Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 117

Kenya, Africa.

Plop.

“Tch. Why am I even planting these?”

N’gugi had his life saved by Theo and was forced to join the Earth Defense Force. He straightened up, grumbling as he looked at the strong Blade Leeks he was planting.

There were about 1,000 of these Blade Leeks planted around him.

Before he left the tower…

“Hand over all the Detox Leeks.”

Han Tae-joon took all the Detox Leeks that Theo had given to the Earth Defense Force. Han Tae-joon believed Theo and thought Earth was in danger. So, he wanted to use everything he could to help.

At first, the hunters, led by Luciola, the Guild Master of the Wizard Guild, protested. They asked, “Who do you think you are?!”

But they only ended up looking foolish. There were many strong people in the world. Han Tae-joon used his Magic Missile to easily beat Luciola and the hunters, and they had to give up.

‘To think he could use magic with that body,’ N’gugi thought, shivering as he remembered it.

In less than a day after arriving on Earth, Han Tae-joon had created the Earth Defense Force and started buying land everywhere. He then told the Earth Defense Force members to plant the Blade Leeks on this land.

N’gugi hadn’t even seen any of the money from selling the Detox Leeks. But he was hopeful because they said they would pay him each time he planted a leek.

‘Maybe this job is better… I don’t have to risk my life here,’ he thought.

Plop. Plop.

As N’gugi was thinking this and planting the Blade Leeks…

Flap.

A green grasshopper, as big as his fist, flew towards him.

“Huh?!”

N’gugi was very surprised to see the grasshopper.

[Green Locust]

‘How is this possible?!’ he wondered.

The name that used to appear above monsters’ heads inside the tower was now visible above the grasshopper’s head.

Slash.

N’gugi swung his jungle knife at the Green Locust. A message appeared saying he had gained experience. It was definitely a monster.

“How is a monster outside the tower? Is it true that Earth is going to be destroyed?!”

Just as N’gugi started to worry that what Theo said might be true…

Flap. Flap.

He saw about 100,000 Green Locusts filling the sky, flying towards him.

‘A swarm of grasshoppers is a monster…’

Maybe the name above their heads wasn’t visible to people who weren’t awakened, so no one had noticed.

“Damn it! I should have brought my weapon…”

N’gugi wished he had brought his bow. He had left it at home because he didn’t think he needed weapons on Earth.

Slash. Slash.

N’gugi had no choice but to fight the Green Locusts with his jungle knife. They weren’t strong, so he wasn’t in danger.

N’gugi worked hard, swinging his knife at the buzzing green locusts. Sweat dripped down his face.

“Huh?” He stopped.

*Plop.* *Crunch, crunch.*

He watched as more locusts hopped towards the Blade Leeks. They tried to bite the sharp, green leaves. But instead of eating, they fell to the ground, cut in pieces. Even as they died, their jaws snapped at the leaves. It was like they couldn’t stop themselves, even in their last moments.

The Blade Leeks were like silent guards, killing the monsters faster than N’gugi could with his knife.

“Ah,” N’gugi said slowly. “So *that’s* why they wanted us to plant these things.” A small smile touched his lips. Maybe this job wasn’t so bad after all.

N’gugi realized something important and reported it to the Earth Defense Force headquarters. They needed more Blade Leeks.

When Sejun arrived at the western forest…

“Oh. There are more.”

Creak. Creak.

Crack. Crack.

Before he knew it, the number of Ents had grown to 7,000 because the fire ants hadn’t attacked them.

Creak. Creak.

The small Ents greeted Sejun, pushing their heads forward.

[Seed… pick… give… ]

[Seed… pick… please… ]

“Alright.”

There was a reason why the Ents wanted Sejun to pick the seeds, even though they could do it themselves.

[Farmer’s Touch Lv. 2 is activated.]

[The growth of the Purification Ent is slightly accelerated while the touch is in effect.]

