Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 58

Eileen sighed in relief, watching the notifications on the crystal ball. The rapid increase in Red Locusts had almost stopped.

“Hee hee. It’s all thanks to that helpful human. When Grandpa comes later, I have to tell him to give that kind human a reward.”

Eileen, whose magical power was limited, could only see up to the 99th floor through the crystal ball, so she couldn’t know what was happening on the 67th floor of the Tower.

However, she knew Sejun’s role in eliminating the Red Locusts on the 67th floor was significant, thanks to the contribution rankings displayed on the crystal ball.

The administrator’s praise made Eileen’s gloom disappear, but it was quickly replaced by hunger.

“Hee hee. I have to ask that helpful human for something to eat.” Today, she was craving something sweet.

Day 228 of being stranded, afternoon.

Crunch. Crunch.

Kkuengeui snapped off a thick, juicy Blade Leek leaf. The air filled with its fresh, oniony scent.

“Our Kkuengeui is doing great. Great. Great,” Sejun clapped and praised.

“Kkueng! Kkuengeui!” Kkuengeui, in a good mood, started to dance, shaking his butt and singing to his own rhythm.

Toot! Toot! Toot!

The Black Rabbit, excited by Kkuengeui’s dance, created a cacophony, providing the beat with his hammer.

Just then, a notification appeared.

[The Tower’s Administrator says they want to eat sweet roasted sweet potato slices.]

“Can’t you see we’re working to take care of the Red Locusts on the 67th floor for you right now?” Sejun said confidently, even though he had only clapped for Kkuengeui.

[The Tower’s Administrator says they are well aware of your contribution.]

[The Tower’s Administrator says that you will receive a reward when the Red Locust extermination on the 67th floor is complete.]

“Reward? Really? What kind of reward are we talking about?”

[The Tower’s Administrator says that the more you contribute to the Red Locust extermination, the better the reward will be, and tells you to work hard.]

“There was a separate reward?” You should have said so sooner. Sejun quickly took out the roasted sweet potato slices.

“Eileen, give me a quest.”

After giving the roasted sweet potato slices to Eileen, Sejun cut the leek leaves, thinking about how to increase his contribution on the 67th floor of the Tower.

At that moment,

“Sejun, I’m back,” Elka and the wolves, who had delivered the sturdy Blade Leek leaves to the 67th floor of the Tower, arrived.

Iona thought the immediate danger was over when the defense line was created at the waypoint on the 67th floor of the Tower, and she was about to return to her magic tower.

So, she asked Sejun for permission to transport the sturdy Blade Leek leaves through the Wandering Merchant Association in her place.

“Transport? We’ll do it,” Sejun asked her to give him the cost instead and had the wolves deliver the Blade Leek leaves to the 67th floor of the Tower. Of course, he also received the price for the sturdy Blade Leek leaves, securing the Blade Leek leaf supply contract.

In return for delivering the sturdy Blade Leek leaves to the 67th floor of the Tower, he received 2.5 Tower Coins (the tower’s currency) per Blade Leek leaf, including the transportation cost. It was a very low price compared to the effect of eliminating the Red Locusts, but there was a reason.

The sturdy Blade Leek leaves were consumables that withered 3 to 5 days after being cut. Thanks to that, Sejun could steadily sell the sturdy Blade Leek leaves for 2.5 Tower Coins each, so it wasn’t bad.

“Here’s the payment,” Elka took out a money pouch from her fluffy fur with her front paw. The money pouch contained 75 Tower Coins, the value of 30 sturdy Blade Leek leaves.

It was very small compared to the money Theo was earning, but if the harvest of sturdy Blade Leek leaves gradually increased in the future, it was highly likely to become another source of income for Sejun.

“Elka, you worked hard.”

“Yes. Then I’ll go back down.”

The wolves carried 200 Blade Leek leaves, cut by Kkuengeui, on their backs and went back down to the 67th floor of the Tower. In the meantime, the production of Blade Leek leaves increased several times as they divided and planted the roots of the sturdy Blade Leek.

At that moment,

[Your crops have eliminated pests.]

[You have gained 1 experience.]

A message appeared that pests had been eliminated. It seemed there was another Red Locust attack.

Recently, Sejun’s level increased to 20 as he gained pest elimination experience in addition to the crop harvest experience, and he received a job quest.

[Job Quest: Harvest 1000 crops.]

Reward: Level 21, 50 Tower Coins.

It was not a difficult quest, so Sejun was harvesting cherry tomatoes, completing the quest in two days, and steadily raising his experience again.

And then,

[You have leveled up.]

[You have gained 1 bonus stat.]

He leveled up again and became level 21. This time, the bonus stat increased his magic power.

West of Sejun’s cave.

Koo-err-oong.

The mother Crimson Giant Bear was patrolling.

At that moment,

Thud. Thud.

The mother Crimson Giant Bear heard the sound of an intruder moving.

Thud. Thud.

A tree about 10m tall was walking, moving its roots. Such a big one was usually deep in the west and could not be met, but for some reason, it revealed itself today.

Koo-err-oong!

The mother Crimson Giant Bear ran towards the tree monster.

Crack.

The tree branches tried to bind the mother Crimson Giant Bear’s body, but it did not hinder the mother Crimson Giant Bear’s movement at all.

Bang!

Crack!

The mother Crimson Giant Bear slammed her two front paws into the tree’s trunk and split it in half.

Crunch.

