Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 57

A mutated green onion that makes its leaves like metal to protect them from being cut.

Grown inside the Tower, all the good stuff in the onion goes to make the leaves sharp and hard. This makes it not taste good and not healthy to eat.

No effect upon consumption.

Grower: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

Good for: 90 days

Grade: C

‘No effect upon consumption? And no taste or nutrition either?’

‘Would a swarm of locusts even try to eat this?’

Sejun’s thoughts, after checking the options for the Sturdy Blade Green Onion, immediately turned to the Red Locusts.

Just then,

Tap. Tap.

“President Park, I’m here, meow! Why aren’t you welcoming me, meow? Look! I’m wearing the same straw hat as President Park, meow!”

Disappointed that Sejun wasn’t paying attention to him, Theo tapped Sejun’s leg to announce his arrival again.

“Oh, Theo, you’re here? The straw hat looks good on you.”

Sejun, snapping out of his thoughts at Theo’s words, praised Theo’s straw hat.

“Of course, meow! There’s nothing in this world that doesn’t suit me, meow!”

Theo, puffed up by Sejun’s praise, shrugged his shoulders.

“President Park, sit here, meow! I’ve done another complete sell-out and earned a lot of money, meow!”

Theo urged Sejun to sit down so he could sit on Sejun’s lap.

However,

“Greetings to the Great Black Dragon. I am Iona, the president of the Wizards’ Association.”

Iona said, kneeling on one knee. Thanks to her, Theo’s plan to sit on Sejun’s lap was stopped.

“The president of the Wizards’ Association? But why are you here?”

“I told you I was a subordinate of the Great Black Dragon, meow! You didn’t believe me, so I brought her, meow!”

“I’m sorry. I believe you now.”

Iona bowed her head and apologized to Theo.

And then,

“Um… I have something to say to the Great Black Dragon.”

Iona said cautiously to Sejun.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Actually, the reason I came here is to ask the Great Black Dragon to get rid of the Red Locusts on the 67th floor of the Tower.”

“I know.”

He had heard it from Eileen a little while ago, but he spoke as if he already knew.

“I see you already knew.”

When Iona first saw Sejun, she doubted if Sejun was really the Great Black Dragon. He looked like a human who had come from outside the Tower, and she didn’t feel any strong power from him.

‘Could he really be the Great Black Dragon?’

Iona was suspicious. Except for his black hair, there seemed to be nothing related to the Black Dragon.

A Mana Scan would clearly show whether the other person was the Great Black Dragon, but performing a Mana Scan without the other person’s permission was a rude thing to do.

And if the other person was the Great Black Dragon, then not only would she be rude, but the Wizards’ Association might disappear.

While Iona was wondering if Sejun was the Great Black Dragon,

Kkyu?

Iona’s eyes caught sight of the grass Sejun was holding. It was definitely grass, but the leaves were sharp like blades. And Iona was certain.

‘He is the Great Black Dragon!’

That grass was definitely the Great Black Dragon’s secret weapon, newly developed using the Red Locusts’ habit of eating grass first and then eating other things.

‘The reason the Great Black Dragon hasn’t stepped forward is because he’s been busy developing a new weapon on his own.’

Iona made up the story herself.

“Great Black Dragon, I will catch the Red Locusts on the 67th floor of the Tower and help test the new weapon you are creating!”

“New weapon? Sure. I’d be grateful.”

Sejun, who wanted to know if the Sturdy Blade Green Onion was effective against the Red Locusts, readily agreed to Iona’s words.

“I am honored to help test the Great Black Dragon’s new weapon! Then I’ll go right away!”

Iona hurried down the Tower.

And then,

“President Park, quickly sit down and receive my report, meow.”

Theo, wanting to sit on Sejun’s lap, tapped the floor and urged Sejun to sit down again. Theo really wanted to sit on Sejun’s lap.

“Alright. Tell me.”

As Sejun sat on the floor, Theo climbed onto Sejun’s lap and began reporting on the recent transaction.

“I sold out again, meow. And I made a total of 15,575 Tower Coins, meow! Also…”

Ratatat.

Theo turned his bundle upside down and poured out the Churu treats he received for taking pictures, Sejun’s seasonings and coffee, and things he bought from the store area.

“Theo, you did well.”

Sejun thanked Theo for working 50 hours as CEO and gave Theo the remaining 575 Tower Coins as a bonus, keeping 10,000 Tower Coins.

“Thank you, meow!”

“But Theo, don’t you have something to tell me?”

“…Meow?”

When Sejun looked at Theo, Theo looked away, trying not to make eye contact with Sejun. It was the behavior of someone who clearly felt guilty.

“Theo, are you really not going to tell me?”

“It was a mistake, meow. But how did you know, meow?”

Theo was confused. How did Sejun know? Theo thought he got away with it. He hid the Sun Sweet Potato and thought it was a perfect crime. He didn’t even think that he was the only one who could cause such an accident in this cave.

“I have ways of knowing everything.”

‘As expected, Park Sejun is amazing, meow.’

Theo was once again amazed by Sejun’s greatness.

“Alright. Since you told the truth, I’ll let it go this time. But as punishment, Churu is taken away for today, and you’re changed from CEO Theo to Intern Theo. And I’ll make the punishment shorter depending on how you do.”

“I understand, meow…”

Theo obediently got off Sejun’s lap.

And then,

Flutter. Flutter.

He started cutting the fallen green onion leaves into appropriate sizes and fanning himself like a fan.

‘Theo, you little rascal…’

He would have been very sad and hidden away in the corner of the cave right away… but he’s trying to do something… Sejun was touched by how Theo was growing up.

However,

“How is it, meow? Is it cool, meow? Am I CEO Theo again, meow?”

Theo asked after fanning himself with the green onion leaves 10 times. Theo hadn’t learned to be patient yet.

