Chapter 24 of 100
Chapter 24. Harvesting D-Rank Crops
8 min read2,060 words
Chapter 24. Harvesting D-Rank Crops
"Meow?"
Huh?
Theo and the black rabbit, who had been hugging each other tightly all night, woke up at the same time and their eyes met.
Blink. Blink.
They were both at a loss on how to resolve this awkward situation.
"Did you sleep well?"
Huh!
They were so flustered that they forgot what had happened yesterday and got up as if nothing had happened.
"Are you up?"
Sejun also woke up at the sound of Theo and the black rabbit's conversation.
"Yep!"
Huh!
Zap!
Zap!
They answered simultaneously, realizing what they needed to fight for.
Swish.
While Sejun added another mark to the cave wall to start the 162nd day of their ordeal,
Chomp! Chomp!
Huh! Huh!
Sejun's voice acted as a catalyst, and Theo and the black rabbit glared at each other like mortal enemies, on high alert.
Theo took out his hidden claws, and the black rabbit gripped his hammer tightly with both hands, ready to swing it at any moment.
Cat and Rabbit Combat. The battle between yellow and black. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Then,
"We should get along."
"Meow?"
Huh?
Sejun, who had just finished washing his face, grabbed the back of Theo and the black rabbit's necks, which were stuck together like rice cakes, and placed them on his knees.
And,
Snap.
Snap.
Snap.
He put a dried sweet potato in his own mouth, and a churu and a carrot in Theo and the black rabbit's mouths.
Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.
They glared at each other for a moment longer, then gradually focused on eating, and the fight ended anticlimactically. Thus, Theo and the black rabbit acknowledged each other's territories.
After a simple breakfast, Sejun immediately started the morning farming. He hurried due to the excitement. The reason was the training dagger from Keynes in his hand. He wanted to use it as soon as possible.
Sejun went to the field to plant the four carrot tops that the rabbits had eaten.
Plop. Plop.
Sure enough, the named dagger was good at digging too. The named weapon worth billions, which was used to cut monsters, had become a farming tool in Sejun's hands.
Swish. Swish.
Sejun planted one carrot top in the hole he made with the dagger.
[You have planted the top of a carrot root.]
[The probability of the carrot taking root has increased due to the effect of Seed Planting Lv. 3.]
[Your job experience has increased slightly.]
[The proficiency of Seed Planting Lv. 3 has increased slightly.]
[The proficiency of Seed Planting Lv. 3 has increased by an additional 5% due to the effect of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1.]
"Huh? This also increases proficiency?"
Sejun, who thought it only applied to combat, reread the options of Keynes's training dagger.
[Proficiency Increase Lv. 1]
The proficiency of all skills used with this dagger increases by 5% faster.
"All skills used with the dagger?"
Indeed, B-rank named items were different.
"Hehehe. I need to work hard to increase my proficiency."
Sejun's enthusiasm flared up. He quickly planted the remaining three carrot tops and went to the cherry tomato field.
Sejun cut the stem of a cherry tomato plant with the dagger, which had several cherry tomatoes.
Snick.
The tough cherry tomato stem was cut easily. With the increasing number of cherry tomatoes to harvest, he had been harvesting them by cutting the stems.
[You have harvested 7 ripe magical cherry tomatoes simultaneously.]
[Your job experience has increased slightly.]
[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 has increased slightly.]
[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 has increased by an additional 5% due to the effect of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1.]
[You have gained 70 experience points.]
"Wow."
It really makes you want to work.
Snick. Snick.
Sejun enthusiastically cut the cherry tomato stems and harvested several cherry tomatoes at once.
The task of removing the cherry tomatoes from the harvested stems was Theo's. Theo picked the cherry tomatoes and put them directly into the bag.
When Sejun brought the cut cherry tomato stems to Theo,
"I'm the representative, so why am I doing this?"
Theo grumbled.
"What about me? I'm the president, and I'm working."
