Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 324

The Tower Administrator’s face was red. “Who put these effects on the grapes?!” he roared.

Eileen looked down, her voice small. “I’m sorry! I’ll be more careful next time!”

From behind Eileen, a small voice chuckled, “Heh heh. I know all the tricks.”

Even though Eileen had just apologized, Podori was still pleased with himself.

“Heh heh heh. Delicious,” he mumbled.

The golden grapes were shiny and plump. Juice dripped down Sejun’s chin as he bit into one.

“Mmm! These are so good!” said Sejun, his mouth full.

“Wow, sweet!” barked Gueng happily. Ajax nodded, chewing with a big smile.

They each ate six grapes, because they had already given three grapes each to the four dragons who had come to visit Podori. It was only fair to share.

Blaze, the red dragon, chuckled, his voice like rumbling thunder. “Khahaha! Podori, you’ve worked hard for us! These grapes are amazing!”

The dragons munched on the golden grapes, their eyes shining with pleasure.

Sejun turned to Tier. “Tier, I grew something new. Would you like to try it? It’s a detoxifying butternut squash.”

Tier’s eyes widened when Sejun showed her the butternut squash. “A detoxifying butternut squash?!” she exclaimed. “I’ll buy it! Anything you sell is amazing!”

“Please decide on the price after you try this,” Sejun said with a smile.

“Alright,” Tier replied eagerly.

Crunch.

Tier swallowed the butternut squash whole and used her magic to send its power to her real body far away.

Later, in her own purple tower area, Tier held the butternut squash.

“Well… since Sejun gave it to me, the performance must be guaranteed,” she thought.

Crunch. Crunch.

Tier chewed and swallowed the butternut squash Sejun gave her whole.

It didn’t taste great raw, but she was looking forward to what effect it would have this time.

A message appeared in front of her eyes: ‘You have consumed the detoxifying butternut squash.’ Then, another message: ‘The butternut squash is expelling heart poison.’

“Kugh!”

Suddenly, a sharp, burning pain ripped through her heart. It felt like fire was tearing her apart.

“Kuh-heok!”

She coughed and spat out a small, dark red bead. It looked like a drop of dried blood, pulsing faintly.

“Oh! The size of the heart poison has been reduced by half!” Tier was delighted that the heart poison in her heart had shrunk.

The red bead she had just spat out was part of the dreaded heart poison that had been attached to Tier’s heart. It was possible to reduce the heart poison to a certain size with detoxifying green onions, but it could not be completely removed.

“If I reduce the size of the heart poison with detoxifying green onions and eat this butternut squash…”

A complete cure for heart poison is possible, she thought.

“I should give at least 1 billion Tower Coins for each of these butternut squash, shouldn’t I?”

If she could remove the heart poison, money was not an issue.

“Then I need to earn Tower Coins first,” she said to herself.

Tier hurriedly summoned the purple dragons and had them earn Tower Coins by eliminating the distant red fog. The red fog was a dangerous mist that monsters lived in. Dragons were paid in Tower Coins, the currency in this world, for clearing it away.

Tier knew it would be hard to earn enough. The red fog was getting thinner every day, as black, white, and red dragons were also hunting monsters there. This showed the competition.

Blaze, the red dragon, saw Sejun smiling as he ate the grapes. Blaze roared happily, “Sejun said the grapes are delicious! Here, Podori!” Blaze pushed a huge pile of nutrients towards Podori.

Nutrients were like super-food for plants, making them grow faster and stronger. But Podori hated eating them.

Podori’s eyes widened in horror. A hundred nutrients! It was a mountain of green goo. He had hoped becoming the World Tree would mean no more nutrients, but it was even worse now!

“Y-yes, Blaze,” Podori gulped, his voice trembling.

Suddenly, a bright message flashed in front of Sejun’s eyes: ‘The detoxifying butternut squash has done something amazing! It removed heart poison!’ Another message followed: ‘As a reward, butternut squash will grow 10 times faster for one week!’

