Chapter 33 of 100
Chapter 33. Feeling the Empty Space
8 min read1,973 words
Chapter 33. Feeling the Empty Space
Theo left for the 38th floor, and Sejun and the rabbits finished their morning farming and had lunch. The rabbit couples ate in the cave with their baby rabbits, while Sejun and the baby rabbits with the bear cub ate on the ground.
Gweong!
The bear cub, having eaten 30 piranhas, looked at Sejun's grilled fish with a longing face and cried, "I want more!"
As it grew quickly, the amount it ate also increased gradually.
"Here."
Sejun cut the grilled fish he was eating in half and gave it to the bear cub.
Gweong!
The bear cub bowed its head and received the grilled fish. "I'll eat it well!"
Chomp. Chomp.
The bear cub put the grilled fish in its mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it whole, bones and all.
Then,
Gweong.
The bear cub, this time, looked at the carrot the black rabbit was eating and cried, "Brother, give me that."
But,
Chung!
The black rabbit firmly refused. "No carrots!"
Gweong...
The angry bear cub turned away from the black rabbit. "I hate you, brother..."
After lunch,
Sip.
Sejun walked through the ruined field while drinking coffee. Yesterday, he was so disheartened by the destruction of the field he had worked hard on that he didn't even think about checking it, but he couldn't keep doing that. He had to fix the ruined field.
"Fortunately, it's not all destroyed."
He thought the entire field was ruined and the crops were all lost, but quite a few had survived.
While Sejun was looking around the field,
"Huh?!"
About 1 km from the cave, he saw several mounds of earth about 7 meters high. They hadn't been there before. Curious, Sejun approached the mounds.
"What?!"
Next to the mounds were square-shaped pits about 7 meters deep. From the two round marks at the start of the pits, it seemed a monster with horns had dug into the ground.
"How much strength..."
Sejun was amazed by the monster's strength as he looked at the highest part of the mound. The color was different only at the end. It was black.
Poke. Poke.
Sejun carefully stuck his dagger into the mound and climbed up to examine the black soil. The texture was different from the barren soil on the ground. It wasn't dry, but soft and moist, with a good viscosity.
At a glance, it was nutrient-rich soil. To think such soil was beneath the barren land. If only he could mix it up...
But in the current situation without a bulldozer or tractor, digging 7 meters deep was an impossible task.
He could ask his mother, the Crimson Giant Bear, to do a little bit each day, but she was busy patrolling due to the recent Blue Moon causing the monsters' territories to shift.
Sejun was satisfied just knowing there was good soil beneath the ground.
After checking the field and returning to where they had lunch,
Chirp.
Gweong.
The black rabbit and the bear cub, who had been waiting for Sejun, had apparently made up and were hugging each other, asleep.
"Let's wake up."
Sejun tapped the fluffy bottoms of the black rabbit and the bear cub to wake them from their sleep.
Chirp...
Gweong...
The black rabbit and the bear cub only raised their bodies with their eyes still closed.
"Kids, what's this?"
When Sejun took out sweet potato jerky and honey,
Chung!
Gweong!
They barely opened their eyes and begged Sejun for food.
Chomp. Chomp.
Lick. Lick.
The black rabbit and the bear cub woke up while eating the snacks Sejun gave them.
"Kids, let's work."
He didn't give them snacks for no reason.
Gweong!
The bear cub, now awake, stuck its front paws into the ground and tilled it lightly, moving backward like a plow.
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp!
The black rabbit flattened the ground with a hammer.
Then,
Poke. Poke.
The shovel rabbits dug up the soil to make ridges.
Finally, when the small field was completed, Sejun planted sweet potato sprouts cut from the sweet potatoes he had planted in the cave.
[Created a 10-pyeong pumpkin sweet potato field.]
[Received 20 experience points.]
After planting all the sweet potato sprouts, Sejun left the bear cub and the rabbits working on the field and went down to the cave.
It was time to harvest the corn. Sejun started picking the corn from the field.
Thud.
When he picked the corn,
[Harvested well-ripened Corn of Vitality.]
[Job experience slightly increased.]
[Harvesting Level 4 proficiency slightly increased.]
[Proficiency increase Level 1 effect: Harvesting Level 4 proficiency increased by 5%.]
[Received 20 experience points.]
"Let's see what effect the corn has."
Sejun checked the options of the corn.
[Corn of Vitality]
Corn grown inside the tower, rich in nutrients and delicious.
When consumed, it decomposes 20g of fat in the body and increases vitality 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 improves skin elasticity.
Cultivator: Tower Farmer Park Sejun
Expiration Date: 60 days
Grade: D
"Skin elasticity?"
Although it was ambiguous, the item's description guaranteed 100% effectiveness, so he thought it would be good.
"Mom will like it."
Sejun thought he should soon inform his family of his news and this time, also send them his crops. His family might feel left out since his crops were being sold under his name outside, but they couldn't eat them.
Thud. Thud.
Sejun harvested more corn.
***
38th Floor of the Tower.
"Why isn't the wandering merchant coming?"
"It's past the time when Theo should have come..."
The hunters were anxiously waiting for Theo. They had received many requests this time to get Magic Cherry Tomatoes.
This time, the requests were not from acquaintances but from billionaires with assets worth tens of billions.
