Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 101

The Carrot Harvesting Competition finished with a final cheer from the crowd of rabbits.

“Squeak! Squeak!”

“Pyu pyu! Peep!”

Happy rabbit noises filled the air. Colorful flags flapped gently in the breeze, and the smell of roasted carrots drifted from nearby stalls. The Harvest Festival was truly starting! Sejun watched the joyful scene for a moment, a small smile on his face. He wanted to join the fun, but he had a job to do. He needed to harvest more crops for his quest. *So many tomatoes still to pick,* he thought with a sigh. He couldn’t play just yet.

So, he let the rabbits enjoy the festival and worked with Kkuenge, Theo, and Iona.

He could have worked alone, but Kkuenge was young and had been watching the black rabbit’s drink all day. He needed someone to watch him.

According to his mother, the Crimson Giant Bear, Kkuenge would have to see the Blue Moon, a special time in their world that comes every few years, about ten more times before becoming an adult.

And Theo and Iona wouldn’t leave Sejun’s lap even if he told them to go.

Tap. Tap.

With the three animals in tow, Sejun harvested cherry tomatoes.

[You have harvested a ripe magic cherry tomato.]

[72,811 harvests remain until job quest completion.]

[Job experience increases very slightly.]

[Harvesting Lv. 5 proficiency increases very slightly.]

[You have gained 30 experience.]

Cutting the branches and harvesting several at once would have been easier, but then he could only use the Harvesting skill once, so Sejun picked the cherry tomatoes one by one.

[You have harvested an unripe magic cherry tomato.]

[72,744 harvests remain until job quest completion.]

[Job experience increases very slightly.]

[Harvesting Lv. 5 proficiency increases very slightly.]

[You have gained 23 experience.]

He even picked unripe cherry tomatoes to use the Harvesting skill.

After picking all the cherry tomatoes in the ground field, Sejun took the animals down to the cave.

Kkuenge!

Kkuenge went into the pond to hunt.

“Iona, watch Kkuenge.”

“Yes.”

At Sejun’s instruction, Iona gave up Sejun’s lap and Theo’s tail and followed Kkuenge into the pond. With Iona’s magical skills, there was no chance of Kkuenge being in danger.

[Master! Welcome!]

Blaze greeted Sejun, waving its leaves.

“Sorry. I should come more often. Aren’t you bored being here alone?”

[No! You came, Master! And there are Ents too, so it’s okay!]

Blaze always spoke so prettily.

Pat, pat.

Sejun stroked Blaze’s leaves. He gently touched Blaze’s leaves again. He frowned slightly. Blaze’s stem was thinner than he remembered. *Is Blaze getting enough sunlight?* he wondered, a small worry growing in his chest.

[Hehe. I feel good!]

Just then,

Rumble.

The ground began to shake.

“Huh?!”

Sejun quickly regained his balance as the shaking stopped.

“What was that? Did Kkuenge cause an accident?”

[W-Well…]

Sejun stroked Blaze’s leaves for about 10 minutes, watching to see if the ground would shake again, but it remained still.

“Is it okay?”

Sejun was relieved and started harvesting cherry tomatoes again.

“Air Bubble!”

Iona used magic to allow herself and Kkuenge to breathe underwater.

Whoosh.

A transparent air bubble formed, enveloping their heads.

Kkuenge!

Kkuenge looked at Iona with admiration, marveling at the air bubble on his head.

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. This is nothing. Now, let’s play as much as you want.”

Kkuenge!

At Iona’s words, Kkuenge swam around the pond, hunting fish. And thanks to the air bubble, Kkuenge, emboldened, went down to the bottom of the pond.

When he was with the black rabbit, he was always told never to go to the bottom, so he had always been curious.

Having reached the bottom of the pond,

Kkuenge?

“What is this?”

Iona, who had followed Kkuenge to the bottom of the pond, discovered a massive root stretching towards the Sea of Dimensions.

Just then,

Whoosh.

A bright light flowed in from the root connected to the Sea of Dimensions.

Kkuenge?

Kkuenge and Iona’s gazes followed the light.

