Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 469

Herr’s Pawnshop was a small, brightly colored building. It sat squeezed between two much bigger buildings: the huge Combat Store Headquarters and the tiny Seed Store Headquarters.

Herr hummed a happy tune as he worked on his ledgers. For him, keeping track of numbers wasn’t work – it was a fun game! “Yes! Perfect!” he thought, smiling. When the numbers in his ledger matched his divine power exactly, down to the smallest amount, he felt a rush of joy. *This is why I love doing this,* Herr thought. He was almost finished with his game when…

Messages popped up in front of Herr: *[10,000 Mushroom Ants, serfs of Park Sejun, the Tower Farmer of the Black Tower, have witnessed your temple.] [Divinity increases by 2.] [500 Doom Watcher Devourers have witnessed your temple.] [Divinity increases by 5.]* Herr chuckled, writing down the new divine power. “Hee hee hee. Investing in Sejun is really paying off!”

Just then,

[Park Sejun, the Tower Farmer of the Black Tower, witnesses your temple.]

[Divinity increases by 100.]

[Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, witnesses your temple.]

[Divinity increases by 5.]

Sejun, having woken up, began his external activities.

Thanks to this, the Sejun family also witnessed the temple, and Herr once again earned a good amount of divine power.

Everything was good.

Except for one bothersome message in the middle.

Then, a different message appeared: *[You lose 0.01 Divinity to Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower.]* “Huh?” Herr frowned. Since yesterday, whenever Theo looked at his temple, Herr had lost a tiny bit of divine power. Message after message kept coming: *[Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, witnesses your temple.] [You lose 0.01 Divinity to Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower.]* It was happening again and again! Normally, he only gained divine power once a day, even if many people saw his temple. But with Theo, it was different. He was *losing* power every time! “That little thief is even stealing my divine power now?” Herr grumbled. It wasn’t much power, not compared to what he was gaining, but Herr hated seeing a minus sign in his perfect ledger.

Theo had been diligently honing his Talent: Aura Absorption to protect Sejun, and before he knew it, Talent: Aura Absorption had evolved into a strange form, also absorbing divine power.

Just as Herr was cursing Theo,

Suddenly, a message from Theo: *[Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, requests that you change the name of the Slave Seal of the Five Towers.] [Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, says that the word ‘Employee’ must be included in the item name.]* Theo wasn’t asking politely. “What?” Herr exclaimed. “Change the name of a Great Merchant item?” He knew that the name of an item was deeply important. It was like its soul. Changing the name could change everything about the item! Herr quickly sent a message back, explaining carefully, “Theo, I need to tell you, changing the name can have big effects…” But before he could finish, another message arrived: *[Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, says he doesn’t know about that and will impeach you if you refuse.] [Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, starts the impeachment vote for Herr, the God of Merchants.]*

“Impeach me?!” Herr was shocked. Messages flooded in: *[The impeachment vote for Herr, the God of Merchants, begins.] [If 3 more votes in favor are cast within 1 year, Herr, the God of Merchants, will be impeached.]* Theo had started the vote right away! And with Turbo and Shark now under his control, Theo had even more voting power. “That little tyrant!” Herr thought angrily. But then he quickly messaged back, “Wait, wait! I’m not refusing! I was just explaining! ‘Employee’ needs to be in the name, right?” Faced with impeachment, Herr had to agree.

“Okay, okay,” Herr replied, sending Theo a message. “First, send me the Slave Seals.” Once he received them, Herr sent Theo something in return: a scroll. *[Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, asks what this is.]* “You probably remember these from your Great Merchant exam,” Herr explained. “It’s a Great Merchant item crafting scroll. Open it, and it will tell you what materials you need to change the item’s name. You have to find those materials.”

Changing the name of a Great Merchant item wasn’t simple. It needed a special crafting scroll. It was easier than making a whole new item, but it could still be incredibly hard, depending on what materials the scroll asked for.

