Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 453

First floor of the Green Tower. The air smelled faintly of flowers and magic.

Yum yum yum.

Ophelia happily munched on the juicy sausage skewers Theo had brought. She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the taste.

“What?” Ophelia said, a little surprised by Theo’s sudden request. She lowered the skewer slightly, looking at him. “You want me to help with Vice Chairman Theo’s special training?”

“That’s right, meow!” Theo puffed out his chest, trying to look brave. “I, Vice Chairman Theo, need special training, meow! If I stay this weak, I can’t protect Chairman Park, meow!” He thought of Aileen’s powerful presence and shivered slightly. *I have to become stronger,* he thought fiercely.

Theo had been greatly alarmed when he met Aileen.

“Meow! The energy to absorb is too great, meow!”

Aileen was growing stronger so rapidly that the amount of energy he needed to absorb to prevent her from harming Sejun had become too much.

So, he even spent a lot of money to barely absorb Aileen’s power, but he hadn’t even absorbed half of the power Aileen was emitting.

However,

Boom.

Even that was useless against Aileen’s single step.

When Sejun flew away,

‘I passed out, leaving Chairman Park behind, meow!’

Theo had also briefly lost consciousness.

I’m still not strong enough, meow!

That’s why he decided to undergo special training.

“How can I help?”

“If Ophelia-nim emits a strong energy, meow!”

“That’s easy. But give me more sausage skewers in return.”

“Understood, meow!”

And so, Theo decided to receive special training from Ophelia in exchange for sausage skewers.

He returned to the Black Tower, carrying sausage skewers, and went to find Ophelia again.

“It’s dangerous here, so let’s go to the 99th floor of the tower.”

“Understood, meow!”

And so, the two moved to the 99th floor of the Green Tower.

“Then, let’s begin. Since it’s the first time, I’ll start lightly.”

“Meow!”

Ophelia slightly opened the faucet that had been tightly shut to contain the energy surging within her body.

Then,

Whoooosh. A wave of hot energy rushed out of Ophelia, like a sudden summer wind. The air around them shimmered, and even the strong stone floor seemed to tremble.

Incredible, meow!

Theo was taken aback by Ophelia’s energy, which was even greater than he had imagined.

Sejun, who had almost died hundreds of times, might not admit it, but he was like a delicate flower that needs protection.

The monsters and dragons on the 99th floor of the tower were always careful for Sejun, who might die even from a deep breath.

So, Theo, who was by Sejun’s side, had never experienced such a strong energy that he couldn’t handle. Because Sejun would faint before that.

“Absorbing, meow!”

Ophelia started with a gentle wave of energy. Theo focused hard, absorbing it. As time passed, Ophelia slowly increased the power.

And so, Theo began to absorb the energy that Ophelia was emitting, using his energy drain.

A short while later.

“Then, I’ll raise it.”

“Meow!”

As Theo got used to the energy, Ophelia released a little more energy.

The special training continued until evening.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

“Understood, meow…”

I want to see Chairman Park soon, meow!

Theo felt his paws getting heavy and his eyes blurry. He wanted to see Chairman Park, but his body felt like lead.

Theo, exhausted from the special training, answered weakly and hurried back to the 99th floor of the Black Tower, where Sejun was.

“Chairman Park, I’ve… returned… meow…”

He went to Chairman Park’s lap…

But he was too exhausted to even reach Sejun’s lap, which he loved so much, and fainted.

***

“Vice Chairman Theo!”

Sejun’s heart jumped when he saw Theo lying still. Sejun rushed to Theo.

He’s not hurt anywhere, and he doesn’t have a fever…

He quickly examined Theo’s body, but there was nothing seriously wrong.

“Kaiser-nim!”

So, he picked up Theo and ran straight towards the fountain where Kaiser was.

And

-Hmm, looks like nothing is wrong. Just sleeping, I think. But look at that belly!

-More than that, did Theo eat something good by himself?

-That’s right. Why is there so much energy gathered in his belly?

-The answer is obvious. He ate something good by himself and got sick.

Theo had eaten something good by himself and gotten sick.

It was a misunderstanding caused by constantly absorbing Ophelia’s energy.

-He’s just like Sejun.

“What?! Me?! I’m not like that.”

-Theo even resembles him in things like this.

Sejun denied it, but the dragons didn’t listen.

