Chapter 347: Harvesting Watermelons

Solo Farming In The Tower

99th floor of the Blue Tower.

“Kin~nim, there’s a huge problem!”

-What’s all the fuss about? Zelga.

“Well… the tower is now submerged in water up to the 70th floor, and signs of an ice age are appearing on the 30th floor.”

-What?!

Kin was shocked by Zelga’s words.

Originally, the situation was such that up to the 62nd floor was submerged, and signs of an Ice Age were visible on the 20th floor.

It was impossible for the situation to worsen this much in just a few days.

-What’s the cause?! Have you figured out the cause?

“It’s not certain, but… there were reports a few days ago of seeing fragments of Leviathan, the summoner of tsunamis, and Sasha, the Queen of Screams and Ice.”

-What?! How dare the Apostle of Destruction enter my tower?!

Zelga’s report infuriated Kin, but there was nothing Kin could do.

The moment Kin or the Blue Dragon enter the tower to fight the Apostles of Destruction, the situation in the Blue Tower, which is exposed to strong water energy, will only worsen.

-For now, use up all the Elixirs of Fire you have to prevent the 71st floor from being submerged in water.

“Yes, Great Blue Dragon!”

The only option left was to defend the remaining floors.

***

“Hmm~ hmm~ hmm~.”

Pluck. Pluck.

[You have harvested Thick Darkness Cherries.]

[Your job experience has slightly increased.]

[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 8 has slightly increased.]

[You have gained 70 experience points.]

..

.

As Sejun was humming and harvesting the Thick Darkness Cherries grown with the Harvest Elixir.

Kaiser watched Sejun with a pleased expression.

And then,

“Sejun, hmm~ hmm~ hmm~.”

-Oh my. My grandson is doing well.

Next to him, Ajax, following Sejun’s lead, hummed a tune while harvesting Sunflower Seeds, and Kellion was there cheering him on.

A moment later,

“Kaiser~nim, here you go.”

-Kahaha. Sejun, thank you. Take this!

Kaiser, delighted, handed a pouch of coins to Sejun after getting 1,000 Thick Darkness Cherries.

“Grandpa, here.”

-Uhahaha. Alright.

Kellion looked fondly at his grandson as he received 1,000 Sunflower Seeds from Ajax.

Then,

“Grandpa, hurry.”

Ajax, looking at Kellion, courteously held out his small, adorable hands.

-Uhahaha. Look at my mind. Here it is.

Kellion hurriedly took out a money pouch and handed it to Ajax,

“Hyung! Here’s the money!”

Ajax immediately scurried over to Sejun, handing him the money pouch received from Kellion.

And just like that, Sejun was a black hole sucking in all the Tower Coins.

However,

“Good. With 200 billion Tower Coins, I can buy two drops of the Harvest Elixir.”

He was just a poor tower farmer struggling with the cost of elixirs.

“Aileen, here.”

Sejun handed over 100 cherries left over from what he gave to Kaiser.

[The tower’s administrator says thank you.]

[The tower’s administrator says she will enjoy it.]

“Yes. Enjoy your meal.”

While talking with Aileen,

“Hyung! I will also enjoy the Sunflower Seeds!”

Ajax, holding about 100 Sunflower Seeds in his hand, said to Sejun.

“Yes. Ajax, you enjoy your meal too!”

“Yep! Hyung!”

Crunch.

Ajax responded and then began eating the Sunflower Seeds.

A soft but warm light flowed from Ajax’s body.

“He’s good at peeling them.”

Ajax, who had previously eaten Sunflower Seeds during a past harvest,

Expertly peeled the shells of the sunflower seeds and ate the contents deliciously.

By the way, Ajax was the first among the white dragons to eat the Sunflower Seeds,

And as the first one to consuming something with the power of light, he gained the privilege of getting double the effect.

With the cherry and Sunflower Seed harvest completed,

“What should I do with the rest?”

Sejun walked around the farm looking for a place to use the remaining 2 drops of the harvest elixir.

“Okay. One drop goes here.”

Drip.

He dropped a drop of Harvest Elixir on a sprout of Sundried Red Pepper.

Consuming Sundried Red Pepper after exposing it to sufficient light randomly increases 5 stats.

Moreover,

“Sundried Red Pepper is essential for making delicious Gochujang.” (TL: Red Chili Paste)

A lot of Sundried Red Pepper was needed to make tasty Gochujang.

