Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 76

Dust swirled around Theo’s paws as he burst out of Israel’s dark warehouse. “Representative Theo!” Elka called, her voice echoing in the large space. “Where are you going?”

“I can feel Chairman Park’s knee nearby!” Theo shouted.

“Huh?!” Elka asked.

“That way! I can feel it getting stronger!” Theo shouted, his whiskers twitching. He climbed onto Elka’s head, grabbing his ears.

“Yes!”

Elka wasn’t sure about Theo’s strange idea of finding someone’s knee, especially on the 99th floor of the tower. But Theo sounded so certain, his little voice filled with belief. “Okay, hold on!” Elka said, deciding to trust him for now. She ran in the direction Theo pointed.

Sejun glanced at the number of Progs remaining. “Are there only about a thousand left now?” he muttered.

“Everyone! Sejun-nim says there are still about a thousand Progs left! Hurry up and catch them!” Hegel, who was listening closely beside him, focusing on Sejun’s every move, shouted to the black wolves.

“Yes!”

Ppyak!

Kkueng!

The Black Rabbit and Kkueng, who were having fun hunting in groups with 300 black wolves, answered together. The last of the strange, shadowy Progs were being chased across the grassy field. Sejun watched as the black wolves, working together, surrounded the creatures and forced them towards him. It was a new kind of hunt for Black Rabbit and Kkueng, who usually hunted alone. They seemed to enjoy being part of the pack, their eyes bright with excitement as they chased the Progs.

The Progs fell heavily to the ground.

With each Prog defeated, Sejun felt stronger. He could feel himself growing more powerful, and soon, a warm wave washed over him. He had reached level 30! A new message appeared in his mind: [Job Quest: Plant a new crop that you have never planted before.] Reward: Level 31 unlocked, 500 Tower Coins.

Sejun read the quest: “Plant a new crop.” He thought for a moment. What new crop could he plant? Then, his eyes lit up. “Of course!” He remembered the pineapple crown he had saved. With a quick movement, he used his dagger to loosen the soil and carefully placed the pineapple crown in the ground.

As he planted it, he felt his Seed Sowing skill helping the pineapple take root and protecting it from pests. He felt a small boost of experience and knew his Seed Sowing skill was improving.

Suddenly, a message flashed: [Quest Completed!] Level 31 unlocked, and 500 Tower Coins appeared in his inventory. “Lucky!” Sejun chuckled. If he hadn’t found that pineapple, he might have been stuck at level 30 until the seed shop opened.

Just as Sejun was starting to relax, a rustling sound came from the bushes nearby. “Rustle, rustle…” Then, a flash of yellow fur burst through the leaves. “Found him!”

“Oh?! Representative Theo?!”

Theo, guided by some mysterious sense that always led him to Sejun’s knee, jumped from Elka’s back and threw himself towards Sejun.

Wham!

Sejun caught Theo flying towards him with both hands. He was very warm and fluffy.

“Chairman Park, good to see you! When did you get here?” Theo asked, standing on his hind legs to greet Sejun.

“What? Representative Theo, how did you know I was here?” He had heard from Hegel that Theo was nearby, but he didn’t expect him to come so early.

Theo puffed out his chest. “I have a way of knowing everything!” he declared proudly, then hopped onto Sejun’s knee and settled down. He pulled out two small scrolls. “Contracts!” he announced, presenting them to Sejun. “One is with the Black Wolf tribe, they will work for you now. The other…”

Theo explained how he had made Israel and Oren pay for what they did. He had demanded 25,000 Tower Coins for himself, the wolves, and Iona’s safety. “But they didn’t have enough coins,” Theo said, his voice serious. “So, I made them sign another contract! They will work to pay off the rest!”

Sejun was impressed. Theo was learning fast. “Did I do well?” Theo asked, looking up at Sejun with big eyes.

“Yes. But did you pick out three items from Israel’s house?”

“I haven’t picked them out yet…” Theo replied, watching Sejun’s reaction, afraid that Sejun might send him back.

