Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 6

Sejun knelt beside the small cherry tomato plants he had carefully placed. He felt a surge of hope as he examined the others. “Heh heh heh,” he chuckled softly to himself. “There you are.”

He counted them again, just to be sure. Five tiny green fruits had indeed started to grow. A warm feeling spread through Sejun’s chest as he imagined them growing bigger and redder in the days to come. He grinned, a wide, happy grin that stretched from ear to ear, picturing the whole field bursting with ripe cherry tomatoes. It was amazing, he thought, how something so small could bring such a rush of happiness in this strange, lonely place.

As afternoon came, the cave started to buzz with activity.

“Squeak!”

“Squeak!”

The rabbit couple began to block the entrance to their burrow. Watching them, Sejun knew the Blue Moon was about to begin.

Sejun hurried to move as well. He turned off the lights and hid anything that smelled, moving anything else far away in the cave to reduce any smells, preparing for the monsters that would come.

And a few hours later…

The sunlight outside shifted, turning the cave entrance an eerie, deep blue. Sejun faced his third Blue Moon.

“Kraaah!”

“Kiaaah!”

‘This sound still makes my blood run cold,’ he thought, even after hearing it twice before.

Each time he heard the roars, his heart pounded, and goosebumps prickled all over his body. He thought he would get through this Blue Moon as well.

But…

Thud. Thud.

A monster began to prowl above the cave where Sejun was.

And then…

Sniff! Sniff!

A monster with red fur pressed its wet nose against the hole in the ground, twitching as it continued to sniff with intense focus.

‘Oh, dear! Did it notice something?’

Sejun held his breath, hoping the monster would leave.

But…

Sniff! Sniff!

The monster remained stubbornly at the hole, its wet nose twitching as it continued to sniff with intense focus. How long did it sniff like that?

“Kiaaah!”

As the monster’s roar was heard in the distance…

“Kroooooh!”

Thud! Thud!

The red-furred monster roared and ran towards the sound.

Slap! Slap!

Sejun woke up to the sound of the husband rabbit’s firm slaps.

“Squeak!”

The husband rabbit looked at Sejun with worried eyes.

“Umm… when did I fall asleep?”

Could he have fainted? He remembered hearing that strong monster roars could make people faint.

Shiver.

“Ugh… why is it so cold?”

His body was tense, and he had even fainted. Moreover, the end of the cave had a very low temperature. There was no way his body would feel good after sleeping in such a place. It felt like he had caught a cold.

Swish.

Sejun struggled to approach the wall where he recorded the dates and drew a line.

And…

‘I need a fire.’

Sejun trembled and went to the fireplace. He needed to light a fire again.

Shiver.

With trembling hands, Sejun held a water bottle and focused sunlight on the pile of dry leaves, creating a spark.

30 minutes later…

“Hoo. Hoo.”

Whoosh.

Sejun managed to start a fire with the spark he had created and squatted by the fireplace, grilling green onions.

And…

Crunch crunch.

He diligently ate the grilled green onions.

‘All I can do right now is eat well.’

After eating the green onions and regaining some strength, Sejun went to the pond and caught five fish to cook.

While Sejun was overcoming his cold by eating…

“Squeak!”

The husband rabbit called Sejun.

“Why…?”

“Squeak!”

The husband rabbit pointed to a cherry tomato that had been smaller than a bean until yesterday but had grown to the size of a golf ball.

“But why is the color like this?”

The cherry tomato’s color was bluish.

“Is it ripe?”

There was no way it could be ripe in just one night, but because the size was so large, Sejun touched the cherry tomato.

Plop.

“Huh?!”

The cherry tomato fell easily with just a little force, as if it were completely ripe.

“Wow.”

As Sejun was marveling at the giant blue cherry tomato…

[You have achieved the accomplishment of harvesting a fruit imbued with the energy of the Blue Moon.]

Letters appeared on a transparent blue window in front of him.

“Huh?! What is this?!”

