Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 268

Sejun sighed. “Again?” he mumbled, looking at the small bird. This was becoming normal.

Sejun watched the little bird. He looked bored. First, the bird chirped hello to Kkuenge. Then, it looked confused when it saw Sejun. This always happened. Birds were always surprised by Sejun’s high rank.

Sejun spoke to Bbyot first. “Is your name Bbyot?” he asked gently. “Bbyot! Bbyot!” the bird replied quickly.

“[Yes! That’s right! My name is Bbyot Rrrrr Yacht! I am a White-Headed Tit!]”

“Oh! You’re a White-Headed Tit? No wonder you’re so cute. Alright. Bbyot, let’s get along.”

Sejun gently took Bbyot’s small wing and carefully shook it, like shaking hands.

“Bbyot! Bbyot! [Thank you! I will work hard for you, Chairman Park!]”

Bbyot bowed deeply, very happy. He shouted loudly. But inside, he was very confused. He looked at Sejun. ‘This is strange,’ Bbyot thought. ‘Why is *he* so high ranked? It doesn’t make sense in the wild.’

‘Why is this guy ranked number one?’ Bbyot, who was only a month old, knew that the only way to determine rank was through strength. And judging by that, Sejun was beneath him.

‘I will watch and learn,’ Bbyot decided. He was a messenger bird, chosen right after he was born. He had to leave for his job very quickly, after only a few days of training. His teachers didn’t have time to teach him everything.

“Bbyot Rrrrr Yacht,” his teachers had said, “if you don’t know what to do, just watch and learn.” So, Bbyot remembered this lesson: if confused, just watch. ‘They were good teachers,’ he thought.

If he hadn’t learned that lesson… Kkuenge suddenly barked loudly! ‘Kkuenge! Kkuenge?!’ [Bbyot, the way you looked at Daddy just now! Was that disrespectful? Were you looking down on Daddy?!]’ Bbyot squeaked in fear. ‘[N-No!]’

Bbyot knew Kkuenge could hurt him badly. Kkuenge was Sejun’s bodyguard, and very protective.

“Bbyot, show Chairman Park the fried egg, meow!” Theo said. Bbyot, who didn’t realize he was just in danger, took out the egg.

“Fried egg?” Sejun asked, curious. Just then, Bbyot chirped, ‘Bbyot!’ [Here it is!] And from a small bag, Bbyot pulled out an egg.

Sejun’s eyes widened. “Oh! What’s this?!” he exclaimed, excited. He looked closely at the egg Bbyot held.

But then, Sejun frowned. “Wait,” he said. “It’s not an egg?” He read the label on the egg. It said: [Egg Fruit].

It clearly looked and felt like an egg, but the name was Egg Fruit?

“What is this?” Sejun turned the Egg Fruit in his hands, looking at it from all sides. It felt like an egg, it looked like an egg, but the name… Egg Fruit? It was very strange.

[Egg Fruit] This is a fruit that grows on the Mother Tree. It has a hard shell, like an egg. Inside, there are layers of white and yellow liquid. It’s full of good things to eat. Grown by: Mother Tree. Best before: 30 days. Grade: C.

Sejun was very surprised. “Eggs grow on trees?!” he exclaimed. He knew the name was ‘Fruit,’ so he guessed it might be from a tree. But still, it was amazing.

“Did the Black Rabbit use this to make the fried egg?” Sejun wondered. He wanted to taste it. He put a frying pan on the stove and poured a little oil in.

The frying pan got hot. Tap. Sejun gently tapped the Egg Fruit on the side of the pan. He tapped a little harder to crack it open.

Drizzle. Sssssss. The inside of the Egg Fruit, a mix of clear white and rich yellow, flowed into the hot pan. It started to cook right away, making a delicious, warm smell.

“That’s it!” Sejun said, smiling. It smelled just like the fried egg he remembered.

Kkuenge barked happily! ‘Kkuenge!’ [It smells like the food we had at Little Brother’s house!] Kkuenge sniffed the air and agreed. Yes, the tasty dish they ate in the Black Rabbit’s castle must have been made from this Egg Fruit.

Sejun shared one fried egg with Kkuenge and wore a satisfied expression.

“Puhuhu. Chairman Park, how is it, meow?! Vice Chairman Theo worked hard to get peanuts for Bbyot and fried eggs, meow?! Or not?!” Theo asked, puffing out his chest with great pride.

