Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 418

Sejun stepped onto the 99th floor of the Black Tower. The air here felt different, charged with a strange energy.

“Home, sweet home!”

“Moo! Welcome back, Sejun!”

“Yeah, hi. But is our Kkuengi doing well with his special training?”

“Moo! Moo! Of course!” the Ox King boomed. “You will see amazing improvements very soon!”

“Great improvements? What kind? Kkuengi is already strong, right?” Sejun felt a little worried. He wanted to ask more, but it was getting late.

Deep snores echoed in the night. Under the dark sky, the Black Minotaurs were lying on the ground, fast asleep.

He was late because he had to pick pears from the pear farm on his way back. He sighed, knowing he wouldn’t have much time to check on Kkuengi tonight.

Sejun waved goodbye to the Ox King and called softly, “Torongi…”

“-Yes…”

Torongi seemed to know what Sejun wanted. He appeared quietly, and Sejun climbed onto his head to ride home.

But why weren’t they here? Theo, Kkuengi, and Kkamangi usually rushed out of the subspace warehouse the moment he arrived. But tonight, it was quiet.

Piyot and Yuren had left again to collect Yuren’s debts.

Clang…

Sejun carefully opened the subspace warehouse, and

Grolong.

Kkulorong.

He saw Theo and Kkuengi, half-buried in treasure, hugging each other and sleeping.

Squeak…

Kkamangi was also stuck between them, squeaking as if it was hard to breathe.

Hehehe. How cute.

Sejun, who had been watching the three of them sleep, first separated Theo and Kkuengi for Kkamangi’s comfortable sleep, then

Thump.

“Puhuhu.”

Theo was attached to his knee,

Poof.

Kkuhehehe.

Kkuengi was held in his arms,

Swish.

Kkihihit.

and Kkamangi was put in a sling bag.

As he was about to leave the subspace warehouse with his companions,

Buzz… Buzz…

He heard a sound from the corner of the warehouse.

“Huh?!”

Looking at the source of the sound, he saw Rune, transformed into a cicada, trapped inside a jewel box.

Someone must have locked him in there to stop him from escaping. ‘Will he be okay like this?’ Sejun wondered, looking at the large cicada. He carefully took Rune out of the jewel box and placed him on the floor. Then, he put a gold coin on top of Rune to stop him from running away.

After a little while, Torongi said, “Master, we are here.”

“…Yeah, thanks,” Sejun mumbled, quickly lifting his head. He’d been dozing off on Torongi’s head! He tried to look like he hadn’t been sleeping.

Sejun got off Torongi’s head and

“Kkuengi, wake up. You have to sleep with Mom.”

Kkueng… Kkueng…

[Okay… Good night, Dad…]

At Sejun’s words, Kkuengi waved his front paws, almost with his eyes closed, and flew to Pink Fur using telekinesis.

Then, he went to the kitchen and got the pears and other fruits ready.

“Time for bed,” he said to himself. He went to his room, gently took Kkamangi out of the sling bag and placed him on his chest. *Gulp.* He swallowed the mugwort. He felt a surge of energy! (Stats increased by 20! Lifespan increased by 3 months!) Then, he quickly drank the bitter medicine. (Stamina increased by 9 thanks to his talent!) But the taste… it was awful! Sejun fainted. He still couldn’t get used to how bitter it was.

About two hours after Sejun fainted, *Bae-at!* Batbat stretched his tiny wings and woke up. He had been sleeping on Sejun’s forehead. It was later than usual for him. He remembered waking up earlier to check on Sejun during the night. Maybe that’s why he overslept now.

(Batbat! Good night, everyone!)

Batbat quietly greeted Sejun, Theo, and Kkamangi and left the bedroom.

And

Flap. Flap.

He went to the kitchen to eat.

(Batbat! Pears again today!)

Batbat got excited and flew to the plate of white pear slices Sejun had cut.

*Slurp. Slurp.*

“(Batbat! So sweet!)”

Batbat ate the pear quickly. Then, he noticed a note next to the fruit.

The note said: ‘Batbat, please take this to Iona. – Sejun’.

It was a job for Batbat!

Batbat’s heart fluttered. (Finally, a chance for a perfect score!) He had been waiting for this day! Batbat smiled wide and took out a small, folded piece of paper from his fur. *Fold. Fold. Fold.* He carefully unfolded the paper, which was creased from being folded so many times. It was a drawing of a bat, drawn by Batbat himself, with ten empty circles around it. Batbat looked at his drawing, pleased. He folded it up again, tucked it safely into his fur, and *Batbo!* flew towards the Black Tower in the south of the farm.