They liked how their growth sped up when Sejun picked the seeds because of the Farmer’s Touch skill.

As Sejun picked the Ents’ seeds…

“It’s a match, Meow!”

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Theo wanted to play the match they couldn’t finish last time. He ran around, trying to catch the branch that the Ent was swinging.

Kkueng was bored, so he dug into the ground to play.

As he dug deeper, it got dark, but…

(Kkueng, I will light the way. Bat Light!)

The Golden Bat, who hadn’t had a chance to use his powers before, used his hidden ability.

Fwoosh.

A faint golden light came from the Golden Bat’s body, lighting up the area.

Kkueng!

[Well done!]

Thud. Thud.

Thanks to the Golden Bat, Kkueng was able to dig deeper.

As Kkueng dug about 10 meters underground…

Kkeh…

(Kkueng, I hear a sound from over there.)

The Golden Bat heard a strange sound.

Kkueng?

[Which direction?]

(That way.)

The Golden Bat pointed his wing towards the south, where the sound was coming from.

Thud. Thud.

Kkueng started digging a tunnel towards the south.

After digging 300 meters…

Thud.

Crumble.

The wall broke.

Kkueng?

(Huh?)

Kkeaak?

Kkueng and the Golden Bat saw black ants digging a tunnel from the other side.

“Everyone, gather around!”

Sejun had picked all the Ents’ seeds and replanted them. It was time to go back.

“I’ve already gathered, Meow!”

Theo had already returned to Sejun’s lap, tired from chasing the branch. He spoke proudly.

“That’s right, Meow! Take this, Meow!”

Theo remembered the things he had taken from the Wandering Merchant Association President’s office and looked through his bundle.

“Furniture?”

Sejun looked at the items Theo had taken out. They were chairs, bedside lamps, and side tables. They would be good for decorating a bedroom.

“Good job. But where did you buy them?”

“I didn’t buy them, Meow. I just picked them up, Meow!”

Theo had clearly stolen them, but he proudly said he had picked them up. He was indeed a thug.

“Is that so? Anyway, good job.”

“I know, Meow! So give me Churu, Meow!”

“Alright.”

Sejun put the items Theo had taken into his subspace warehouse and gave Theo Churu.

Chomp chomp chomp.

Theo ate Churu for almost 10 minutes, but Kkueng and the Golden Bat hadn’t returned.

“Where did they go?”

Just as Sejun stood up to look for them…

Kkueng!

A happy cry, “Bat bat!” echoed from the ground.

Kkuenge, the small bird, and the golden bat on its shoulder popped out of the earth, singing a cheerful tune. Behind them, with a sound like “Kke-ack!”, ten big black ants, each as long as a ruler, marched out of the hole. They were singing together.

[Mushroom Ants]

“Mushroom ants?” Sejun read the words above their heads. He looked closely at the black ants. ‘How cute,’ he thought. Unlike the fire ants he knew, these ants had round faces and gentle, flat teeth. They looked more like friendly farmers than fighters.

“Where did you all come from? And who are these ants?” Sejun asked Kkuenge and the bat.

“Kkuenge! Kkuenge!” Kkuenge chirped, “We found them in the ground! They said they’d give us mushrooms if we helped them!”

“Kke-ack!” the black ants agreed.

The golden bat added, “Sejun, they want to work on your farm!”

The black ants waved their feelers excitedly.

“Okay, let’s go to the farm then,” Sejun said. He led the way, and the mushroom ants followed.

On the way to the farm, Sejun, with Kkuenge and the golden bat helping to translate, talked to the mushroom ants as they walked.

“You were slaves to the fire ants, and then you escaped?” Sejun asked.

“Kke-ack!” the mushroom ants replied, waving their feelers to say yes.

“The fire ants are that many?” Sejun learned from the mushroom ants that the fire ant armies were huge. They said there were many fire ant groups, each with hundreds of thousands of ants. “Dozens of groups?” Sejun thought, surprised. “That’s a lot!” Luckily, they said, no one fire ant group was strong enough to control all the others. So, they didn’t attack other places often. “If they ever worked together,” Sejun thought, “they could take over the whole floor.”

