Farming In The Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 550

Second Floor of the Black Tower.

Sejun, noticing Kyungchul’s sadness after Spark called him ‘Uncle,’ handed him a special item from Hunt, the God of Hunting. It was ‘The Tenacious Hunter’s Bow’.

“Huh? What’s this?” Kyungchul asked, taking the bow with a puzzled look.

“Oh. Wow. Wow!” He examined the bow, clearly impressed.

This was no ordinary item. It was a Shingi (a magical item given by a god), something hunters on Earth had only dreamed of seeing.

Even better, it was SSS-grade, meaning anyone could use it. Plus, it had a fantastic skill called ‘Homing Wind Arrow,’ which never missed its target.

“Sejun, thank you so much. But can I really use this Shingi?” Kyungchul asked. He was amazed by the bow but also a little worried.

To use a Shingi, you need to be liked by the god and meet certain rules. Kyungchul heard that gods are very picky.

“It should be fine,” Sejun replied.

“Hehe. Kyungchul, don’t worry, meow! If Hunt causes trouble, tell me, meow!” Theo added.

“Okay. I will,” Kyungchul said, completely trusting them.

“Sejun, what are you going to do now?” He asked Sejun about his plans.

Really, he wanted to try out the bow right away. But he didn’t want to leave Sejun, who had come all the way to see him, so he asked politely.

“We’re going to plant some green onions here and then head up. Don’t worry about us; go ahead. It’s fine.” Sejun smiled, happy that Kyungchul liked the gift so much.

“Really?! Is it okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you!”

“Be careful, and see you next time.”

“Okay. Sejun, you be careful too!” With Sejun’s blessing, Kyungchul hurried off to hunt.

“Shall we plant some green onions, then?” Sejun and his friends started planting.

A little while later, Kyungchul was on the 33rd floor of the tower. He found a group of spider monsters, put an arrow on his bow, and pulled it back.

But then, “Ugh!” No matter how hard he tried, the string wouldn’t move.

[Hunt, the God of Hunting, is furious that you dare to use his Shingi when you’re so weak.]

[Hunt, the God of Hunting, demands in an angry voice that you give the Shingi back to Master Sejun right now.]

Hunt was speaking to Kyungchul, thinking Sejun had lost his bow.

“…Sejun gave it to me. And Theo told me to tell him if Hunt acted up,” Kyungchul said quietly.

[…]

Hunt suddenly went silent.

[Hunt, the God of Hunting, asks what you are doing when there are monsters nearby and tells you to start hunting immediately.]

[Hunt, the God of Hunting, says to be sure to tell Sejun and Theo that he was helpful.]

Soon, he was pushing Kyungchul to use the Shingi and asking him to say good things about him to Sejun and Theo.

“Yeah. I’ll see how it goes,” Kyungchul replied. Seeing Hunt’s reaction, he realized again how amazing Sejun was.

‘Sejun is my best friend!’ Kyungchul thought. Having a good friend like Sejun meant Kyungchul could even influence a god. He felt like he could become the strongest hunter on Earth.

Plop. Plop.

[Hehe. It’s fun!] Spark said, putting seeds in the holes Sejun made.

Hee hee hee! Squeak!

[Hehe. Great Blackie will cover them up!] Flap flap.

Blackie followed, covering the holes where Spark had placed the seeds. So, Sejun, Spark, and Blackie worked together to plant green onions.

“Hehe. Nya nya nya nya, meow!”

Goohehehe. Squeak!

[Hehe. Squeaky can plant them quickly too!] Seeing Theo and Squeaky planting green onions super fast, Sejun felt a little down.

They were much faster than him! ‘Isn’t this too much?! I’m a top farmer!’ he thought.

The answer, as always, was physical strength. Just then,

[The Guardian has created 10,000 pyeong of sturdy Blade Green Onion fields.]

[You have gained 50,000 experience points.]

A message appeared in front of Sejun.

“Hehe.”

‘No, that’s not the point,’ Sejun thought. He realized what was important: be friends with those who are strong.

Sejun was becoming more aware of his own abilities. About an hour after he started planting again,

[Farm reconstruction rate has reached 100%.]

[Quest completed.]

[You have been recognized as the rightful owner of the Black Tower 2nd floor Green Onion Farm land deed.]

[Land Deed Skill: Farm Information Lv. Max is activated.]

Finally, the 2nd floor farm of the tower was finished.

Squeak?!

“What?! Stop working?!” The hamsters and people who lost their jobs were not happy, but Supervisor 18 would have to handle that.

