Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 508

Heehee. The butler’s naming skills are back!

A message appeared: [You have arrived at the 99th floor of the Black Tower.]

Sejun pushed open the door to the 10th Tower and stepped into darkness. Above him, twelve stars shone brightly, like welcoming lights in the night.

Grumble.

Kooeng…

Kooeng’s stomach rumbled loudly.

Grumble.

Then, Sejun’s stomach rumbled too, and soon Theo and even the Ggamangi family joined in with their own hungry noises.

Sejun and his companions had forgotten their hunger while fighting the Apostle of Destruction, Melphix. But as soon as they returned home, the tension eased, and hunger washed over them.

Come to think of it, we skipped lunch and dinner.

“Poor Kooeng must be starving! Let’s get food ready fast.”

“Koohehehe! Kooeng wants soy sauce butter egg rice!” Kooeng squeaked happily.

“Grilled fish, please, Sejun! Nyaa!” Theo purred.

“And I want dried sweet potato!” Ggamangi chirped.

“Alright.”

Sejun headed to the kitchen, urged on by his companions.

“Sejun Unit 1, make soy sauce butter egg rice.”

He ordered Sejun Unit 1 to make the food that Kooeng wanted.

And then,

“Here, Ggamangi. Share these with your little ones.”

“Kkihihit! Okay!” Ggamangi replied, taking the sweet potatoes.

Sejun gave Ggamangi ten dried sweet potatoes and started grilling Theo’s fish.

A little later.

“Here you go, Theo.”

“Puhuhut! This grilled fish is amazing, Sejun! It’s cooked with your special touch, nyaa! So delicious, nyaa!”

Theo began to enjoy the grilled fish that Sejun had cooked for him.

“Koohehehe! Delicious!” Kooeng mumbled happily through a mouthful of rice.

Kooeng also enjoyed the soy sauce butter egg rice with thirty half-boiled eggs on top.

“Shall I try some too?”

Just as Sejun was about to take some soy sauce butter egg rice from Kooeng’s bowl,

A voice echoed in Sejun’s mind: “Don’t eat that!” It was Aileen, the Tower Administrator. “I’ve made something special for you!” she added, sounding very pleased with herself.

“Coo…cooking?”

Sejun’s voice trembled at Aileen’s words.

“I made lots of soggy corn, just the way you like it!” Aileen’s voice declared.

“Huh?! What are you talking about?! I like soggy corn?

Sejun asked with a completely clueless expression.

Aileen sounded flustered now. “But… your mother said you loved soggy corn!”

And then,

Mother… even to impress Aileen, how could you do this? Betraying me with soggy corn?

Sejun grasped the situation.

“Ah, soggy corn! Of course! Silly me, I thought you said… *burning* corn! Soggy corn! My favorite! Aileen, please, I can’t wait another second! I’m practically faint with hunger!”

Sejun acted with all his might as Park Sejun, who wanted to eat soggy corn.

“Yes, soggy corn!” Aileen replied, her voice now bright with happiness. “Enjoy!”

Thud.

Along with Aileen’s words, a pyramid-shaped tower of soggy corn in a huge dish appeared.

How many floors is this?

A 130-story corn tower, taller than the Black Tower.

Could I possibly eat all of this?

Sejun pondered for a moment.

‘I have to do it!’

I’m going to score points with Aileen too!

Crunch. Crunch.

He began to eat the soggy corn. It wasn’t *delicious*, but it was definitely better than the burnt food he’d had before.

As he ate, a message flashed in his mind: [You have consumed soggy stamina corn. Effect reduced by 30% due to sogginess. Strength increased by 14 for 30 minutes.]

When he was about fifty layers down the corn tower,

“Vitality.”

Another message appeared: [You have used Vitality Lv. 8. Instantly digests food in stomach. All stats increase by 8% for 180 minutes. Digestion speed becomes very fast for 180 minutes.]

He used the skill to empty his stomach and ate the corn again.

At that moment,

“Kkihihit! Name him, Sejun! Name him!” Ggamangi barked excitedly.

Ggamangi, who had brought Melphix in his mouth and placed him in front of Sejun, barked.

Melphix, still held gently in Ggamangi’s mouth, had no idea what was about to happen. *Moo? Moo?* he thought, munching happily. *This is delicious! What is this amazing taste?*

Excited by the sweet taste of dried sweet potato, he was eagerly eating dried sweet potato, emitting small flames from his horn that could only be seen upon close inspection.

Ah, right. I need to name the new recruit.

