Farming in the Tower Alone [EN]: Chapter 84

Floor 67 of the Tower.

“Let’s pack them up quickly!”

“Yes!”

At Borori’s words, the wolves and cat interns energetically replied, stuffing the corpses of the Red Locusts into sacks. Soon, they were moving as a single unit.

The wolves didn’t ignore or treat the cat interns ruthlessly. They worked together, and Sejun even shared some of the reward he gave the wolves with the cat interns.

Touched by the wolves’ attitude, the interns worked hard without slacking.

Just then,

“Huh?”

Larry, an intern who was packing the Red Locust corpses, felt something strange as he looked at one of the bodies. The blue color that had begun to appear on the Red Locust’s corpse was nowhere to be seen. The signs of rotting had disappeared.

“Borori, something’s wrong.”

Larry called Borori.

“What is it, Larry?”

“This Red Locust’s corpse doesn’t show any blue color at all. Maybe this means more Red Locusts are coming.”

“Really? Hmm… I should report this to Sejun first. Good eye, Larry! I’ll suggest shortening your contract period by five days to Sejun.”

“Thank you!”

Larry was moved by Borori’s words and thought it might be nice to continue working here, being recognized.

As Sejun, heading to the farm, was about to turn around to reveal the Black Rabbit’s hastily made-up identity,

Kkueng!

Kkuengi suddenly grabbed the honeycomb, tucked it under his arm, and started running, holding Sejun’s left hand. It was to prevent Sejun from looking back.

“Hey?! Kkuengi, what’s wrong?”

Kkueng!

“I want to go back quickly and eat honey!”

“Wait a minute! I’m going to help the Black Rabbit’s love life by telling him about his secret origin.”

It was Sejun’s intention to give the Black Rabbit an air of mystery.

But,

Kkueng!

“Staying still is helping!”

Kkuengi cut him off.

“Huh? What does that mean?”

Kkueng!

“You have no tact!”

Thus, Sejun arrived at the farm, being treated as tactless by Kkuengi.

And then,

“Here’s your honey.”

Sejun filled Kkuengi’s snack pouch with two glass jars full of honey.

And while he was looking for any remaining work on the farm,

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Sejun, I smell something fragrant here! What is it?!”

Iona pointed to the peanut field, excited.

“Ah. This is a peanut field. It’s about time to harvest them anyway, shall we try digging some up?”

Thud.

As Sejun pulled on a peanut vine,

[You have simultaneously harvested 36 well-ripened peanut pods.]

[Your job experience greatly increases.]

[The skill of Harvesting Lv. 4 greatly increases.]

[You have acquired 1080 experience.]

Yellow peanut pods with clear net patterns along the stems came up in abundance.

“Wow!”

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Sejun, please give me just one peanut!”

Iona forgot her dignity as the chairman of the Magic Association and clung to Sejun’s leg, begging for a peanut.

“Just a moment.”

Pop.

Sejun detached a peanut pod from the stem. Then, he took out two raw peanuts from the pod.

[Peanut of Magic]

Grown inside the Tower, it is delicious with sufficient nutrition.

Cultivated by a Tower Farmer familiar with farming, the taste and efficiency are improved.

Upon consumption, it decomposes 15g of fat in the body and increases magic power by 0.25 for 10 minutes.

The effect can be stacked up to 20 times within an hour.

When consumed by a non-awakened person, it decomposes 15g of fat and increases brain activity.

Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

Expiration date: 90 days

Grade: C

Since one pod was one fruit, the effect was halved. Instead, it could be stacked up to 20 times.

“Too bad. If I had this when I was in college, I would have gotten good grades.”

Sejun regretted seeing the peanut’s brain activity-boosting effect.

“Here you go.”

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Thank you!”

As Sejun gave Iona a peanut,

Crunch crunch.

Iona started peeling the peanut shell and diligently gnawing on the peanut.

‘She’s eating so deliciously.’

Seeing Iona eating so deliciously made Sejun want to eat some too. Sejun put the remaining peanut in his mouth.

Chewing the peanut, it felt more like the soft and crunchy texture of a bean rather than the hard texture of roasted peanuts eaten outside, probably because it was a raw peanut.

The taste was the grassy flavor of raw peanuts, but the unique nutty flavor of peanuts remained.

“Delicious.”

Surprised by the unexpectedly delicious taste, Sejun peeled 5 peanut pods this time and stuffed 10 peanuts into his mouth at once.

Crunch crunch.

Chewing on the peanuts, Sejun began to harvest the peanuts in earnest.

Thud.

[You have simultaneously harvested 40 well-ripened peanuts.]

When he had harvested about half of the peanuts,

Gleam gleam.

“Huh?”

Sejun felt a hot gaze directed at him.

“What is it?”

As Sejun looked at the source of the hot gaze, Iona, wanting to eat more peanuts, was staring intently at Sejun.

“Do you want to eat more peanuts?”

“Yes! May I?!”

Iona, who had been waiting for the right moment to talk to Sejun, quickly replied.

“Of course.”