“Is that so? Then pick them out next time.” In any case, Israel’s house and all the items in the house had been transferred to Sejun through the contract. He could pick them out anytime.

“I understand! I’ll pick them out next time!” Theo, relieved by Sejun’s words, lay comfortably on Sejun’s lap.

He quickly fell asleep.

The hunt for Progs was becoming slow and tiring. The wolves were still searching, but the Progs were hiding well. Black Rabbit and Kkueng, their energy starting to wane, wandered towards the edge of Zenka Lake instead.

Rumble.

Ppyak!

Kkueng!

Soon, they returned, dragging a collection of ‘treasures’ to Sejun’s feet. There were smooth, grey stones that looked like dragon scales, strangely shaped bones that might have belonged to ancient lake monsters, and bits of shiny metal that glinted in the sunlight. To Black Rabbit and Kkueng, these were wonders, each one sparking their imaginations.

Ppyak! Kkueng! they chirped and barked, nudging the treasures towards Sejun, their eyes shining with pride. “Oh! Wonderful!” Sejun praised them, picking up a particularly smooth stone. “These are amazing! Go and find even more treasures, you two!”

A message appeared before Eileen, the Tower Administrator: [A quest has been generated for the Administrator.] Eileen giggled. “Let’s see what kind of task I’ve given to that human this time!” She checked the quest and then frowned. “Hehing! This reward is too small!” Eileen had already forgotten what she had asked Sejun to do. “I need to make it better,” she thought. “I’ll ask Dad how to change it.”

Eileen contacted her grandfather, Kaiser, through the Black Dragon Statue. He was happy to hear from her and patiently explained how to change quest rewards. Eileen, excited to give Sejun a huge reward, tried to increase it by ten thousand times! But the system wouldn’t allow it. “Too high,” a message said. She tried again and again, lowering the reward each time, until finally, she could increase it by 1.5 times. “Hehing,” she sighed, disappointed. “Get stronger quickly, human, so I can give you better gifts!”

Back at Zenka Lake, Sejun was starting to doze off. The wolf hunt had slowed, and the quiet sounds of the lake were making him sleepy. Suddenly, messages flashed in his mind: [The reward for the Administrator quest has been changed…] Sejun blinked, waking up fully. “Eileen again,” he muttered, knowing only she could change quest rewards like that.

Sejun was surprised but also a little amused. Eileen was always doing unexpected things. He looked around, shaking off his drowsiness, and his eyes widened at the sight before him. “What is all this?”

Just then, a cheerful song filled the air. “Kkyut kkyut kkyut!” Iona flew towards him, circling excitedly. “Sejun-nim!”

Iona landed gracefully beside him, holding a small glass bottle. “Look what I found in Israel’s warehouse!” she chirped. “A contract nullification potion!”

“A what?” Sejun asked, intrigued.

“It can break contracts!” Iona explained. “If you pour this on a contract, poof! Gone!”

Sejun frowned. “A potion to break contracts? I didn’t know such things existed.” He thought about all the contracts he had made. “Are there many of these?” he asked Iona, a little worried.

As Sejun was looking through the contracts, Iona said gently, nudging him with her wing, “Representative Theo, wake up.”

Theo groaned and opened his eyes. “What is it? Iona? I want to sleep…”

“But the match!” Iona reminded him. “The item match! I won, didn’t I?”

Theo’s eyes snapped open. “Match? No! It’s not over!” He jumped to his feet, his fur bristling with determination. He was invincible with Sejun’s knee! He would find an even better item! He focused all his energy, all his cat-like senses, into his front paw, trying to feel for something special, something amazing.

Suddenly, a strange tingling sensation shot up his paw. “Aha!” Theo thought triumphantly. “I’ve got it!” He plunged his paw into the pile of junk and rummaged around. “Iona, prepare to be amazed! Victory is mine!” With a flourish, he pulled out his ‘treasure’… just as the entire pile of junk shifted and tumbled down, burying him completely.

“Meow?” a muffled voice squeaked from beneath the stones and bones.