After using one drop of Harvest Elixir on the Sundried Red Pepper,

“Hmm…”

Sejun pondered as he looked at two crops.

One was a blueberry tree that had grown up to 10 cm above Sejun’s knee.

The other was a watermelon still the size of a fist.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

As Sejun stroked the blueberry tree and watermelon vine with his hands,

[Farmer’s Warm Touch Lv. 7 is activated.]

[The growth rate of the blueberry tree accelerates slightly during the touch.]

[Farmer’s Warm Touch Lv. 7 is activated.]

[This watermelon has already fully grown.]

[It cannot grow any further.]

Messages appeared.

“There’s the answer.”

Sejun then used a drop of Harvest Elixir on the blueberry tree.

Crackle.

The blueberry tree grew rapidly.

Sejun confirmed the blueberry tree was growing well and then,

Thump.

[You have harvested a watermelon that that couldn’t absorb enough water.]

[Your job experience has slightly increased.]

[Your proficiency in Harvesting Lv. 8 has slightly increased.]

[You have gained 70 experience points.]

He examined the harvested watermelon.

[Watermelon that couldn’t absorb enough water]

→ A watermelon grown inside the Black Tower that absorbed enough nutrients to be tasty, but didn’t grow large due to a lack of water.

→ Most of the watermelon is occupied by seeds, so there isn’t much that can be eaten.

→ Eating it has no effect as it did not grow properly.

→ Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

→ Shelf Life: 150 days

→ Grade: A

Thunk.

Squish.

As he stabbed and split the watermelon with his dagger,

“Wow. It’s all seeds.”

The inside was overwhelmingly full of black seeds compared to the red flesh. The number of seeds remained the same, but the size of the watermelon was smaller.

“Ajax, let’s harvest the watermelons!”

“Okay! Hyung!”

Sejun called Ajax, who had finished eating all the Sunflower Seeds, to harvest the watermelons together.

Although the size was disappointing, it had already fully grown, so there was no way to make it grow larger.

Thus, Sejun and Ajax harvested the watermelon.

Then,

[Your slave, Tower Farmer Ajax Mamebe from the White Tower, has harvested a new variety of watermelon known as the Shriveled Drought-Inducing Watermelon.]

A message appeared in front of Sejun, indicating that Ajax had harvested a new variety.

And then,

“Hyung! I harvested something strange!”

[A slave’s achievement is your achievement.]

[You have achieved the feat of creating a new variety in the tower.]

..

.

[Due to your job trait, all stats increase by 10 each.]

[You have achieved the feat of creating 21 new varieties in the tower.]

[As a reward for the Tower Farmer’s achievement, the prestige of the Black Tower rises.]

[As the prestige surpasses a certain level, the number of entrances to the Black Tower increases by one.]

[The number of entrances to the Black Tower increases from 106 to 107, with the 107th entrance being created in the safest location.]

The exclamation from Ajax and the subsequent messages appeared. Ajax, nice!

“Ajax, what do you want to eat for dinner tonight?”

“Pancakes!”

Ajax’s eyes sparkled as he shouted at Sejun’s question.

“Okay, then tonight it’s a 10-layer pancake!”

“10 tiers?! Wow!”

Ajax cheered at Sejun’s words. A 10-layer pancake?! That sounds amazing!

That’s how Sejun promised Ajax a 10-layer pancake.

“Let’s see.”

Sejun examined the watermelon harvested by Ajax. From the name, it seemed like there was barely anything left but the rind.

[Shriveled Drought-Inducing Watermelon]

→ A mutated watermelon grown inside the Black Tower that couldn’t absorb much water and evolved grinding its teeth, vowing to absorb plenty of water in its next life without worrying about others.

→ Planting this watermelon causes a severe drought around it.

→ Most of the watermelon is occupied by seeds, so there isn’t much that can be eaten.

→ Eating it has no effect as it did not grow properly.

→ Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun

→ Shelf Life: 150 days

→ Grade: A

“It causes a drought?”

There’s nowhere to plant this, right? As soon as Sejun saw the name, he thought it would be difficult to plant this watermelon.

Where would one plant a watermelon that causes a drought?

While Sejun was lost in thought,

“Hyung! I’ve harvested all the watermelons! Let’s eat the pancakes quickly!”

Driven by the desire to eat a 10-layer pancake, Ajax had harvested all the remaining watermelons.

