Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 417

Kabi, now known as Luno, the Faceless Thief, twitched in his sleep. A strange feeling prickled his skin, even in the form of a small, furry flying squirrel. Something was wrong.

Kabi didn’t remember his real name. He was called Subject Thirteen. He knew it was a bad number. Many subjects before him, twelve groups of ten thousand, had vanished. He was just the latest. The wizard Copy had taken him as a baby. Copy was obsessed with changing shapes, and Kabi was just one of many used in his dangerous experiments. Kabi remembered playing with other children in the lab, but one by one, they were taken away. He never saw them again. Loneliness became his only friend.

When only Subject Thirteen remained, the wizard Copy gave him a new name: Kabi. “You are Kabi now,” Copy said, but Kabi knew he was still just a subject for experiments. One day, Copy held out a glass bottle. Inside was a liquid that shimmered like dark silver. It smelled bitter and metallic. “Drink this,” Copy ordered. Kabi was afraid to disobey. He swallowed the liquid and the world went black.

When Kabi woke, dust filled the air. The lab was in ruins. Broken glass and twisted metal lay everywhere. Copy was gone. Kabi waited for days, but his master did not return. *Could it be?* Was he finally free? A real smile touched his lips for the first time he could remember. He ran outside, breathing in the fresh air. Freedom! But then, a strange twitch ran through his body. He looked down and gasped. His hands were turning grey and furry. He was changing. His second transformation, the first he remembered, turned him into a grey wolf. Walking on four legs was strange and clumsy at first. It took days to learn how to run. Just as he got used to it, *twitch*, it happened again. He became an orc, then a goblin, then a man, then a woman, then a child, then an old man. Sometimes he was an animal. Once, he was a bug. He remembered being a wolf and an orc, but when he was a bug, there was only darkness. When he changed back and remembered being a bug, he felt sick with disgust.

Many times, Kabi transformed into weak creatures. Once, as a small bird, a cat almost ate him. Another time, as a fish, he was nearly swallowed by a larger fish. He learned that changing forms could be deadly. He tried to live in a village once, as a normal man. But in the middle of the market, *twitch*, he turned into a monstrous spider. People screamed and attacked him. He barely got away, running for his life as stones and shouts followed him. He knew he couldn’t live like this. He had to find a way to control his transformations. The only place he could think of was Copy’s lab. He was terrified of facing his master again, but the outside world was even more dangerous.

Luckily, the lab was empty and dusty. Copy was gone. Kabi felt a mix of relief and fear. He started to study Copy’s research notes. He learned the shocking truth. Copy hadn’t just been experimenting randomly. He had been trying to turn Kabi into the strongest creature of all: a great dragon! *Dragon?* It was insane! And it had gone wrong. As a side effect of the dragon experiments, Kabi had lost his own true form. He couldn’t even remember what he originally looked like. But in the notes, he found two potion recipes: [Transformation Suppression Potion] and [Transformation Promotion Potion]. One to stop changing, and one to make himself change when he wanted. He gathered ingredients, but they were expensive. To get money, he started stealing. At first, he just took small things – a loaf of bread, a few coins. But he got bolder. Soon, he was stealing jewels and treasures. Because his face was always changing, no one could catch him. Whispers started in the towns: “Have you heard of the Faceless Thief?” “They say he can be anyone!” And so, Kabi became known as Luno, the Faceless Thief.

Now, back to the present… *Beep! Beep!* Luno, still a flying squirrel, woke with a jolt. His magic alarm spell was going off! Intruders! He was weak as a flying squirrel! How had they found his secret lab? But he had traps. He wasn’t too worried. He yawned and pulled the covers back over himself… *CRASH!* The sound of breaking glass made him jump. “What was that?!” He scrambled out of bed and grabbed his video magic stone. He focused his magic and the stone showed him the lab. *…?!* He stared in horror. Intruders were inside, smashing everything! Bottles flew off the shelves, shattering on the floor. Colorful liquids mixed together in puddles. His precious reagents!

