Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 177

“Don’t worry too much,” Kaiser said, trying to calm Sejun. “This is just the worst-case scenario, if everything goes wrong.”

Sejun looked tense. Kaiser explained, “For the bad magic to get into the tower, it needs to mix with other magic. It’s not easy to find magic strong enough to mix with it.”

Just then,

“Kooeng?! Kooeng!”

“[Where’s Daddy?! Kooeng is hungry!]”

Kooeng, who had been playing with the pink fur, started looking for Sejun because it was dinner time.

“Has it already gotten this late?” Sejun quickly got up and headed to the kitchen.

And then,

“Ahem. I haven’t had roasted sweet potatoes lately…” Kaiser muttered to himself, following Sejun as if wanting someone to hear.

“Kooeng!”

“[It’s Daddy!]”

Kooeng spotted Sejun on his way to the kitchen and ran towards him.

“Kooeng is hungry, right? Just wait a little bit. Kooeng is good, so you can wait well, right?”

“Kooeng! Kooeng!”

“[Kooeng is good, so I can wait well! But if you give me a snack, I can wait even better!]”

Sejun understood. Kooeng was saying, “I’m being good now, but I’ll get very hungry soon! A snack would help me wait.”

“Okay, okay.”

Sejun took a handful of roasted chestnuts from the storage and placed them on Kooeng’s front paws.

Munch munch.

“Koohehehe! Kooeng!”

“[Hehehe! Kooeng can wait well now!]”

Kooeng put half of the roasted chestnuts Sejun gave him into his mouth at once and danced, wiggling his bum. Mengshu often behaved this way when he was happy eating something delicious, but he got hungry faster that way. Sejun had to hurry.

Whoosh.

Sejun quickly filled a pot with water, put it on the fire, and used his special tool, the ‘Rice Dough that Swallows Wealth’ – a pot that magically makes rice flour – to get 5kg of rice flour. Then, he quickly kneaded the dough and started steaming the white rice cakes.

Tap tap tap.

Following that, he chopped locust meat and vegetables into a new pot and boiled them.

“Whew. Now, do I just need to grill the fish?”

Sejun took a breather and started grilling the fish on a branch over the fire. While flipping the grilled fish to cook it well, he occasionally wrapped sweet potatoes in bracken leaves and put them in the fire to make roasted sweet potatoes for Kaiser.

As Sejun hurried around the kitchen, the delicious smell of roasting fish, sweet rice cakes, and warm soup filled the air and drifted outside.

And then,

“Squeak!”

“Ooh-ook!”

Rabbits and monkeys began to peek around the kitchen. They were waiting for Sejun’s cooking, which they hadn’t had in days.

“Come in and eat this first.”

Sejun handed out the freshly made grilled fish to the rabbits and monkeys.

“Delicious-nyang! I’ll give this grilled fish a perfect score-nyang!”

Of course, Theo, who was next to Sejun, also ate deliciously.

Meanwhile, Sejun took the finished rice cakes out of the pot to let the steam escape and prepared the soup, feeling like he was facing a big challenge to get dinner ready in time, when

“Kooeng!”

“[Kooeng can’t wait anymore!]”

Just in time, Kooeng, who was about to become a ferocious Mengshu, entered the kitchen.

“Here. Please sit down, Kooeng.”

Sejun pulled out Kooeng’s chair, acting as a waiter, and

“Ahem! Kooeng!”

“[Ahem! Bring the chef’s most confident dish!]”

Kooeng also immediately played the role of a guest, sitting down and ordering food. Sejun quickly placed the prepared dishes in front of Kooeng. The first dish was a cake-sized white rice cake on a plate.

Sploosh. Sploosh. Sploosh.

On top of that, as a finishing touch, he poured three splooshes of honey on top of the white rice cake to add sweetness.

“Kooeng!”

“[Looks delicious!]”

Mengshu cheered at the sight of the honey being poured. He instantly returned from being a final boss to a cute Kooeng. Sejun satisfied Kooeng in that way. Following that, he placed the soup and grilled fish in front of Kooeng as well.

“Shall I eat now too?”

Sejun sat down and began to eat his meal.

When dinner was over,

“Hurry up and finish the dishes-nyang! Kooeng, wipe them cleaner-nyang!”

Under Theo’s command, who wanted to finish work quickly and return to Sejun’s lap, the animals washed the pots and dishes they had eaten from.

Slurp.

Watching those animals, Sejun leisurely drank a cup of coffee. It was truly a brief, honey-like break time.

Just then,

“Squeak!”