There was also the grape farm on the 4th floor of the tower, and he had been told to rebuild the 3rd floor, so there were plenty of places to work.

“Let’s go up now. Everyone, go into the subspace warehouse.” Sejun left Supervisor 18, surrounded by angry hamsters and people.

Whoosh. He disappeared quietly, opening the Black Tower 89th floor land deed.

It was too early to go home; he wanted to make more memories with Spark.

Black Tower 99th floor, Black Magic Tower.

“Squeak squeak squeak. I’ve finally finished all the work I put off during my closed-door training!” Iona shouted, jumping up. She had been working while holding the heart-shaped fur ball Theo made for her.

Then,

Squeak!

Squeak! The hamsters of Hamk, thinking their work was done too, cheered with her.

Iona, who had come separately from Sejun, also returned separately and brought back five hamsters with magical talent. She wanted to bring more, but five was the most she could handle.

Just then,

“Laughing? You’re laughing now?! Everything is annoying! I’ll bite anyone who touches me!” Blackster scolded them fiercely.

Even though his body was black and hard to see, Blackster’s dark circles were very obvious from doing all the work alone.

Squeak…

As the new hamsters were being scolded by Blackster,

“Squeak squeak squeak. Blackster has worked hard, so I’ll give him a three-day vacation. Move it.” Iona gave Blackster a vacation and left to find Theo.

And then,

“Hehe. Well, you can laugh. Shall we go eat? I’ll buy you something delicious.” Blackster, now gentle, took the hamsters to the restaurant.

[Arrived at the 89th floor of the Black Tower]

“Huh?! It’s cold?” Sejun wondered why it was so cold.

He looked around quickly.

Everywhere he looked, it was ice. The ground beneath his feet was a vast, frozen lake, smooth and clear as glass. The air was sharp and cold, biting at his cheeks and making him shiver even through his clothes.

‘I hope it won’t break,’ he thought.

Thud. Thud. Sejun kicked the ice. Luckily, the lake was frozen very thick.

As Sejun looked around,

Clang.

“Hehe. Great Hybrid President Park, I missed you, meow!” The subspace warehouse opened, and Theo rushed towards Sejun’s face.

[Hehe. Master Sejun, I missed you too!]

The small flame on Theo’s head flickered brightly. “It’s warm!” Theo said. His soft fur felt warm against Sejun’s face. “Kkueng!” barked Kkueng. “Kking!” yipped Kking. Kkueng and Kamang, the other creatures, rushed out after Theo. They snuggled close to Sejun, and he felt a nice warmth, like wearing a cozy fur coat.

They stepped out of the strange, hidden space. Sejun looked around. “Hmm,” he said. “No message saying I own this place yet?” He had expected to get a notification, like before. “There must be something else I need to do,” he thought.

Sejun stepped carefully onto the frozen lake. The ice was smooth and clear. He took small steps, hoping a quest would appear. He didn’t want to slip and fall. But the ice felt surprisingly steady. A smile grew on his face. “This is fun!” he thought. He took a bigger step, then another, and soon he was sliding across the ice, laughing. “How am I doing? Not falling, right?” he called out to his friends. *Thump!* Suddenly, the ice beneath his feet vibrated with a deep sound.

Sejun looked down at the ice. It wasn’t clear anymore. Underneath his feet, the ice seemed to turn black. He gasped. It wasn’t the ice itself, but thousands and thousands of fish packed together below! Just then, a thought popped into his mind, as clear as words in his head: *You have a new quest.* The quest was about the frozen lake. It said the lake was in danger because of too many “frigid piranhas.” These fish were hurting other creatures. Sejun needed to catch many piranhas – one hundred thousand! There were also bigger, stronger piranhas to deal with. If he succeeded, he would be recognized as the owner of the Frozen Lake.

“Frigid Piranha?” Sejun repeated, surprised. “One hundred thousand? And giant ones too?” Theo bounced up and down, his flame flickering even faster. “Puhuhut! This is so exciting, meow!” he purred loudly, his tail twitching with eagerness. Theo loved challenges.

“We need to make a hole for fishing,” Sejun said. He drew his sword. Focusing his energy, he channeled magic into the blade. The sword glowed slightly. He carefully began to cut into the ice, making a circle about one meter wide. But the sword went deeper and deeper. “Huh?” Sejun stopped, surprised. The ice was much thicker than he expected. After cutting for a long time, he realized the ice was more than ten meters thick! He couldn’t just smash through it – that might crack the whole lake. He didn’t want to do that. He wanted to show Flamey how to ice fish. It was going to be a special experience for Flamey, and Sejun wanted it to be perfect.