-Sejun, you better behave yourself in front of Theo from now on.

-Yeah. If this keeps up, Theo might faint if you just poke him.

No. What kind of harsh words are those?! Apologize to our Theo! And this isn’t an area that can be controlled by willpower!

“Samyangju is sold out.”

It was Theo’s revenge!

-Huh?

“Samyangju is sold out for the next 3 days!”

Tap tap tap.

Sejun shouted to the dragons as he quickly carried Theo down the fountain.

‘Since there’s enough Samyangju to eat for about 2 days anyway, they won’t get angry, right?’

And so, Sejun took petty revenge on the dragons.

“Still, I have to feed him dinner.”

Sitting on the bed, he laid Theo on his lap and brought a Churu stick to his mouth.

Then,

Chomp chomp chomp.

Theo’s tongue moved instinctively.

“Hehe. He’s eating well.”

As Sejun looked at Theo with a pleased expression,

Yip!

[Hey! You have to give the great Blackie-nim something to eat too!]

Blackie, who had been dozing off in Sejun’s sling bag, woke up and barked.

“Blackie, you ate earlier.”

Yip… Yip…

[But… but…]

Blackie, knowing that he had no justification to eat more, only repeated ‘but’.

“Alright. But only half.”

Hee hee hee! Yip!

[Hee hee. Okay!]

Sejun cut a piece of dried sweet potato in half and gave it to Blackie.

And

Hee hee hee! Quack?! Yip!

[Hee hee. Did you see the great Blackie-nim’s skills?! I’ll give you each a bite!]

The hierarchy on the 99th floor of the Black Tower was determined by the ability to obtain food.

“The great Blackie-nim, you’re amazing!”

Chirp!

The subordinates praised Blackie, who had brought food.

Gurgle.

Grumble.

Grumble.

Before long, the three of them had fallen asleep after eating a late-night snack.

Gently, Sejun patted Theo’s round belly. He stroked Theo’s soft fur, a warm feeling spreading in his chest.

“Vice Chairman Theo, did you really eat something good by yourself?”

Sejun suspected Theo for a moment, but

No. There’s no way our Vice Chairman Theo would do that.

He quickly shook his head. There was trust built up over time. If there was something good, Theo would bring it to him first.

Pat pat.

Sejun stroked Theo’s belly and then,

Zzzzzz.

He fell asleep sitting up.

***

“Meow? Where is this, meow?”

Theo quickly looked around.

Around him, he saw a giant mountain of golden-brown grilled fish, smelling deliciously smoky. And there, sparkling in the soft light, was a pond filled with creamy, pink Churu, stretching as far as he could see.

Then is this my, Vice Chairman Theo’s, mental world, meow?

Theo blinked, his head spinning. Where was he? *Thump. Thump.* A giant shadow fell over him. Looking up, Theo saw Sejun, bigger than ever before.

“Chairman Park! It’s so good to see you!” Theo cried, quickly grabbing onto Sejun’s knee.

“I have a problem, Chairman Park,” he said, his voice full of worry. Talking to Sejun always made things better.

“The energy… it’s too much,” Theo mumbled, “I keep taking it all in.” He spoke his worry like a quiet prayer, hoping Sejun would hear. Suddenly, warmth spread through his belly.

*That’s it!* he thought. *I don’t have to take in *all* the energy. I can just stop it from reaching Chairman Park!*

A new feeling sparked within him. He felt stronger, more focused. It was like a new part of him had woken up. His old ability was changing too.

“Chairman Park is amazing…” Theo whispered, full of relief. Then, feeling peaceful and safe near Sejun, he fell asleep.

In Emila’s flower bed, the new plants were working. *Burp… Burp…* They seemed to be eating something bad in the air. These plants, called Doom Devourers, were taking in the dark, dangerous energy around the flowers and turning it into something good.

A soft, blue mist drifted from the plants, gently touching Emila and the other plants nearby, making them stronger. Suddenly, words seemed to appear in Emila’s mind: *Park Sejun has tamed a Doom Apostle! Three Doom Apostles are now on the side of Creation! Nine Doom Apostles remain.*

“Three already?” Emila whispered, surprised. “I didn’t think it was possible.”

Emila Iveneth, a follower of the Creation God, looked at her flower bed with wonder.

