Chapter 27 of 100
Chapter 27. Ignoring a Request for Help
7 min read1,851 words
When the mother Crimson Giant Bear found her cub again,
"Where did you eat and what did you eat?"
The cub had grown remarkably due to eating so well.
Sniff, sniff.
The mother Crimson Giant Bear instinctively knew that the sweet smell coming from her cub would be beneficial.
What is this sweet smell?
Mom, it's honey, and there's this much in a human's house.
The cub bear used its arm to show the size of a water bottle.
She wanted to try the honey herself but held back for the sake of her cub. She realized that even if she tried it, it wouldn't make much of a difference to her liver when she saw the cub explain.
The mother Crimson Giant Bear started looking for the human's house from where she had found her cub, intending to feed the cub honey.
She also thought it would be good if the human could provide food for her cub. Seeing how much the cub had grown while with the human, she assumed the human had plenty of food.
After searching for a few days, she finally found the human's house. The mother Crimson Giant Bear proposed a deal to the human, offering to protect the area in exchange for honey. She thought it would be better to have a continuous supply of honey this way.
The mother Crimson Giant Bear confidently stated that she could protect the area around the human's house on her own because no monsters wanted this desolate land.
Occasionally, a monster would try to cross the wasteland, but she could easily drive them away by patrolling her territory.
However, while she was wondering how to communicate,
[The Tower Manager says he will deliver the message to the human.]
...!
The Tower Manager, who had been inactive for a long time, stepped in to mediate the deal between the human and the mother Crimson Giant Bear.
Seeing the Tower Manager get involved, the mother Crimson Giant Bear thought the human must be special.
Thus, the deal was made.
The distance from her den to the human's house was quite far, and for a mother Crimson Giant Bear who was as tall as a 10-story building, traveling this distance every day was quite tiring.
But she didn't hesitate to travel the long distance to feed her cub honey.
Roar!
While patrolling, the mother Crimson Giant Bear thought about where to take a nap during the day as she headed to the human's house with her cub.
Fortunately, the human not only watched over her cub but also provided lunch.
The mother Crimson Giant Bear's steps became lighter as she headed to the human's house. Cooking was a hassle, whether for a mother on Earth or a mother monster in the Tower.
***
"Ah!"
Sejun opened his eyes, got up, and added a mark to the wall, starting the 173rd day of his ordeal. It had been three days since he made a deal with the mother Crimson Giant Bear.
Buzz.
Squeak!
Squish!
Squish!
While greeting the honeybees and rabbits in the morning,
Honk!
The cub bear also greeted from the cave's ceiling hole, announcing its arrival. The mother Crimson Giant Bear left the cub and hurriedly went on patrol.
"Did you sleep well?"
Honk!
The cub bear answered and waved to the black rabbit. Bro, I'm out!
Squish!
The black rabbit coolly waved back. I'll catch fish for lunch!
Sejun washed his face and
Munch, munch.
Chomp.
He had breakfast with the rabbits, sweet potato jerky, and carrots.
Then he quickly started the morning farming. With the fields on the surface, he had a lot to do.
Sejun quickly cut the green onions and started harvesting the cherry tomatoes, while the wife rabbit picked the cherry tomatoes from the branches Sejun harvested.
Meanwhile, the scythe rabbit and the cart rabbit carried the green onion leaves, and the watering can rabbits quickly watered the crops.
Then,
Squish!
Splash!
The black rabbit caught a piranha. The amount he caught had increased significantly due to the cub bear.
He was worried that catching too many would reduce the piranha population, but seeing the number of piranhas attracted by the blood, it seemed there were still plenty.
Finally, the two shovel rabbits went up to prepare the field.
However, the situation was very different from the fertile soil underground.
Plop, plop.
The shovel rabbits dug the ground, removing small rocks to prepare the field.
Honk!
Fortunately, the cub bear, thinking it was playing, used its front paws like a bulldozer to flip the soil and remove rocks, speeding up the work.
As the morning passed and lunchtime approached,
Squish!
The black rabbit called Sejun to move the piranhas. Sejun, the black rabbit, and the wife rabbit prepared lunch together. They planned to make a fire in the cave until they were sure it was safe on the surface.
As the smell of fish rose through the cave hole,
Sniff, sniff.
Honk, honk.
The cub bear started to whine, hungry. The smell was stimulating its appetite.
"Wait a little longer."
Sejun tried to calm it down, but
Honk, honk!
The cub bear continued to cry, hungry.
"Here, eat this while you wait."
Sejun threw a sweet potato to the cub bear to quiet it down and filled a bag with sweet potatoes and carrots he had brought from the Vanishing.
The other rabbits skewered 40 uncooked piranhas on a string.
Then,
"Pull!"
Sejun, ready, slung the bag over his shoulder, holding two bundles of raw piranhas and five grilled fish in one hand, and called out, grabbing the rope. They were going up to the surface to have lunch with the cub bear using the cub bear elevator.
Hop!
Hop!
The rabbits quickly climbed onto Sejun's body.
Honk! Honk!