And the light entered the massive root of the tree that pierced through the ground. They immediately knew whose root it was. There was only one tree here: Blaze.

Rumble.

The ground shook as the tree’s roots grew, absorbing the light.

“As expected of Sejun, raising something so amazing!”

Iona was amazed as she looked at Blaze’s massive root connected to the Sea of Dimensions.

Just then,

Wiggle.

[Hey.]

Blaze moved its roots and spoke to Kkuenge and Iona.

“Whew. It’s over.”

Sejun quickly finished harvesting the cherry tomatoes.

Just then,

Splash.

Kkuenge and Iona emerged from the water.

“Warm winds, blow. Warm Wind.”

Iona used magic to neatly remove the moisture from her and Kkuenge’s fur.

“Did you have fun?”

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Yes!”

Kkuenge!

Iona’s voice was bright, as if she had played along too.

“Then let’s go rest. Blaze, I’ll come down again tomorrow.”

[Yes! See you tomorrow!]

Sejun said goodbye to Blaze and went up to the surface first.

[Remember what we talked about. Keep our secret safe, okay?]

Blaze said to Iona and Kkuenge.

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Of course!”

Kkuenge!

Iona and Kkuenge nodded at Blaze’s words and followed Sejun to the surface. The three had made a sort of deal in exchange for not talking about Blaze’s roots.

The reason Blaze wanted to hide its roots was very trivial.

[I want to look cute to Master!]

It seemed that if Sejun saw the massive roots, he would no longer look at it with adoring eyes.

As Sejun came up to the surface,

Pyuk pyuk!

Pyak pyuk!

Pik pyuk!

The rabbits were drunk and out of their minds.

“Why did you all drink so much?”

As Sejun properly laid down the rabbits scattered on the ground,

-Drink up!

The black dragon statue was forcing the rabbits to drink.

-You know what will happen if you leave even a drop?

Squeak!

The rabbits were scared to refuse. Kaiser seemed like he wouldn’t take no for an answer. There was no one brave enough to refuse the glass Kaiser offered, so it was understandable that the rabbits had ended up like this.

Just then,

-Park Sejun, you rascal! Where have you been?!

As Kaiser, who had created this situation, discovered Sejun,

Flap. Flap.

He flew in front of Sejun and held out a glass filled with makgeolli.

“Thank you.”

Sejun, who was already thirsty, carefully accepted the glass.

And

“Hoo.”

He brought the makgeolli close to his nose and smelled it.

-Hmm. So you know how to drink a little.

Sejun smelling the makgeolli to see if it was similar to the makgeolli he had eaten on Earth seemed to Kaiser like savoring the aroma before drinking, and Kaiser’s favorability towards Sejun, who liked alcohol, increased slightly.

‘The scent is stronger than the makgeolli I used to eat on Earth?’

But the ratio of sour and sweet smells was similar to what he had on Earth.

Gulp.

He swallowed the saliva that had filled his mouth in anticipation of the makgeolli.

As Sejun took a sip of the makgeolli with a thrilled heart,

‘Oh!’

The sweet, bitter, and sour tastes smoothly passed down Sejun’s throat without any repulsion.

Gulp.

“Kuh. Sweet.”

Sejun exclaimed without realizing it at the refreshing sensation of the carbonation that tingled his throat. Kaiser had lowered the temperature of the makgeolli with magic, making the carbonation stronger.

Gulp. Gulp.

Sejun downed the makgeolli in an instant and held out his glass. It was really cool and sweet, perhaps because he was drinking it after working.

“Kuh. Please give me another glass.”

-Hahaha. Park Sejun, you rascal! So you know how to drink!

Kaiser was delighted and poured Sejun some more alcohol. Kaiser had been lonely without a drinking partner.

[The Tower’s Administrator says she wants to drink makgeolli too.]

“Eileen, you’re still young. I’ll give you some when you grow up.”

-That’s right! Sejun is right! You still have to wait 200 years.

[The Tower’s Administrator says it’s only 180 years now.]

Before he knew it, the waiting time had decreased from 250 years to 180 years.