Sejun’s eyes widened. “Ten times faster?!” he shouted. “That’s incredible!”

Sejun jumped to his feet.

Scrape. Scrape.

He hurriedly cut off the top of the butternut squash and scraped out the seeds.

Plop.

“Land, rise!” Using his magic, he commanded.

He planted the seeds in his special magic-infused land, where plants grew stronger and faster.

A message appeared: ‘You have planted 25,000 detoxifying butternut squash seeds in magic-infused land.’ Another message: ‘Your job experience has slightly increased.’ Another: ‘Your skill level of Magic Seed Sowing Lv. 8 has slightly increased.’ Another: ‘You have created a huge butternut squash field.’ Another: ‘You have gained 200,000 experience.’ Another: ‘Experience is not accumulating because you have not completed the job quest.’

Sejun grinned, looking at the field of seeds. “Heh heh heh. In just one week, this whole field will be full of butternut squash! Almost a million of them!”

Suddenly, another message popped up: ‘Congratulations! Your farm is now HUGE! It’s bigger than 10 million pyeong!’ Then, a new message: ‘Your Rich Farmer talent has become even stronger! You are now a Land Baron!’

Sejun had a special ability called a ‘talent’ that helped him as a farmer.

Sejun blinked in surprise. “Land Baron?” he whispered. “What’s that?”

The message explained the new talent: Land Baron.

-Only farmers with very, very big farms can get this talent.

-You can choose 100 helpers called ‘stewards’ to manage your farm for you.

-You can choose up to 1000 guards to protect your farm. If the guards fight monsters near your farm, you will get some of their experience (points that make you stronger).

-You can have as many ‘tenant farmers’ as you want.

-Tenant farmers can use your special farming skills. When they use your skills, you get a little bit better at those skills too.

-This talent gets even better as your farm gets bigger.

“Oh!”

Sejun read the description and his eyes widened. “Wow! More stewards, more guards, and no limit on tenant farmers!” he exclaimed.

Before, Sejun could only have a few tenant farmers. This slowed down his farm’s growth because only tenant farmers could do important jobs like planting seeds and harvesting crops. But now, with the Land Baron talent, there was no limit!

Sejun clapped his hands. “Everyone, mushroom ants! Gather around!” Hundreds of mushroom ants scurried towards him, their antennae twitching.

Sejun smiled and gently touched a mushroom ant’s head. “You are now my tenant farmer,” he said.

A message appeared above the mushroom ant’s head: ‘Tenant Farmer Number One Thousand and Twenty-Two.’

The mushroom ant squeaked happily and jumped up and down.

The mushroom ants were thrilled to become tenant farmers. They danced around Sejun’s feet, waving their antennae excitedly.

Soon after, all the mushroom ants on the 99th floor of the tower became tenant farmers.

Sejun finished making tenant farmers.

“I should harvest the sun peppers too,” Sejun said to himself.

He went to his sun pepper field. The red peppers glowed like tiny flames. He carefully picked each one, collecting the seeds inside.

A message appeared: ‘You have obtained sun pepper seeds.’ Another message: ‘Your job experience has slightly increased.’ Another: ‘Your skill level of Seed Collection Lv. 8 has slightly increased.’ Another: ‘You still need to use the Seed Collection skill many more times.’

He started collecting seeds.

Sejun looked out over the vast fields he had created. Rows and rows of bright orange carrots stretched as far as the eye could see. *A message appeared in his mind, clear as a bell.* [You have gained 20,000 experience points!] *Another message followed quickly, a slight damper on his good mood.* [Experience points are not accumulating because the job quest has not been completed.]

The tiny mushroom ants, delighted to be working for Sejun, scurried about, making the carrot fields even bigger. *Another rush of warmth filled Sejun, telling him he had gained experience.*

“I need to finish that quest,” Sejun muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on the growing fields. This thought made him work even harder, and unfortunately, his meals became very simple.