Knowing Sejun was bringing food, the cub bear eagerly pulled the rope. It had learned to pull with a rhythm, almost like a 2-beat rhythm, when lifting itself.
Sejun climbed to the surface.
About 5 meters from the cave hole, there was a giant rock as tall as Sejun, which wasn't there before. The end of the rope was tied to the rock.
The mother Crimson Giant Bear had brought the rock at Sejun's request, allowing them to secure the rope.
Sniff, sniff.
Honk!
The cub bear sniffed the piranhas in Sejun's hand, excited.
"Hey! Wait!"
When Sejun spoke sternly,
Honk!
The cub bear quickly retreated and sat down. I'll wait!
Although the cub bear had grown as tall as Sejun, it still retained its cuteness.
Sejun and the rabbits quickly prepared and started their meal while the cub bear waited.
"Let's eat now."
Chomp, chomp.
Honk!
The cub bear made happy sounds while eating the piranhas. Yum!
Afterward, the cub bear ate honey for dessert and approached Sejun, who was resting with coffee, to take a comfortable nap with the black rabbit on Sejun's lap.
***
"I feel like something has been taken from me."
Feeling strange, Theo arrived at the 38th floor of the Tower.
"Hey, humans, I'm here!"
"The cat merchant is here!"
"Theo is here!"
The hunters, who had been eagerly waiting for Theo, greeted him warmly. By this time, the rumor of the magic cherry tomatoes had spread, and about 40 hunters were waiting for Theo.
Four out of the ten teams from the Phoenix Guild were waiting for Theo here, and interest in the magic cherry tomatoes was growing.
"Today, I will auction 1800 magic cherry tomatoes, 300 each!"
"300 for 25 Tower Coins!"
"300 for 27 Tower Coins!"
The auction was intense, but the prices didn't reach the high levels of the previous auction.
This way, Theo sold 1800 magic cherry tomatoes for 220 Tower Coins.
"Theo, let's take a picture! I brought Churu and coffee."
"Me too! I brought Churu and chili powder."
Female hunters approached with Churu, the seasoning powder Sejun wanted, and coffee mix to take pictures with Theo.
"Good job. I also groomed myself. Line up!"
Theo lined up the hunters, took pictures with each of them, let them touch his paws, and put the items they gave him into his bot.
'Puhuhu. I can claim Sejun's lap for a day again!'
After the photo session, Theo hurriedly climbed the Tower to claim Sejun's lap.
When he moved through the merchant passage connecting the 40th to the 50th floor and arrived at the 50th floor,
"Help me!"
He heard a request for help nearby.
Hesitated.
Theo's steps paused at the sound of the plea for help.
But he suddenly remembered what Sejun had said.
Sejun had given him various warnings to avoid being taken advantage of while wandering around, and one of the most emphasized was to ignore anyone who asked for help on the road.
It was a harsh instruction, but Theo had been a fool who saved someone from drowning and ended up having his bot stolen without even a thank you.
'Right! Sejun said to just walk away!'
Theo ignored the plea for help and quickly entered the merchant passage connecting the 50th to the 60th floor.
"What?"
Based on Theo's behavior in the shop, everyone thought he would definitely help. So, they asked for help...
Geras's plan to create a chance encounter and travel with Theo failed.
***
After lunch and a rest, Sejun went down to the cave again and brought up 100 sweet potatoes and 10 carrot tops.
He planted the sweet potatoes and carrot tops in the 50-pyeong field the shovel rabbits had prepared. The soil looked too barren to plant cherry tomatoes.
Since the shovel rabbits had already dug the holes, Sejun buried the sweet potatoes and covered them with soil.
[Planted sweet potatoes.]
[The effect of Seed Sowing Lv. 3 increases the probability of the sweet potatoes taking root.]
[Job experience increased slightly.]
[Seed Sowing Lv. 3 proficiency increased slightly.]
[The effect of Proficiency Increase Lv. 1 increases Seed Sowing Lv. 3 proficiency by 5%.]
...
..
.
While Sejun was diligently planting the sweet potatoes,
Honk?
The cub bear tilted its head, watching Sejun's actions. Why are you burying food?
Honk!
Thump! Thump!
Realizing something, the cub bear dug up the sweet potatoes Sejun had planted and followed him, eating them.
Crunch.
Crunch.
"Huh?!"
Sejun, who was planting sweet potatoes, turned around at the strange sound coming from behind.
He met the eyes of the cub bear, who was happily eating the sweet potatoes.
Honk!
The cub bear looked at Sejun with a proud expression. I found them all!
"No! Stop it!"
Sejun's voice rose as the cub bear, thinking it was a food-finding game, dug up and ate the sweet potatoes.
Squish!
The black rabbit, who was catching piranhas in the cave, climbed up to the surface upon hearing Sejun's voice.
Honk?
The cub bear, still confused, tilted its head. Bro, what did I do wrong?
Squish!
The black rabbit started to teach the cub bear what it had done wrong.
On the 173rd day of the ordeal, the cub bear learned the meaning of planting.