Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 349

Theo zoomed through the air, a furry brown blur, his eyes bright with mischief. “Heh heh. Someone’s scared of me!”

Sejun sighed. ‘I can’t avoid this.’

He knew trying to dodge Theo was pointless. Even if he moved, Theo would just laugh, change direction in mid-air, and still land right on his face. It was always the same.

*Whoosh!*

Just as Theo was about to land, Sejun whipped his head around. ‘Now!’ He offered the back of his head instead of his face.

But then, “Heh heh heh…”

Along with a strange chuckle, Sejun felt Theo’s warm fur press against his face. It was surprisingly toasty.

“You came?” Sejun asked, grabbing Theo by the scruff of his neck. He thought, ‘At least his fur is strong. I won’t get any in my mouth.’

“Ptooey.”

But then, a few hairs still came loose.

“Heh heh. That’s right, meow! I safely delivered the Farming King to the 4th floor of the tower, as Chairman Park ordered, meow!”

“Yeah. Good job.”

“I know, meow! I, Vice Chairman Theo, always do well, meow!”

“Yeah…”

Sejun felt a bit mischievous at Theo’s arrogant attitude, but he held back, thinking, ‘He worked hard going all the way to the 4th floor of the tower.’

“Vice Chairman Theo, take a little rest.”

“Okay, meow!” At Sejun’s words, Theo clung to Sejun’s knee, rubbing his face against it enthusiastically. “Heh heh. My spot on Chairman Park’s knees is good, meow?”

And then, Plop.

[You have harvested a Magic Blueberry.]

[Your job experience slightly increases.]

[Proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 8 slightly increases.]

[You have gained 70 experience.]

Sejun began to harvest the blueberries.

30 minutes later.

“Done.”

Sejun finished harvesting the blueberries. It ended quickly because there were only 1,000 blueberries.

Just then,

“Hyung! I’m done!” Ajax flew to Sejun, carrying an armful of bright red sun peppers, their spicy smell filling the air.

“Ajax, good job,” Sejun said, praising Ajax and stroking his head.

“Hehe. Yeah!”

As he was stroking Ajax’s head,

“Chairman Park, I did well too, meow!” Theo grabbed Sejun’s hand, which was stroking Ajax’s head, with his two front paws and placed it on his own head.

“Eek! What is it?!”

“Heh heh. I worked harder than Ajax, meow!”

Ajax glared angrily, but Theo confidently spoke his mind.

Theo was acting like he was better than everyone. Sejun thought, ‘Hey, Ajax is a dragon! Theo should be more respectful.’

Pat.

Sejun quickly stroked Ajax’s head with his other hand, soothing him.

Just then,

Yip!

‘Hey! Take that hand away! That hand is mine!’

Fenrir, not liking that Sejun was stroking someone else, barked eagerly.

However,

‘Our Blackie, are you hungry? Here you go.’

Sejun couldn’t understand Fenrir’s words.

Sejun put a dried sweet potato in Fenrir’s mouth, and

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Fenrir quickly became quiet. This time, he decided to be generous and let it go. It’s definitely not because of the dried sweet potato.

A little later,

Grumble.

Arooo.

Chirp.

The three of them fell asleep on Sejun’s lap, shoulder, and chest.

As Sejun’s hands became free,

Crunch.

He picked up a sun pepper and took a bite. He was curious about the taste.

“Hoo. It’s spicy but delicious.”

It wasn’t a painful spiciness, but a delicious spiciness. An addictive spiciness. It would be really good if he made gochujang.

As he swallowed all the sun pepper,

[You have consumed a Sun Pepper.]

[If you receive enough light, one of your stats will randomly increase by 5.]

A message appeared saying that his stats would increase if he received enough light.

“That’s easy. Hmph hmph hmph.”

[You have obtained 201 Sun Pepper Seeds.]

[Your job experience slightly increases.]

[Proficiency in Seed Harvesting Lv. 8 slightly increases.]

Sejun hummed and sat in a place where the warm sun shone, and began to harvest the sun pepper seeds.