Lunch and dinner became quick and easy: boiled Egg Fruits, some chewy dried sweet potato strips, and plain rice cakes. *A happy bark came from Kkuengi.*

“Woof! Honey makes everything taste amazing!” *Kkuengi seemed to say, wagging his tail.*

Sejun chuckled, “Ehehe! I could eat a hundred rice cakes with honey!”

*Ajax, the black wolf, chimed in with a confident howl.* “Howl! Salt is all I need for boiled Egg Fruits! They are perfect!” *Veronica and Fenrir made happy noises too, clearly enjoying their simple meal.* Sejun smiled. Even though his food was plain, his companions were happy, and that was enough.

“Puhuhut! I’m here, nya!” Teo announced as he arrived on the 42nd floor of the tower. This was where the Sejun Company office was located.

“Nyang nyang nyang,” Teo purred to himself, feeling important. “Bbyot! Bbyot!” Bbyot agreed enthusiastically. Together, Teo and Bbyot confidently walked towards the office door. *The office was bustling with activity, cats moving papers and tapping on small screens.*

“Teo,” Yuren said, looking confused. “Weren’t you going to watch them secretly?” He pointed to Teo’s very obvious entrance. *Yuren knew that to really monitor someone, you had to be sneaky, so they couldn’t hide anything.*

“Nyang?! Ah!” Teo exclaimed, suddenly remembering. “That’s right, nya!” *Teo, who loved being the center of attention, had forgotten his secret mission in his excitement to arrive.*

“Yuren, thank you, nya!” Teo said, a little embarrassed.

“Uhehe. Don’t worry about it, Teo,” Yuren replied kindly. “But yes, being secret is very important.”

“Is that so, nyang?” Teo asked, tilting his head.

“Definitely. Let me handle this,” Yuren said, stepping forward with a determined look. *Yuren was a very trusting person, and some employees had taken advantage of him in the past. But because of those experiences, he had learned a lot about how to watch people without being seen.*

“Puhuhut. Good, nya!” Teo said, impressed. “Let’s do it together then.”

Yuren pulled out a large, dark cloak and wrapped it around himself. *With a soft whoosh,* Yuren vanished.

“Nyang! Is that an invisibility cloak, nya?!” Teo gasped, eyes wide.

“Uhehe, yes!” Yuren beamed, puffing out his chest. “It was very hard to get!”

“Puhuhut! Amazing, nya! Give it to me later, nya!” Teo demanded immediately.

“Wait, what? But I just said it was hard to—” Yuren started to protest.

“Puhuhut! I need it to surprise Chairman Park, nya!” Teo interrupted, already imagining himself sneaking up on Sejun. And just like that, Yuren knew the cloak was no longer his.

“Let’s go, nya!” Teo declared, hopping onto Yuren’s shoulder.

“Right!” Yuren agreed, carefully starting to walk.

“Puhuhut! This is incredible, nya!” Teo whispered, amazed. “Bbyot! Bbyot!” Bbyot chirped excitedly. *They giggled, enjoying the feeling of being unseen as they moved through the office.*

“Yuren, what now, nya?” Teo asked, his voice hushed.

“We wait,” Yuren replied in a serious tone.

“Nyang?!” Teo was curious.

“We must be patient, Teo! We wait for clear proof of wrongdoing to appear, and *then* we strike!” Yuren’s voice got louder with each word, his eyes gleaming with determination, perhaps remembering past attempts.

“Oh,” Teo said, a little less excited. “And then what happened?”

“Well,” Yuren admitted, his voice dropping, “there was always… another way out.” *Despite all his plans, Yuren had never actually caught anyone doing anything wrong. He just became very good at planning and waiting.*

“Puhuhut! That’s not how you watch people, nya!” Teo declared, jumping off Yuren’s shoulder. *He landed with a soft thump and then,* “Bill! I’m here, nya!” Teo shouted at the top of his voice, right in front of the office building.