Then, a message: *[Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, unfolds the Great Merchant item crafting scroll.] [Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, is given a quest to collect one scale each from the Great Nine Dragonkin.]* Herr gasped. “Oh no! Dragon scales? From *nine* different dragons?” This was the worst possible material! Getting one scale from each of the nine Great Dragonkin was much, much harder than getting even a hundred scales from just one dragon. Dragons were proud, dangerous creatures. Just meeting nine of them without getting burned to ashes would be a miracle. And then, he had to *ask* each one for a scale? It was like asking for death eighteen times over! Just traveling to their lairs was incredibly risky. “Has Theo always been this unlucky?” Herr wondered. “I didn’t even do anything to make it hard this time…”

Just as Herr was feeling sorry for Theo’s terrible luck, more messages flooded in. But these messages were unbelievable: *[Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, has collected one scale each from the Great Nine Dragonkin.] [Acquired 1 scale from Kaiser Pritani, leader of the Great Black Dragon.] [Acquired 1 scale from Kellion Mamve, leader of the Great White Dragon.]* And on and on, listing each dragon and their scale. Herr stared, eyes wide. “He… he already got them all?!” This quest was supposed to be impossible! A task that could take a lifetime, if it could even be done at all! “Okay, the black dragon scale, I can believe,” Herr thought. “Theo is friends with them. But the rest? How did he get scales from *all* of them, especially the leaders?” He noticed that six of the scales were not just from regular dragons, but from the *leaders* of the black, white, red, purple, green, and blue dragon clans.

Messages from Theo kept coming: *[Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, urges you to change the item name quickly.] [Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower, starts the impeachment vote for Herr, the God of Merchants.]* “Alright, alright! I’m doing it!” Herr said, hurrying now. He grabbed the Slave Seals and the dragon scales, holding them in one hand. ‘He wanted ‘Employee’ in the name, right?’ Herr thought. He started chanting the word, “Employee… Employee… Employee…” like a magic spell, pouring his divine power into his hand. *Whirr.* The seals and scales began to melt and swirl together, glowing. “What will it become?” Herr wondered, watching closely. With scales from all those powerful dragons, including the leaders, it had to be strong. Suddenly – *FLASH!* A burst of nine-colored light exploded from his hand, blindingly bright. When the light faded, a new item was there. *** It was the [Employee Contract Seal of the Nine Dragons].

Meanwhile, far away, in a place of destruction…

In a desolate place, on the outskirts of destruction, Halphas chuckled darkly. “Heh heh heh. Perish!” He had forgotten all about Earth and Neta, worlds he hadn’t yet destroyed. Now, he was busy destroying other worlds. Suddenly, *Slish.* Two hands pushed out from the Black Moon at the center of destruction. *Crack.* The hands started to pull the Black Moon open, wider and wider. Then, *Wriggle. Wriggle.* A thick, brown goo oozed out of the Black Moon, pouring onto the ground. The goo flowed together, forming wobbly, water-drop shapes. It was the fifth disaster – slimes that could melt anything. Thousands of them spilled out of the Black Moon. “Huh? More troops already? Oh, slimes this time.” Halphas quickly flew towards the Black Moon. Fenrir had put him in charge of this place to watch over the Black Moon and manage the disasters that came from it. He also had to receive orders from the master of destruction. Halphas bowed low, looking up at the glowing crimson eyes that appeared within the Black Moon.

“-Why are you here instead of Fenrir?” a deep voice echoed.

“Um… I think Fenrir has been defeated,” Halphas stammered.

“-Fenrir defeated? Impossible.”

“-Yes. We haven’t heard from him since he went into the Black Tower. And… and I heard that pieces of Fenrir’s core are being traded.”

“-That cannot be. I can still feel Fenrir’s soul clearly. And the souls of Kuruga, Alice, and Dilia too. Halphas, go with these slimes. Find Fenrir and bring him and the other apostles back here.”

The crimson eyes turned towards Halphas and the slimes. *Creep.* A red mist swirled around them, and in an instant, Halphas and the slimes vanished. *Slish.* The hands disappeared, and the Black Moon shrank back down.