“Don’t worry, Sejun!” Theo puffed out his chest. “Vice Chairman Theo will take care of this, meow!” *Scratch!* Theo extended a sharp dragon claw from his paw. He quickly drew a circle on the ice. *Crack!* The ice neatly broke along the line, forming a perfect circle. “Kkueng!” Kkueng stepped forward. With a gentle wave of his paw, the large circle of ice lifted smoothly out of the hole and floated to the side. *Rumble.* The hole was deep. “Wow,” Sejun said, looking down. “No wonder I couldn’t cut through it. The ice is almost thirty meters thick!”

“Theo, can you make three more holes like that?” Sejun asked. “Puhuhut! Of course, meow!” Theo replied proudly. Soon, four neat holes were cut in the ice, ready for fishing. Sejun smiled. “Okay, everyone,” he announced. “Fishing competition! We’re going to catch piranhas with fishing rods only. Got it?” He quickly made simple fishing rods and handed them out. “No prizes, just bragging rights!” he added with a grin. “Puhuhut! I, Theo, will be the champion, meow!” Theo declared. *Hehet! I can catch more than you!* Flamey chirped excitedly. *Kkueng! Kkueng will win!* Kkueng rumbled. *Hehet! Kamang will be the best fisherman!* Kamang squeaked. They were all eager to compete. Anything Sejun did was always exciting, but they also each wanted to prove they were the best.

Kamang wiggled his nose excitedly. *Hehet! Kkomi, make a net!* he squeaked to Kkomi. Kkomi quickly started weaving a net of sticky slime. But Sejun saw what Kamang was doing. “Kamang!” Sejun said sternly. “No nets! That’s cheating! One more time and you’re out of the competition!” Kamang drooped his ears. *Kking…* He put down the net and picked up his fishing rod again. “Caught one, meow!” Theo shouted, pulling up his line. *Kkueng!* They were using chunks of slime meat as bait. The piranhas were so hungry they bit instantly. Every time they pulled up a line, a mass of silver, wriggling piranhas came flopping out of the hole, snapping their sharp teeth.

*Hehet! Sejun, we have a bite too!* Flamey called out. “Okay, I’ll help you pull,” Sejun said. He held the rod with Flamey, helping the little creature lift. The Kamang family also got a bite. *Kkihit! Kking! Kking! Hehet! We got one! Everyone pull!* Kamang squeaked. “Yes!” Kkomi replied. *Kkilook!* They all pulled together – Kkomi, Kamang, Kak, Piyak, MooMoo, and Ppuu – each adding their strength to lift the heavy rod. Slowly, the afternoon light began to fade. The sun started to sink lower in the sky, painting the ice with soft orange and pink colors. They had been fishing for hours.

“Okay, everyone,” Sejun said, looking at the beautiful sunset. “Let’s stop fishing for today.” He smiled. “It’s getting late.” They had caught a lot of piranhas – over ten thousand! Theo had caught the most, with 4,500. Kkueng was very close behind. Flamey had caught 900, and the Kamang family had worked hard too. “Kkyut kkyut kkyut! Congratulations, Theo!” a sleepy voice said. Iona, the small dragon, unwrapped herself from Theo’s tail, where she had been dozing in the warmth of his fur. She rubbed her eyes and gave Theo a little nudge of congratulations.

“Dinner time!” Sejun announced. From his special storage space, he pulled out wooden planks. He carefully layered them on the ice to create a floor that wouldn’t be too cold. Then he placed flat stones on top. *Whoosh!* With a burst of magic, he created a warm bonfire in the center. The smell of grilling piranha soon filled the air. Even as they cooked, the piranhas seemed to give off a strange energy. While the fish grilled, Sejun said, “Theo, can you cut some of the ice into blocks?” He wanted to build an igloo to sleep in. “Puhuhut! Ice blocks coming right up, meow!” Theo replied. Theo quickly cut the ice into neat brick shapes. Kkueng and Kamang helped carry the blocks, and Sejun, who had built igloos many times before, quickly put them together. Soon, a cozy igloo stood on the ice.

“Okay, everyone, come inside,” Sejun said, opening the entrance to the igloo. They all squeezed inside and sat around the warm fire, eating the grilled piranha. It had been a long and fun day. “Flamey,” Sejun said softly, “isn’t this amazing? We’re sleeping right on the lake!” He smiled at Flamey. *Hehet!* Flamey chirped happily. *Every day with you is amazing, Sejun.* Sejun’s heart warmed. He looked around at his friends, the firelight dancing on their faces. This was a day he would always remember.