Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 26

A loud CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH broke the quiet morning. Then, a softer CHOMP, CHOMP sound followed, like someone enjoying a big bite.

“Huh?” Sejun mumbled, still sleepy. He quickly looked beside him.

“It’s not here…”

The baby bear, who should have been sleeping next to him, was nowhere to be seen. Sejun had a good idea who was making the eating sounds. It seemed the baby bear had woken up hungry and was munching on something.

As Sejun rose from his spot and headed towards the sound,

Squeak!

Tap tap tap!

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

The black rabbit ran out of its hole. It swung its hammer to hit the thief who was stealing crops.

“Kueeng?”

The baby bear cried, confused that the black rabbit, who had been so kind until yesterday, was now hitting him. ‘Why are you doing this, friend?’

But,

Squeak!

The black rabbit showed no mercy. ‘Who told you to touch the storage?!’

Wham! Wham!

Wham! Wham!

The white rabbits also came out, surrounding the baby bear and stomping their feet, showing they were very angry. They were furious that it was stealing and eating the food they had worked so hard to grow. It didn’t even ask Sejun!

“Don’t be so angry. How much could the little one eat… Huh?!”

The first thing Sejun noticed was that the baby bear had grown to the size of a medium-sized dog. Considering it was the size of a small dog yesterday, its growth rate was amazing.

And then, the thought that followed.

How much would it have to eat to grow that fast?

Sejun quickly checked the storage.

“…!”

The storage was much emptier. About a third of the stored sweet potatoes and carrots were gone. Strangely, it hadn’t touched the cherry tomatoes. Sejun didn’t know why, but somehow that made him even more annoyed. It was like the bear was being picky, and that was just rude!

“Kueeng!”

As soon as the baby bear saw Sejun, it ran to him, expecting to be protected, and reached out to be held.

Thud.

A heavy feeling, different from yesterday. Its strength was completely different too.

“Do bears usually grow this fast?”

If I keep it here, it’s going to empty our cave. No, it might even eat us later when it gets hungry. Sejun suddenly felt very worried.

And there was one more being who felt the same sense of crisis as Sejun.

[The Tower’s Administrator is surprised to see a Crimson Giant Bear cub here.]

[The Tower’s Administrator says that Crimson Giant Bear cubs are gluttonous creatures who can easily eat 100kg a day if they have food.]

The Tower’s Administrator was annoyed. The human’s food storage was being raided.

Because of that picky human, he was barely managing to get food one piece at a time while building friendships…

Of course, building friendships with the human was quite satisfying.

But…

For a baby Crimson Giant Bear to dare steal our human’s crops so boldly. How dare it! How dare it! It was terrible.

[The Tower’s Administrator is furious at the baby Crimson Giant Bear!]

[A quest has been generated.]

[Quest: Get the baby Crimson Giant Bear out of the cave!]

Reward: 1 job skill

Failure: Death by starvation!!!

The Tower’s Administrator was so excited that he even offered a reward.

[The Tower’s Administrator tells you to hurry.]

[The Tower’s Administrator says that in just a few days, the baby Crimson Giant Bear will grow too big to leave the cave.]

Sejun felt the seriousness in the Tower’s Administrator’s words. He felt really scared. ‘I need a plan!’

But,

“Hmm…”

He couldn’t think of any ideas.

“Let’s have a glass of honey water and think.”

Honey might help me think better.

As Sejun picked up his tumbler and walked towards the bottled water containing honey,

Toddle toddle.

The baby bear followed Sejun closely. Now that it was disliked by the rabbits, the human in front of it was the only one who could protect it.

Slosh. Slosh.

While Sejun was putting honey in the tumbler,

Drip. Drip.

The baby bear drooled, staring at the honey. Sejun’s heart was moved by the sad sight.

“Here.”

Sejun poured a little honey on the baby bear’s paw.

“Kueeng!”

The baby bear had finally achieved its goal of coming here, drawn by the sweet smell.

Lick.

The very sweet honey felt through its tongue. It was the first sweetness the baby bear had ever tasted. Delicious!

Lick lick.

The baby bear eagerly licked its paw.

Meanwhile, Sejun, after making the honey water, shared it with the rabbits while thinking of a plan to get the baby bear out.

Just then,

“Ah! That’s how it could work.”

