Chapter 342: Why Aren't They Making Me Work?
99th Floor of the Green Tower
“How dare you enslave me?!”
KUOOOOO!
Enraged, Ophelia turned the 99th floor of the tower into a wasteland with her breath.
Ophelia vented her anger by continuously unleashing her breath.
A little while later
“But… the Tower Farmer from the Black Tower must have been surprised to see the crops I grew, right?”
As her anger subsided a bit, Ophelia spoke with a confident expression.
It was surprising indeed. Surprisingly tasteless.
As a Tower Farmer, Ophelia took great pride in her farming skills.
“Ahem. You know now that I’m the superior Tower Farmer, right?”
Ophelia, thinking she had surpassed Sejun, crunched on a carrot she had grown herself.
Though tasteless, the carrot increased her magic power by 1.
After eating about ten such tasteless carrots,
“Why aren’t they making me work? I can do it well…”
Ophelia spoke with a slightly anxious voice. Could it be that my crops were subpar?
“No. It’s because the crops I grew are too splendid and overwhelming.”
Ophelia was deep in thought. She was the type to exhaust herself with her worries.
***
57th Floor of the Black Tower
“Hyung! Here’s a coin!”
Ajax handed Sejun a rusted coin he found after defeating the Apostle of Destruction, the demon of corruption, Delia.
Then
[You have acquired a coin containing the power of the Apostle of Destruction, the demon of corruption, Delia.]
[The purified core fragment of Fenrir absorbs the power of the demon of corruption, Delia contained in the coin.]
[Skill: Fermentation Lv. 1 acquired.]
A notification appeared. Being an core of Apostle of Destruction too, it could absorb powers.
“Huh? Fermentation?”
Sejun acquired the Fermentation skill.
[Skill: Fermentation Lv. 1]
– Slightly speeds up the fermentation process needed for food.
– Slightly deepens the flavor of fermented food.
“Wow!”
Sejun cheered as he checked the skill. It was a great skill for cooking.
He wanted to hunt more demon of corruption.
“Does it work with other coins too?”
Sejun tried holding other Apostle of Destruction coins.
However,
……
There was no reaction from the other coins.
“What’s this?”
As Sejun pondered,
[The lifespan of 5 plum trees has ended.]
A notification about the death of plum trees appeared.
Although he had defeated the demon of corruption Delia, the corrupt power she had spread remained.
“Let’s go back, everyone.”
Sejun quickly led his companions back to the plum tree farm.
“Healing team, deploy!”
As they arrived at the farm, Sejun called out,
“Puhuhut, understood, meow!”
(Pip-pip. Yes!)
Theo and a golden bat began to heal the plum trees.
(Pip-pip. Nobody knows my secret~) (TL: Everyone on Earth Knows and Flamie too 😂😂)
The golden bat sang from the sky,
“Chairman Park, move faster, meow!”
Theo clung to Sejun’s leg, urging him on.
“Okay.”
Click.
[Farmer’s Warm Touch Lv. 7 is activated.]
[The plum trees are slightly healed while touched.]
As Sejun approached to heal the plum trees,
Thump. Thump.
Theo also used a healing spell on the trees with his front paws.
While Sejun, Theo, and the golden bat spent hours healing the plum trees,
Kyeororong.
Fenrir was sleeping in Sejun’s pocket, and
Kueng! Kueng!
[Hello! This is my dad!]
“Say hello. This is my hyung!”
Cuengi and Ajax were recruiting (?) monsters to work on the plum tree farm.
They were turtles that walked upright with long limbs.
“Hello.”
“Yeah.”
The two introduced the turtles to Sejun,
Kueng!
[From now on, you guys will protect this place!]
“Yeah! If you don’t guard it well, it won’t be fun at all!”
The turtles were instructed on how to manage the farm. Hehehe. My kids are doing well.
A little later
[The remaining 295 plum trees on the farm have been treated.]
[You have completed the quest.]
[As a reward for completing the quest, you are recognized as the rightful owner of the land deed for the plum tree farm on the 57th floor of the Black Tower.]