*** High in the Black Tower, in the Black Field… “Kyu… So much work!” Iona grumbled, overwhelmed by the piles of papers on her desk. As the leader of the Black Tower in the Black Field, she was also in charge of the Wizard’s Association. It meant she was always busy. Recently, she had hired ten assistants to help her. But they only lasted a few days before they all quit! “Kyu! Kyu! When I find them, they will be sorry!” Iona muttered, angrily flipping through the documents. She was furious with her runaway assistants.

(Batbat… Iona, can I come in?)

Batbat peeked his head through the window, looking at Iona’s face.

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Please come in!”

Iona quickly put down the documents and welcomed Batbat.

(Batbat. Thank you!)

Batbat thanked Iona for her permission and entered the room.

And

(Batbat! Sejun told me to give this to you!)

He handed Sejun’s note to Iona.

“Kkyut? A note?”

Iona unfolded the note and quickly began to read.

Iona’s eyes widened as she read the message. “What?” she murmured, hardly believing it.

*The Faceless Thief Rune captured?*

It was almost unbelievable. For a year, the Wandering Merchant Association, the Wizard Association, and even the Free Mercenaries had been hunting this elusive thief without any luck. Rune was notorious for slipping through their fingers.

The note, written in hurried script, explained that Rune had been caught in their hideout. The location of the hideout was clearly marked, and there was a request to collect items from a laboratory within.

A grin spread across Iona’s face. “Heh heh. Well, this is convenient! I needed to go to the 81st floor of the Tower anyway.”

She remembered why she was going to the Tower. A vice-chairman, who was more like a runaway servant, had fled there.

“Heh heh. I wonder what Theo is up to these days?” she mused aloud.

Just then, a small, bat-like creature fluttered into the room. “(Bat bat! Big Brother goes to the Green Tower every morning…) ” Bat Bat replied, eager to share what he knew about Theo.

A few moments later, Iona smiled. “Heh heh. Thank you, Bat Bat. You can go now. I’m heading straight to the 81st floor of the Tower!”

“(Bat bat. Yes. Goodbye!)” Bat Bat chirped and flew off.

Feeling more energetic after hearing about Theo, Iona prepared to leave. She was going to the 81st floor – not exactly to chase someone, but to bring back that runaway vice-chairman, or whatever he was.

Sejun stretched, a yawn escaping his lips as sunlight peeked through the cracks in the wooden walls. He felt refreshed after a night’s sleep. As he fully woke, messages appeared in his mind.

[The Seal of the Jewel of Earth has been lifted.]

[Roch, the God of Rock, sealed within the Jewel of Earth, is released from his seal.]

[Roch, the God of Rock, repays the one who released his seal.]

[Roch, the God of Rock, repays the favor by creating a rocky path on a small patch of land.]

[10% of your life force from sleep has been stored.]

[The Bead of Life is 8.69% complete.]

[0.1 magic power has been accumulated.]

[Magic power increases by 0.1.]

“Excellent,” Sejun murmured, a smile forming. *A rocky path… could it finally be the Golden Rock Path I’ve been hoping for?*

He quickly gathered Theo, who was already stretching like a cat, and Blackie, still half-asleep and grumpy. Sejun hopped out of bed. *Scratch.* He marked another day on the wall calendar, a simple way to track time in this strange tower. Then, excitement bubbling, he went outside to see Roch’s gift.

But instead of gleaming gold, he saw brown. “Oh! It’s bread!” Sejun exclaimed, surprised but pleased. A loaf of rustic brown bread sat where he expected golden rocks. *Even better!* he thought. *Maybe the gods are finally understanding what I need.*

“Hehehe. French toast for breakfast!” he chuckled, reaching for the loaf with anticipation. But as his fingers touched it, his smile faltered. “Huh?!”

The bread was rock solid. Completely, utterly hard. Sejun frowned, tapping it with his knuckles. It sounded like stone. *Not actual rock, thankfully,* he thought, *or I’d be truly stuck.*

“Well,” he sighed, “I’ll have to grind this into breadcrumbs then.” He glanced upwards, as if Roch, the God of Rock, might be listening. “Roch-nim,” he muttered, “you need to try harder. I’d give this ‘road’ a 0.2 out of 10.”