It was a message window.

[The Tower’s Administrator is watching you, who has achieved an amazing feat.]

[The Tower’s Administrator is scrutinizing you.]

[The Tower’s Administrator frowns.]

‘Why the frown all of a sudden?’

[The Tower’s Administrator has realized that you are an uninvited guest.]

[The Tower’s Administrator wants to hide their mistake.]

“What?! Mistake?”

A mistake?! Me being here is a mistake?

“Then let me out!”

[The Tower’s Administrator is contemplating killing you to destroy the evidence.]

“Um… I don’t have to leave…”

You said I achieved something, didn’t you? Please spare me.

[The Tower’s Administrator awakens you.]

[You have awakened.]

“Oh!”

He had finally awakened. He decided to forget about the attempt to kill him. Survival had been the priority until now, so he had forgotten, but Sejun’s purpose for coming to the Tower was to awaken.

“Saved 150 million won on the ticket. Heh heh heh.”

Now, if he could just climb the Tower…

[The Tower’s Administrator assigns you a job.]

[You have become a Tower Farmer (F).]

“Huh? A farmer?”

[Due to your job trait, you will not suffer from minor illnesses.]

[Due to your job trait, you will become closer to nature.]

[Due to your job trait, you can gain experience by harvesting crops.]

“…Status window.”

It couldn’t be. There had to be something. Sejun desperately wanted to believe it. Sejun called out the status window with a fervent heart.

But…

[Park Sejun Lv. 1]

Talent: Mediocre

Stats: Strength (1) Stamina (1) Agility (1) Magic (1)

Job: Tower Farmer (F)

Skills: None.

“This… is my status window…”

Basic stats and stat increases upon leveling up vary depending on talent. But Sejun’s talent was mediocre. In other words, he was just average.

The status window offered no encouragement at all.

As always, it’s better not to scratch the lottery ticket. At least then he could still dream…

“Haa… I’m mediocre… my job is a farmer…”

What’s your job?

I’m a Tower Farmer.

Just thinking about answering someone with his job made him feel ashamed.

“Should I just go back to farming?”

Even if he survived here, it seemed difficult to make a lot of money in the Tower.

‘Goodbye, Sera. Fate must not allow us to be more than a star and a fan.’

Sejun decided to remain Sera’s fan with tears in his eyes. And he examined the blue cherry tomato in his hand.

[Magical Cherry Tomato Imbued with the Energy of the Blue Moon]

It is delicious because it has been sufficiently nourished by growing inside the Tower.

The taste is even better as it contains the energy of the Blue Moon.

Permanently increases magic by 0.05 upon consumption.

Grower: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

Expiration Date: 30 days

Grade: E

“Huh?!”

It was an item that increased stats, albeit slightly.

‘If I sell this later, I could make some money, right?’

Just as Sejun was beginning to have new hope…

[A quest has occurred.]

“A quest?”

[Quest: Offer the fruit imbued with the energy of the Blue Moon to the Tower’s Administrator.]

Reward: 1 job skill

Failure: Death

“What…?”

Just demand it! Why pretend this is a choice?

It was a threat disguised as a quest.

Did you have to take everything?!

My dreams, my cherry tomatoes.

He was frustrated, but there was only one answer Sejun could choose.

“Here you go.”

With Sejun’s words, the blue cherry tomato that was on Sejun’s hand disappeared.

[You have completed the quest.]

[As a reward for completing the quest, you have acquired the job skill – Seed Sowing Lv. 1.]

“Are you kidding me?!”

What kind of seed sowing needs a skill?!

Sejun huffed and got angry, but after that, the Tower’s Administrator was silent.

“Sigh.”

Sejun sighed and looked at the skill he had received.

[Job Skill – Seed Sowing Lv. 1]

-Slightly increases the probability of germination when sowing seeds.

“……”

Still, perhaps thanks to the job trait of not suffering from minor illnesses, his cold had disappeared.