“Okay, just wait a bit.”

Sejun stopped pondering and went to the kitchen to make the batter and start cooking the pancakes.

***

4th floor of the Black Tower.

“Puhuhut. The night sweet potatoes are all sold out, meow!”

Theo exclaimed after selling all the night sweet potatoes.

“What?! Already?”

“Vice Chairman Theo, don’t you have anything else?”

The hunters asked, filled with disappointment.

“Puhuhut. That’s all for now, meow! See you next time, meow!”

With the auction over, the hunters lined up again at the vineyard,

Clatter. Clatter.

[Then I will go back to growing grapes. Thank you for bringing me here.]

The King of Farming also returned to the vineyard.

“Puhuhut. Let’s go back now, meow!”

Theo was about to climb the tower again with Uren when,

“Theo~nim, do you have any debts?”

Uren, who had been munching on boiled potatoes that Sejun had packed, approached Theo and asked.

Considering the amount of money he had given to Theo during their descent from the tower, it was quite a large sum.

Yet, Uren couldn’t understand why Theo, who was working hard to earn money, was doing so.

“Puhuhut. Uren is a fool, meow!”

“What?”

After snickering at Uren,

“Chairman Park said the more money you have, the better, meow! In that sense, hand over more money, meow!”

Theo boldly stretched out his front paw.

“What?

“Hurry up and hand it over, meow!”

Uren was taken aback by Theo’s bold demand,

“Yes! Just a moment!”

Without any money on him, Uren quickly picked up a stone from the ground and,

Kkuik!

Using his Talent: Midas’s Touch, the stone began to turn into gold.

“Uren, next is this, meow!”

Theo brought a giant rock to Uren. Puhuhut. It’s the giant gold that Chairman Park likes, meow!

***

“Okay, let’s eat.”

Sejun stacked 10 pancakes on each plate and placed one in front of everyone.

Then,

Kuehehehe. Kueng! Kueng…

[Hehehe. One! Two…]

Cuengi began counting the pancakes from the bottom layer.

“Ehihi! Veronica, I asked Sejun hyung to make this!”

“That’s impressive! Ajax~nim, you are amazing!”

Ajax boasted to Veronica that it was his idea for Sejun to make the 10-layer pancakes.

And then,

Kieehihi. Kking!

‘Hehe. I’ve been treating him well lately, so he’s paying attention to me!’

Fenrir was pleased, looking at the mini 10-layer pancakes made by cutting the pancakes into small pieces.

In the meantime.

Kueng!

[Ten! There are 10 pancakes here!]

Cuengi finished counting the stacked pancakes.

Thud.

“Now, let’s eat.”

As Sejun placed a jar filled with kudzu honey in the middle,

Kuehehehe. Kueng!

[Hehehe. Dad, Thank you for the food!]

“Ehihi. Hyung, Thank you for the food!”

“Sejun nim, Thank you for the food!”

Everyone started eating the pancakes in their own style.

“Aileen, here.”

Sejun passed pancakes to Aileen and then,

Nom.

Took a bite of a pancake himself.

The bread, moistened with honey, melted smoothly in his mouth, spreading the buttery aroma all around his mouth.

Just when his mouth was nearly overwhelmed with sweetness and richness,

Slurp.

A sip of bitter coffee completed the perfect combination.

“Keuh.”

‘Even though I made it myself, it tastes great.’

As Sejun was enjoying his dinner immersed in emotion,

Thud.

Kking…

‘Hey. Rub my belly for me…’

After conquering three layers of the 10-layer pancakes and giving up, Fenrir struggled to walk up to Sejun and lay down.

“Our Blackie, you ate a lot today.”

Sejun rubbed the protruding belly of Fenrir to help him burp.

Burp.

After about ten minutes, Fenrir burped comfortably. Thanks to that, what he ate was digested, and his body grew 1.5 times larger.

Kieehihi! Kking! Kking?!

‘Hehe! Look at me! I’ve gotten stronger, haven’t I?’

Fenrir, thrilled by his increased strength, joyously hopped around for about five minutes, and

Kurorong.

Then collapsed on the floor and fell asleep. Fenrir was still quite weak.

“Let’s also go to bed early today.”

Sejun picked up Fenrir, who was sleeping on the floor, and headed home.

And then…

The next day, Fenrir was in for a big shock.

*****