Sejun took out two peanuts from the peanut pod and handed them to Iona.

“Kkyut kkyut kkyut. Thank you for the food!”

Crunch crunch.

Iona hummed and began to gnaw on the peanuts again.

At that moment,

Kkueng?

Kkuengi, who smelled the savory aroma from afar, began to peek around the peanut field.

“Shall we give Kkuengi some peanuts too?”

Kkueng!

Kkuengi nodded vigorously at Sejun’s words.

Pop. Pop.

Sejun peeled the peanut pods and placed 100 peanuts in Kkuengi’s hands.

“Here, chew them carefully. Don’t fill your stomach with just these, okay?”

Kkueng!

Kkuengi replied, stuffed the peanuts into his mouth all at once, and began to chew them carefully.

Crunch, crunch. The sound of something small and happy eating filled the air.

‘Squeee!’ A tiny, furry creature with bright eyes munched on something delicious.

Squeee seemed very happy with the taste. He started to sway back and forth, doing a little dance of joy.

‘So cute…’ Sejun smiled, watching Squeee for a moment before going back to picking peanuts.

But then, Sejun faced a problem. One peanut stalk was stuck tight.

‘Ugh!’ Sejun grunted, pulling hard.

‘Kraa! Euh-hap!’ He made sounds of effort, pulling with all his strength, but the stalk wouldn’t move at all.

Squeee had been watching Sejun struggle. He looked like he wanted to help. Squeee suddenly grabbed the peanut stalk behind Sejun and pulled too, looking determined.

‘Pull!’ Sejun said. Together, they pulled.

*Crack.* The ground split open with a ripping sound. *Whoosh.* A huge peanut pod, as long as Sejun’s arm, came out of the earth!

Inside the giant pod were two huge peanuts.

[Giant Peanut] These peanuts grew big in the tower. They taste good, but they are only for eating, not for planting. Grown by: Tower Farmer Park Sejun. Expires in 45 days. Grade: C.

They weren’t special items, but they were big!

‘Squeee, take these to Mom.’ Sejun smiled. ‘They’re big enough for Mom to really enjoy!’

‘Whew, finished!’ Sejun wiped sweat from his forehead. He had harvested 3481 peanut pods! He even leveled up!

‘Squeee, carry this.’ Sejun pointed to a pile of peanut stalks.

‘Iona, please move these.’ He pointed to the rest.

‘Yes. Levitate!’ Iona said happily.

The peanut stalks lifted into the air, floating magically.

‘Wow!’ Sejun and Squeee stared, amazed. It was an incredible sight, magic worthy of a powerful magician like Iona.

‘Where do you want these?’ Iona asked, smiling because Sejun and Squeee were impressed.

‘Shake off the dirt first,’ Sejun said, ‘and then spread them out over there, not too close together.’ He pointed to an empty patch of land. ‘We need to dry them so they get really tasty.’

‘Swish, swish.’ Squeee washed the peanuts clean, then separated them from the stalks. He put the peanuts in pots and started to boil them.

‘Boiled peanuts are so good,’ Sejun thought. ‘Especially in the fall.’ It was a shame there were no seasons here.

‘Hey everyone! Snack time!’ Sejun called to the rabbits.

‘Aileen, try these!’ He sent a pot of boiled peanuts to Aileen.

[The Tower’s Administrator says thank you!]

[The Tower’s Administrator says please wait a little longer!]

[The Tower’s Administrator is excited! About 250 years!]

‘Okay, okay,’ Sejun mumbled, stopping himself from saying, ‘I’ll be dust by then.’ Anton and Kaiser had told him not to make Aileen sad.

*250 years now, not 300,* Sejun thought. *Maybe… maybe I’ll meet her while I’m still alive?* But he didn’t really believe it. She was a dragon. What would he even say? *Maybe ask for a ride?*

Munch, munch. Squeak! Pyaa! Ppyu ppyu! The rabbits gathered and happily ate the boiled peanuts. Ppyu Ppyu, the princess rabbit, quickly made friends with everyone.

*Pyak!* Sejun felt a warmth in his heart as he watched the Black Rabbit on his lap eat so happily.

‘Eat a lot, Black Rabbit,’ he murmured, stroking its soft fur. Sejun worried about the Black Rabbit, not realizing that the Black Rabbit was starting to feel something special for him too.

‘Kkyung… no, not quite right…’ Iona mumbled in her sleep, resting on Sejun’s lap. She had slept on his lap at Zenka Lake and it was the first good sleep she’d had in a very long time. She thought it was Sejun’s lap, but something was missing.

She felt comfortable, but not completely relaxed. *I need something to cover me…* She tried Sejun’s blanket, her own soft bedding, but it wasn’t the same. Then she remembered Zenka Lake… and Theo’s tail. *Ah! Theo’s tail! That’s what I need to sleep well!*

But Theo wasn’t here yet.

‘Kkyung… I won’t sleep perfectly tonight.’ Iona drifted in and out of sleep. But even though it wasn’t perfect sleep, she didn’t have any bad dreams on Sejun’s lap.