“Let’s see…”

Sejun thought about the creature. *Melphix, the ladybug. Seven spots. And it makes a ‘Moo’ sound… and breathes fire when it’s excited.*

“Kking! And he’s terrible at bossing people around, Sejun!” Ggamangi added helpfully.

“Then…”

As Sejun began to name him,

The Ggamangi family watched Sejun, their eyes wide with anticipation.

Especially,

Karr, especially, was hoping for a truly awful name. His eyes shone with eager anticipation.

With everyone’s wishes in mind,

He thought of names based on Melphix: Mel-ody? Mel-ting Pot? Because it was a ladybug: Spotty? Moo-bug? Fire-Moo? Hmm, maybe not.

Sejun was thinking hard about a name.

However,

It’s difficult…

He couldn’t come up with a name he liked.

At that moment,

Ladybug that says ‘Moo’, clumsy, seven spots… these ideas swirled in Sejun’s mind.

Moobalchil!

A name came to mind.

Sounds good?

It’s a name that makes my toes tingle for some reason,

“Moobalchil.”

When he said the name out loud, he thought it sounded even better.

And

“Kkihihit! Sejun’s naming skills are amazing again!” Ggamangi cheered. “The old Sejun is back!” Theo purred. *Kkiruk! Shalalang!* “He’s really back!” someone else squawked in agreement. *Kkak! Ppiyak!*

The Blackie family was in trouble. They needed a new name, but all the ideas were awful. First, there was “Caleuche.” Everyone agreed it was a terrible name. Even Caleuche himself, a small, fluffy creature, seemed embarrassed by it. He grumbled and made fun of the name “Mubaalchil,” which was even worse! The Blackie family sighed. Finding a good name was harder than they thought.

A little while later, the sound of chewing filled the air. Crunch, crunch, crunch. “All gone!” Sejun announced happily, patting his stomach. He had eaten the entire big pile of sweetcorn! Sejun always thought of names best after a good meal. With his belly full and his mind working, he finally had a name. He smiled and then fell fast asleep.

High up in the Black Tower, on the 94th floor, was Sejun’s coffee farm on Mount Chica. Ninir, a powerful magical creature called a Great Being, was in charge. She stood among the green coffee plants, thinking hard.

“Hmm,” she said to herself. “From now on, the best coffee from Mount Chica will be called ‘Black Tower 94 Chica Sejun’.” She smiled. “And the next best will be ‘Black Tower 94 Chica Mozark’.” Mozark was a mighty black dragon who ruled Mount Chica.

Ninir was pleased with her names. “Okay!” she called out to the Black Wolves and Silver Wolves nearby. “Take 100 kilograms of ‘Black Tower 94 Chica Sejun’ to the 99th floor for Sejun.” The wolves nodded and got ready to carry the coffee.

“Ninir,” Hegel said gently, “Have you told your sister you are here? Mimir seemed worried about you.” Elka nodded, “Yes, she was looking for you.”

Ninir’s red fur bristled. “Hmph!” she snapped. “Do you think my amazing sister would even notice if someone like *me* disappeared? She’s too busy being brilliant to care!” Suddenly, flames burst from Ninir’s fur, bright and hot.

Mimir and Ninir were sisters, born into the White Sheep Tribe. Most White Sheep had white fur and could use mind power, magic that came from their thoughts. Mimir, with her rare golden fur, was incredibly gifted. Even as a baby, lightning crackled around her body! The tribe praised her as a genius.

But Ninir, with her unusual red fur, was different. She had almost no mind power at all. Even when she was older than ten, she could barely make a tiny spark. “Nyang! Ow, it stings!” she would cry, failing to do what even newborn lambs could do easily.

Everyone in the tribe compared the sisters. “Mimir is so clever,” they would whisper, “and poor Ninir… not so much.” Ninir felt smaller and smaller each time.

When Mimir became a Great Being, a very powerful magical creature, it got even worse. “Oh dear,” some sheep would say, loud enough for Ninir to hear, “the older sister is a wonder, but the younger one… well, she’s not very bright.”

Ninir couldn’t stand it anymore. She ran away from home, determined to become strong too. She traveled the Tower, working hard, until she finally became a Great Being herself, thanks to meeting Theo.

Then, she realized something amazing. ‘It’s not that I have no talent!’ she thought, flames dancing in her eyes. ‘My talent isn’t mind power! It’s fire!’ She was amazing with fire magic!

‘I’ll show them all!’ Ninir dreamed of returning to her tribe, showing off her fire skills to Mimir and everyone else. She didn’t know that Mimir was already working for Sejun, just like her.