Suddenly, an idea to get the baby bear out popped into Sejun’s head.

“Ha! Honey water for the win!”

Tap. Tap.

Sejun carefully knocked on the honeycomb of the poison honeybees with his finger to get the baby bear out. The poison honeybees were needed for this plan.

Buzz.

The poison honeybees quickly emerged as the honeycomb was disturbed.

“Hey guys, sorry to wake you. Can you help me?”

Buzz.

At Sejun’s words, the poison honeybees circled around him.

“Thank you. Please move this outside.”

Sejun pointed to the rope made by weaving ivy leaves for escape. He was planning to lift the baby bear with it.

“Rabbits, you guys go up and receive the rope.”

Squeak!

Squeaa!

Squeak!

The rabbits answered and climbed up to the hole in the cave ceiling. It would be great if they could carry the rope up, but the rope was quite heavy, and they couldn’t leave the cave while carrying it.

Buzz.

Buzz.

Meanwhile, the poison honeybees clung to the end of the rope and flew towards the hole in the ceiling, carrying the rope.

And then,

Tightly.

They tied the baby bear’s body to the other end of the rope.

“Kueeng?”

The baby bear looked up, wondering why it was being tied up.

“Now, you have to go to your mom.”

“Kueeng! Kueeng!”

The baby bear started crying at the word ‘mom.’ It seemed like it was only now thinking about its mother.

As the poison honeybees carried the rope up, the rabbits received it.

“Pull!”

Sejun lifted the baby bear’s body and shouted, raising his arms in a ‘hooray’ pose.

Squeak!

Squeaa!

Squeak!

Buzz! Buzz!

The rabbits and poison honeybees pulled together to pull the rope.

But,

……

Lick. Lick.

The baby bear was still licking its paw without budging.

“Okay, let’s try again. This time, we’ll shout ‘One! Two!’ and pull at the same time on ‘Two!’ One! Two!”

Squeak!

Squeaa!

Squeak!

Buzz! Buzz!

Sejun shouted, “One! Two!” The rabbits and honeybees pulled as hard as they could.

The baby bear’s body moved only a little, just five centimetres.

“It’s working!” Sejun cheered.

“One! Two! One! Two!” he called out again and again. The rabbits strained, their little legs digging into the ground. The honeybees buzzed with effort. But the baby bear barely moved. ‘Keep going!’ Sejun encouraged them. Slowly, inch by inch, they pulled. Sweat dripped from Sejun’s forehead. After what felt like forever, maybe an hour, the baby bear was finally out of the cave.

[Quest completed.]

[You have earned a reward for finishing the quest: the job skill – Seed Harvesting Lv. 1.]

“Seed Harvesting?” Sejun wondered. He checked the skill description.

[Job Skill – Seed Harvesting Lv. 1] -Gives you a slightly better chance to find good seeds when you collect them from plants.

While Sejun was reading about his new skill, Squeak. Baa. The rabbits untied the rope from the baby bear.

Just as they finished, Kroooooh! A loud roar echoed from far away – the mother Crimson Giant Bear was looking for her cub!

Gwaeng! Gwaeng! The baby bear cried out and ran towards the sound of its mother.

“Phew! That was hard work! Good job, everyone!” Sejun said, reaching out his hand to the rabbits who were hopping towards the hole.

But the rabbits, always playful, darted away with flicks of their white tails. They jumped over Sejun’s hand, stepping on his shoulder and head as they landed on the ground.

Whirr! The honeybees flew quickly towards the cherry tomato field to get their energy back.

It was day 166 of being stuck here. Sejun, with his rabbit and honeybee friends, had kept their cave safe and full of food. They had stopped the baby bear, who would one day be a dangerous hunter, from taking it all.

Meanwhile, far away in a tall tower…

Floor 75 of the tower, the Secret Inspection Bureau Director’s office of the Wandering Merchant Association.

“Agent Jeras, I have a new mission for you.”

“Yes!” Jeras was eager for a new mission. He had failed to catch Skaram before, and he was ready to work hard now.

“This mission is an investigation of a wandering merchant.”

“An investigation?”

“Yes. As a new wandering merchant, his sales have suddenly skyrocketed recently, so find out what’s causing the increase in sales.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

“Here’s the information on the wandering merchant to investigate. Memorize it and destroy it.”

