Chapter 26 of 100
Chapter 26: Multitasking
8 min read1,992 words
Chapter 26: Multitasking
Crunch.
Slurp.
Crunch.
Slurp.
"Hmm?"
Awakened by the sound of something being eaten, Sejun hurriedly checked beside him.
"It's not here..."
The baby bear that should have been sleeping next to him was nowhere to be seen. Sejun thought he knew whose eating sound it was. The baby bear must have woken up hungry and started eating something.
While Sejun got up from his bed and headed towards the source of the sound,
Thud!
Thump, thump, thump.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The black rabbit ran out of the burrow and swung its hammer to punish the crop thief.
Squawk?
Startled, the baby bear cried when the black rabbit, which had treated it well until yesterday, suddenly hit it. "Brother, why are you doing this?"
However,
Thud!
The black rabbit showed no mercy. "Who dares to touch our storage?"
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
The white rabbits also came out, surrounding the baby bear and stomping their feet to show their displeasure. They seemed angry that the baby bear was stealing their crops without Sejun's permission.
"Don't get so angry. How much can a baby eat...? Huh?!"
The first thing Sejun noticed was that the baby bear had grown to the size of a medium dog. Considering it was only the size of a small dog yesterday, it was an incredible growth rate.
And then he thought,
How much does it need to eat to grow so fast?
Sejun hurriedly checked the storage.
"!"
The storage was significantly empty. About a third of the stored sweet potatoes and carrots were gone. The cherry tomatoes, which were untouched, seemed even more infuriating.
Squawk!
The baby bear, upon seeing Sejun, ran to him, thinking he would protect it. It seemed to want Sejun to pick it up.
Thud.
A different, heavier feeling than yesterday. Its strength was also completely different from yesterday.
"Do bears usually grow this fast?"
If I keep this baby, our cave might be ruined. Or worse, it might try to eat us out of hunger later. Suddenly, a sense of crisis hit him.
And there was another being who felt the same sense of crisis as Sejun.
[Tower Manager: Why is there a baby Crimson Giant Bear here? I'm surprised.]
[Tower Manager: Baby Crimson Giant Bears can eat up to 100 kg of food a day if they have enough food, like pigs.]
The Tower Manager was annoyed. The human's food storage was being raided.
Because of the troublesome human, I had to make friends and get things one by one...
Of course, making friends with the human was quite satisfying.
But...
For a baby Crimson Giant Bear to boldly steal our human's crops. How dare it! How dare it! It was unforgivable.
[Tower Manager: The Tower Manager is angry at the baby Crimson Giant Bear.]
[A quest has appeared.]
[Quest: Send the baby Crimson Giant Bear out of the cave!]
Reward: 1 Job Skill
Refusal: Starve to death!!!
The Tower Manager was so excited that he even offered a reward.
[Tower Manager: The Tower Manager is urging you to hurry.]
[Tower Manager: In a few days, the baby Crimson Giant Bear will grow so much that it won't be able to leave the cave.]
Sejun felt the seriousness in the Tower Manager's words. His survival instinct sounded the alarm. A plan was needed!
But
"Hmm..."
He couldn't think of any ideas.
"Let's have a cup of honey water and think about it."
Supplying energy to his brain might help him come up with a good idea.
As Sejun walked to the water jug filled with honey, holding a tumbler,
Waddle, waddle.
The baby bear followed him closely. It seemed to think Sejun was the only one who could protect it from the rabbits.
Swish, swish.
While Sejun was pouring honey into the tumbler,
Tap, tap.
The baby bear, drooling on the floor, looked longingly at the honey. Sejun's heart softened at its pitiful sight.
"Here."
Sejun poured a little honey on the baby bear's foot.
Squawk!
The baby bear finally achieved its purpose of following the sweet smell here.
Lick.
The intense sweetness felt through its tongue was the first sweetness it had ever tasted. It was delicious!
Lick, lick.
The baby bear eagerly licked its foot.
Meanwhile, Sejun, who had made the honey water, shared it with the rabbits while thinking of a plan to send the baby bear away.
Then,
"Ah! That's it."
Suddenly, an idea to send the baby bear away popped into Sejun's head.
"Of course, my brain works better with energy."
Tap, tap.
Sejun carefully knocked on the beehive of the venomous bees with his fingers. He needed the venomous bees for this task.
Buzz, buzz.
The venomous bees quickly came out when the beehive was shaken.
"Guys, I'm sorry to wake you. Can you help me?"
Buzz, buzz.
The venomous bees formed a circle in response to Sejun's words.
"Thanks. Move this outside."
Sejun pointed to the rope he had made by weaving leaves to escape. He planned to lift the baby bear with this.
"Rabbits, go up and catch the rope."
Squeak!
Squeak!
Thud!
The rabbits answered and climbed up to the hole in the cave ceiling. They would have liked to carry the rope up, but it was too heavy to run with.
Buzz, buzz.
Buzz, buzz.
Meanwhile, the venomous bees attached themselves to the end of the rope and flew up to the hole in the ceiling.
Then,
Snap.
The other end of the rope was tied around the baby bear's body.
Squawk?
The baby bear looked at Sejun, wondering why it was being tied.
"It's time to go to your mom."
Squawk! Squawk!
The baby bear started crying at the mention of its mom. It seemed to finally miss its mom.
As the venomous bees carried the rope up, the rabbits caught it.
"Pull!"
Sejun, holding the baby bear, shouted while making a victory pose.
Squeak!
Squeak!
Thud!
Buzz! Buzz!
The rabbits and venomous bees pulled the rope together.
But
...
Lick, lick.