Ajax harvested 300 sun peppers. He set aside 50 of them to put in dishes and harvested the seeds from the remaining 250.

When Sejun had harvested about 200 sun peppers,

[Due to the effect of Seed Harvesting Lv. 8, the number of seeds harvested increases by 4 times.]

[You have obtained 800 Sun Pepper Seeds.]

[Your job experience slightly increases.]

[Proficiency in Seed Harvesting Lv. 8 slightly increases.]

The effect of the Seed Harvesting skill, which had a low chance of obtaining 2-5 times the seeds, activated, increasing the number of seeds obtained.

“Four times? Hehehe.”

Sejun smiled contentedly as he looked at the message.

[Your soul becomes full.]

[Your Mentality increases by 1.]

Thanks to that, his Mentality also increased.

When the sun pepper seed harvesting was over,

Pat.

[You have planted Sun Peppers in magic-infused soil.]

[Your job experience slightly increases.]

[The Sun Peppers are listening to the farmer’s footsteps, so the growth rate of the Sun Peppers is doubled for 24 hours due to the effect of Magic Seed Sowing Lv. 8.]

[The probability of obtaining a new variety increases by 5 times due to the effect of Magic Seed Sowing Lv. 8.]

[Proficiency in Magic Seed Sowing Lv. 8 slightly increases.]

Sejun immediately began planting 50,000 sun pepper seeds.

Meanwhile, far away on the 99th floor of the Red Tower…

“Udon. Plant these Flame Beans in areas that are becoming deserts.”

“Yes, Lamter!” Udon answered Lamter’s instructions with a voice that was completely sure.

Planting beans in desertified land? If it were the old Udon, he would have doubted it a little, even if it were the words of the great Red Dragon.

But Udon, while enduring the bland power and double the stamina, came to believe that Lamter’s words could not be wrong.

“Go quickly!”

“Yes, Lamter, then I will go plant the Flame Beans.”

Udon went down to the 48th floor of the tower, an area that is becoming a desert, to plant the Flame Beans.

“Hey, you all, hunt the cacti around here!”

“Yes!”

He had his subordinates hunt the cacti around the area, and

Thump.

Udon dug into the sand, put in the Flame Beans, and covered them with sand again.

Then,

[You have planted Bulkongi’s Flame Beans.]

[You have planted crops in a highly flammable area.]

[The compatibility between the surrounding environment and Bulkongi’s Flame Beans is very good.]

[The growth rate of Bulkongi’s Flame Beans increases.]

[Your job experience greatly increases.]

Bright words flashed in front of Udon’s eyes.

**[Top Farmer Rank: D -> C!]**

**[Job Rank Increased! Job Traits Enhanced!]**

**[Seed Sowing Skill Lv. 3: Greatly Improved!]**

**[Seed Sowing Skill Lv. 3: Level Up!]**

“Oh!” Udon gasped. His eyes widened as he read the strange, glowing words. He couldn’t believe it.

The sun had been burning hot. For so long, Udon had struggled. For every thousand seeds he carefully placed in the ground, only one tiny plant would actually grow. The terrible heat was the reason his farmer rank stayed stuck for so long. He felt like he was always failing.

But now… suddenly, his rank jumped up! His Seed Sowing skill, which felt like it was barely moving, had leaped forward!

Soon, Udon finished planting the last of the 50 Flame Beans. Another message popped up, and then another!

**[Seed Sowing Skill Lv. 4!]**

**[Seed Sowing Skill Lv. 5!]**

“Ha! Level 5 already!” Udon roared with laughter. “Pests, you little monsters! My skill is stronger now! You won’t dare touch Lamter-nim’s Flame Beans!”

He hefted his huge battle-axe. It felt lighter than a feather in his hands today. He grinned as he saw spiky Cactus monsters slowly creeping towards the Flame Bean field. “Come on, you prickly pests!” he yelled, swinging the axe in a wide arc.

To be precise, it was Sejun’s Flame Bean field, but Udon was unaware of the contract details.

“Just a few more,” Sejun murmured to himself. He carefully planted the last sun pepper seeds, one by one.