[The land deed’s skill: Farm Information Lv. Max is activated.]
When Sejun’s land deed quest was completed,
“Chairman Park, I’ve got all the stamps, meow!”
Theo returned with the turtles’ stamps on the employment contract. They agreed on a wage of three fish and five tower coins per day.
“Then I’m counting on you.”
“Yes! Don’t worry! We will manage it with all our might!”
Thanks to the high wages, the turtles were very enthusiastic.
Upon entrusting the plum tree farm to the turtles and arriving at the waypoint,
“Welcome!”
A giant turtle, already subdued by Cuengi and Ajax, greeted Sejun and his companions in a tightly disciplined manner.
[Black Tower 57th Floor Boss, Shield Master Toto]
Despite his name, Shield Master, he had no shield and his shell was cracked in several places. It seemed he had been broken in a scuffle with the two.
“Use this at least.”
Feeling somewhat guilty, Sejun handed over a Dragon Warrior Helmet,
Click.
and placed his hand on a red crystal to register the waypoint.
And then,
Shrrrrk.
He unfolded the land deed and moved to the 62nd floor.
As Sejun disappeared,
Click.
Toto put on the Dragon Warrior Helmet given by Sejun.
[Black Tower 57th Floor Boss, Helmet Master Toto]
His name changed.
***
“Well, we’ll be going now.”
“See you in a bit!”
“Take care.”
As the effects of the Transcendence Black Beans ended, Kaiser, Kellion, and Ramter hurried back to their territories.
“Brachio, let’s go.”
“…Yeah.”
Tier and Brachio, heading in a different direction, moved together.
A little later,
“So Sejun… Huh? It’s already the Purple Tower? Brachio, take care.”
“Yeah. You too.”
Tier, who had been busily chattering alone, noticed the Purple Tower and said goodbye to Brachio and returned to his own territory.
And so Brachio was left alone.
“So… this Sejun guy healed the poison of the purple dragons with crops, found the power of darkness for the black dragons and the power of light for the white dragons, and even solved the drought of the Red Tower?”
She pondered over the accomplishments of Sejun that Tier had mentioned. Is this even possible? For a mere Tower Farmer?
But there was no reason for Tier to lie about something so easily disprovable.
“So, Sejun really did all that… Maybe he could also solve our problem at the Green Tower…”
A glimmer of hope appeared on Brachio’s face.
There was one issue with the Green Tower that other dragons did not know about.
The crops’ growth was excessively good.
At first glance, it seemed like a benefit, but the crops planted in the Green Tower only focused on growing, which was why the state and yield of Ophelia’s crops were terrible.
Of course, Ophelia’s farming skills were also to blame.
“But what should I do?”
She had planned to simply intimidate him and cancel the slave contract with Ophelia, but she ended up endangering his life in her haste.
“I need to go inside the Black Tower and apologize!”
Brachio hurried into the Green Tower to start making a statue.
A statue was needed to enter the Black Tower.
She planned to offer Sejun a generous reward and seek his help.
However, to enter the Black Tower, she first needed to obtain permission from the enraged final boss, Aileen.
And there were a series of mid-bosses in line.
Theo, the devout follower of Sejun’s knees who only lives for the moment.
The daddy’s fool, Cuengi.
Sejun’s fanboy, Ajax.
And Fenrir, who adored his meal-providing butler.
Brachio was really tired after mistakenly giving just one scare.
***
[You have arrived at the 62nd floor of the Black Tower.]
…
…
[Due to the effect of the title: Retrogressor, all stats increase by 37.]
Sejun arrived on the 62nd floor of the Black Tower.
“Huh?! Isn’t this mugwort?!”
Sejun noticed the mugwort under his feet. The 62nd floor was a mugwort farm.
‘Mugwort with rice cakes are really tasty…’
As Sejun thought about mugwort rice cakes,
[You have been recognized as the rightful owner of the land deed for the mugwort farm on the 62nd floor of the Black Tower.]
[The land deed’s skill: Farm Information Lv. Max is activated.]
A message appeared indicating he had become the owner of the land.