The mother Crimson Giant Bear, who had broken the hardened branches as the tree monster died, chewed and ate the tree’s trunk and roots on the spot.

And then,

Thud. Thud.

She picked up a few branches and took them to Sejun’s cave.

The Tower Farm Project Headquarters on the 1st floor of the Tower.

“Is this a cherry tomato?” Michael, who had rushed over after receiving a report from Research Team Leader Thomas, asked while looking at the cherry tomato branches that were wriggling and moving. There were no fruits at all.

“Yes. Vice President. It seems to have caused a mutation due to the growth accelerator.”

“Mutation? Then you should have discarded it immediately! Why are you still growing this?!” Michael shouted. It was natural. If it became known that Gagel had created something this strange, it would not be good for the company’s image.

“We were going to. But…”

“But?”

“We discovered something good while removing this plant. Try cutting the bottom of the cherry tomato,” Thomas handed Michael a sword and said.

“What is it…”

Slice.

Michael cut the bottom of the cherry tomato with a displeased expression.

[You have defeated a contaminated cherry tomato.]

[You have gained 29 experience.]

“What is this?”

Slice. Slice.

[You have defeated a contaminated cherry tomato.]

[You have gained 27 experience.]

[You have defeated a contaminated cherry tomato.]

[You have gained 33 experience.]

Michael cut down a few more cherry tomato trees as if he couldn’t believe it.

“The tree gives experience?”

“Yes. You can gain experience by defeating the plants we grow. Moreover…” Thomas brought a pot. There was a small sprout in the pot.

“It also reproduces on its own.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It needs food, but it’s true.”

A good idea came to Michael’s mind at Thomas’ answer.

“Good. Plant all of these trees on the land we secured on the 2nd floor of the Tower last time.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Day 230 of being stranded.

Finally, Sejun’s brick house with one room and a kitchen was completed, though there was no furniture yet.

“Now I can sleep alone.”

Sejun gathered soft Blade Leek leaves, their edges still slightly sharp, and piled them high to make a fragrant, if slightly prickly, bed. He added a blanket as a temporary measure.

At that moment,

“Huh?” A wooden box the size of an apple box with a door was visible in the corner of the bedroom.

“What is this?”

Click.

As he opened the door,

“Squeak? Squeak!” The Black Rabbit was angry at Sejun for opening the door without knocking while organizing his luggage.

“Sorry,” Sejun quickly closed the door.

And then,

“Huh?” He recalled the inside of the Black Rabbit’s house he had just seen. What is it?

There wasn’t even a chair in Sejun’s house yet, but the Black Rabbit’s house already had a bed, dining table, chairs, and everything else.

While Sejun was thinking about urging the gray rabbit carpenter,

“Is this the bedroom, meow? It’s humble, but I’ll get along well, meow! I’m a generous CEO Theo, meow. Puhuhut.” Theo, using one of his precious ‘CEO Theo time tickets’ (which allowed him to act like a boss for a short period), came in with Kkuengeui carrying his bundle and lay down on Sejun’s bed as if it were his own.

“Kkuengeui, you have to shake off your feet before coming up here from now on, meow,” he even gave a warning to Kkuengeui, acting like the owner.

“Kkueng!” Tap tap. At Theo’s words, Kkuengeui shook off the dirt on his feet and lay down on Sejun’s blanket.

Sejun’s blanket, which he had just shaken off cleanly outside, was soon covered in fur by Theo and Kkuengeui. It was time to ask the gray rabbit to make a brush out of wood before the furniture.

Sejun, who had given up on sleeping alone, came out of the bedroom and went to the kitchen.

The kitchen was built in a relatively modern style. It featured an island brick dining table where you could prepare ingredients and eat, and a four-burner stove with separate fire control using a brick fireplace.

“Good,” Sejun looked at the kitchen with satisfaction and came out to start working again.

“Where are you going, meow?”

“Squeak?”

“Kkueng?”

Theo, the Black Rabbit, and Kkuengeui also came out and followed Sejun around. They seemed more excited today.

Elka, who had delivered the Blade Leek leaves to the 67th floor of the Tower, approached Sejun, who was farming with the three following him around.

“Sejun, I’m back. Here’s the payment,” Elka handed Sejun the money pouch.

“Okay. You worked hard.”

“And the Lizardmen on the 67th floor want to entrust us with the disposal of the Red Locust corpses. May our Silver Wolf tribe step forward?”

“Corpse disposal?”

“Yes. The Lizardmen are having trouble because there are too many Red Locust corpses. Of course, the profits from that will be given to Sejun.”

With the Blade Leek leaves, the number of Red Locusts dying was overwhelmingly greater than the speed at which the Lizardmen ate them. That was good, but the problem was that these corpses were being eaten again by the Red Locusts.

If the Lizardmen couldn’t dispose of the overflowing Red Locust corpses, the Red Locusts would eat their fellow corpses again and lay eggs, so it was necessary to dispose of them quickly.

So, the Lizardmen, with a hopeful heart, proposed a deal to Elka, who ate the Red Locust corpses deliciously every time she came to the 67th floor of the Tower, giving 0.01 Tower Coins for every 100kg of corpses she eliminated.

A win-win deal for each other. And Elka was thinking of taking all the Silver Wolf tribe down to the 67th floor of the Tower if Sejun allowed it.

“Of course, you can,” Sejun welcomed it if other wolves were mobilized, especially as the harvest of Blade Leek leaves increased.

So, the Silver Wolf tribe left for the 67th floor of the Tower to replenish their protein.