**[Sun Pepper planted in mana-infused soil.]**

**[Job experience slightly increased.]**

He continued planting. Each seed brought him closer. Slowly but surely…

**[Mana Seed Sowing Skill Lv. 8: Slightly Improved.]**

**[Mana Seed Sowing Skill Lv. 8: Level Up!]**

Another message appeared. Sejun smiled. Mana Seed Sowing was his first job skill to reach level 9! It was his second skill overall to reach such a high level, right after his Cooking skill.

“Level 9! I wonder what’s new?” Sejun thought excitedly. He quickly looked at the skill description:

**[Job Skill – Mana Seed Sowing Lv. 9]**

* **Seeds grow much better:** More seeds will sprout into plants!

* **Fewer pests:** Bugs will be less likely to harm the plants.

* **Mana Boost:** If you put mana in the soil when planting, seeds grow super fast for a whole day!

* **New Seeds:** When planting by hand, you are five times more likely to find special new kinds of seeds! (This doesn’t work for tenant farmers.)

* **Farmer’s Aura:** Your energy stays in the plants, scaring away monsters!

“Scaring away monsters?” Sejun read aloud. “Hmm… that’s… interesting.” He scratched his head. “But… *me*? Intimidating monsters? Really?” He wasn’t so sure. It sounded powerful, but coming from *him*? It felt a little strange.

Suddenly, Sejun grinned. “Wait a minute,” he chuckled. “There *is* someone who’s scared of me!”

He thought of Fenrir, the tiny wolf pup he’d found. Fenrir was probably the weakest creature on the whole 99th floor. Surely, *he* would be intimidated by Sejun’s farmer energy!

*Plop.* Sejun quickly dug a small hole and planted another sun pepper seed. “Okay, let’s test this out.”

He carefully pulled Fenrir out of his sling bag. The little pup was curled up, fast asleep. *Creak.* Fenrir blinked his eyes open and stretched.

‘Woof?’ he yawned. ‘Food time?’

Fenrir looked around happily, completely clueless.

“Sorry, not food *yet*, little guy,” Sejun whispered apologetically. “Just need your help for a second.” He gently placed Fenrir near the newly planted seed.

*Pat pat pat.* Before Sejun could even blink, Fenrir’s tiny paws were digging at the soil. *Gulp!* The sun pepper seed vanished. Fenrir had eaten it!

“Wait, what?!” Sejun stared, completely surprised. “Not scared… but *eating* it?!” He was so shocked, he didn’t even think to wonder if peppers were safe for puppies to eat.

*Hee hee!* Fenrir wagged his tail and bounced around the field, full of puppy energy. *Thump thump thump* went his little paws on the dirt.

*Hee hee! Woof!* he barked happily.

Sejun watched, confused. Fenrir wasn’t scared at all. He was… happy? “Maybe… maybe my energy isn’t scary to *friendly* creatures?” Sejun mumbled to himself, trying to make sense of it. But deep down, a little voice whispered, “Maybe your energy just isn’t that strong.”

“Is my energy really *that* weak?” Sejun sighed sadly. He felt a little deflated. But he still had more seeds to plant. He dug another hole, feeling a bit gloomy, and planted another sun pepper.

*Hee hee!* *Pat pat pat.* Fenrir, still full of energy, trotted after Sejun, digging up and gobbling down every sun pepper seed Sejun planted. He loved them!

*Woof… woof…* Fenrir’s happy barks slowly turned into sleepy whimpers. ‘Too many yummy seeds… sleepy now…’

Finally, with a soft *thump*, Fenrir collapsed right there in the field and fell fast asleep, his tummy full of sun pepper seeds. He was a very small puppy, after all.

“Huh? Why’s he sleeping in the dirt?” Sejun wondered, noticing Fenrir sprawled out in the middle of the field. He gently scooped up the sleeping pup. Fenrir was covered in dirt! Sejun carefully brushed the soil from Fenrir’s soft fur, then tucked him back into the warm sling bag.

Red Tower Administrator’s Office.

