Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 55

Leon’s head turned quickly as he hurried down to the first floor of the tower to get the Poisonous Spider’s Sharp Fang Sword from the guild storage room. Other hunters stopped what they were doing, too.

“What?! The Detox Daepa?” one hunter shouted.

“Is it really here?” another asked excitedly.

They were all stuck on the 38th floor. The deadly Tarantula boss was blocking their way, its poison attacks making it almost impossible to defeat. Could this Detox Daepa be the answer? What was that strange name for?

If the cherry tomatoes sold by the cat merchant were special, the Detox Daepa must be even more so. Plus, it had ‘detox’ in its name. What could it do?

“Theo, can we see the Detox Daepa?”

“I want to see it too!”

“Me too!”

“Show it to our Wizard Guild first!”

“What are you talking about! Our Royal Knights will see it first!”

Hunters from the Royal Knights Guild and the Wizard Guild rushed to Theo. They ignored the Phoenix Guild hunters, eager to be the first to get past the 38th floor.

“Form a line, meow!” Theo said proudly, putting the Detox Daepa back in his pack. His voice was now full of confidence and strength.

‘Park Se-jun’s words are always true, meow!’ he thought.

Theo never thought the Detox Daepa would sell so well. He decided again that he should listen to Se-jun.

The hunters lined up in an orderly queue, following Theo’s instructions. Leon was able to stand third in line because another guild member let him go ahead.

“Oh! It’s real!” A hunter from the Royal Knight Guild shouted after checking the Detox Daepa.

Leon waited nervously for his turn. The Royal Knight Guild hunter returned, looking determined.

It was clear that the Royal Knight Guild members were gathering all their coins. They looked determined to buy the Detox Daepa, no matter the cost.

A moment later, the Wizard Guild hunter who checked the Detox Daepa returned. The Wizard Guild members were doing the same, collecting all their money.

‘What’s so special about it?’ Leon wondered.

“Here you go, meow!” Theo said.

“Thanks,” Leon replied.

Finally, it was Leon’s turn. Theo proudly handed over the Detox Daepa, and Leon checked it.

[Detox Daepa]

This daepa, grown inside the tower, is delicious because it has lots of nutrients.

When eaten, it removes D-grade or lower poisons for 1 hour.

When eaten by someone who isn’t awakened, it helps the liver work better for 24 hours, helping to remove toxins.

Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Se-jun

Expiration Date: 60 days

Grade: D

‘D-grade?’ Leon thought.

Unlike the Magic Cherry Tomatoes, the Detox Daepa was D-grade. But that was good enough. The Deadly Tarantula’s poisonous gas attack did E+ grade poison damage. It was deadly because it sometimes spewed out that poisonous gas during the fight.

“Theo, how many of these Detox Daepa do you have?” Leon asked.

“100, meow!”

100? That wasn’t a clear number. The most people for a boss raid was 50. But, the more people in the raid, the lower the chance of getting good rewards. So, people usually raided the boss with about 15-25 people.

Boss raids usually took more than 3 hours.

The Royal Knights Guild and the Wizard Guild were strong. They would raid the boss with about 20 people. That meant they needed at least 60 Detox Daepa to raid the boss on the 38th floor.

However, they had detoxifying potions from quests. If they used the Poisonous Spider’s Sharp Fang Sword, they could lower the number of raiders to about 18. So, they could raid the boss even if they only got 50 Detox Daepa.

‘We have the advantage. But how much money do we have?’ Leon thought, feeling worried. He had spent all his money buying the Magic Cherry Tomatoes earlier.

“Jeffrey, gather all the money from our guild members here!” Leon ordered.

“Yes!” Jeffrey replied.

Leon told the leader of Team 1 to do that. He contacted Vice Guild Master Catherine on his hunter phone to send the Poisonous Spider’s Sharp Fang Sword up as soon as possible. Leon’s hunter phone was an expensive model, costing 500 million per unit. It could talk to the first floor through a special receiver in the guild headquarters.

‘The Phoenix Guild will raid the boss on the 38th floor of the tower today,’ Leon thought, getting ready.

“Now, I’ll start the auction, meow! I’ll sell the Detox Daepa in sets of 10, meow!” Theo announced.

“50 tower coins for 10!”

“60 tower coins for 10!”

“70 tower coins for 10!”

The hunters from the Royal Knights Guild and the Wizard Guild strongly called out prices. The price of the Detox Daepa began to rise quickly.