The rumor of Magic Cherry Tomatoes spread among the rich outside the tower, and they started eating the tomatoes like medicine every morning to boost their vitality.
They were people with more money than they knew what to do with. Rare and good products caught their attention, and the current market price of one Magic Cherry Tomato on Earth was around 500,000 won.
There were plenty of rich people willing to pay more, but the price didn't rise because there were no sellers.
If only someone could bring Magic Cherry Tomatoes out, there would be plenty of buyers.
Therefore, the hunters were ready to pay as soon as Theo arrived. But Theo didn't come.
Did we buy too cheaply last time and he went to another floor?
The hunters started to feel anxious and thought they should spend enough money this time.
They didn't think Theo was busy picking cherry tomatoes and cutting parsley leaves in the cave.
***
"Grumble. Hmm... Did I lose consciousness again?"
Eileen sometimes lost consciousness due to a lack of mana. She thought it was fine since it hadn't happened recently and she hadn't had any seizures...
Eileen got up from her seat with a bitter expression.
Swoosh.
"Huh?!"
Eileen was surprised by her unusual state.
When Eileen lost consciousness, her body felt like it was forced to shut down for survival, and when she woke up, her body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
But now, her body felt so light it could fly.
"Why is my body so light? Ah! Cherry tomatoes!"
Eileen finally remembered what had happened before she lost consciousness.
The Magic Cherry Tomatoes filled with the energy of the Blue Moon!
Eileen immediately put the five blue cherry tomatoes Sejun gave her in her mouth and chewed. They were sweet and sour, very delicious.
While savoring the taste,
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
She lost consciousness and woke up feeling the weak and slow heartbeat of the Dragon Heart.
"So, the Dragon Heart?"
Eileen quickly focused on her Dragon Heart.
"......"
The Dragon Heart was so calm that it was hard to believe it had been beating. And she couldn't feel any mana at all.
"Did I expect too much?"
Disappointed, Eileen approached the crystal ball to watch the humans. They were probably eating something delicious without her.
Then,
Thump!
"Aiko!"
Eileen's head hit something as she entered the room with the crystal ball.
"Ouch! What was that?"
Eileen winced and looked at what had hurt her. It was the ceiling of the door.
"Why?"
She was about 10 meters away from the door ceiling, so her head couldn't have hit it unless she flew.
"What?"
Eileen felt something was wrong and went to the lake where she bathed to check her appearance. The black dragon reflected in the water was larger than she remembered.
"Huh?! I grew? Grumble."
Eileen made a happy sound and stared at herself for a while.
"Huh?! What was I trying to do?"
She suddenly realized she had forgotten something important.
Oops!
This wasn't the time. Eileen quickly ran to the crystal ball.
"Of course! The human was trying to eat something delicious without me!"
Just then, Sejun was taking steamed corn out of the pot. Perfect timing. Eileen had the luck to eat.
***
Tonight's dinner was corn-based dishes: steamed corn and grilled corn.
"Done."
Sejun took the pot off the fire and started taking out the steamed corn with tongs.
Then,
[The tower manager says he wants to taste the corn too.]
[The tower manager says he would like one.]
[A quest has appeared.]
[Quest: Give a corn dish to the hungry tower manager.]
Reward: Very grateful
If refused: Very disappointed.
"Wait a bit. It's not ready yet."
[The tower manager nods, saying he can wait.]
While the steamed corn was cooling, Sejun went to the charcoal fire where the grilled corn was being made.
The rabbits were slowly turning the corn, which the bear cub had skewered with branches, over the charcoal. The outer layer of the corn was turning golden brown from the heat.
Next to the rabbits, there were already 30 grilled corns piled up.
"It's good to stop now."
Squeak!
Chirp!
Chung!
At Sejun's words, the rabbits started eating the steamed and grilled corn.
Sejun picked up 5 steamed corns and 5 grilled corns.
"Eileen, enjoy."
[Quest completed.]
[Quest completion reward: The tower manager is very grateful.]
"Okay."
Sejun gave the corn to Eileen and started eating with the rabbits.
Without Theo, the baby rabbits were eating corn next to Sejun.
Chirp!
Chung!
The babies tried to eat the corn, but it was still too big and hard for them.
"Let's eat like this."
Rattle.
Sejun took the corn the baby rabbit was eating and used a spoon to scrape the kernels into a bowl, which he then gave to the babies.
Chomp. Chomp.
The babies started eating the corn kernels with their front paws.
A little later,
Chirp!
Chirp!
Chirp!
The baby rabbits cried for more corn, showing their empty bowls. They had eaten a lot, but they were already finished.
"Wait a bit."
When Sejun turned his head to get more corn and a bowl,
"Phew! What?"
He burst out laughing at the sight of the babies. They were covered in corn kernels.
Chirp!
Chirp!
Chirp!
The babies, with corn kernels all over their bodies, were demanding more.
"That's why you run out."
Sejun picked the corn kernels off the babies' bodies and put them in their mouths.
Chirp!
Chirp!
Chirp!
The baby rabbits, like baby birds, stuck out their beaks and fought to eat.
"Hey! Wait! I won't give it to moving rabbits."
Sejun held one baby rabbit and carefully picked the corn kernels off its body and put them in its mouth.
"I was more comfortable with Theo around..."
Sejun felt Theo's absence for the first time. He missed the representative.