“Yes!” Jeras left the director’s office and turned to the first page of the document containing the information of the target he was to investigate.

“…!” The portrait showed a bewildered-looking cat. But the face was quite familiar.

‘Could it be?!’ Jeras hurriedly checked the name.

Name: Theo

It was him. The cat wandering merchant who had interfered with his Skaram arrest operation.

‘Theo! You’ve been caught! I’ll dig up all your dirt!’ Jeras slammed his fist on the desk. He still felt the sting of failing to catch Skaram. And now, this cat, Theo, who had somehow messed up his last mission, was doing well? It wasn’t fair! ‘I’ll show him,’ Jeras muttered.

“Oof!” As soon as Sejun opened his eyes, he went to the cave wall and added another stroke.

Sejun’s eyes opened in the dim cave. The air was cool and smelled of damp earth and cherry tomatoes. He got up and added another mark to the wall, counting the days. The morning of the 170th day of being stranded had dawned.

Squeak! Baa! Ppyak! The rabbits came out of the cave, greeting him good morning.

“Yeah. Good morning.”

Whirr! The venomous honeybees also came and rubbed their tails, greeting him good morning.

Just as Sejun was exchanging morning greetings with his cave family, Gwaeng! The baby bear poked its head through the hole in the ceiling. The baby bear, who had appeared after four days, had grown larger than a large dog.

If I hadn’t let the baby bear out back then… the thought alone made him dizzy.

Then, a huge shadow filled the hole. Kroooooh! The roar was much louder now. The mother bear was enormous! Her fur was a deep, dark red, and her claws looked like sharp knives.

“…!”

Sejun and the rabbits were surprised and worried. ‘Even though the black rabbit hit the baby bear,’ Sejun thought, ‘did it really have to bring its HUGE mother?’

Kroooooh.

A voice echoed in Sejun’s mind, clear and strong: *The Crimson Giant Bear wishes to offer honey to her cub.*

“Huh?! Honey?” Fortunately, the baby bear didn’t snitch.

Kroooooh.

A voice echoed in Sejun’s mind, clear and strong: *The Crimson Giant Bear will protect this area in exchange for honey.*

“Okay.” If the Crimson Giant Bear protected the area, he could ensure safety when going outside the cave.

As soon as Sejun agreed, Kroooooh. The Crimson Giant Bear growled lowly and left the baby bear behind. It was to let everyone around know that this was its territory.

Gwaeng. Gwaeng. The baby bear whined for honey as soon as its mother left.

“Wait.” While Sejun was thinking about how to hand over the honey, “Wait a minute?!” A good idea came to him. If it’s that big, it can lift me up, right?

Sejun ordered the venomous honeybees to deliver the rope to the baby bear.

And, “Pull!”

Gwaeeeeng! The baby bear lightly pulled Sejun up. It was a baby bear elevator.

Slide. As he went up along the rope, Sejun looked down. He could see the crops he had grown.

“I’m finally leaving this place.”

Slide. As the rope went up, Sejun’s heart beat faster with tension and anticipation for the 99th floor of the tower.

Thud. Finally, Sejun stepped on the ground of the 99th floor.

“What is this?” He stepped out onto the 99th floor and gasped. It was a wasteland. Brown, cracked earth stretched as far as he could see. The air was dry and dusty. Not a single green plant was in sight. It was a lonely and empty place.

And in the distance, he saw a red beam of light soaring into the sky.

“That’s the waypoint.” He had to go there to find a way out of this tower.

But Sejun didn’t have the strength to break through the monsters to get there.

The deal with the Crimson Giant Bear was to protect this place, not to take him there.

Of course, he had asked the Crimson Giant Bear to take him there through the Tower’s Administrator,

A voice echoed in Sejun’s mind, clear and strong: *The Crimson Giant Bear has refused.*

A voice echoed in Sejun’s mind, clear and strong: *You need to defeat approximately 3000 monsters to get to the waypoint.*

“Phew.” Sejun looked at the waypoint with a disappointed heart.

“Still, it’s good to see it.” Sejun focused on the improved situation compared to before and gave the baby bear two dollops of honey on its paw.

And, “Let’s plow the field.” Together with two shovel rabbits, he began to create a new field on the 99th floor.

Day 170 of being stranded. Sejun started his first multi.