“There’s more of this?! Our Vice Chairman Theo really worked hard!”

‘Puhuhu. Of course, meow! I’m Vice Chairman Theo, so I work hard, meow!’

Theo became completely elated after receiving Sejun’s recognition. He lifted his head and looked at Kkuenge and Bbyot. You guys are far behind, meow! Puhuhu. You have to do this much to be a vice chairman, meow!

But Kkuenge and Bbyot didn’t pay any attention to Theo’s gaze.

Kkuenge!

[Daddy Kkuenge is hungry!]

Especially Kkuenge, who was only concerned about his cooling grilled fish.

“Alright. Wait a moment.”

Sejun grabbed the overflowing magic power kudzu root and squeezed it tightly, sprinkling lime-scented kudzu juice on the grilled fish.

As Sejun sprinkled lime-scented kudzu juice on the grilled fish,

[Grilled Piranha with Lime-Scented Kudzu Juice has been completed.]

[Cooking Lv. 8 proficiency slightly increases.]

[The effect of Cooking Lv. 8 is activated.]

[The effect is applied according to the amount of Overflowing Magic Power Kudzu Root consumed.]

Messages appeared.

“The effect is applied according to the amount consumed?” Among them, there was a message with content that Sejun was seeing for the first time.

It was something that appeared as Sejun’s cooking skill reached level 8. Even if he didn’t fully consume one ingredient used in the cooking, the effect was applied only to the extent that he consumed it.

“Nice. Let’s eat, everyone!”

“Puhuhu. I will enjoy the meal, meow!”

Kkuenge!

[Looks delicious!]

With Sejun’s words, Theo and Kkuenge rushed towards the grilled fish.

However,

“Nyaang! Chairman Park, what did you do to the grilled fish, meow?! It smells strange, meow!”

Kkuenge!

[It’s so delicious!]

Their reactions were completely opposite. It was because of the lime scent. Theo hated the lime scent.

“Chairman Park, I can’t eat this, meow! Make the grilled fish again, meow!” Theo whined that he couldn’t eat the lime-scented grilled fish.

“Just eat it. Alright.”

Sejun had no choice but to peel off the fish skin with the lime-scented kudzu juice and only give him the flesh.

Then,

“I’ll eat it specially because Chairman Park peeled it for me, meow!” Theo ate the grilled fish, enduring the subtle lime scent. He hated the lime scent, but he liked that Sejun was peeling the fish for him.

‘Puhuhu. I’m eating it considering Chairman Park’s sincerity, meow!’

While Theo was happily eating the fish that Sejun was peeling,

Sneak.

Koohehehe.

Kkuenge also put down the grilled fish he was eating and subtly started eating the fish that Sejun had peeled.

The fish disappeared quickly. Sejun diligently peeled the fish so that the two wouldn’t fight.

While Sejun was diligently peeling the fish,

‘Is that the secret to being number one? If you peel fish well, your rank goes up?!’

Bbyot observed Sejun and learned a new way to determine rank.

At that moment,

Ook!

Monkeys entered the kitchen to eat dinner.

Bbyot! Bbyot!

[Hello! I am a White-Headed Tit, Bbyot Rrrrr Yacht!]

Bbyot greeted the monkeys diligently. The teachers said that you would be loved if you greeted well!

After greeting the monkeys, Bbyot also took a grilled fish and started peeling the flesh using his feet and beak.

Top 4th Floor.

Drip. Drip.

Ten novice hunters were diligently harvesting grapes in the grape farm.

“This is more fun than I thought?”

“I know, right?”

The hunters’ expressions were brighter than at first. They weren’t given difficult tasks, and they were given breaks in between.

“It’s not time to be so happy. They’re definitely going to kill us after making us work like this,” Mendal said with a frightened expression.

At that moment,

“Stop now.”

Black Skeletons approached them and said.

‘Are they really going to kill us?’

The hunters tensed up when,

“This is the wage for your work.”

The Black Skeletons handed the hunters 10 sacks filled with grapes.

“Huh? Wage?”

“Yes. If you want to work again, come again. If you follow them, they will return your weapons outside the grape farm.”

The Black Skeleton said that and left.

“Come again if we want to work again?” The hunters were dumbfounded by the Black Skeleton’s words.