Lamter, the Red Tower Administrator, leaned back in his chair. He had told Udon to plant the Flame Beans and now he was back in his office, waiting for Kin. Kin had gone to get the Tower Coins.

“Heh heh,” Lamter chuckled to himself. “Those other tower guys are probably still rushing around, trying to become VIPs at the Yongyong Market. Idiots. Where is Kin anyway? He’s taking forever.”

Right as Lamter started tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk, the door burst open.

“Lamter! I’m here! And I’ve got the Tower Coins!” Kin announced, rushing into the room.

“Perfect. First, take a look at this.” Lamter handed Kin the contract Sejun had written.

Kin quickly scanned the words. Then, he stopped, his eyes wide. “Lamter,” he stammered, “is this… is this real? Watermelons that *drink* water? And watermelons that cause… *drought*?!” He looked up at Lamter, his face full of disbelief.

The contract clearly described two kinds of watermelons. One kind would suck up water like crazy. The other… the other was terrifying. It could dry up a whole area. Contracts couldn’t lie. If this was true… the Blue Tower’s endless water problem could finally be solved!

“See for yourself,” Lamter said, a smirk playing on his lips. He held out his hand, showing Kin the seeds.

“Whoa!” Kin gasped, reaching out to touch the seeds. “They’re actually real!” He was buzzing with excitement.

“Hold on, hold on,” Lamter chuckled. “Finish reading the contract first. Details matter.”

“Right, right,” Kin mumbled, quickly reading the rest.

The contract was simple. For every ‘water-drinking’ watermelon seed, Kin would pay 100,000 Tower Coins. For the dangerous ‘drought’ watermelon seeds, he’d pay a massive 10 million Tower Coins *each*. And all the grown watermelons had to go back to the Yongyong Market.

But Kin didn’t care about the cost or giving back the watermelons. If these seeds worked, he could finally get rid of the water that was drowning his tower! It was worth any price.

“Deal! I’m signing!” Kin grabbed the stamp and slammed it onto the contract with a decisive *thump*.

Lamter grinned. “Wise choice, Kin. You’ll thank me later.” He pushed a large sack towards Kin. “Here you go. Twenty thousand water-drinking watermelon seeds, and one hundred of the drought-makers. That’s… let’s see… three billion Tower Coins in total.”

Kin didn’t even blink at the huge number. He pulled out heavy bags of Tower Coins and pushed them across the desk to Lamter. “Take it all! Just give me those seeds!” He snatched the sack of watermelon seeds, his eyes shining with hope.

Kin practically flew back to the Blue Tower, clutching the sack of seeds. He couldn’t wait to see if they worked.

“Zelga! Get up to the 70th floor, now!” Kin barked into his communication device. “And take these seeds! Plant them there!”

He thrust the watermelon seeds into the hands of Zelga, the Blue Tower’s best farmer. Zelga, a sturdy man with tired eyes, looked at the seeds with suspicion. Following Kin’s orders, he trudged up to the 70th floor.

When Zelga reached the 70th floor, he sighed. The sky was always dark and heavy here, and a huge, gloomy lake covered almost everything. Rain poured down endlessly. “Plant *these* in *this*?” Zelga muttered to himself, shaking his head. “Will these little seeds really change anything in this soggy mess?”

He grumbled, but Kin was the boss. “Well, Kin-nim said to plant them…” Since there was no dry land to be found, Zelga just tossed one of the watermelon seeds into the dark, still water of the lake.

*Splash.* The seed sank into the water.

Suddenly, words glowed in front of Zelga’s eyes.

**[Drought Watermelon Seed Planted!]**

**[Drought Watermelon Seed begins to absorb water… It’s very thirsty!]**

Zelga blinked. What did that mean? He looked around. Nothing seemed to be happening. “Huh,” he muttered. “Maybe it’s a dud.”

But then… the water level started to drop. Just a little at first. Then faster. And faster. The lake was shrinking! Zelga’s eyes widened in shock. The water was vanishing before his very eyes!

In a blink, the vast lake was gone. Dry land stretched out in every direction. Where moments before there had been a gloomy sea, now there was only empty space.