He was easily recognized as the owner of the land deed since there were no particular issues with the farm.
“This easily?!”
Oh! Then thank you very much.
Pluck.
Sejun laughed as he harvested the mugwort.
Then,
[You have harvested Tenacious Mugwort.]
[Your job experience have slightly increased.]
[Your proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 8 has slightly increased.]
[You have gained 70 experience points.]
Messages appeared.
“Tenacious Mugwort?”
Hehehe. Is this an item?
Sejun checked the properties of the mugwort with a hopeful expression.
[Tenacious Mugwort]
→ A plant that naturally grows inside the tower and boasts a tenacious vitality.
→ It absorbs all sorts of things from the soil, so its properties can greatly change depending on the soil.
→ The land’s condition is ordinary, so the effects are not outstanding.
→ If you consume Tenacious Mugwort for the first time, it awakens the talent: Tenacity.
→ If you have the talent: Tenacity, consuming Tenacious Mugwort will enhance this talent.
→ It has a strong bitter taste.
→ Shelf life: 120 days
→ Grade: C+
“Oh. It even awakens a talent? I have to harvest it then.”
Sejun had no intention of eating it raw. He crouched down and started picking the mugwort.
Just then,
Clang.
The door to the void storage opened,
“Chairman Park, what are you doing, meow?”
Kueng?
[Why is dad picking something tasteless?]
“Hyung, what’s this?”
Theo, Cuengi, and Ajax came out and clung to Sejun.
And then,
Plop.
‘Heheh. It’s all mine!’
Fenrir proudly emerged from the void storage with three dried sweet potatoes in his mouth.
Kueng! Kueng!
[These are good for dad! Dad should eat them all!]
“Right! It would be better if hyung eats them!”
While helping to pick the mugwort, Cuengi and Ajax spoke as if making a vow to Sejun.
The two were laying groundwork in advance to give Sejun what they didn’t want to eat themselves.
‘Hehehe. They’ll regret this later.’
As Sejun laughed, thinking about the future regret of the two,
[A fragment of Fenrir’s core has been detected 20km to the east.]
A message appeared before Sejun.
[A fragment of Fenrir’s core has been detected 17.5km to the east.]
[A fragment of Fenrir’s core has been detected 12.5km to the east.]
Following messages appeared.
Like Sejun had detected other fragments of Fenrir’s core, the other party had also detected the fragment of Fenrir’s core inside Sejun.
[A fragment of Fenrir’s core has been detected 6.5km to the east.]
The distance was getting closer.
“Heheh. To dare come at me so fearlessly. How audacious.”
Sejun arrogantly spoke to the approaching foe,
“Guys, handle it!”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Theo, Cuengi, and Ajax formed a wall in front of him.
[A fragment of Fenrir’s core has been detected 2km to the east.]
The distance had narrowed further,
“It’s Uren, meow!”
Theo spotted Uren, not an enemy but rather eagerly running towards them with a fragment of Fenrir’s core.
Uren was also looking for other fragments of Fenrir’s core.
“Theo-nim, hello!”
“Puhuhut. Hello, meow! But it’d be even nicer if you give that to us, meow!”
Theo looked at the fragment of Fenrir’s core that Uren was holding and said,
“What? But I got this at a high price?”
In response to Theo’s words, Uren hid the fragment of Fenrir’s core in his arms.
Normally, he would have handed it over to Theo without hesitation, but the fragment of Fenrir’s core had stirred Uren’s greed.
Slowly.
A faint red aura began to emanate from the fragment of Fenrir’s core, enveloping Uren’s body, and a red glow started swirling in Uren’s eyes.
“Puhuhut. Hand it over, meow!”
Theo confidently extended a paw towards Uren and demanded again.
Then, a darker red aura enveloped Uren from the fragment of Fenrir’s core.
However,
“…Okay.”
Despite the support of the red aura, Uren obediently handed the fragment of Fenrir’s core to Theo.
Uren, whose nature was that of a pushover.
Couldn’t win against the street-smart Theo.
*****
3/5