“Aren’t they trying to kill us after putting us off guard like this?”

The hunters followed the Black Skeletons with suspicion.

Clatter.

The Black Skeletons really returned their weapons and left for the grape farm.

“What is this?”

“Let’s go quickly! What if they change their minds and follow us!”

“Yeah. Let’s go back for now!”

The hunters returned to Earth with their arms full of fragrant grapes full of life.

‘If I eat the fish I peeled, they become my subordinates, so I have to make a lot of subordinates and raise my rank.’

Bbyot diligently peeled the grilled fish to raise his rank.

However,

Bbyot?

[Why isn’t anyone eating what I peeled?]

Because Bbyot had broken down the fish to almost powder level, no one touched it.

It was a good size for the small Bbyot to eat, but not for other animals.

Bbyot! Bbyot!

[It’s not easy to raise my rank after all! I have to practice hard from now on!]

Bbyot was determined to peel the fish well. It would have been nice if Bbyot’s teachers had taught him to just ask if he was curious…

Thanks to that, Bbyot’s beak and feet became shiny with oil coating.

Bbihihi. Bbyot.

[Hihi. But this is delicious.]

One good thing was that he got to know the taste of grilled fish.

However, the grilled fish powder that Bbyot ate was only a small part.

“Oh?! Bbyot, are you playing with your food?”

Bbyot… Bbyot…

[That’s not it… I’m sorry…]

The rest of the grilled fish powder was discovered by Sejun, and he had to listen to his nagging.

10 minutes later,

Bbirolong.

Bbyot fell asleep, using Sejun’s nagging as a lullaby.

“Oh?! He fell asleep? Was he very tired?”

Sejun gently picked up Bbyot with both hands and came out of the kitchen.

“Chairman Park, let’s go together, meow!” When Sejun got up, Theo hurriedly put a piece of fish in his mouth and clung to Sejun’s leg.

Sejun went to the bedroom with Theo.

Slide.

He spread rice straw inside the old wooden box house that the Black Rabbit used to use and gently laid Bbyot on top of it.

Then he came out of the bedroom and headed back to the kitchen. Kkuenge hadn’t finished his meal yet.

Theo clung to Sejun’s leg as he returned to the kitchen.

Lick. Lick.

Theo was clinging to Sejun’s leg, eating all the fish and wiping the oil off his front paws.

“Nyaang! That nasty thing is on my front paws too, meow!”

Lick. Lick.

While Theo was annoyed and diligently licking his front paws to erase the lime scent,

Whoong.

A subtle silver light emanated from Theo’s body.

“Nyaang?! Chairman Park, I just awakened a talent, meow!”

“Talent?”

So suddenly? Could it be?!

‘When consumed, there is a low probability of awakening a talent related to absorption.’

Sejun recalled the content written on the Overflowing Magic Power Kudzu Root in his head.

But all Theo ate was less than 1/10,000th of the kudzu… 1/10,000th of an already low probability is incredibly low.

“No way…”

Theo broke through such an extremely low probability and awakened a talent. He was indeed a lucky cat.

“Lucky cat…” Sejun mumbled, a little jealous of Theo’s luck. “So, what kind of talent is it?” he asked, his voice sounding tired. He suddenly felt very heavy. ‘Why am I so tired?’ he wondered. ‘Did I work too hard today?’

“It’s a talent called ‘Suck Energy,’ meow!”

“Suck Energy?”

“That’s right, meow! It sucks the energy from the surroundings and becomes stronger, meow!”

“Ah… it sucks the energy from the surroundings… No wonder! Hey! Get off!” Sejun tried to shake Theo off, realizing why his body was so heavy. He was having his energy sucked by Theo because of Theo’s talent: Suck Energy.

“Nyaang?! I don’t want to, meow!” Theo clung to Sejun like a leech as Sejun tried to shake him off his leg.

“Hey… get off… you’re sucking my ener…”

Plop.

Sejun collapsed in the middle of his sentence.

“Nyaang?! Is it because of me, meow?! Chairman Park, wake up, meow!” Only then did Theo hurriedly control his talent and then,

Slap. Slap.

He slapped Sejun’s face and used healing magic.

“Chairman Park, wake up, meow!”

Slap. Slap.

Theo, who gives the disease and then the cure.

Thanks to that, Sejun was able to sleep early and wake up refreshed the next day.