Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 381

Texas, USA. Deep in the Texas countryside, something was waking up.

A hunter walked through the tall grass. He saw some strange plants. They were short, only reaching his mid-shin, with bright red fruits much too big for their thin stems.

Scritch.

He quickly cut the fruits from the plants with his sword.

Thud. Thud.

The red fruits fell to the ground. He stomped on them hard.

Crunch.

[You have defeated a Young Flesh Eater.] [You have gained 300 experience points.] [You have leveled up.] [You have gained 2 bonus stats.]

Messages popped up in front of him.

“Heh heh,” the hunter laughed quietly. “Leveling up is easy today.”

He walked on, looking for more Flesh Eaters. But inside the crushed red fruits, tiny seeds began to grow in the dirt.

[You have arrived at the 80th floor of the Black Tower.] [You have descended 19 floors from the highest floor.] [Your >Retrogressor< title increases all stats by 19.] Sejun stepped onto the 80th floor of the Black Tower. He looked around quickly. 'Is this a farm?' he wondered, checking for danger. Clang! "Chairman Park! I missed you, nya!" Theo shouted. The cat jumped out of thin air – from Sejun's subspace warehouse – and flew straight for Sejun's face. ‘Hey! We just said hello!’ Sejun thought, trying to dodge. Splat. Too late. Theo's soft, pink paws landed right on his face. Theo's grip was always impossible to escape. "Puhu... nya..." Theo purred, happily stuck to Sejun's face. Sejun sighed and gently pulled Theo off, holding him by the back of his neck. Theo grinned, pleased with himself. Kkueng! [Kkueng wants to hug Daddy's face too, yo!] Squeak! ‘Me next!’ Right behind Theo, Kkueng and Fenrir burst out of the subspace. They also launched themselves at Sejun's face. Splat. Splat. It took a few moments of playful wrestling before Sejun could finally see what kind of farm it was. Yellow and green striped fruits lay scattered across the ground. The air smelled sweet and fresh. "Wow! Are these… Korean melons?" Sejun said, surprised. It was a whole field of them. He picked one up, feeling its smooth skin. [You have harvested a Korean melon.] [Your job experience slightly increases.] [Harvesting Skill (Level 8) slightly increases.] [You have gained 1 experience point.] A message popped up. Just a normal melon, not a special item, Sejun thought, noticing the simple name and low experience gain. "Still," he grinned, "melon is melon." He wiped the melon on his pants and crunch! took a big bite, skin and all. ‘Delicious!’ The skin was crisp, not tough at all. The flesh was crunchy and slightly sweet, and the seeds inside were like sugary candy. The sweet smell filled the air as Sejun ate. Kkueng! [Daddy, Kkueng wants to eat too, yo!] Squeak! ‘Me too! Give me some!’ "Me too..." Yuren mumbled, eyes fixed on the melon. Kkueng, Fenrir, and Yuren all stared at Sejun, drooling a little. "Hey, hey," Sejun said, a little embarrassed. "I wasn't going to eat it all myself! I was just… checking if it was safe to eat." It was a weak excuse, and he knew it. Kkueng! [Strong Kkueng will check for poison from now on, yo!] Kkueng puffed out his chest, looking very serious. [Weak Daddy will get sick if he eats bad things, yo!] Kkueng’s words were a little too honest. "Okay, okay," Sejun chuckled, feeling a little hurt but mostly amused. "Here, eat." He cut the melon into pieces and shared it with them. A moment later, happy sounds filled the air. Kkuhehehe. Kkueng! [Hehehe. So yummy, yo!] Kkihhihi. Squeak. Squeak! ‘Hee hee. Full! Rub my tummy!’ "Uhehe. Delicious," Yuren sighed contentedly. They ate about 100 melons in total. Kkueng ate the most (50), Yuren ate almost as much (49.75), and Fenrir just had a tiny taste (0.25). "Wait… where’s the quest?" Sejun wondered aloud. He had expected a quest to appear when he arrived on the 80th floor, maybe something about claiming this land. But nothing had happened yet. The farm seemed peaceful, with no monsters in sight. Just then, a message popped up: [Quest Generated!] [Quest: The Korean melons are crying out for revenge! Someone has been stealing their friends, melons who couldn't grow properly and died too soon. Find the Korean melon thief!] [Reward: Recognition as the owner of this land.] "A Korean melon thief?" Sejun blinked. "Seriously?" Then a grin spread across his face. "Alright then! It's time for Detective Sherlock Sejun to solve this case!" "Puhuhut! And I, Theotson, will be your amazing assistant, nya!" Theo declared proudly. Kkueng! [Detective Conan Kkueng, reporting for duty, yo!] Kkueng struck a dramatic pose. Theo and Kkueng were always ready to play along. "Good detectives always check the crime scene," Sejun said in a serious voice. "You two, guard the melons and keep harvesting. Criminals often come back to the scene of the crime." "Bbyot!" [Yes!] Bbyot nodded firmly. "Yes!" Yuren agreed. Sejun turned and called, “Earth Dragon!” -Yes, Master? Earth Dragon’s deep voice rumbled in his mind. And while we’re looking for the thief, Sejun thought, we can also search for Fenrir’s core fragment. "Let’s go!" Sejun climbed onto Earth Dragon’s head. "We have two mysteries to solve!" Crunch. Crunch. They set off, munching on Korean melons as they went. It felt more like a picnic than a serious investigation. Kkuhehehe. Kkihhihit. "Earth Dragon, want a melon?" Sejun offered. "They’re really good!" -Thank you, Master, but dirt is my favorite food, Earth Dragon replied. Melons were not for him. Rumble. Earth Dragon began to move, circling outwards from the farm. After a short time, a message appeared: [North…] It stopped. "Earth Dragon, go back!" Sejun quickly ordered. They returned to their previous spot. [Fenrir’s core fragment detected 20km north.] "Perfect! Earth Dragon, head north! Fast!" Toryong, the small green lizard, nodded his head quickly. "Yes, Master!" he squeaked. Then, his tiny feet pounded against the forest floor - *thump-thump-thump!* - as he ran north as fast as he could. Sejun had told him to go quickly, and Toryong always obeyed his Master. And then, Kroooooh! [Ruler of Orin Mountain, Black Giant Bear, Rak] They saw Rak. He was a huge black bear, twenty meters tall! A strange black ball was stuck in his forehead, glowing with a red mist. Kyaaak! Deer were in danger of being eaten by Rak. Sejun thought about calling for help. Kkueng! [Kkuengi will show you the results of his special training!] Kkuengi stepped forward eagerly. Kkueng! [Dad, tell Kkuengi to say ‘Release Seal!’] "Huh? Release Seal? But Kkuengi doesn't have a special power like that," Sejun thought. Kkueng! [You still have to say it!] It seemed he was jealous that only Ajax had his seal released. "Alright. Kkuengi, Release Seal." As Sejun spoke, Kkueng! [Kkuengi has now released his seal!] Thud! Kkuengi jumped powerfully and charged towards Rak. As Kkuengi flew towards Rak, he grew bigger and stronger, using his Lightweight Agility skill to restore his weight. In an instant, Kkuengi's height increased to 70 meters, and his weight increased 1000 times. Kwaaaang!!! Uoooong! Rak, hit in the face by Kkuengi's huge paw—bigger than Rak's own face—stumbled and rolled, groaning. Kkueeeeeng! Kkuengi roared at Rak and quickly ran towards him. Kwaaaang! He slammed his body into Rak's face. "Ouch…" That must hurt… Sejun felt sorry for Rak, who was being crushed by Kkuengi's massive body. Kkuengi's body slam was that powerful. Thud! Kwagwang! Kkuengi punched Rak's face again and again. The fight between the Crimson Giant Honey Bear and the Black Giant Bear. No, it was Kkuengi beating Rak up. It was amazing to watch. A short while later, Uooooh… Kkueeeeeng! [I won!] Kkuengi held the