The father rabbit approached Sejun.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Squeak! [Excuse me, Sejun. It is time to harvest the radishes, cabbage, and cucumbers. We wanted to ask if you would like us to harvest them now.]”

The father rabbit answered Sejun’s question. As it was time to harvest the crops they had planted before, the father rabbit came to ask Sejun whether to continue growing them to collect seeds or to harvest them.

“Really? Let’s go see.”

Sejun went with the father rabbit to the place where the crops were planted.

“Oh!”

The first thing Sejun saw were the cucumbers, long and green, hanging like jewels from the vines. The cabbages were huge and round, their leaves packed tightly together, ready to be picked.

Thwack.

Sejun picked a cucumber first.

[You have acquired a Cucumber of Agility.]

[Job experience has slightly increased.]

[Proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 7 has slightly increased.]

[You have gained 50 experience.]

“It seems to raise the agility stat?”

Sejun guessed the cucumber’s ability from its name and checked the detailed options. The cucumber had the effect of improving kidney function.

“Oh! Delicious.”

Crunch.

Sejun said as he simply wiped the cucumber on his clothes and bit into it. It was crisp and cool, bursting with a fresh, slightly sweet taste that was perfect for the warm day.

“Here, you try it too.”

Sejun cut half of the cucumber and gave it to the father rabbit, and

Thwack.

He cut the bottom of the next food item, the cabbage.

[You have acquired a Cabbage of Wind.]

“Cabbage of Wind?”

Sejun checked the cabbage’s options at the strange name.

[Cabbage of Wind]

A cabbage grown inside the tower, it is delicious due to sufficient nutrition.

The cabbage was extra sweet because Sejun knew how to grow them well.

It makes magic that uses wind a little bit stronger for a short time.

Prolonged consumption may lead to the development of wind attribute-related talents below intermediate level.

Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

Expiration Date: 90 days

Grade: B

“Oh! This is good?!”

It was a crop that would be popular with wizards who used wind attributes. Sejun thought about selling it to Iona, a wizard he knew, at her magic tower. She would pay a lot for this!

While Sejun was thinking about how much to sell it to Iona,

“Squeak.”

Faint sounds of chattering voices drifted up from below. “Huh?” Sejun mumbled, lifting his head.

Sejun looked towards the sound and saw Daddy Rabbit staring at the cabbage he was holding, his eyes full of want. It must have looked delicious.

Snap.

“Here you go.”

Sejun tore off a cabbage leaf and gave it to Daddy Rabbit.

Squeak!

[Thank you!]

Crunch crunch.

Daddy Rabbit expressed his gratitude and began to devour the cabbage leaf with gusto.

Snap.

Munch. Munch.

Sejun also tore off a cabbage leaf and tasted it. It was even sweeter than a cucumber.

“I should try the radish too.”

Whoosh.

Sejun ate the cabbage while grabbing the stalk of the radish next to him and pulling. It was a giant radish, as big as Sejun’s calf.

[Acquired Radish of Stamina.]

Looking at the options, the Radish of Stamina had the effect of improving lung function.

Scritch scritch.

“Here.”

Sejun peeled the radish and shared a piece with Daddy Rabbit.

Crunch.

Chewing the radish, Sejun felt a crunchy texture along with a sweet and refreshing taste. The crunchy radish made Sejun think of delicious food. He imagined radish soup, cool and refreshing, and spicy fish stew.

“Sounds delicious.”

Sejun’s mouth watered.

Just then,

“Kkueng, President Park is eating something alone over there, nyaang!”

Theo, who was riding Kkueng and searching for Sejun, spotted him and shouted.

And then,

Kkueng!

[Daddy’s eating something alone?!]

Kkueng, with Theo on his back, began to charge fiercely towards Sejun. Fortunately, the cucumber, cabbage, and radish were not so intensely sweet, so Kkueng tasted them and quickly lost interest.

“Vice President Theo, pack 20 radishes and 100 cucumbers into the knapsack.”

“Understood, nyaang…”

Sejun instructed Theo to put the cucumbers and radishes into the knapsack. He planned to wait and harvest the seeds from the rest.

The reason Sejun had Theo pack the crops separately was to send Theo down soon to trade with the hunters. It was about time for Theo to get back to work.

“Nyaang······.”

Knowing this, Theo became gloomy.

“Vice President Theo, cheer up. You can come back quickly now. Besides, I’ll be going down again too.”

Sejun also had to go back down to check on the beans reaching for the sky that he had planted on the 49th floor of the tower. When going down, Theo would go alone, but when coming back, he only needed to move from the 40th floor to the 49th floor of the tower.