"Huh? You're the president, Mr. Sejun?"
"Yep. So hurry up, Representative Theo."
"Got it. But is the president higher than the representative?"
Theo's eyes sparkled as if he had discovered a new goal to aim for.
'Hehehe. When I become the president, I'll monopolize both of Sejun's hands and knees!'
Theo imagined lying on Sejun's knees while Sejun stroked his belly with one hand and fed him churu with the other.
"Right."
"Ooh! I got it! I'll work harder!"
"Eat while you work."
"This doesn't taste good."
Theo disliked cherry tomatoes. Sejun boosted Theo's enthusiasm and resumed harvesting the cherry tomatoes.
Then,
Huh!
As lunchtime approached, the black rabbit called Sejun to move the piranhas it had caught. Since he had to pay Theo's salary today, he caught more piranhas than usual.
Before wrapping the piranhas in leek leaves, Sejun seasoned them with salt and pepper.
Since he wasn't sure if the rabbits and Theo could eat them, he first grilled three of them using three different methods: one with pepper, one with salt, and one with both.
"If there's any left, I can eat it."
Finally, he could eat seasoned food. Sejun, excited, wrapped the remaining piranhas in leek leaves and put them in the fire.
He waited for the grilled fish to be ready. There were many exciting things today.
After a while, as the smell of grilled fish spread throughout the cave,
"Let's eat!"
Sejun called the white rabbits.
Squeak!
Squeak!
The white rabbits answered Sejun's call and prepared the rest of the meal. The wife rabbit grilled leeks, and the other white rabbits brought sweet potatoes and carrots from the storage.
Chomp.
While the rabbits ate carrots and waited for the other dishes to be ready, Sejun didn't put anything in his mouth.
When you're hungry, your taste buds become more sensitive. Sejun waited and waited to focus all his taste buds on the seasoned grilled fish.
And,
"Done!"
After a long wait, the grilled fish Sejun had been waiting for was finally ready. When he removed the leek leaves covering the piranhas, steam rose, and the smell of pepper spread.
The first grilled fish he took out was the one seasoned only with pepper.
"Phew."
Sejun inhaled the smell deeply.
"Let's try it. Do you want to try it too?"
Sejun cut a little of the pepper-seasoned grilled fish and gave it to the rabbits.
However,
Cough. Cough.
The white rabbits started coughing because the pepper was too spicy.
Huh!
Fortunately, the black rabbit cheered as if it had discovered a new world and ate enthusiastically.
And,
"Representative Theo, do you want to try it?"
"I'll pass. You're trying to play a trick on the fish?"
Theo was a pure fish lover.
Fortunately, the white rabbits enjoyed the grilled fish seasoned with salt.
Thus, pepper became a seasoning only for Sejun and the black rabbit.
After lunch,
Snore.
Sejun sat in his designated spot where the sun shone, drinking coffee.
Except for the carrots he was growing for seeds, the carrot harvest was complete. Since there was no afternoon farming except for harvesting cherry tomatoes, he had some free time.
"Sleepy..."
Huh...
As soon as Sejun sat down, Theo and the black rabbit naturally claimed his knees and took a nap.
Snore.
Snore.
They quickly fell asleep. As a result, Sejun, unable to get up, spent his time gazing at the sky.
Then,
Buzz! Buzz!
Three baby venomous bees, the size of a thumb, newly hatched from the beehive, came out to explore the world. With the cherry tomato field he had just planted blooming, the queen venomous bee started laying eggs in earnest.
Now, 3-5 baby venomous bees were born every day, and their number had already exceeded 50. To be precise, there were 53.
Buzz.
The venomous bees started teaching the newly hatched baby venomous bees how to work.
It was a peaceful scene. Sejun watched the venomous bees teach the baby venomous bees while finishing his coffee.
"Time to get up."
Sejun woke up Theo and the black rabbit.
"Just five more minutes."
Squeak...