Fenrir's core fragment, which he had torn from Rak's forehead, in his paw and roared in victory. And then, Thud. Thud. Approaching Sejun, Kkueng! He nudged Sejun with his head. "Dad, did you see? Kkuengi won! Because of the seal! I released my seal!" "Hehe. Our Kkuengi did very well. I’ll give you a five-star stamp!" Sejun praised Kkuengi. Kkueng! [I’m so excited!] Kkuengi grinned, thinking about getting a five-star stamp. "Hehe. You cute rascal." Sejun smiled as he looked at Kkuengi. Even though he was a giant bear of 70 meters, he was just cute to Sejun. [Your soul is filled with immense cuteness.] [Your mental strength has increased by 10.] His mental strength increased, proving Sejun's thoughts were true. "Now, let’s shrink back down." He was cute, but his neck hurt from looking up. Kkueng! [Dad has to say ‘Seal!’] It seemed Kkuengi wanted to keep using the seal concept. "Alright. If that's what Kkuengi wants, then okay." "Seal! Shrink back down!" As Sejun spoke, Kkueng! Kkuengi shrunk back down. Kkuhehehe. Kkueng! [Hehehe. Dad, I’m here!] Kkuengi held out his small paw, holding Fenrir's core fragment, to Sejun. At that moment, Squeak! 'My core!' Fenrir suddenly jumped from inside the sling bag, trying to grab the core fragment. However, Snatch. Squeak? 'Huh?' Sejun grabbed him and put him back in the sling bag. Fenrir was too slow to get the core fragment. "Blackie, no. This is dirty." Sejun teased Fenrir. Sejun called it dirty right in front of Fenrir, who owned the core. Luckily, Fenrir didn't understand what 'dirty' meant. Sejun picked up Fenrir's core fragment, stopping Fenrir from grabbing it. Then, [You have acquired a fragment of the door leading to the 10th Tower.] Along with the message, a brown, fist-sized piece of wood broke off from the core fragment. He had the third fragment of the door to the 10th Tower. "Oh. It's only 0.07% of Fenrir's power?" Sejun said, surprised. Ajax struggled against a 0.1% fragment… Kkuengi beat a 0.07% fragment easily, so our Kkuengi has become much stronger. It seemed that the Great Wizard’s special training was effective. Sejun wondered if he should train more too, and then put the core fragment into his special storage. "But why do my legs feel empty?" Feeling the emptiness, he looked at his knees and didn't see Theo. Where did he go? As Sejun was looking for Theo, "Puhuhu. Chairman Park, I’ve found slaves to work on the farm, nya!" Then, Theo appeared, looking very happy and holding up the papers for the slaves. He had been getting paw prints from the deer. At that moment, [You have enslaved all the melon thieves.] [The quest has been completed.] [You have been recognized as the rightful owner of the Black Tower 80th floor melon farm land deed.] [Land Deed Skill: Farm Information Lv. Max is activated.] A message appeared saying the quest was complete. "Ah. So these guys were the melon thieves." Sejun realized the deer were the melon thieves thanks to the message. "Huhu. I did it! I, Sherlock Sejun, solved the mystery!" Theo and Kkuengi did the work, but Sejun took the credit. Sejun had caught the melon thieves and gotten a new fragment at the same time. "Let’s go back." Kyaaak! The deer made noises as if they understood Sejun. Kroooooh! Even Rak, who was just waking up after being knocked out, grumbled as if agreeing. Theo had been very thorough. He had even taken Rak's paw print while Rak was still asleep and put it on the slave papers. Now, Rak was also a slave. After returning to the farm, Sejun had the slaves manage the farm, and then "Let’s go home." He took the melons they had harvested and returned to the 99th floor of the tower. And then, [You have arrived at the 99th floor of the Black Tower.] As Sejun arrived at the 99th floor of the tower, "Sejun!" Lamter, who had been waiting for Sejun at the waypoint, called out to Sejun anxiously.