!"

"Hmm?"

What was this? A puzzled look crossed Arsha's face. This reaction was distinctly different from those of all the workers she had created before. Was it because he was an A-rank?

Lee Minsung was forcing his body to move inside the royal jelly.

"You're resisting the transformation?"

"Grrraaargh! Graaah!"

Lee Minsung had already lost his mind. Yet even in that state, his body moved on instinct.

'I, I am... I am...'

Veins bulged in his neck as he clenched his teeth.

"... Lee Minsung!"

SPLASH!

With a desperate effort, Lee Minsung finally burst out of the royal jelly. His body was already turning into an insect, but he was running wild, refusing to obey his queen, Arsha.

"Graaagh!"

The command to obey his queen rang endlessly in his mind, but even as he rolled across the floor in agony, Lee Minsung rejected it.

'H-how dare anyone... give me orders!'

At last, Lee Minsung sprang to his feet, and two pairs of wings unfurled from his back.

BOOM!

"Wait! Where are you going?!"

Arsha stared in shock as Lee Minsung smashed through the wall and flew away.

* * *

DING!

[You have completed 'Daily Quest: Iron Body Arts Training'.]

100 push-ups: Complete (100/100)

100 sit-ups: Complete (100/100)

100 squats: Complete (100/100)

10 km run: Complete (10/10)

※Must be performed while carrying Ammut on your back.

[Your completion rewards have arrived.]

[Would you like to check your rewards?] (Y/N)

"Haaah... Today was miserable too."

[Sob! Young Monarch, you have endured so much! But you've grown stronger for all your suffering, making this yet another rewarding day...]

"Quiet."

Suho, who had visited Ammut again for his daily quest, flopped onto his bed. The completion reward had instantly restored him, but the psychological aftereffects of exercise intense enough to break his bones and tear his muscles did not fade so easily.

BZZZ! BZZZ! BZZZ!

Yet his phone kept vibrating beside his head as he lay on the bed.

"... What's making all that noise?"

Frowning, Suho picked up his phone. Emergency alerts were coming in.

Emergency Alert

[Hunters Association] A-rank villain Lee Minsung sighted in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul. Evacuate and remain alert for further attacks.

"What?"

Suho's eyes widened, and he got up.

[Breaking News! A-rank Villain Lee Minsung Attacks Other Hunters!]

[An A-rank Villain Who Hunts Hunters Appears!]

"A wanted A-rank villain abandoning his escape to attack other hunters is unprecedented in Korea." —Expert A

The internet was ablaze over the sudden incident. As Suho read the articles in astonishment, his phone suddenly rang.