The baby bear was still licking its foot, unmoving.
"Let's try again. This time, count with me. One! Two! Pull on two. One! Two!"
Squeak!
Squeak!
Thud!
Buzz! Buzz!
At Sejun's "Two!" command, the rabbits and venomous bees pulled with all their might.
The baby bear's body moved 5 cm.
"It's working!"
"One! Two! One! Two!"
Following Sejun's commands, the rabbits and venomous bees lifted the baby bear. After an hour, they finally managed to get the baby bear out of the cave.
[Quest completed.]
[As a reward for completing the quest, you have obtained the Job Skill - Seed Selection Lv. 1.]
"Seed Selection?"
Sejun checked the skill.
[Job Skill - Seed Selection Lv. 1]
- Slightly increases the chance of obtaining better seeds when harvesting crops.
While Sejun was checking the skill,
Squeak.
Squeak.
The rabbits untied the rope from the baby bear's body.
Just as the rabbits finished untying the rope,
Roar!
The roar of the mother Crimson Giant Bear, who had been looking for her baby, echoed from a distance.
Squawk! Squawk!
The baby bear ran towards its mom, calling out to her.
"Phew. Good job, everyone."
Sejun stretched his hand towards the rabbits jumping back into the hole.
But
Swish.
The rabbits turned their long ears and avoided Sejun's hand, stepping on his shoulder or head to land on the ground.
And
Buzz, buzz.
The venomous bees headed to the cherry tomato field to replenish their energy.
Day 166 of the ordeal. Sejun, the rabbits, and the venomous bees protected the cave's food and peace from the baby bear, which would grow into a fearsome predator.
***
Tower 75th Floor, Wandering Merchant Association Secret Inspector Bureau.
"Agent Gerus, I have a new mission for you."
"Yes!"
Gerus, who had been waiting for a new mission after the failure of the Scaram arrest operation, answered energetically.
"This mission is to investigate a wandering merchant."
"Investigate?"
"Yes. A new wandering merchant whose sales have suddenly skyrocketed recently. Find out why the sales have increased."
"Yes! I'll take care of it!"
"Here is the information on the wandering merchant you need to investigate. Memorize it and destroy it."
"Yes!"
Gerus left the bureau chief's office and flipped to the first page of the document containing the information of his target.
"!"
The portrait showed a bewildered-looking cat. But the face was quite familiar.
'Could it be?'
Gerus quickly checked the name.
Name: Theo
It was him. The cat wandering merchant who had interfered with his Scaram arrest operation.
'Theo! You're in for it! I'll expose all your corruption!'
Gerus clenched his teeth and moved to dig up Theo's corruption.
***
"Ah!"
As soon as Sejun opened his eyes, he went to the cave wall and added another mark.
Day 170 of the ordeal. Morning had come.
Squeak!
Squeak!
Thud!
The rabbits came out of their burrows, greeting Sejun.
"Good morning."
Buzz, buzz.
The venomous bees also came to greet him, rubbing their tails.
While Sejun was exchanging greetings with the cave residents,
Squawk!
The baby bear poked its head out of the ceiling hole. After four days, it had grown larger than a large dog.
If he hadn't sent the baby bear away then... The thought made him shudder.
But
Roar.
This time, the mother Crimson Giant Bear was also there. She was so big that her entire body couldn't be seen.
"!"
...!
Sejun and the rabbits were startled. No matter how hard the black rabbit hit, it couldn't have called the mother, right?
Roar.
[Tower Manager: The Crimson Giant Bear wants to feed honey to her baby.]
Fortunately, the Tower Manager translated the mother Crimson Giant Bear's words.
"Huh? Honey?"
Fortunately, the baby bear wasn't too old yet.
Roar.
[Tower Manager: The Crimson Giant Bear says she will protect this area in exchange for honey.]
"Alright."
If the Crimson Giant Bear protected the area, it would be safe enough to go outside the cave.
As Sejun agreed,
Roar.
The Crimson Giant Bear left, leaving her baby behind. She was marking her territory around the area.
Squawk. Squawk.
The baby bear, seeing its mother leave, begged for honey.
"Wait."
While Sejun was thinking about how to give the honey,
"Hmm?!"
A good idea came to him. With that size, he might be able to pull himself up too.
Sejun had the venomous bees give the rope to the baby bear.
And
"Pull!"
Squawk!
The baby bear easily pulled Sejun up. It was a baby bear elevator.
Swish.
As Sejun climbed up the rope, he looked down at the crops he had grown.
"Finally, I'm leaving this place."
Swish.
The higher he climbed, the more his heart raced with tension and anticipation for the 99th floor.
Thud.
Finally, Sejun stepped onto the ground of the 99th floor.
But
"What is this?"
As soon as he came out of the cave, Sejun saw an endless wasteland. There wasn't a single blade of grass around.
And in the distance, a red beam of light shot up into the sky.
"That must be the waypoint."
I need to get there to leave this tower.
But Sejun didn't have the strength to fight through the monsters to get there.
The deal with the Crimson Giant Bear was to protect the area, not to take him there.
Of course, he asked the Crimson Giant Bear through the Tower Manager to take him there, but
[Tower Manager: The Crimson Giant Bear refused.]
[Tower Manager: To get to the waypoint, you need to defeat about 3000 monsters.]
"Phew."
Sejun looked at the waypoint with regret.
"At least I can see it."
Focusing on the improved situation, Sejun gave the baby bear two licks of honey on its foot.
And
"Let's plow the field."
With two shovel rabbits, he started to create a new field on the 99th floor.
Day 170 of the ordeal. Sejun did his first multitasking.