The next morning, Sejun yawned and stretched, feeling rested. “Ugh,” he mumbled sleepily. “Meow!” Theo purred, rubbing against his leg. Squeak, squeak! The Blackie family chattered happily. Sejun smiled. “Good morning, everyone! Time for a wash!”

Using his magic skill, he made clean water appear and gently washed Theo and the Blackie family, and then himself. Swish! He made a mark on the wall to show the new day. Then, he went outside.

“Move Earth!” he said, using his earth magic. The ground rumbled, and a tall monument of dark stone rose up. Sejun had built it for Hamer. Carved into the stone were the words: [Hamer Monument] – Hamer, the God of Agriculture, was the first god to serve Park Sejun.

“Hehehe,” Sejun chuckled, looking at his work. He felt a warm glow of pride. ‘I’ve really helped them grow,’ he thought, thinking of Theo, Kkuengi, and the Blackie family. They had even helped him command a god!

Step, step. Sejun began to walk through his farm, enjoying the fresh morning air and the smell of growing plants.

After walking for about thirty minutes, a message appeared in front of Sejun. [The Wind Cabbage is happy you are walking by and gives you some of its strength.] [The Great Gratitude of Crops (Master) skill is activated, making your magic power stronger! Your magic power potential increases from 7157 to 7167.] Sejun felt a little surge of power. His magic power was now even stronger! Magic Power (7167/7167). But it was already full again, ready to use. Sejun smiled. He liked getting stronger just by walking around his farm.

A moment later, he heard a happy bark. Kkueng! [Daddy, did you sleep well?] Kkuengi, his big, fluffy wolf-dog, bounded over to him, tail wagging. Kkuengi leaned against Sejun as they walked together, enjoying the morning.

Just then, Sejun stopped. “Huh?” He saw a pile of something near the edge of the farm. It was hard and dry, with bits of brown and green mixed together. ‘Did Batbat bring this?’ he wondered. Batbat usually brought slimy creatures, but this was different. Sejun walked closer and carefully picked it up. It felt like… “Seaweed?” he said in surprise. ‘Perfect! Seaweed soup for breakfast!’

Sejun was thrilled. He grabbed the seaweed and hurried to the kitchen. He rinsed it in water and put it in a bowl to soak. It needed to become soft again. Twenty minutes later, the seaweed had plumped up nicely.

“I’ll cook today!” Sejun announced. It had been a while since he had cooked himself. He heated his stone pot and added some slime meat, stirring it until it turned brown and smelled delicious. Then, he added the seaweed and stirred it all together. ‘Soy sauce, garlic, and a little fish broth,’ he thought, adding the seasonings. He stirred again, making sure the meat and seaweed soaked up all the flavors.

Glug, glug, glug. He poured in water and put the lid on the pot. “Time Acceleration!” he said, using his magic to speed up time. He waited just one minute and then lifted the lid. Steam rose up, smelling like… seaweed soup!

A message suddenly appeared. [Congratulations! You have made the first dish in the Tower using Slime Meat and Bloodsucking Leech Leather Soup!] [The recipe for Slime Meat Bloodsucking Leech Leather Soup has been added to your Cooking (Master) skill!] [Your Cooking (Master) skill has become much better!] A recipe with a very strange name was now in his cooking skill.

“Huh?!” Sejun stared at the message. “Bloodsucking Leech Leather Soup? Not seaweed soup?” “What kind of name is that?!” he exclaimed, confused. Then, he understood. What he thought was seaweed was actually the dried skin of a bloodsucking leech! Batbat must have killed it and brought it as a gift. When the leech died, all the liquid inside had drained out, leaving just the skin, which looked and smelled like seaweed.

‘It smells like seaweed soup, and it tastes like seaweed soup, but…’ Sejun frowned, taking a bite. Just then, another message popped up. [Amazing! You have achieved the Great Creation achievement by making a dish using two types of disaster creatures for the first time in the Tower!] [You have earned the title: Disaster Chef!] [You have earned the talent: Strange Cooking!] [As a reward, the cost to stay on the 0th floor of the Black Tower will be reduced by 0.1%!]

Sejun stared at the messages, speechless. “…” ‘Is the system making fun of me?!’ he thought, feeling a little angry.

“Theo, Vice President! This is not right! We need to rebel against this system!” “Puhuhu! Yes, good idea, meow! Rebellion!” Theo purred, agreeing at once.

Kkueng! [Kkuengi will rebel too!] Kkuengi barked loudly. Squeak, squeak! [We are surprised and angry too! Count us in!] the Blackie family squeaked. And so, on the 99th floor of the Black Tower, Sejun and his friends started planning their rebellion against the magical system that gave out strange titles and talents, and sometimes felt like it was playing jokes on them.