*Immediately, the doors burst open, and Bill and a group of other cats rushed out to greet him.* “Vice Chairman Teo, welcome!” Bill purred politely, bowing slightly. The other cats, who were new interns, copied him.

“Puhuhut! Bill, are you doing well, nya?!” Teo asked, beaming.

“Yes, Vice Chairman! Everything is wonderful, thanks to Chairman Park and you!” Bill replied, his eyes shining with sincere gratitude. The intern cats nodded eagerly, their eyes full of respect. *They all remembered the hard times before Sejun and Teo arrived, when food was scarce. Now, thanks to Sejun Company, not only did they have plenty to eat, but Granier Village had grown and prospered. In fact, it had recently become a city! Working at Sejun Company was a great honor for any cat in the city, and they all worked with pride.*

‘Puhuhut. Their loyalty to Chairman Park is very strong, nya!’ Teo thought, pleased as he looked into their honest eyes.

“Puhuhut! Bill, today we are having a company dinner, nya!” Teo announced grandly.

“A company dinner? Yes, Vice Chairman! I will find the best place right away!” Bill said, hurrying off to make arrangements.

“Teo,” Yuren asked, still invisible and completely bewildered. “Aren’t you supposed to be monitoring them?”

“Puhuhut! Yuren, I, Vice Chairman Teo, can see everything I need to know just by looking into their eyes, nya!” Teo said confidently.

“Really?” Yuren asked, still confused.

“Yes! Now, hurry up and give me the money for the company dinner, nya!” Teo demanded, holding out a paw.

“Oh! Yes, of course!” Yuren stammered, quickly pulling out the money.

*Later that evening, after a delicious company dinner filled with happy purrs and satisfied meows,* Teo announced, “Puhuhut! I’m going back to the tower, nya!”

“Vice Chairman Teo, travel safely!” Bill called out.

“Thank you for the wonderful meal! Goodbye!” the intern cats echoed. Teo, his belly full and his heart happy, waved goodbye to Bill and the interns as they escorted him back towards the tower entrance on the 42nd floor. He was heading back to the 99th floor.

*Back on the 99th floor,* Teo and Bbyot, still hidden under the invisibility cloak, had a new plan. ‘Puhuhut,’ Teo whispered to Bbyot. ‘Ppeuhut,’ Bbyot agreed. *They crept silently towards Sejun, who was busy in his garden, carefully picking ripe red cherry tomatoes.* Teo and Bbyot moved as quietly as shadows, hoping to finally surprise Sejun.

But then, suddenly, “Woof!” Kkuengi barked loudly.

“Nyaaak!” Teo yelped, jumping back in surprise. “Bbyot!” Bbyot squeaked, equally startled. Sejun turned around, a knowing smile on his face.

“Nyang! Chairman Park! You scared me, nya! How did you know we were here, nya?!” Teo cried, quickly running to Sejun and clinging to his leg.

“Hehe,” Sejun chuckled, his eyes twinkling. “Let’s just say I have my own ways of sensing when a certain sneaky cat is nearby.”

*It wasn’t a detector, not really. But Sejun had spent so much time with Teo, he just knew when the mischievous cat was up to something.*

“Chairman Park, tell me your secret, nya!” Teo begged.

“Sleep now, Teo,” Sejun said gently, ignoring the question. He knew if Teo understood how easily he was noticed, Teo might become even more determined to be sneaky, and that would be exhausting. *Pat. Pat.* Sejun stroked Teo’s soft fur, rubbing his belly.

“Tell…” Teo mumbled sleepily.

*Grolong.* And just like that, Teo was fast asleep. Sejun smiled, looking down at the peacefully sleeping cat. And so, the 371st day in the tower ended quietly, with no real surprises, but filled with warmth and laughter.