Taming the Doom Apostles was a task from the Creation God that everyone thought was impossible. These Doom Apostles were once good guardians, protecting the world. But something went wrong. They were twisted by dark power and now only wanted to destroy.

Emila knew why the Creation God wanted them tamed, but she didn’t believe it could be done. These creatures were like wild beasts now, with no memory of who they once were.

Yet, Park Sejun, the farmer from the Black Tower, was doing it. He had already completed so many tasks for the Creation God – now he had another one, making it nine in total.

“How is he doing it?” Emila wondered. “Three of them already… and he can’t even talk to them, probably.”

She knew Sejun was powerful enough to destroy them easily. “But he’s also… strangely weak in some ways,” she thought, a part of the puzzle she couldn’t understand.

“The creation energy is making me stronger again. I need to help Sejun more,” she decided.

“I believe in you, Park Sejun!” And with that thought, Emila sent out a new task, something to help Sejun become even stronger.

Sejun woke up with a start. “Huh? Did I fall asleep sitting up?” He stretched and looked down. Theo was curled up on his lap, snoring softly.

“He seems much better,” Sejun smiled. Yesterday, Theo was quiet and still, but today he was snoring away. Sejun gently stroked Theo’s head.

“Nyaang…” Theo murmured in his sleep, nuzzling into Sejun’s hand. Sejun chuckled softly and continued to stroke Theo’s fur. Then, words appeared in his mind: *The Seal of the Jewel of the Earth is broken.* A moment later, more words came: *Grass, the God of the Prairie, thanks you and teaches you a new skill: Lawn Mowing, Level 1.*

“A skill?” Sejun wondered, reading the description: *Lawn Mowing, Level 1: Can cut a patch of tall grass, about 10 pyeong in size, evenly.*

“Hmm,” Sejun thought. A job skill sounded important.

“Grass God,” Sejun said quietly, testing it out. “Just one pyeong, please?” He almost asked for a tiny bit, but decided to try the full skill since it was a gift.

Two new tasks appeared in Sejun’s mind: *Plant one million Doom Devourer seeds.* The reward: *For every million seeds planted, you will get 5 Growth Potions.* And another task: *Grow the Doom Devourer population to 100 million.* The reward: *A new species.*

“Hmm,” Sejun thought. “Just plant more Devourers.” He was already planning to do that. But these tasks showed him how important it was to grow these plants.

“Time to make them even better!” Sejun decided. He took out an Enhancement Potion and carefully dropped a single drop onto a Doom Devourer seed. *Drip.* The potion vanished instantly into the seed.

Sejun picked up the seed, feeling a slight change. Then, words appeared in his mind again: *Doom Devourer seed enhanced! The Doom Devourer will be stronger and tougher. It will eat even more of the bad energy.* Many messages followed, all saying the same thing – the Doom Devourers would be much better now.

“Just by enhancing the seed?” Sejun wondered, surprised. “Well,” he shrugged, “better for me!” He quickly moved on.

*Thump. Thump.* The Scorching Cherry tree seemed to hum with energy as Sejun walked past. Words flickered in his mind: *The Scorching Cherry shares its strength with you.* *Your Stamina has increased slightly.* Sejun smiled. He loved walking through his farm. He headed towards the kitchen, ready to make breakfast.

High up in the Black Tower, on the 74th floor, a tired man rested against a wall. “Almost there,” he sighed. “Not much further to go.” He wondered if his bones were starting to break from all the climbing. This man, known as the Farming King, had climbed higher than most.

Suddenly, he looked up, surprised. “Wait… isn’t that them?” He saw a small white bird and a pink pig running towards him. It was Bbyot and Yuren, from Sejun’s farm!

“Great!” the Farming King thought, relief washing over him. “Now I can relax. Help is here.”

*Clatter, clatter* – the sound of running got louder. The Farming King stood up, ready to greet them. But Bbyot and Yuren rushed past him without stopping.

“Bbyot!” the bird cried. “Yuren, hurry!”

“Oink! Sorry!” Yuren squealed as they ran by. Then, the Farming King saw them – three terrifying Doom Apostles chasing close behind.

“Oh, right,” the Farming King remembered. “Yuren is always in trouble.”

He sighed. “Aish, this is going to be more work than I thought.” He started running after Bbyot and Yuren, ready to help.