A distance that could be covered in less than an hour if they moved quickly.

“Puhuhoot. Understood, nyaang! Let’s go to sleep now, nyaang!”

Theo, realizing that he wouldn’t have to be separated from Sejun’s lap for too long, regained his energy.

Kellion arrived in the Administrator Zone, a grand hall with tall stone pillars and glowing crystals embedded in the walls. As soon as Kellion arrived, he had the leaders of each floor report whether there were any suspicious beings that had recently appeared.

“Recently, there have been hunters who have been implanting purple crystals in their hands or foreheads?”

He received a report that there were suspicious beings.

And from the moment he heard the words ‘purple crystal,’ Kellion intuitively knew that it was related to Violet, the Crystal Giant of Destruction, who was located at the 11th seat of the Twelve Apostles of Destruction and whose entire body was made of purple crystal.

“Show me where,” Kellion commanded, his voice firm. “I will see to this myself. Stand back and ensure no one interferes.”

Kellion went directly to the area where the leaders said the suspicious beings had their hideout and confirmed the facts. Just by showing up, Kellion made it clear he would destroy the place. Kellion warned others not to approach so that there would be no damage to other beings.

As soon as Kellion appeared and emitted his energy, all the beings nearby died.

-It’s been a while, Kellion.

A fragment of Violet, the Crystal Giant of Destruction, revealed itself. Of course, Kellion easily disposed of the fragment, which contained the energy of the Apostle of Destruction.

Clang.

When the fragment of Violet, the Apostle of Destruction, was defeated, a purple coin fell.

Kellion looked at the purple coins, his heart heavy. *Five Apostles already inside,* he thought grimly. *This tower is in more danger than I realized.* Kellion visited all the suspicious areas and wore a gloomy expression as he looked at the five purple coins he had obtained in the process. The Apostles of Destruction were infiltrating the tower.

-He he he. Why are we entering the tower? Of course, it’s to destroy the tower!

Their goal was the destruction of the tower. The Apostles of Destruction were trying to destroy the tower first, before the battle when the Black Moon opened.

Flash.

Sejun’s eyes opened in the early dawn.

And

Goroong.

Kkyuroong.

“Huh?”

Sejun raised his upper body at the unexpected snoring sound and saw Iona sleeping while wrapped around Theo’s tail. She must have come in late at night.

Rustle.

Although he woke up earlier than usual, Sejun didn’t sleep more and got up from his bed.

“Nyaang······.”

Sejun put Theo on his lap, marked the date on the bedroom wall, and started his day early.

“Kkeaak.”

Sejun came outside and arrived at the kitchen, quietly making the sound of a mushroom ant.

Kkeaak. Kkeaak. Kkeaak.

Three mushroom ants, their antennae twitching importantly, marched towards Sejun. Each carried a different mushroom on its back – one a large oyster mushroom like a grey umbrella, another a cluster of brown shiitake, and the last a precious white truffle, round and bumpy.

Sejun, who had arrived on the 99th floor of the tower yesterday, briefly visited the mushroom ants’ nest to check the elixirs, and he had secretly made an appointment with them and Kkueng to meet this morning.

“Hehe. Thank you for coming out in the early morning.”

Kkeaak.

At Sejun’s words, the mushroom ants presented their backs, and Sejun harvested all three elixirs. There were two common elixirs, oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms, and one superior elixir, white truffle.

Gulp.

Sejun quickly consumed the two common elixirs. He didn’t eat the last remaining superior elixir, white truffle, but put it on the table and started making breakfast.

Kkueng!

[Smells delicious!]

As it became morning, Kkueng woke up hungry and was drawn to the kitchen by the smell.

And

“Kkueng, look at this. Daddy really wanted to eat it, but he waited without eating it so he could eat it with Kkueng.”

Sejun said, showing the white truffle. The smell of the white truffle completely masked the smell of the elixirs Sejun had eaten. It was a trick that Sejun was developing day by day.

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Daddy waited for Kkueng! Kkueng is happy!]

Kkueng shook his body and danced, excited by Sejun’s words. He felt a little guilty, but since he waited without eating the last one, it wasn’t a complete lie.

“Here you go.”

Sejun shared the white truffle deliciously with Kkueng, and thanks to that, he was able to start the morning of his 324th day of being stranded very peacefully.

Kkueng!

[Daddy is the best!]

“Ahem······.”

Sejun thought that he should only eat one secretly next time. Of course, the best way would be to just eat everything together, but Sejun wanted to escape being the weakest.