“130 tower coins for 10!”

“131 tower coins for 10!”

“132 tower coins for 10!”

The auction was fierce. No one was giving in.

And then,

“155 tower coins for 10!” Leon shouted.

The Phoenix Guild won the first Detox Daepa.

“Alright!”

The Phoenix Guild won the next three auctions in a row with 157, 162, and 170 tower coins.

‘Just one more win and we’re set!’ Leon thought.

However,

“130 tower coins for 10!”

“131 tower coins for 10!”

“10 for…” Leon started to call out a price, but the leader of Team 1 stopped him.

“Jeffrey, what’s wrong?” Leon asked.

“Guild Master, we’re short on money,” Jeffrey said.

The Phoenix Guild had won the auctions at high prices because the other guilds kept raising the price. They didn’t have much money left.

“132 tower coins for 10!”

“Sold, meow!”

“135 tower coins for 10!”

“Sold, meow!”

The Royal Knights Guild and the Wizard Guild happily split the remaining 60 Detox Daepa, 30 each. The Phoenix Guild had no money left.

“Damn it!” Leon said.

Leon regretted later that he hadn’t bought fewer Magic Cherry Tomatoes, but it was too late.

While Leon was blaming himself,

“Anyone who wants to take a picture with me, form a line, meow!” Theo said, starting another job.

Theo was in a good mood because the Magic Cherry Tomatoes and Detox Daepa sold at high prices. He gave good service to the female hunters again today, and the photo time ended.

‘Hehe. I got 100 Churu and 50 of Park Se-jun’s favorite things, meow. That gets me 50 hours of CEO Te, meow!’ Theo thought, putting his rewards into his pack, feeling happy. He looked around.

‘But why can’t I see Kim Dong-shik, meow?’

Theo had something to talk about with Kim Dong-shik and was looking for him.

“Guild Master, I’ve brought the equipment,” Team 5 Leader Kim Dong-shik said, bringing the equipment that Leon had asked for.

“Team 5 Leader, thank you,” Leon replied.

Kim Dong-shik, having finished his conversation with Leon, hurried over to Theo.

“Kim Dong-shik! Why are you so late, nyaa? I found you, nyaa!”

Theo stomped his foot, his whiskers twitching with annoyance. He needed Kim Dong-shik here, and needed him *now*.

“Sorry. But I had a reason.”

Kim Dong-shik explained that he was guarding Se-jun’s family.

“Is that true, nyaa?! Is Chairman Park’s family in danger, nyaa?!”

“Don’t worry. We’re protecting them well. More importantly, did you bring an answer to my proposal?”

“I did, nyaa! Chairman Park said he’ll agree, nyaa!”

Theo showed Kim Dong-shik 200 cherry tomatoes, 10 Detox Green Onions, and 15 Solar Sweet Potatoes from his bundle.

“The 200 cherry tomatoes are a three-month advance payment, nyaa. And Chairman Park said he’ll sell the other crops at a low price, nyaa! Especially this one, it’s really good, nyaa!”

Theo placed the Solar Sweet Potato on top so Kim Dong-shik could see it clearly.

‘Puhu-hut. If Dong-shik takes this, no one will know about my mistake, nyaa!’

Theo thought he was pulling off the perfect trick.

‘What is this?’

Dong-shik checked the Solar Sweet Potato and Detox Green Onion options. He was late coming up, so he didn’t know anything about the Detox Green Onion.

“This is?!”

The Detox Green Onion was very important for fighting the boss monster on the 38th floor of the Tower. And the Solar Sweet Potato… its fire-blocking power could help his teacher, even if just for a short time, with that terrible curse.

“I’ll buy them all!!!”

“I knew you would, nyaa! Good choice, nyaa!”

Theo, who had been waiting for Kim Dong-shik’s answer with a nervous expression, said with relief.

“The Detox Green Onion and Solar Sweet Potato are 7 Tower Coins each, nyaa!”

“Really?!”

The Detox Green Onion was D-grade and the Solar Sweet Potato was C-grade, but they were the same price? Kim Dong-shik asked, surprised by the unexpectedly low price.

“That’s right, nyaa! I’m only giving it to you like this this time, nyaa!”

Theo, who needed to hide his mistake, sold the Solar Sweet Potato cheaply.

“Great!”

Kim Dong-shik readily paid 175 Tower Coins.

“Then, see you next time, nyaa!”

Theo quickly turned and scurried away. He had to check if the hunters who promised him a reward were keeping their word.