Just then, they saw more mushroom ants on the path.

“Kke-ack!”

“They say they want to work on Sejun’s farm!” the golden bat translated. The new mushroom ants seemed to know where to go.

Sejun didn’t know it, but when he had fainted, Bulkkot’s roots had struck out at the fire ants in anger. This had freed many mushroom ants who were being kept as slaves. Bulkkot had told them, “If you have nowhere to go, go south to Sejun’s farm.” So, they were all heading to find Sejun.

As they walked, they met more mushroom ants. A few more joined them, then a small group, then even more. By the time they reached the farm, Sejun was amazed. There were over 500 mushroom ants!

“Rest here for today,” Sejun said, showing them an empty field. He felt sorry for the mushroom ants when he heard they were slaves. He was glad they were free now.

“Kke-ack!” The mushroom ants lay down in the field, resting for the first time in peace.

Sejun groaned as he woke up. His throat was dry. He reached for the water Theo had left for him and drank it down in big gulps. “Ahhh,” he sighed, feeling better.

“President Theo, wake up,” Sejun said, shaking Theo gently.

“Just five more minutes, nya…” Theo mumbled, turning over.

Sejun chuckled. “Come on, sleepyhead,” he said, and carefully put Theo on his leg, ready for the day. He stretched and went outside. The morning air was fresh and cool. Kkuenge and the golden bat were already awake, chasing each other in the field, their happy cries filling the air.

“Let’s eat breakfast,” Sejun called out to them.

“Kkuenge!” Kkuenge chirped back, “Breakfast! I’m happy!”

The kitchen was cozy and warm. The rabbits hopped around his feet as Sejun started breakfast. Today was a special treat – boiled pork! He’d found some wild boar meat in the treasure vault. “Perfect for a change,” he thought, humming happily as he prepared the meal. The smell of pork and green onions filled the air.

“Hum hum hum,” Sejun hummed, tying the wild boar meat with green onions and putting it in the pot.

*Thud! Thud!* Kkuenge hopped onto the table, singing, “Dad is making something new! It smells delicious!”

*Pour, pour, pour.* Sejun added fire carrot juice to the pot, then water to cover the pork. He closed the lid and set it to boil.

Just then, two voices cried out, “-No! That precious juice!” “-Give it to us instead!” The two dragons had come into the kitchen, hoping for a treat, and looked sadly at the carrot juice going into the pot.

“But what do the mushroom ants eat?” Sejun wondered. “Maybe I should check on them,” he thought. The pork needed to boil for a while anyway. He walked over to the field where the ants were resting.

“Huh?” Sejun stopped in surprise. The field was packed! “There must be thousands of them now!” he thought. Then he noticed something else. “Wait… their backs… the color is different?” He walked closer, peering at a mushroom ant. “Is that… a mushroom?”

And it was! Mushrooms were growing on the backs of the mushroom ants! Each ant had a different kind of mushroom. Then, Sejun saw them – the ants were picking mushrooms from each other’s backs!

“Kke-ack!” One mushroom ant, with king oyster mushrooms growing on its back, came up to Sejun and stopped right in front of him. It just stood there.

“Does it want me to pick it?” Sejun wondered. He carefully cut off a king oyster mushroom with his dagger.

[You have harvested a king oyster mushroom.]

[47,812 more times until the job quest is complete.]

[Job experience slightly increases.]

[Proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 5 slightly increases.]

[You have gained 1 experience.]

“Oh!” Sejun’s eyes widened as he read the message. “Mushrooms! Growing on their backs! And I can harvest them!” He grinned. “This is amazing!” There were so many mushrooms! He could see himself finishing the job quest today!

“Stop, everyone!” Sejun shouted to the mushroom ants, “Don’t pick any more mushrooms!”