“I’ll think about it if you fan 500 times.”

“That many times, meow? I understand, meow!”

“Strong wind.”

Flarararak.

“Gentle breeze.”

Flutter. Flutter.

Theo carefully and hard fanned himself 500 times, changing the speed according to Sejun’s instructions.

“Am I CEO Theo now, meow?”

“Ugh! My back…”

Press. Press.

“Am I CEO Theo now, meow?”

“This time, it’s my shoulder…”

Press. Press.

“Why does President Park have so many aches and pains, meow?!”

Theo said in a frustrated voice, putting strength into his front paws. Sejun’s heart softened at Theo’s voice, which was worried about him.

“Alright. You’re CEO Theo again.”

Hop.

“President Park! Give me Churu, meow!”

At the same time as Sejun’s words, Theo climbed onto Sejun’s lap very quickly and demanded Churu with pride.

“Alright.”

As Sejun tore open the Churu and brought it to Theo’s mouth,

Chomp chomp chomp.

Theo was really enjoying the Churu.

While Sejun was feeding Churu to Theo,

“Great Black Dragon! I’ve captured the Red Locusts!”

Iona caught and made weak five Red Locusts, several times larger than her own body, with magic.

“So fast?”

Considering the time it takes for Theo to go back and forth to the Tower, it was still too early for her to have even arrived at the 67th floor of the Tower.

“There are normal, high-speed, super-speed, and light-speed merchant passages in the merchant passage, meow. Iona seems to have used the light-speed merchant passage, meow.”

Theo explained Sejun’s question.

“Iona, you’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you.”

Float. Float.

Sejun looked at the Red Locusts, which were caught and floating in the air.

“They’re really big.”

At first, he felt disgusted by their enormous appearance, but as he kept looking at them, he became as familiar with them as he was with ordinary grasshoppers.

“Kkueng-ah!”

Kkueng!

At Sejun’s call, Kkuengi, who was in the cave, came up to the ground.

“Kkueng-ah, can you help me?” Sejun asked, holding out the strange green onion. Its leaves looked like sharp, green knives. “Can you cut this for me?”

Kkuengi looked at the onion, then at Sejun. *Kkueng!* he barked happily. He knew he was being helpful. Kkuengi carefully took the metal-like leaves in his paws. His skin was so thick, the sharp edges wouldn’t hurt him at all. With a quick *snap*, he broke the leaves in half and gave them to Sejun.

“Thank you, Kkuengi,” Sejun said, smiling. He took the sharp onion pieces very carefully, making sure not to cut himself. He walked over to a patch of bare earth, away from the plants and animals.

Then, he dug a hole in the ground and fixed the leaves in the ground.

“Iona, can you hold them well so they don’t escape?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, Great Black Dragon.”

“Then let’s release just one for now.”

“Yes.”

As Iona released the magic,

Flap.

Only one Red Locust started to move its wings and fly. Iona was casting magic separately on each Red Locust, one by one. It was a sight that would have shocked other hunters.

It meant that Iona was casting magic on all five locusts at once! This is very hard. Most magic users can only do one or maybe two spells at the same time.

Flap.

The released Red Locust looked around and then charged towards the leaves of the Sturdy Blade Green Onion fixed in the ground.

And then,

Thwack.

Crunch. Crunch.

The Red Locust struggled to chew at the leaves of the Sturdy Blade Green Onion until just before it died. It was eating a lot.

Just then,

[You have achieved the feat of a great farmer catching pests with crops.]

[One job trait is added as a bonus for being a great farmer.]

[As a job trait, you can get experience when crops catch pests.]

“Huh?”

Even if crops catch pests, they give experience? While Sejun was reading the message,

“Congratulations! Great Black Dragon!”

Iona said, very moved, after seeing how well the Sturdy Blade Green Onion worked. If there was enough time, it seemed that even tens of thousands of Red Locusts could be handled with just one leaf.

Just then,

Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of something chewing was heard.

“Huh?”

When Sejun looked at the source of the sound, Kkuengi was putting the leaves of the Sturdy Blade Green Onion and the Red Locust together in his mouth and chewing.

“Hey! You’ll get hurt if you eat that!”

Sejun hurriedly opened Kkuengi’s mouth, but

Gulp.

It was already swallowed. Luckily, there were no small wounds visible inside his mouth. Kkuengi really couldn’t eat anything.

“Iona, take these leaves to the 67th floor of the Tower and plant them like this. Kkueng-ah, cut the rest of the leaves too.”

Kkueng!

At Sejun’s words, Kkuengi broke off all the leaves of the Sturdy Blade Green Onion and handed them to Iona.

“Then I’ll be going!”

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“Um… leave the rest of the Red Locusts behind.”

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Kkuengi, who had already tasted the Red Locust, and the wolves, who had smelled the blood, were licking their lips while looking at the Red Locusts.

As Iona handed the remaining four Red Locusts to Kkuengi and the wolves,

Crunch. Crunch.

Kkuengi and the wolves began to eat the Red Locusts like crazy.

“Then I’ll go down.”

“Okay. The leaves will grow back by tomorrow morning, so come back then.”

“Yes.”

Iona took the nine leaves of the Sturdy Blade Green Onion and went down to the 67th floor of the Tower.

And a few hours later,

[Your crop has gotten rid of a pest.]

[You have gained 1 experience.]

[Your crop has gotten rid of a pest.]

[You have gained 1 experience.]

Messages began to appear one after another.

After a few days, the Sturdy Blade Green Onions that had roots were divided and planted, and more blade leaves were cut and sent to the 67th floor of the Tower.

And Iona made a small wall to protect them by surrounding the waypoint on the 67th floor of the Tower with blade leaves, blocking the path for the Red Locusts to climb to the 68th floor.