“All that money! All my work!” Luno felt a wave of anger. Then he saw something that made his blood run cold. A small brown bear was in the middle of the lab, and white light was glowing in its paws. *Fire!* “No!” His research data! His notes! Worst of all, the potion recipe! The recipe to become himself again! He had finished it just yesterday, and it was right there, in front of that bear! He couldn’t lose it. He grabbed the transformation suppression potion and the transformation promotion potion, and raced out of his hiding place.

***

Sejun stared. “Is that… a flying squirrel?” he whispered. “Could that be Luno the Faceless Thief?” Theo asked, eyes wide. Sejun almost laughed. *A thief? That tiny thing?* But then he remembered Iona. Small, but dangerous. *Like Iona,* he thought, recalling her destructive magic. He kept his guard up. Then, the flying squirrel landed on the wall. It pulled out a bottle and drank. *Twitch.* The squirrel seemed to melt, turning into liquid silver for a moment, before reforming as a frog. Then, another potion, another *twitch*, and a raccoon appeared. Then a sloth. Luno cursed silently. A frog? A raccoon? A sloth? Not exactly warrior forms. “This is a disaster,” he muttered.

“Wow!” Sejun exclaimed, forgetting his guard for a moment. “Amazing!” Theo cheered. “Puhuhut! What a wonderful transformation show, meow!” Iona purred, clapping her paws. Even Blackie barked in excitement. Luno drank another potion. *Twitch.* He became a strong, muscular bear. Then, *twitch*, a fast cheetah. Finally, *twitch*, he felt a surge of power. He landed in front of them, no longer small and weak. He was a Blue Phoenix. Feathers of ice shimmered on his wings. Cold mist swirled around him. *Perfect.* He would freeze them all. He raised a claw, ready to unleash a blast of ice.

Just as Luno was about to attack, he felt a sharp tug on his tail. *What?!* He spun around. *Rip! Rip!* Theo was there, pulling out his beautiful ice-blue tail feathers! “Puhuhut!” Iona giggled. “These feathers are amazing, meow! Chairman Park can use them for his magic tools, and I can make my staff even stronger!” Theo grinned, holding up a handful of shimmering feathers. Luno stared in disbelief. His grand entrance as a Blue Phoenix, ruined by a feather-plucking cat.

“Eek! I’ll freeze you all!”

Just as Rune, enraged, was about to unleash his icy powers,

“Kehk!”

Kooeng!

(Daddy might get cold if he’s chilly!)

Kooeng, who had transformed to a gigantic size in the blink of an eye, seized Rune’s neck tightly with his forepaw.

Plop.

Plop.

Thanks to this, Rune found himself grabbed by the scruff of his neck, his tail feathers being plucked.

He hastily retrieved a transformation-accelerating potion from his pocket and gulped it down.

Squirm.

Kooeng?! Kooeng!

(Eh?! He’s getting away!)

Kooeng tried to grab Rune as he transformed, but Rune slipped through Kooeng’s grasp like an eel, transforming into a roe deer.

And then Rune transformed several more times.

Kooeng!

(He’s transforming again!)

Kooeng, Bbyot, and Yuren watched with interest as Rune transformed again and again, almost like enjoying a strange show.

“Phoo hoo hoo. Chairman Park, take this, nyaang!”

Theo brought Sejun seven tail feathers of the Blue Phoenix.

“Oh. This is refreshing.”

Sejun examined the blue feathers he received.

[Blue Phoenix’s Tail Feather]

A superb material containing the power of strong coldness from the tail feathers of the Blue Phoenix, who lives eternally.

If you use these feathers to make equipment, legendary-grade equipment will be created with a high probability.

If you use these feathers to make a weapon, you can make an ice-attribute weapon; if you make a staff, you can make a staff that doubles ice-attribute attacks; if you make a farming tool, you can make a farming tool that increases the shelf life of crops by 10%.

Grade: SSS

“Well done. Vice Chairman Theo.”