He decided to call it “Roch Road” anyway, a small, stubbornly hard patch of bread at the farm entrance. Shaking his head with a wry smile, Sejun strolled towards the kitchen, the scent of morning dew and fresh earth filling his lungs.

As he entered the kitchen, he noticed crumbs on the table and a faint smell of fruit. “Huh?” A crumpled piece of paper, folded many times over, lay beside the mess.

He unfolded it carefully. It read: [Sejun-nim, I did an errand, so please give me a five-star stamp too – Bat Bat]

“Pfft,” Sejun chuckled. “That Bat Bat, when did he make this? Hehehe. Cute.”

“Alright,” Sejun said aloud, retrieving his five-star stamp. He carefully stamped Bat Bat’s note, folded it back up, and tucked it into his pocket.

A few minutes later, Kkueng burst into the kitchen. “Kkueng!”

“[Daddy, good morning!]” Kkuengi chirped, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Yes. Kkuengi, did you sleep well?” Sejun asked, smiling.

“Kkueng! Kkueng! [Yes! It was a sweet sleep!]”

“Okay,” Sejun replied, already suspecting the truth.

Honey coated the fur around Kkuengi’s mouth and right paw. Clear evidence of a midnight snack. *I need to feed him earlier and wash him more often,* Sejun thought.

“Sit down and wait a little,” Sejun instructed.

“Kkueng! Kkueng! [No! Kkuengi will set the spoons and milk!]”

Ignoring Sejun, Kkuengi busily placed spoons and small bowls of milk at each seat.

Kkuhehehe. Kkueng. [Hehehe. If Kkuengi gets a stamp today, Kkuengi can get allowance again.]

He sat down, beaming at his praise paper, which already boasted nine stamps. He waited eagerly for Sejun to finish cooking and award him another.

“Okay. Let’s eat now,” Sejun announced, placing a platter of sweet potato matteong on the table.

“Kkueng! Kkueng! [Matteong! I will enjoy it!]” Kkuengi cried, instantly forgetting about his stamp as he began to devour the sweet potato treats.

“Okay. Blackie, you eat too,” Sejun said, placing a few pieces of matteong in Blackie’s bowl.

“Kking?! [There’s another sweet potato dish?!]” Blackie exclaimed in mock horror.

“Kkihihit. Kking! [Hee hee. Delicious!]” The shock quickly faded as Blackie happily munched on the matteong.

“Vice President Theo, let’s eat grilled fish,” Sejun said, placing a small plate of fish near Theo.

“Understood, meow!” Theo replied promptly.

While everyone was busy enjoying breakfast, Sejun quietly took Kkuengi’s praise paper and stamped it.

“Our Kkuengi has collected 10 stamps?” Sejun announced.

“Kkueng! Kkueng? [Yes! Can Kkuengi get allowance now?]” Kkuengi asked, his eyes wide with anticipation.

“Yes. Here. Allowance,” Sejun said, handing Kkuengi 1000 Tower Coins.

“Kkueng! [Thank you, Daddy!]”

Kkuengi carefully took the coins with both paws and bowed deeply.

Kkuhehehe. He pulled out his small allowance pouch, placed the coins inside, and puffed out his chest with pride.

As breakfast ended, Theo announced, “Chairman Park, I’m off, meow!” and headed to work on the first floor of the Green Tower.

“Let’s wash Kkuengi and Blackie,” Sejun declared, leading the two towards the sink.

“Kking! [I don’t want to!]” Blackie protested, trying to wriggle free.

“Kkueng! [Blackie, come here!]” Kkuengi scolded, brandishing a small stick.

“Kking··· [I’ll go…]” Blackie grumbled, defeated.

“Okay. It’s done,” Sejun said, finishing up. He dried Kkuengi’s fur with a soft towel.

“Kkueeng? [Blackie, is it cool?]” Kkuengi asked, directing a puff of air towards Blackie.

“Kkiyaa!” Blackie cheered, seemingly enjoying the makeshift drying method.

As Sejun watched Blackie’s antics and finished drying Kkuengi, a new message appeared in his mind.

[You have exterminated the Locust, the first disaster Netae sent.]

[As a reward for the great achievement, Netae’s first disaster, the Locust, cannot invade.]

“Huh?!” Sejun exclaimed, surprised by this unexpected turn of events.