Back in the Black Tower, on the bustling 99th floor, Sejun’s stomach rumbled. “Oh! That smells amazing!” he said, pointing to a stall in the raccoon tribe market. The air was filled with the delicious smell of grilled cheese. “Kkuenga, let’s try that!” *Kkuhehehehe. Kkueng!* [Hehehehe. Good!] Kkuenga bounced with excitement, raising her front paws in the air. Sejun grinned and bought a grilled cheese. “Mmm, delicious!” he said, taking a big bite. *Kkuhehehehe,* Kkuenga agreed happily, munching on her own treat. They wandered through the market, trying food from every stall – sweet pastries, savory dumplings, and spicy noodles. Finally, full and happy, they made their way to the last stall, belonging to Emil, the raccoon tribe elder…

Just then, a message popped up from Herr: *[Herr, the God of Merchants, says he made the name include the word ‘Employee,’ but he’s not sure if he did a good job.]* A moment later, Theo appeared, practically bouncing with excitement. “Puhuhut! President Park! Look what I have, Meow!” he exclaimed, holding out the newly renamed item with both paws. “I changed ‘slaves’ to ’employees,’ just like you wanted, Meow!” He looked up at Sejun, eyes shining, eager for praise. “Did I do good, Meow?” He carefully presented the item: the [Employee Contract Seal of the Nine Dragons]. It was a beautiful seal, shaped like a dragon’s head, and it glowed with a brilliant, nine-colored light that seemed to dance around the dragon scales embedded in it.

Sejun realized Theo must have been working on this earlier, taking something out of his subspace warehouse. He looked closely at the seal’s description: *[Employee Contract Seal of the Nine Dragons] This is a new seal, made by adding scales from the nine Great Dragonkin to the old ‘Slave Seal of the Five Towers.’ You can easily make an employee contract by stamping the seal on someone. Anyone who was already marked with the Slave Seal will automatically become a 1-year contract employee. The seal can be used 100 times. Employees will get wages and three meals a day during their contract. The owner of the seal promises to provide these things. (Meals are given automatically, but if you can’t provide meals, the contract ends.) If an employee belongs to a tower allied with a dragon (the tower manager), they will be protected by that dragon during their contract. (But if they break the contract, the dragon will be angry and they will be kicked out of the tower.) Currently, no tower is allied with a dragon. Belongs to: Park Sejun, the Tower Farmer of the Black Tower, and Theo Park, the Great Merchant of the Black Tower. Who can use it: Theo Park, his bosses, anyone with 3000 or more magic power. Made by: Herr, the God of Merchants. Grade: ★★ Skill: [Eternal Contract(Master)] [Eternal Contract(Master)] Employee contracts last forever. Contracts don’t end even if meals can’t be provided (but you must give the missed meals later, all at once). Can be used 50 times a month.*

“Hmm,” Sejun thought. “It’s… different.” The new seal wasn’t as powerful as the old one in some ways. Now, each stamp only made a 1-year contract. And if he couldn’t provide meals, the contract would end. The ‘Eternal Contract’ skill was still there, but he could only use it 50 times a month. But there were also good things. Now *he* could use the seal himself. And the dragon protection was a huge bonus! Who would dare attack someone protected by a dragon? “I need to figure out how to make an alliance with a dragon,” Sejun decided.

“Vice President Theo, you did amazing,” Sejun said, gently stroking Theo’s head. Theo’s eyes sparkled with happiness as he looked up at Sejun. “Puhuhut! Of course, Meow! Vice President Theo always does a great job, Meow!” he purred. “Yes, you always do,” Sejun smiled, “but you were extra amazing today.”

“Puhuhut! Tell me what to do next, Meow! I’m ready for anything!” Theo’s lips curled into a wide, happy grin as he basked in Sejun’s praise, feeling like he was floating on air.

Just then, a loud message echoed through the market: *[The first competition of the harvest festival, the grape harvest competition, will begin soon! ] [All participants, please gather at the luscious grape cluster altar!]* The harvest festival was starting!