“Goodbye!”

Kim Dong-shik waved at the departing Theo with a bright smile.

‘With this, I can get three of Teacher’s beating prevention coupons.’

It seemed Theo and Kim Dong-shik were in similar situations.

Having finished his transaction with Theo, he turned around when—

“5th Team Leader!”

Leon, with intense eyes, called out to Kim Dong-shik, staring at the Detox Green Onion in Kim Dong-shik’s right hand.

And that day, the Phoenix Guild officially conquered the 38th floor of the Tower for the first time in the world, and Kim Dong-shik, who had contributed greatly to the conquest, was promoted to the 3rd Team Leader.

Stranded, Day 221.

Scritch scritch.

Near the rustling green peanut field, Se-jun had made a cozy nest of soft grasses and dried mud. Inside, the silken cocoon of the Poison Honeybee Queen twitched and pulsed.

Carefully, Se-jun tucked a small branch, heavy with bright red cherry tomato flowers, into the nest, their sweet scent filling the air. He gently covered it all again with fragrant scallion leaves, creating a dark and peaceful space.

Chew chew.

He quietly waited, chewing on semi-dried grilled squid. Today, he had stopped all construction and farming on the ground, and prevented anyone from coming nearby. This was because the Poison Honeybee Queen would see the first person she sees as her master.

As the afternoon arrived,

Whirr! Whirr!

A faint fluttering sound came from under the scallion leaves.

‘Has she awakened?’

Se-jun carefully opened the scallion leaves, and Se-jun and the Poison Honeybee Queen’s eyes met.

[You have successfully hatched the Poison Honeybee Queen’s cocoon.]

[The newly born Poison Honeybee Queen has successfully recognized you as her master.]

[The proficiency of Beekeeping Lv. 3 slightly increases.]

Whirr! Whirr!

The newly born Poison Honeybee Queen rubbed her body against Se-jun, expressing her affection, and then returned to her nest to suck the nectar from the flowers.

“Eat a lot.”

Se-jun covered the nest again with scallion leaves and went down to the cave.

“You can go up now.”

Squeak.

Bbaa.

At Se-jun’s words, the rabbits, who had a lot of work to do on the ground, hurried up. And they went to the Solar Sweet Potato field. If he hadn’t planted the Solar Sweet Potato sprouts in advance, the seeds would have disappeared completely.

“Theo definitely took them.”

Se-jun pointed to Theo as the culprit. At that time, Kkuengi couldn’t come down to the cave, so if it wasn’t Theo, there were no other animals that could cause trouble.

Moreover, the yellow fur that fell around the place where the Solar Sweet Potatoes had been made Se-jun even more sure.

“Just you wait until you come here.”

While Se-jun was thinking about how to mess with Theo with this,

Ppyak!

Kkuengi!

He saw the Black Rabbit and Kkuengi hunting diligently in the pond. Se-jun’s worry that Kkuengi would target the storage was unfounded.

Kkuengi was also a predator in his own right. Kkuengi preferred to hunt and eat his own prey. Except for honey.

Thanks to this, Kkuengi didn’t need to move the prey to the ground, as he ate it right away in the pond.

As a result, Se-jun’s work was reduced, making him more comfortable.

Tower 75th floor.

Theo arrived at the shopping district.

The hunters they caught on the 38th floor had no money. So, since there was a contract, he instructed them to earn money and released them.

He couldn’t bring the humans with him, so he was thinking of asking Se-jun what to do about the hunters.

‘Chairman Park would definitely know how to get money from the humans, nyaa!’

Leaving the problem of the hunters to Se-jun,

“Nyaa nyaa nyaa.”

Theo, who thought he had completely erased the traces of his mistake, hummed and walked through the shopping district with a light heart.

“I am a great wandering merchant, nyaa!”

The money earned from selling the Magic Cherry Tomatoes and Detox Green Onions was a whopping 1575 Tower Coins!

Theo’s shoulders were incredibly puffed up with pride from making such a huge sale. But since he was traveling underground, no one saw it.

Fortunately, the merchants were clearing the way because wolves were following Theo.

Just then,

“What is it, nyaa?!”

There was a group blocking Theo and his group. No, it was just one small hamster.

“Do you not know who I am? Step aside!”

Iona, the chairman of the Magician’s Association, said to Theo.

“Do you not know who I am, nyaa?!”

Theo looked at Elka with expectant eyes, as if telling her to quickly tell him about himself.