Theo and the black rabbit threw a tantrum.
Snap.
Sejun grabbed the soft backs of Theo and the black rabbit's necks and put them on the ground, then got up.
"Time to work."
Sejun went back to the cherry tomato field and harvested the cherry tomatoes.
Snick. Snick.
"Snip, snip, snip. It cuts well."
The easy-to-cut stems made Sejun naturally feel excited.
How long had Sejun been focused on harvesting cherry tomatoes?
"I'm going now!"
As soon as Theo filled his bag with cherry tomatoes, he prepared to go down the tower, keeping the remaining representative time.
Since the carrots and sweet potatoes were not enough for the rabbits and himself, he planned to sell them after the next harvest.
"Already? Take the grilled fish."
"Thank you."
Theo carefully put the grilled fish, which Sejun gave as a salary, into his bag.
"Stop by the blacksmith's shop and pick something from the lottery corner."
"Got it."
Sejun asked Theo to buy necessary items from the store again. He also had him try the equipment lottery at the blacksmith's shop. He couldn't let Theo's brilliant talent go to waste.
"I'll be back."
Theo went down the tower again for the fourth trade.
After sending Theo off and while harvesting cherry tomatoes,
[You have harvested 6 ripe magical cherry tomatoes simultaneously.]
[Your job experience has increased significantly.]
[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 has increased significantly.]
[The proficiency of Harvesting Lv. 3 has increased by an additional 5% due to the effect of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1.]
[You have gained 90 experience points.]
"Huh? 90 experience points?"
It wasn't the experience points he should have gained from harvesting 6 cherry tomatoes.
Sejun examined the cherry tomatoes he had harvested.
Three were the original cherry tomatoes, but the other three were different.
[Magical Cherry Tomato]
A cherry tomato grown inside the tower, rich in nutrients and delicious.
When consumed, it decomposes 20g of fat in the body and increases magic power by 0.2 for 10 minutes.
The effect can be stacked up to 10 times within an hour.
When consumed by a non-awakened person, it decomposes 20g of fat and gives vitality to the body.
Now, cultivated by a tower farmer who has just mastered farming, it is even more delicious.
Cultivator: Tower Farmer Sejun Park
Expiry Date: 60 days
Rank: D
It was a D-rank crop.
The fat decomposition amount, magic power increase amount, and shelf life had all doubled.
But what caught Sejun's eye was something else.
"More delicious?"
Sejun immediately put the D-rank magical cherry tomato in his mouth.
Crunch.
Squish.
As soon as he bit into the cherry tomato, a more intense sweetness and sourness flooded his mouth.
"Delicious... Wow!"
Sejun quickly regained his composure and hurriedly put the D-rank cherry tomatoes in a separate pocket. He didn't know where the tower manager or the black rabbit might be watching.
But it was already too late.
Huh?!
The black rabbit, which had been watching Sejun carefully, ran over and shouted. What are you eating alone?!
Shh!
Sejun put his finger to his lips and quietly led the black rabbit to a corner of the cave. There were only three D-rank cherry tomatoes, and the other white rabbits might feel left out if they found out.
"Let's eat quietly. Got it? We're accomplices now."
Sejun warned the black rabbit and gave it a D-rank cherry tomato.
Huh!
The black rabbit nodded confidently. Don't worry!
"Right."
Sejun trusted the black rabbit and returned to harvesting cherry tomatoes.
And a little later,
Suck! Suck! Suck!
The sound of the black rabbit sucking on the cherry tomato juice echoed in the cave. Hey! Don't worry!
Fortunately, he had harvested 10 more D-rank cherry tomatoes before, so the other white rabbits didn't feel left out.
[The tower manager is disappointed that you didn't give him any.]
"I offered."
Day 162 of the ordeal. Everyone got to taste the D-rank magical cherry tomatoes without anyone feeling left out.
"Huh? I feel disappointed."
Theo felt strangely disappointed as he went down the tower.