Day 61 of being stranded, he awakened and obtained the job of Tower Farmer.

Flash.

As soon as Sejun opened his eyes, he got up and approached the cave wall.

Swish.

He completed the 15th tally mark on the wall with a fish bone. It had been 75 days since he came to the cave.

Splash! Splash!

Sejun washed his face in the small pond to clear his mind.

And…

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He held a torch in his left hand and waved it from side to side in the large pond.

Splash!

A fish that discovered the torch jumped out of the water. After awakening, he could know the names of the fish. The name was written above its head.

[Piranha]

Whack!

He struck the piranha with a club in his right hand. The club was made by stacking several layers of well-dried, hardened green onion leaves and tying them together with string.

Whack!

Whack!

The piranhas hit by the club vigorously flopped on the ground. Sejun caught five piranhas in that way. The number of piranhas he had to catch increased as the mouths to feed increased because of the baby rabbits.

A little later…

[You have defeated a Piranha.]

[You have gained 2 experience points.]

He gained experience points as the piranhas died from not being able to breathe. Sejun was now able to gain experience after awakening. Thanks to that, he leveled up to level 2 with just one hunt.

However, he did not indiscriminately hunt piranhas. Survival was much more important than experience right now.

It would be troublesome for Sejun and the rabbits if the piranha population were to disappear. So he only caught as much as he needed.

While Sejun was catching piranhas and preparing breakfast, the rabbit couple also began their morning farming. And there was something different.

“Squeak!”

“Squeak!”

The baby rabbits had begun to help their parents with farming. They were only carrying green onion leaves right now, but they were trying hard to be helpful.

After awakening, he was able to know the identities of the rabbits. The names above the rabbits’ heads.

[Farmer White Rabbit]

This was the rabbits’ identity. He didn’t know what had happened to them, but it seemed they had lost their farm and wandered around before discovering the field Sejun had created and settling here.

At that moment, a savory smell began to waft through the air. The piranha dish was already finished.

“Let’s eat breakfast!”

Pat pat pat.

The gluttonous baby rabbits threw down the green onion leaves they were holding and ran over. After eating their fill for breakfast, the baby rabbits went into the burrow to take a nap. They were still growing, so they slept a lot.

“Alright. Shall we harvest?”

“Squeak!”

“Squeak!”

At Sejun’s words, the rabbit couple wore determined expressions. Today was a very important day.

“Let’s see.”

Sejun went to the cherry tomato field and examined the red ripe cherry tomatoes.

‘Good, they’re well ripened.’

Pluck.

Sejun picked one well-ripened cherry tomato.

[You have acquired a well-ripened magical cherry tomato.]

[Job experience slightly increases.]

[You have gained 10 experience points.]

“Magical Cherry Tomato?”

[Magical Cherry Tomato]

It is delicious because it has been sufficiently nourished by growing inside the Tower.

Decomposes 10g of fat in the body and increases magic by 0.1 for 10 minutes upon consumption.

The effect can be stacked up to 10 times within one hour.

Gives vitality to the body by decomposing 10g of fat when consumed by a non-awakened person.

Grower: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

Expiration Date: 30 days

Grade: E

“Oh!”

It was an item again. Moreover, he could increase his magic by up to 1 just by eating the magical cherry tomatoes.

Pluck. Pluck.

Sejun diligently began harvesting cherry tomatoes. In the middle, he accidentally picked an unripe cherry tomato.

[You have acquired an unripe cherry tomato.]

[Job experience does not increase.]

[You have gained 7 experience points.]

Experience points decreased, and job experience did not increase. Moreover, the cherry tomato became a regular cherry tomato instead of an item.

After that, Sejun harvested cherry tomatoes carefully.

And…

[You have acquired a well-ripened magical cherry tomato.]

[Job experience slightly increases.]

[You have gained 10 experience points.]

Harvesting 53 magical cherry tomatoes resulted in two level ups as a bonus. Thanks to that, Sejun became level 4.