[The Tower’s Administrator says she’s sulking now and won’t talk to Grandpa anymore.]

-Huh?! Eileen~! Park Sejun, this is all your fault! I…

Kaiser, who had been blocked by Eileen again, complained to Sejun about his situation and drank makgeolli for several hours, but neither of them got drunk.

Kaiser couldn’t get drunk even if he wanted to with just makgeolli due to the dragon race’s naturally superior physical abilities.

Crunch crunch.

Sejun was eating detox green onions as a snack. He liked makgeolli, but he didn’t really like getting drunk.

And more than anything, he was afraid he might make a mistake to Kaiser if he got drunk. He needed to stay alert. Being careless around Kaiser could be risky.

As a result of diligently eating detox green onions and staying sober,

-Tch! The alcohol is gone. It was fun drinking with you.

Kaiser, who had finished all the makgeolli, returned to the fountain.

“Guys, eat this.”

Sejun, who had been drinking with Kaiser, fed the rabbits detox green onions so they could detoxify from the alcohol.

Pyu pyu…

Pyak…

Pik…

Fortunately, thanks to Sejun, the rabbits were able to regain their senses quickly.

However, as night fell, Sejun regretted what he had done. The rabbits, who had taken a nap and regained their senses, began breeding all over the fields all night long.

Ugh! Ugh!

Boo! Boo!

Panting sounds coming from all directions like surround sound.

“Kyuu—World, be silent. Silence!”

Iona, whose sweet sleep had been disturbed, cast a spell around Sejun’s house in anger, blocking the noise.

Thanks to her, Sejun was able to sleep quietly, but for some reason, his heart felt strange.

Morning of the 266th day of being stranded.

“Ugh.”

As Sejun got up and went outside, it was peaceful with only a few rabbits wandering around.

“Greetings, singles.”

The very fact that they were wandering around during the day meant they were single. And the black rabbit was not seen among those singles.

He’s all grown up. Black rabbit, live well. Sejun blessed the black rabbit who had escaped singleness and made breakfast.

Today’s breakfast was baguette bread, cheese, and soup. Of course, he grilled fish separately for Theo to eat.

“Guys, let’s eat.”

“Bring out the fish, meow!”

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Yes!”

Kkuenge!

The animals, as if nothing had happened last night, ran at Sejun’s call.

Crunch crunch.

The animals ate their breakfast diligently.

“Okay. Eat a lot and cheer up.”

Sejun prepared a generous meal to boost the morale of the singles.

Kkuenge!

Kkuenge was the most excited thanks to that.

“Kkuenge, let’s eat it all. Aren’t you happy?”

Sejun was trying to win childishly with food.

While they were eating breakfast,

“Oh! Emil, look at this! Corn!”

“Oh! Indeed. The kernels are full, it’s top quality.”

The raccoons were inspecting Sejun’s crops.

“Emil, come here and eat this.”

Sejun decided to extend a favor to Emil, who praised his corn.

“Yes?! Yes! Thank you!”

Emil wanted to refuse, but he might incur even greater wrath if he refused the favor of the great Black Dragon.

‘Emil! Fighting!’

The other raccoons cheered on Emil as he was called by Sejun.

Just then,

“What are you doing? You guys should come too.”

Sejun gestured to the other raccoons.

“Yes!”

The raccoons who had been cheering on Emil hurriedly ran over.

And so, they had a meal together.

“Okay. This is soup I made.”

“…Thank you.”

The raccoons forced a smile and ate the purple soup Sejun handed them. It was a truly unappetizing color.

But

“Oh!”

Such thoughts vanished in an instant as they took a bite.

“It’s so delicious.”

“It’s delicious!”

The raccoons began to eat the soup diligently. It went well with the baguette bread and cheese they had made.

[You have consumed Enhanced Purple Chef’s Carrot Soup.]

[Agility increases by 10.5 for 1 hour.]

There was even a buff after eating all the soup.

“Gasp!”

“This is?!”

The raccoons were shocked that the food had a buff.

“Fufu. Do you want it?”

Theo grinned at the gullible raccoons.