Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 276

“Hey! Lizard-face!” The Komodo Caiman stomped forward, chest puffed out. “I know you have my brother Elge’s core. Give it here, now! If you’re nice, maybe I won’t hurt you too much.” He didn’t seem to notice that Sejun and Kkuenge were both very hungry and in a bad mood.

“Kkuenge! Kkuenge!”

[Kkuenge is hungry! He’s blocking food! Kkuenge will show him!]

*Whoosh!* Kkuenge swung her big wooden club at the lizard-man and the soldiers in front of him. Nothing was worse than being hungry, in Kkuenge’s mind.

*KABOOM!*

The air exploded. A huge wave of force blasted outwards. The wind roared, and Sejun had to shut his eyes against the sudden rush of air.

‘Oh no…’ Sejun suddenly remembered where they were. ‘We’re in the royal palace!’

“Sorry, Black Rabbit, Ppyu-Ppyu!” he called out quickly. “I’ll build you an even stronger palace later, I promise!”

When the wind stopped, Sejun carefully opened his eyes to see the damage.

“Huh? It’s… okay?”

He blinked. The palace hall was still standing perfectly. Not a single crack on the walls. But the Komodo Caiman, the soldiers, and even the tables and chairs were just… gone. It was like they had been wiped away.

‘Did Kkuenge control her power?’ Sejun looked at her.

“Kkuenge?”

“Kkuenge! Kkuenge!”

[It didn’t break! Good! Kkuenge is happy it didn’t break!]

Sejun saw Kkuenge looking relieved that the palace was still there, just like him. But he knew Kkuenge hadn’t held back.

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Kkuenge, I know you were angry, but what if the palace *had* been destroyed?” Iona popped out from Theo’s tail, holding her magic staff.

Iona explained that she had put a magic shield around the area to protect the building from Kkuenge’s attack.

“Kkuenge! Kkuenge!”

[Oh! Sorry! I was just really hungry and they were in the way! I’ll be more careful next time!]

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Yes, please be more careful with your strength.” Iona told Kkuenge to be gentle. It was funny coming from a powerful mage known for destruction.

While Sejun was talking to Kkuenge and Iona, something black rolled towards Theo.

*Roll, roll.*

“Nyang?” Theo looked down.

‘Ooh, shiny and black! My paws like this! It must be something good, nyang! I’ll give this to Chairman Park after dinner and get belly rubs, nyang!’ Theo grinned and quickly put the black ball into his bag. And that’s how the Komodo Caiman’s core ended up with Sejun.

So, Kkuenge and Iona did all the work, and Sejun and Theo got the reward. With Iona’s help, everything was fine, mostly.

“Kkuenge, let’s go eat now.” Sejun said.

“Kkuenge!”

[Food!]

*Thump.* Kkuenge, feeling better after her swing, quickly hugged Sejun’s leg.

“Let’s go!” Sejun said, heading towards the banquet hall.

Hawaii, USA.

“Headquarters, we’re here.” A big C-17 plane flew over Hawaii.

– “Drop them.” The voice from headquarters was short and clear.

“Understood.” The pilot nodded and opened the back of the plane. Soldiers pushed out boxes. Each box was heavy, 100kg, and filled with fragrant life grapes.

*Thud. Thud.* The boxes crashed onto the ground. The life grapes inside burst open, their sweet, strong smell filling the air.

Almost immediately, the ground started to move. *Squish. Squish.* Giant leeches, drawn by the powerful grape smell, crawled towards the boxes. The scent was so strong, it pulled every leech for miles around.

The leeches closest to the boxes started to suck up the grape juice.

“Headquarters, leeches are reacting to box one.”

– “Good. Check the others.”

“Understood.” The pilot moved the plane and dropped more boxes in different places, checking each time. Ten boxes in total.

“Headquarters, leeches are reacting to all ten boxes.”

– “Understood. Return now.”

The pilot turned the plane to go back. But then, “Huh?!” He stared in surprise.

*Thud! Thud!* The giant leeches were fighting each other! Even though the grapes were gone, the leeches that had eaten them still smelled strongly of the sweet fruit. The other leeches attacked them, biting and tearing.

*Slurp. Slurp. Slurp.* They sucked the grape juice from the dead leeches. Then, the leech that had just eaten became the target, and the fighting started again.

This went on for almost an hour. Finally, the navy headquarters got a report: the number of giant leeches had gone down for the first time!

Then, a new order came. “I heard you get life grapes if you work on the grape farm on floor 4 of the tower? Send hunters to floor 4 now! Get as many life grapes as you can!” Samuel, the navy leader, gave the order.

And so, “Operation: Civil Support” began. Five hundred navy hunters were sent to work on the grape farm on floor 4 of the tower. They hoped to get the grapes to control the leeches.

[Inner Core of the Caiman Royal Family Heir]

…

..

This core holds magic power built up over 120 years.

If you eat it, you get 120 bonus stats. (If your magic power is already 120 or higher, you still get 120 bonus stats.)

Must be level 52 or higher, and have at least 120 magic power to use.

Rank: S

“Another core?” Sejun said, looking at the black orb in Theo’s paws.

“Nyang? How was I, Chairman Park?” Theo purred, lying on Sejun’s lap and getting his belly rubbed.

“You were great, Theo.” Sejun stroked Theo’s fur again and again.

“Puhuhut. Of course, nyang! Vice Chairman Theo always does a good job, nyang!” Theo felt like he was floating on air with Sejun’s praise. He rubbed his back happily against Sejun’s legs, leaving fur on Sejun’s pants.