“Phoo hoo hoo. Of course, nyaang! I, Vice Chairman Theo, always do well, nyaang!”

“Heh heh heh. Alright.”

Sejun knew an annoying reply would come, but he couldn’t help but give praise.

Make a hoe that increases the growth rate of crops by 5% with the Phoenix’s tail feathers.

And if you make a sickle that increases the shelf life of crops by 10% with the Blue Phoenix’s tail feathers, the best synergy will be created.

At that moment,

Buzz. Buzz.

Kooeng?

(Is the transformation over?)

Rune transformed into a cicada and lost consciousness.

Buzz. Buzz.

“Capture him for now.”

Bbyot! Bbyot!

(Yes! I’ll catch him!)

Bbyot grabbed Rune, who had transformed into a cicada, with his beak, then

Stomp.

Bbyot got a tiny stamp from Rune’s cicada leg on the contract.

However,

Bbyot?

(Theo, is it done?)

“It’s not done, nyaang!”

It seemed that it wasn’t a handprint of his true form, so the slave contract wasn’t being made.

“For now, this place… I’ll let Iona know the location later, and let’s go back.”

“Understood, nyaang!”

Sejun captured the Faceless Thief Rune and returned to the 99th floor of the tower with his companions.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Golden Tower…

The 12th floor of the Golden Tower was a wide, flat plain scarred by the constant strikes of lightning from the angry sky.

Kwagwang!

Rattle rattle rattle.

A gleaming golden cart, polished and shining even under the stormy sky, moved slowly.

Clang!

Kwagwang!

Lightning struck several times during the journey, but the cart moved along unscathed.

The elves were hiding in a dark, damp cave, the entrance hidden by thick bushes.

“What in the world is that thing?”

“Looks strange… Should we shoot it?”

The elves looked at the suspicious-looking cart and whispered.

At that moment,

Rattle rattle rattle.

The cart changed direction and began to move towards the cave where they were.

“What is it?”

“What should we do?”

“Wait! Let’s tell Elder Roiba first.”

While the elves were moving busily,

Thud.

The cart stopped in front of their cave.

“Start the siege.”

At Elder Roiba’s words, the elves notched wooden arrows with sharp stone tips onto their bows and aimed at the cart.

However,

The golden cart remained still and silent, as if waiting patiently.

“Team 1, approach.”

“Yes.”

At Roiba’s command, five elves alternated glances between the sky and the cart, moving under the trees and cautiously approaching the cart. They didn’t know when lightning might strike them.

As Team 1 got closer,

Whirr.

The cart began to emit a golden light, creating a massive golden shield with a radius of 500m.

Kwagwang!

The shield perfectly blocked the lightning striking around it.

To their surprise, the side of the cart opened, revealing a shop window glowing with warm light, showing a list of items in neat, clear writing.

[Sales List]

Magic Cherry Tomato 1 – 2 Tower Coins (10,000 remaining)

Strength Sweet Potato 1 – 10 Tower Coins (10,000 remaining)

[Purchase List]

Golden Tower 35th Floor Land Document – 1,000,000 Tower Coins (1 available)

-If you sell items, we will assess the price and purchase them. (4 types of items remaining)

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

The elves had good eyesight, so not only the Team 1 elves but also the other elves could see the shop window.

“I’ll go take a look first!”

Roiba, the elder, approached the cart as a representative.

10 minutes later.

Roiba cleared his throat, trying to hide his excitement after tasting the delicious cherry tomatoes. “Ahem… well,” he said to the elves, “I think… I think we can use this shop!”

“Wow!”

“Let’s hurry and try it!”

The elves also approached the cart and bought Sejun’s crops.

A little while later.

Clunk.

The side of the cart closed as the transaction ended.

“Goodbye!”

“Come again next time!”

Rattle rattle rattle.

Leaving behind the elves with their arms full of Sejun’s crops, the golden cart began to wander the Golden Tower again, seeking new customers.