“I should make another Theo Ball soon,” Sejun murmured.

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut! Theo Ball? I want one!” Iona, who was munching on roasted peanuts, spoke quickly, her cheeks full. She looked worried someone else would get it first. But Sejun knew she was probably the only one who would buy it.

“Okay, okay, Theo Ball for Iona,” Sejun chuckled.

*Crunch, crunch.* Iona went back to her peanuts, looking relieved.

“Kkuhehehe. Kkuenge!”

[Hehehe. So yummy!] Kkuenge was still eating her meat, looking like it was the best meal ever, even though she’d been eating for over an hour.

“Peep! Peep!”

[I’m going to eat a lot and get big so I can carry Theo on my back! Ppyot is never full!] Ppyot, who had shrunk down to nothing and then grown back again, was also there, eating peanut powder like crazy.

“This is going to take a while,” Sejun thought, watching them eat. He looked at Theo, who was still holding the black core. “Theo, hold this for a second.”

Sejun reached into his bag and pulled out Elge’s core, the one he got before. He wanted to see them side-by-side.

“Huh?!”

“Nyang?!”

As soon as Sejun held out Elge’s core, something strange happened. It felt like the two cores were pulling towards each other, like magnets. They seemed to want to become one.

Sejun let go of Elge’s core. *Slither.* It moved on its own, drawn to the core in Theo’s paws. They touched, and then, just like that, they merged together, like two drops of water becoming one.

“Wow! That’s amazing!” Sejun checked the core Theo was holding. Now it said it gave 220 bonus stats.

“Puhuhut. See? It’s because I’m amazing, nyang!” Theo puffed out his chest, looking at Sejun. *Praise me more, please!*

“You’re very amazing, Theo,” Sejun said, rubbing Theo’s belly again.

Just then, voices called out, “Lord Theo, greetings!”

Five monsters came up to Theo and bowed. It was Goblin Paku and the others, sent by the bosses from floor 50 to get the Wyvern Soldier Helmet. They had been waiting in the tavern for days, but Theo hadn’t come, so they came to find him.

“Scarram?” Sejun asked, looking at Paku’s face. He looked just like Scarram.

“Puhuhut. Not Scarram, nyang! This is Scarram’s nephew! Nyang!” Theo corrected him. “And he works for me now, nyang! Hey you guys, say hello! This is Chairman Park, nyang!”

“Yes! Chairman Park, greetings!” The monsters all bowed to Sejun.

“Ah, hello. Theo, who are these monsters?” Sejun whispered to Theo.

“Puhuhut. They are bosses who want the Wyvern Soldier Helmet…” Theo explained the situation.

“Really? Hmm…” Sejun thought for a moment. Then he told Theo his idea.

“Puhuhut. Chairman Park says he’ll give you the Wyvern Soldier Helmet if you do two things, nyang!” Theo announced.

“Two things?”

“What are they?” The monsters asked quickly.

“A land deed and an interview, nyang!” Theo said importantly. Sejun figured with the Wyvern Helmet, these bosses would be too strong for floor 50. He wanted to interview them to see if they were good monsters. And to interview them, he needed a land deed to visit their floor.

“Understood!” The monsters hurried away to tell their bosses the news.

And so, the rumor started to spread in the Black Tower: to get the Wyvern Soldier Helmet from the great Black Dragon, you needed a land deed. Because of this, Sejun started getting land deeds very easily.

4th floor of the tower.

“What is this…” Jackson, the leader of the navy hunters, stopped and stared. He had come to work at the grape farm, as ordered, but he was faced with an unbelievably long line of people. Hunters stretched as far as he could see, waiting their turn.

Rumors about the grape farm had spread like wildfire. Everyone knew you could earn a fortune just picking grapes for a few hours, no fighting needed. It was especially popular with new hunters, who could make more money in a day here than they usually made in a week risking their lives.

*Clatter. Clatter.* A Black Skeleton walked up to Jackson, its bones clicking as it moved. It held out a small piece of bone. “You here to work?” it rasped in a dry voice.

Jackson took the bone. He looked at the number scratched onto it. “512?!” Five hundred and eleven hunters ahead of him!

“Major Jackson,” one of his hunters said, sounding worried. “Maybe we should try a different plan?”

“Yeah, this is going to take forever,” another agreed.

“Let’s just go in and take what we need!” a third hunter said, clenching his fists.

Just then, a huge *BOOM!* shook the air. From the direction of the grape warehouse, smoke and dust billowed upwards. Some reckless hunters had decided to force their way in.

*Thud. Thud.* The ground trembled. Suddenly, ten giant skeletons, each taller than a tree, rose up from the ground near the warehouse. They were made of black bone and glowed with a faint purple light. These were the Wyvern Soldiers.

With terrifying speed, they moved towards the intruders. One swung a massive bone arm, sending hunters flying. Another stomped its foot, crushing anyone who didn’t move fast enough. The air filled with screams and the sounds of bones breaking. The Wyvern Soldiers were unstoppable.

Jackson and his team watched in stunned silence. The idea of “charging in” suddenly seemed very, very bad.

After a moment, Jackson cleared his throat. “Ahem… maybe… maybe we should ask if we can pay to get a faster turn?”

“Yeah,” one of his hunters said quickly. “Paying sounds good. Really good.”

And so, the navy hunters quickly changed their plan. Fighting was definitely off the table. Paying for a faster spot in line? That seemed like a much smarter idea.